Jeffrey Vagg of North Recognized as Top AI Thought Leader on H2O.ai AI 100 List

TROY, Mich., Aug. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fintech leader North (formerly North American Bancard) announced today that their Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Jeffrey Vagg, has been recognized by H2O.ai as a 2024 AI 100 Leader.

This prestigious list celebrates individuals and organizations at the forefront of the AI revolution, recognizing those who drive innovation and impactful AI implementations across various sectors.

Vagg and his fellow honorees were selected through a rigorous process involving public nominations, LLM-powered analysis, and evaluation by H2O.ai's VP of Data Science, Olivier Grellier, alongside an independent judge, research firm Evident AI.

"There won't be a Fortune 500 company that is not led by an AI maker or Data Scientist by 2030. Every organization will have its strategy led by data and AI and be purpose-led from the heart," said Sri Ambati, CEO and founder of H2O.ai.

Of his inclusion on the list, Vagg said: "I am truly honored to be recognized. This achievement is a testament not only to individual effort but to the incredible work of my amazing team at North. Together, we are continuously expanding the ways we integrate AI into our solutions, pushing the boundaries of what's possible."

Describing North's investment in this emerging field, Vagg noted: "Our company is deeply committed to balancing performance, cost, and risk when leveraging various types of AI. Our approach includes a blend of traditional machine learning, expert systems, and pattern recognition AI, ensuring we deliver robust and reliable solutions. We are also actively exploring how generative AI and deep learning can further benefit our processes, constantly seeking innovative ways to enhance our services."

"We have delivered unparalleled services to our merchants, ensuring that we meet and exceed their expectations. By leveraging AI in critical areas like fraud monitoring and merchant services quality, we have not only enhanced the security and reliability of our offerings but also streamlined our internal processes to operate more efficiently than ever."

"I'm immensely proud of the progress we've made at North," Vagg stated in summation, "and I look forward to continuing this journey with such a talented and dedicated team. Together, we are shaping the future of AI-driven innovation."

The H2O AI list reveals notable trends in AI adoption and innovation, including:

• Technology, financial services, the public sector, and healthcare emerge as leading adopters with strong representation from the financial services sector, including leaders from top banks such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
  
  
• Notably, it includes 56 c-suite executives from 47 Fortune 500 companies, and highlights researchers advancing the frontiers of AI science and ethics.
  
  
• Geographically, while North America dominates with 80 honorees, the list also recognizes growing innovation hubs in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
  
  
• The AI 100 also highlights promising "AI for Good" applications in areas such as climate change, wildlife conservation, and healthcare accessibility.

The full H2O AI 100 list and report are available at www.h2o.ai/ai-100/winners

About H2O.ai
Founded in 2012, H2O.ai is at the forefront of the AI movement to democratize Generative AI. H2O.ai's open-source Generative AI and Enterprise h2oGPT, combined with Document AI and the award-winning autoML Driverless AI, have transformed more than 20,000 global organizations and over half of the Fortune 500 and household brands, including AT&T, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Chipotle, ADP, Workday, Progressive Insurance, and AES.

H2O.ai's AI for Good program supports nonprofit groups, foundations, and communities in their efforts to advance education, healthcare, and environmental conservation, including identifying areas vulnerable to natural disasters and protecting endangered species.

H2O.ai has a vibrant community of 2 million data scientists worldwide and aims to bring together the world's top data scientists with customers to co-create GenAI applications that are usable and valuable by everyone. Business users can now leverage the power of LLMs to enhance productivity with enterprise applications.

About North.
Founded in 1992, North builds frictionless payment processing designed to simplify and grow business. They offer comprehensive solutions, from the front door to the back office, that include point of sale (POS) hardware, a fully integrated payment platform, and comprehensive merchant services to manage inventory, employees, and more.

North is re-imagining the payment experience. As a leading payment technology innovator, North has a diversified product platform that provides a modern end-to-end infrastructure to enable globally-preferred payment types. North's superior solutions deliver seamless payments experiences in mobile, ecommerce, and in-store environments. Serving hundreds of thousands of businesses and with over $100 billion per year in electronic transaction volume, North delivers functional, feature-rich, and frictionless solutions for the evolving merchant economy. For more information, please visit www.north.com.

SOURCE North American Bancard, LLC