Converge was born as a space to socialize and discuss the ideas that are transforming our reality, driving innovation and growth. This year, AI takes center stage, providing attendees with new and ground-breaking insights for business reinvention.
Behind every disruptive technology, there are great minds: thought leaders, subject matter experts, and individuals who have dared to take advantage of transformative ideas. At our core, there is technology, but the protagonists are the people—leaders who are revolutionizing industries and building ways of living and relating to the world. From the financial sector to the cosmetic and food industries, meet the brilliant minds taking the lead on AI, a revolution with more science than fiction.
David Velez: AI customer-centric finance
Born in Medellin, Colombia, David Velez is the Founder & CEO of Nubank. With a background that includes names like Sequoia and Goldman Sachs, Velez founded Nubank to promote financial inclusion and offer a user-friendly experience. With over 90 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, Nubank is one of the largest digital banks in the world, which continues to change the game with the adoption of AI.
The premise behind the creation of Nubank was accessibility: to create a healthier relationship between users and their finances. However, there are limitations. Most people need to learn how to invest and might not have the time or energy to get in-depth information. AI is here to change the game. As expressed by Velez, “AI is the second platform shift. If the smartphone was the bank in every pocket, AI is the bank and the banker in every pocket. That is the catalyst for the people to make the right financial decisions.”
An example of Nubank’s efforts in unlocking the power of AI is its acquisition of Olivia, an open-source contextual chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to provide personalized financial recommendations. The addition enabled the bank to optimize customer experience based on data-backed recommendations. Read more about AI-powered financial strategies and get expert insights from Globant’s SMEs.
Marc Benioff: Reaching the AI Nirvana
Marc Benioff is the man behind the 61st-largest company in the world and the #1 provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. Chair & CEO of Salesforce, Benioff, is a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Board of Trustees and a philanthropist.
As a leader in innovation, Benioff has spoken multiple times about the applications of artificial intelligence. “We want to get to AI nirvana,” says Benioff, which means hyper-automation: using AI to speed processes and decisions, enabling a seamless customer experience. This evolution involves AI generation of websites, product descriptions, landing pages, etc.
AI isn’t new for Salesforce. In 2016, the company launched Einstein, its AI service embedded in its Customer 360 platform. To further enhance its capabilities, early this year, the company launched Einstein GPT, the first-of-its-kind generative AI tool for CRM. The technology assists different areas with Einstein GPT for sales, service, marketing, developers, and Slack. In addition, Salesforce is integrating its private AI models with OpenAI’s enterprise-grade ChatGPT technology to “learn more about real-world usage, which is critical to the responsible development and deployment of AI.”
Benioff predicts we will experience four stages of AI:
1. Predictive. It has been around for a decade, for instance, in predicting consumer behavior in retail.
- Generative: The current AI wave with new large language models.
- Autonomous: Having “software working on your behalf, doing things without you actually giving it instruction.”
- Artificial general intelligence: When the technology can think for us.
Jane Lauder: Cosmetic chemistry meets artificial intelligence
With the emerging technologies of virtual reality, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, the cosmetics industry is succeeding in expanding the horizons of wellness and beauty, taking advantage of data to understand customer sentiment and offer hyper-personalization. Jane Lauder, Chief Data Officer at Estée Lauder, is one of the leaders in the sector leading the cosmetic and tech marriage. Beginning her career with the Estée Lauder Companies in 1996, she has led Clinique, Ojon, Origins, and Darphin brands.
Personalization is “about combining different technologies to support the experience.” says Lauder. In their quest to address each individual customer, Estée Lauder partnered with Google Cloud to transform the user experience with generative AI. The partnership allows the company to monitor customer behavior in real-time and respond with tailored experiences. With Gen Z expected to overtake the spending power of millennials by 2031, Estée Lauder is harnessing AI to keep up with the changing trends and expectations of younger generations.
“Beauty is probably the most personal of any category… and the personal is really driven by data,”-Jane Lauder, Chief Data Officer at Estée Lauder.
Another example of Estée Lauder’s efforts to use technology for innovation is the creation of their AI Voice-Enabled Makeup Assistant (VMA) for visually impaired people. The application uses machine learning and voice instruction technologies to provide audio feedback on applying makeup. Estée Lauder’s VMA is an example of the use of AI to foster self-expression, empowerment, and confidence.
Matías Muchnik: Bringing AI to the table, literally
Matías Muchnick is a visionary who left the banking industry to create a more sustainable world through technology. Inspired by the way the pharmaceutical sector uses machine learning to improve its processes and intending to disrupt the plant-based industry, Matías Muchnik and Karim Pichara created NotCo in 2015.
NotCo combines plant-based ingredients to bring to the table the most nutritious food for our bodies, mimicking the flavors of meat, milk, or poultry while reducing natural resource inputs.
The Guiseppe Platform is the differentiator behind affordable plant-based foods with sustainable and efficient production practices. NotCo’s AI platform analyzes the molecular composition of animal-based ingredients to find similar components in plants and vegetables. NotCo’s Guiseppe Discovery, Guiseppe Toolbox, and Guiseppe Flora are essential to help the R&D team refine formulas, create textures, and map aroma compounds.
The company is partnering with other brands in the industry, such as Kraft Heinz and Burger King, which are adopting their methods in their R&D departments. As a result, NotCo can diversify its impact and take plant-based food to the tables of a wider audience.
Converge 2023: a Trailblazing Speaker Lineup
The guest list doesn’t end here. Converge will have the presence of other pioneers such as Gillian Zucker, President of Business Operations at LA Clippers; Anselmo Ramos, Co-Founder and Creative Chairman of GUT; Walter Isaacson, Best-Selling Author and acclaimed Historian, and Cleo Abram, Emmy-nominated Video Journalist. Register now and join the AI limitless disruption.
