H.E. Faisal Al Bannai was recently named one of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence (Al) by TIME magazine. Under H.E. Faisal Al Bannai's leadership, ATRC has driven transformative advancements in Al, particularly through the development of the Falcon LLM series by the Technology Innovation Institute (TII). He launched ai71 in 2023 to bring the power of open source LLM models to the world through transformative Al-powered enterprise solutions.
H.E. Faisal Al Bannai was recently named one of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence (AI) by TIME magazine. Under H.E. Faisal Al Bannai’s leadership, ATRC has driven transformative advancements in AI, particularly through the development of the Falcon LLM series by the Technology Innovation Institute (TII).He launched AI71 in 2023 to bring the power of open source LLM models such as Falcon to the world through transformative AI-powered enterprise solutions.
Dr. Mahir Nayfeh brings over 30 years of experience in technology and engineering, specializing in advanced AI and digital solutions. Previously, he was a Partner at QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, advising clients on AI implementation, and a Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland and several patents.
H.E. Faisal Al Bannai was recently named one of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence (AI) by TIME magazine. Under H.E. Faisal Al Bannai’s leadership, ATRC has driven transformative advancements in AI, particularly through the development of the Falcon LLM series by the Technology Innovation Institute (TII).He launched AI71 in 2023 to bring the power of open source LLM models such as Falcon to the world through transformative AI-powered enterprise solutions.
Mehdi is CPTO at ai71 where he leads the product and engineering team applying research into products and services that bring the benefits of AI to enterprises. He joined ai71 in 2024. Before that, he was Director and Head of Product at DeepMind and Google Brain. Mehdi holds a M.S. in Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique, a M.S. in International Affairs from Sciences-Po Paris and an MBA from Columbia University.
Brian Leke brings over 20 years of experience designing and delivering large-scale engineering solutions for clients across Europe, Africa, and Australia. Before joining AI71, he served as a Distinguished Engineer at McKinsey & Company, and previously led technology teams at ThoughtWorks. Earlier in his career, he held senior engineering leadership roles at several major banks in South Africa. Brian holds a PhD in Engineering, specializing in Computational Intelligence and AI.
Joel Wilson brings over 10 years of experience in delivering AI programs and solutions across diverse industries, including public finance, tax & customs, retail banking, and heavy industrials. Previously, Joel was Principal Data Scientist at QuantumBlack, McKinsey, where he led the development and delivery of AI transformation programs. Prior to that, he worked with EXL Analytics to develop ML models for the insurance sector on auto claims & risk.
Diana Zinchenko has over 13 years of experience across AI, product development, strategy, private equity, and investment banking. At Google and DeepMind, she led AI initiatives in health, climate, and digital identity, and helped integrate Fitbit into Google. She also translated AI research into real-world applications at DeepMind. Earlier, she worked in sustainable infrastructure at Denham Capital and M&A at Deutsche Bank. Diana holds an MBA from Harvard (Fulbright Scholar) and a Math & Economics degree from Cambridge.
Yacine Zerkdi leads Strategy, Operations & Partnerships at AI71, driving tech initiatives and partnerships. Born and raised in Morocco, he proudly embraces his Berber heritage. Previously, he led Android's Priority Partnerships at Google MENA, building alliances with major telecom players and advancing AI projects. He also worked in TMT consulting at Monitor Deloitte across France and Francophone Africa. Yacine holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was President of the Africa Business Club, as well as dual MSc degrees from ESSEC/Telecom ParisTech and an MSc. Eng. from Institut Mines-Telecom.
Lucinda Johansson is a product manager, bringing over 8 years of experience in the field of artificial intelligence. She began her career in Silicon Valley, building an Al startup that won the NVIDIA Artificial Intelligence Retail Prize. She has since founded two additional Al startups in search and healthcare. Prior to that, she worked on Al strategies for TMT clients at Accenture, focusing primarily on software clients. She holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration with a major in Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
Moulay Alaoui leads marketing and go-to-market strategies, with 15 years of experience across digital innovation, IT transformation, and management consulting. He has deep expertise in product, marketing and sales. At Meta, he led go-to-market strategies for a range of products, including AI and video solutions. He holds a Master of Science in Operations Research from Columbia University in the US and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Ecole des Mines in France.
Anushe Sheikh leads product development for enterprise GenAI solutions utilizing open-source LLMs. Previously, she was a PM on Google’s Responsible AI team, leading the development of tools to improve the safety and fairness of GenAI products and Gemini models. Additionally, she worked on the YouTube Living Room team, launching several features across Search & Discovery. She is an alumna of Google’s Associate Product Management (APM) program, and holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Wellesley College.
