American multinational investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co. has hired former Google executive, Apoorv Saxena, as its new head of artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Saxena is the second high-profile hire for the firm in AI in recent months and is due to start his new role this week.
According to an internal memo seen by CNN money, Saxena will work in the bank’s asset management and wealth management divisions. The new position is also confirmed by his public LinkedIn profile.
Saxena's appointment at JPMorgan is being seen as a testament to the investment bank’s dedication to the use of new technology. It also shows the firm’s growing willingness to hire outside of the banking industry for its technology-based roles.
The appointment of Saxena follows on the heels of the hiring of Manuela Veloso as the firm’s first head of AI research. Earlier this year in May, Veloso joined the investment bank from Carnegie Mellon University where she was a professor.
JPMorgan is getting a seasoned tech veteran
JPMorgan is getting an experienced technology veteran to head its AI and ML operations. Saxena’s most recent position was at Google, which he joined in 2012. Here he was Head of Product Management for Cloud AI & Google AI Research and AI Verticals.
Apoorv Saxena
Source: LinkedIn
Saxena is also a technical advisor at Tribyl, Inc., a buyer intelligence platform. He has also been an investor and advisor to a number of different startups. This includes Question.ai, Blend Labs and Deep Impact. For these, he would advise them on the product, AI technology, strategy, hiring, culture and more.
Before Google, Saxena was an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm. He worked at the company from 2008 until 2012. During his time at the firm, he managed a team of associates. Together they worked to solve the problems of senior management for numerous function topics. This includes growth strategy, sales and marketing, post-merger integration, due-diligence, business development and service operations.
Saxena also worked as a summer associate in investment banking at UBS in 2007. During his three months at the firm, he worked on initial public offering deals in the technology, media and telecom industries. Towards the beginning of his career, he was a software engineer at Cisco Systems.
