Even the best tech fails without human alignment and strategic clarity. That’s my lane.

What I focus on
Turning AI theory into tangible business results
Ethical, human-first AI strategies
Scalable AI systems that deliver lasting value
Generative AI that enhances creativity and decisions

What I’m passionate about
Leading AI transformations at enterprise scale
Building systems that respect human values
Aligning innovation with long term business goals

Curious about how human + AI  can redefine your business? Let’s connect.

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in my posts on this platform are entirely my own and should not be attributed to, nor do they represent, the official stance, strategies, or opinions of my employer or any other organization I am affiliated with. All content is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as official communication on behalf of my employer.

Sai Yashwant

MathCo

Associate Principal

Velocity

My focus at Velocity has been on harnessing our data for data-driven insights, innovative automation and cross-team collaboration across the customer lifecycle. 

I have led a 6 member team to deliver:

• Automated UW for approximately 40% of applications for our Revenue based Financing (RBF) as well as Business Cards products.

• Collaborated with Operations and Collections teams, resulting in a 2X reduction in initial delinquency rates

• Collaborated with the Product team to achieve 3X user growth in Velocity Insights, India's largest analytics solution for D2C brands.

• Led the Data Engineering team to develop consolidated tables by source which led to significant efficiencies in terms of developer productivity, query times and cost reduction of approximately 50%.

Director, Data Analytics

Citi

My tenure at Citigroup, across the US and India, developed my ability to drive data-led decision making, automate complex forecasting processes, and optimize marketing campaigns at a high-profile financial services organization.

I spearheaded transformative initiatives at Citi, automating forecasting processes, achieving substantial accuracy gains, and optimizing marketing campaigns, resulting in multimillion-dollar impacts.

Enhancing Strategic Planning process for Citi's Branded Cards portfolio

• Led the end-to-end automated forecasting of ~450 credit card P&L drivers, reducing resource requirements by 80% and enhancing accuracy by 30%. 

• Produced 6000+ granular, segment-level forecasts, offering profound insights into the portfolio's status and the ramifications of strategic choices and macroeconomic factors. 

• Ensured the production implementation of the chosen models, and their approval from the Model Risk Management and Fair Lending teams.

Optimizing Marketing Campaigns for Citi's US Retail Bank

• Headed a 3-member team across US and India to optimize balance retention campaigns.

• Drove a balance save of USD 25M and an incremental revenue impact of USD 500K annually by identifying customers at highest risk of attrition using XGBoost models.

Senior Vice President, Strategic Analytics

I led crucial analytics efforts in the Citi Best Buy partnership, leveraging data-driven insights to drive tens of millions in incremental sales, and implementing innovative strategies to enhance cardholder spend both in and outside Best Buy while ensuring strict adherence to all regulatory and risk management requirements.

Drove $55 million in incremental sales through:

• Creating an internal segmentation for Citi customers, revealing distinct spend behavior within Best Buy.
Collaborated with cross-functional teams within Citi and Best Buy to ensure buy-in.

• Ensured model risk and fair lending approval.

• Executed successful marketing campaigns based on segmentation and identified the preferred offer for each segment.

Boosting Cardholder Spend Beyond Best Buy (~ $70-80 MM in annual incremental   spends) 

• Engineered Merchant Recommendation Engine and customer segmentations based on spend inside and outside Best Buy

• Enhanced spend for Citi Best Buy cardholders outside Best Buy through identifying appropriate offers

• Ensured model risk management and fair lending approvals over a 3 year period

Vice President, Decision Management

• Implemented Next Best Offer solution for Citi's Retail banking customers  across APAC and Latin America using Latent Markov Models (20+ million customers)

• Designed, developed and implemented Merchant Recommendation Engine across Citi's APAC credit cards businesses. 

• Travelled to Taipei to implement this and design marketing campaigns based on Merchant Recommendation Engines (2 million customers in Taiwan alone)

• Developed and conducted learning sessions for Citi's analysts on R programming, Latent Markov Models and Next Best Offer, as well as basics of Hadoop.

Data Scientist. Citigroup GDM

Photon Capital Group

Associate, Quantitative Research and Trading

ICFAI University Group

Consultant, Technology

JayPee Capital services Ltd.

Quantitative Analyst and Trader

Brics Securities

Intern, Quantitative Strategies Group

Over a 10+ year period, I have led strategic analytics efforts at a 200 year old global bank with multi-million dollar marketing campaigns and a 2 year old India-focused fintech automating a significant proportion of underwriting decisions. I'm a results-oriented data science and strategy professional with over a decade of experience in the financial industry, both at Citi, the world’s most global bank, and Velocity, an India focused fintech. 

Currently serving as the Director of Data Analytics at Velocity, a fintech firm in Bangalore, India, I lead a dynamic team focused on transforming data into actionable insights. My team drives growth and efficiency across the entire customer lifecycle from targeting prospective customers at appropriate times, automating underwriting and enhancing the collections process through early warning signals.

In 8+ years at Citigroup, spanning both the US and India locations, I contributed to strategic planning for multimillion-dollar portfolios. I automated complex forecasting processes for Citi’s Branded Cards portfolio ($75B in balances), optimized marketing campaigns for a portfolio with 10 million+ customers, and delivered substantial revenue impacts through personalization (recommender systems) and enhanced targeting (next best offer) across Citi’s consumer banking businesses globally.

With a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, I blend analytical rigor with strategic thinking to drive data-driven success.

I love leveraging data and analytics to solve complex business challenges and am excited about the world of possibilities Generative AI will open up. Let’s connect and explore opportunities for learning and collaboration.

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The Battle

Sai Yashwant

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