Session Title

Practitioner’s Experience with AI

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Abstract

The BFSI industry is drowning in AI hype — yet most pilots stall, most deployments underdeliver, and the gap between demo and production remains wide. Drawing on Vayana’s live experience of embedding AI across engineering and product — with measurable outcomes; this session cuts through the noise to examine what AI does (and doesn't do) in a regulated financial services environment.

Attendees will leave with a clear-eyed framework for separating myth from reality, and a practical lens for where AI creates durable competitive advantage versus where it creates expensive distraction.

Bio

Ram Iyer is the Founder & CEO of Vayana, one of India’s largest trade finance networks, processing over USD 1 billion in transactions every month. A serial entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience in the Cash Management and Trade Finance space, he has built solutions for some of the largest banks in India and across the globe.

Ram has led Vayana with the vision of democratizing access to affordable finance for MSMEs. Over the years, the company has deepened its reach across supply chains, extending access to the last mile. More recently, Vayana has started offering open-account cross-border trade solutions through Vayana TradeXchange.

Prior to founding Vayana, Ram was associated with a leading transaction banking and cash management service provider in Asia, which was later acquired by Nasdaq-listed Fundtech (now part of the Finastra Group).

He began his career with Accenture in its Management Consulting practice and has since developed deep expertise in financial services, technology, and business transformation.

A management graduate from IIM Ahmedabad and an engineer from Mumbai University, Ram possesses an exceptional understanding of B2B trade, payment ecosystems, and technology, along with a strong ability to integrate these domains to better serve the last mile through innovative B2B lending solutions.