Dr. Agus Sudjianto is SVP of Risk & Technology at H2O.ai and a leading expert in machine learning, model risk, and interpretable AI. His research focuses on making complex AI systems understandable, testable, and safe for regulated industries. He previously served as EVP and Head of Corporate Model Risk at Wells Fargo, with earlier leadership roles at Lloyds Banking Group and Bank of America. Agus holds a PhD in Engineering from Wayne State University and a master’s degree from MIT, and is an author, inventor, and advisor to AI companies, financial institutions, and universities.
The 2026 H2O AI 100
The top AI leaders driving real-world impact.
Foreword
The technology moves fast. People still decide what gets built.
We started the H2O AI 100 in 2024 to recognize the people making an impact with AI.
This is our third year. People choose which problems are worth solving and how far the science goes. They decide whether the result is useful, responsible, and open to everyone.
The 2026 H2O AI 100 recognizes those people. Executives putting AI to work inside some of the world’s most complex organizations. Researchers pushing the field past what it could do a year ago. Founders building the next generation of AI companies. People using AI to improve lives in their communities and beyond.
They work in different industries, disciplines, and countries. What connects them is that their work shapes how AI is used, built, and understood.
Here is who they are and what they’re building.
— The H2O AI team
Featured winners
Enterprise Innovators
Founders
AI for Good / Research
Our Top 100
Anima AnandkumarBren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Caltech; Co-Founder, Accelerated UnderstandingCaltech / Accelerated UnderstandingFounders
Atur DesaiDeputy Superintendent for Innovation PolicyNew York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)Public Sector
Boon Leong TanVP / Head, AI Centre of Excellence, Digital SystemsST EngineeringEnterprise Innovators
Brian PayneGlobal Managing Director, Human + AI Activation, Enterprise & Finance ReinventionAccentureEnterprise Innovators
David WuManaging Director - Firmwide AI Head of Product & Architecture StrategyMorgan StanleyEnterprise Innovators
Deepti PanditaChief Medical Informatics & AI Officer; VP Clinical InformaticsUCI HealthEnterprise Innovators
Demis HassabisChair, Google DeepMind; Chief Scientist, Alphabet; Founder & CEO, Isomorphic LabsAlphabet / Google DeepMindFounders
Dr. Athina KaniouraCEO, Latin America, and Global Chief Strategy & Transformation OfficerPepsiCoEnterprise Innovators
Elon MuskFounder, CEO & Chairman, SpaceXSpaceX / SpaceXAIFounders
Ho Hern ShinDeputy Managing DirectorMonetary Authority of SingaporePublic Sector
Kristin MyersEVP - Chief Digital Officer (CDO) - Head of TechnologyNorthwell HealthEnterprise Innovators
Melvin XavierAssistant Vice President, Head of Business AI SolutionsPSA InternationalEnterprise Innovators
Michael BaumannExecutive General Manager, Customer, Digital and AI, Retail Banking ServicesCommonwealth Bank of AustraliaEnterprise Innovators
Mojgan AhmadiManaging Director, CIB Data and Analytics (Engineering)Wells FargoEnterprise Innovators
Priya DontiAssistant Professor, Co-founder and Chair, Climate Change AIMIT EECSAI for Good / Research
Richard NesbittExecutive General Manager AI & Data ScienceCommonwealth Bank of AustraliaEnterprise Innovators
Saul Van BeurdenCo-CEO Consumer Bank & Lending and Head of Artificial IntelligenceWells FargoEnterprise Innovators
Sonal SuranaGeneral Manager, AI & Advanced Analytics Commonwealth Bank of AustraliaEnterprise Innovators
Sudipto DasguptaGlobal Head of Data & AI Platforms and Enterprise ArchitectureAonEnterprise Innovators
Valerie SzczepanikChief AI OfficerUS Securities and Exchange CommissionPublic Sector
Vipin KumarRegents Professor; AI, Data Science & HPC Member, UN Independent International Scientific Panel on AIUniversity of MinnesotaAI for Good / Research
Vukosi MarivateDirector, AfriDSAI; ABSA UP Chair of Data Science; University of PretoriaUniversity of PretoriaAI for Good / Research
Yang ZhilinCo-founder & CEOMoonshot AI (Kimi)Founders
Judges
Alexandra has spent the last 25 years ranking and quantifying complex societal and political forces. She started her career at Moody’s, then Morgan Stanley, later became CEO of ARC Ratings and then Director of the Prosperity Index. Most recently, Alexandra was a Founding Partner at Tortoise Media, where she ran Tortoise Intelligence, the Index and data business. Here, she was the architect of the groundbreaking Global AI Index, the first benchmark to track the strength of national AI ecosystems. She holds a degree in economics, mathematics and game theory from the University of Copenhagen.
Loren Bushkar is a Senior AI Policy Advisor and data scientist who designs AI governance frameworks that balance responsible innovation with robust oversight. She previously served as Principal, AI Policy at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, where she led AI and data policy initiatives and received the Federal Reserve’s highest honors. Earlier, she held senior roles at the Institute of International Finance and at J.P. Morgan. Loren holds an M.S. in Data Science, a B.S. in Systems Engineering and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia.
Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf is a Professor at the Ohio State University and Director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute. A pioneer in AI for ecology, biodiversity, and conservation, she co-created Wildbook, recognized by UNESCO for advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She serves on bodies including the US National Academies Board on Life Sciences and The Nature Conservancy, and is an elected Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).