Ayasdi Appoints Robert Griffin as Chief Executive Officer

MENLO PARK, Calif., March 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ayasdi, a leader in machine intelligence software and pioneer in enterprise-class intelligent applications, today announced the appointment of Robert Griffin to the position of chief executive officer. Formerly the general manager of IBM's Safer Planet and Smarter Cities division, he succeeds co-founder and former-CEO Gurjeet Singh who will serve as executive chairman of the board of directors.

Griffin joins Ayasdi after 35 years of being a founder and holding CEO positions at technology and software companies. Most recently, he served as the GM of IBM's Safer Planet and Smarter Cities division, which develops solutions to help government and commercial business leaders detect, disrupt and prevent physical and cyber threats and create new cognitive approaches to long-standing urban challenges. Griffin joined IBM through the acquisition of i2, a developer of visual intelligence and investigative analysis of military intelligence, law enforcement and commercial agencies, where he was the president and CEO. Prior to i2, he was a co-founder, president and CEO of Knowledge Computing Corporation (KCC), a premier provider of crime-fighting solutions that merged with i2.

"Bob joins Ayasdi at an extraordinary time in our growth," said Gurjeet Singh, co-founder and executive chairman of the board at Ayasdi. "When we thought about the attributes we wanted in this leader, it was paramount to have in-depth experience scaling a global analytics business across multiple verticals. We also wanted someone who shared our vision for how artificial intelligence will transform the enterprise. Bob is an amazing executive on all these dimensions."

Ayasdi designs, develops and deploys enterprise-grade, intelligent applications for financial services, healthcare and the public sector. Its unique approach to the practical application of artificial intelligence has won the company recognition as a technology pioneer from the World Economic Forum and from Fast Company as one of the world's Most Innovative Companies. 

"I have known Bob for almost a decade and I am delighted that he chose to join Ayasdi at such an exciting time in the company's development," said Karen Richardson, board member at Ayasdi. "He is a proven company builder and a principled leader with a deep understanding of how to apply advanced analytics to solve real-world business problems."

Griffin is a member of the Board of Directors for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), and he serves on the National Advisory Board for InfraGard (a public-private non-profit partnership between U.S. businesses and the FBI). He is a former member of the White House Task Force to prevent the trafficking of minors on the Internet. Griffin studied Business Management at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire. He is a distinguished alumnus of the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security's Executive Leadership Program in Monterey, Calif., and a graduate of the NASDAQ Mindshare Entrepreneur program in Washington, D.C.

"Ayasdi has pioneered the field of enterprise-grade AI and I am humbled that the founders and board would ask me to lead the company through this exceptional period of growth," said Griffin. "I am particularly excited to partner with Gurjeet and the rest of the leadership team to build upon our successes and to fulfill the vision for applying AI to some of the world's most pressing challenges across healthcare, financial services and the public sector."

As the leader in enterprise-grade AI, Ayasdi's business has grown significantly over the past twelve months with sales increasing more than 200 percent, average contract renewal growing by 20 percent and customer count growing in excess of 20 percent. Driving that growth are the world's largest financial institutions, one of the world's largest retailers, two of the four largest health insurers and many of the largest hospital systems in the United States.

About Ayasdi

Ayasdi is on a mission to extract value from the world's data through the creation and deployment of enterprise-class artificial intelligence.  Developed by Stanford computational mathematicians, Ayasdi's unique approach combines machine learning, abundant compute and user-centric design to create intelligent applications that fundamentally change how organizations tackle their most complex challenges. 

Based in Menlo Park, CA, Ayasdi is backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, IVP, Khosla, CenterView Partners, Draper Nexus, Citi Ventures, GE Ventures and Floodgate Capital.

For more information, visit: www.ayasdi.com.

Ayasdi Contact:
Carol Kimura
VP, Corporate Marketing
408 833 4379
[email protected]

SOURCE Ayasdi

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