Prudential Financial, Inc. said Wednesday that it joined the Industry Advisory Board of the Center for Research toward Advancing Financial Technologies (CRAFT) at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken.
Prudential will partner with research universities, including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Connecticut, to address the opportunities and challenges in financial technology. Initial research will focus on insurance technology, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence.
Prudential will be represented on the center’s board by Ian Mehok, vice president of strategy for the company’s global retirement and insurance businesses.
CRAFT is an industry-university cooperative research organization, with an industry board that includes Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Charles Schwab, CME, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Park Avenue Finance, Vanguard Group, and Wells Fargo. It is funded by the National Science Foundation.
“We continuously innovate financial technology to create the next generation of financial solutions to help people live better lives, longer,” said Bob Bastian, chief information and technology officer for global retirement and insurance businesses at Prudential.
“Our partnership with CRAFT demonstrates our ongoing commitment to research and innovation through connecting the financial services industry to leading colleges and universities.”
Nariman Farvardin, president of Stevens, said Prudential will bring significant contributions to the industry board. “This partnership strengthens our academic-industry collaboration in financial technologies, particularly in emerging areas like quantum computing and AI. Prudential’s expertise will create valuable opportunities for our students and faculty while advancing innovation in the fintech ecosystem,” he said.
