First National Bank, the largest subsidiary of F.N.B., hired Santosh Sinha, director of AI and innovation, and Sundeep Tangirala, director of data science. Sinha and Tangirala report to Chris Chan, chief strategy officer.
“Innovation and digital technology are significant drivers of FNB’s growth and superior client experience,” Vincent J. Delie, Jr., chairman, president and CEO of F.N.B. and First National Bank, said. “Our latest hires bring highly specialized expertise to expand the powerful ways that AI, data science and quantitative modeling inform our strategic planning and service delivery.”
Sinha, an accomplished AI thought leader, is responsible for developing and executing the company’s AI strategy with a focus on ethical and compliant practices. Additionally, he will identify high-value opportunities for innovation and foster cross-functional collaboration to deliver transformative solutions. In addition to his 10 years of financial services industry experience, his diverse background includes roles as a cofounder of a technology startup and as an AI researcher for the U.S. government.
Sinha received his bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from Patna University (India), his master of business administration in strategic leadership from Dallas University, and his doctor of philosophy in data science/artificial intelligence and business analytics from Capitol Technology University. He is active in his field and serves as an advisory board member for the Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge Engineering.
Tangirala oversees the performance of FNB’s strategic decisioning systems and the development and maintenance of regulatory and forecasting models. He leads a team of data scientists and quantitative modeling analysts who identify new insights and opportunities to drive revenue, efficiency and process improvements for retail and wholesale banking, marketing, credit, risk management and other internal departments. Previously serving as senior vice president and head of data and machine learning engineering at PNC Bank, Tangirala’s more than two decades of technology experience include nearly 15 years in the financial services industry.
Active in his community, Tangirala serves on the master of science in quantitative economics advisory board for the University of Pittsburgh’s Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. He received his bachelor of engineering in computer science from Anna University (India) and his master of science in business IT from Middlesex University (UK), in addition to his Machine Learning Certificate from Cornell University.
