Jay Budzik is Senior Vice President, Director, AI/ML Model Development and Operations at Fifth Third Bank. Prior to Fifth Third, Jay was CTO at Zest AI, where he led the data science, engineering and product management teams that pioneered the use of AI in consumer loan underwriting, serving clients such as Freddie Mac, Citibank, Truist, Discover, and over 100 regional banks and credit unions. Jay led the development of the first AI de-biasing methods used in lending. These and other methods yield significant increases in equity for protected groups that have been needlessly held back by traditional credit scores. Prior to Zest AI, Jay founded several successful AI companies. Jay holds over 40 patents in applied AI, earned a Ph. D. in Computer Science from Northwestern University, and holds a B. S. in Computer Science with honors from The University of Chicago.