Before becoming chief data and analytics officer at Vanguard, a leading global asset management firm, Ryan Swann was just one half of a twin duo who loved math and science.
Ryan has been in the data network space for over 20 years and has found that the field constantly fuels his love of math, computer science, and communication. Fresh out of undergrad, he worked at the U.S. Department of Treasury for a decade, both before and during the financial crisis of 2008, which he said was life-altering for his career.
“You learn a lot when things are both important and urgent,” Ryan said in an interview with AFROTECH™. “A lot of times, things are important, but people don’t feel like they’re urgent. I happened to be there when something was important and urgent.”
He used this experience to absorb as much as he could about finance and the economy before furthering his education. He received his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his MPA from Harvard University. It wasn’t long before Ryan got the phone call that changed his life forever.
“I got a phone call from the Oval Office, and President Obama said, ‘Hey, I heard you were the data guy at treasury. We want to [start] this thing called the White House Data Cabinet; it’s never been done before. We don’t know what it’s going to do, but will you come and help us do it?’” Ryan recalled.
“So I left treasury and went to help stand up the first White House Data Cabinet,” he continued. “We literally wrote the legislation that created chief data officers in the federal government, and did a whole bunch of other stuff. It’s still in use in government today.”
As he prepares to attend the 2024 AFROTECH™ Conference alongside his twin brother, Bryan Swann, head of Enterprise Data Risk at Capital One, Ryan says their discussion will focus on the offense and defense of artificial intelligence (AI).
“A lot of times, organizations come to AI and data from an offensive perspective. ‘Hey, I want to create more value. I want to leverage data, to do better marking and better segmentation. To get my product to the right people to sell more, grow more, etc.’ That’s the offensive side. Then, sometimes, people come in from a defensive side. Like, ‘Hey, I want to use analytics to prevent fraud or anti-money laundering;’ or from a risk and compliance perspective, if you’re in a regulated industry like finance.”
The White House Data Cabinet founding member went on to detail that the message in their talk is that it’s not just one or the other, but both. “You have to be able to play offense and defense at the same time. And so what does that mean? That means that, yes, you should find ways to leverage data to be more objective to help your clients create value, but you have to do so in a responsible way, by leveraging things like privacy by design and really thinking about the risk associated and how you can solve them at scale.”
With AI being discussed across the globe, specifically raising eyebrows within the U.S., Ryan offers a unique perspective on how the technology can enhance the lives of others if used with integrity.
“I think it will change businesses. I think it’ll change how we do education,” he explained. “I think it’ll change how we develop drugs. It’s already changed how we develop drugs — COVID proved that. There are risks associated [with] it, right? It’s not perfect, and so we have to build methods that work at scale that allow us to reduce those risks, and until then, the most risky uses like medicine, healthcare, or finance. Our regulators will expect us to hold the bar in risk and find ways to mitigate the risk.” He pointed out that they achieve this by maintaining human oversight throughout the process. “It’s not the AI that’s actually providing advice to my mom, it’s an advisor that’s leveraging AI,” Ryan said. “That allows us to scale.”
When it’s all said and done, the Wharton alum simply wants to continue serving others through his everyday work.
“At heart, I’m a public servant,” he said. “I served in the Marine Corps, toured Iraq, served in the government, [and] had an opportunity to serve in the Obama Administration… One of the reasons why I came to Vanguard was because it’s by the people, for the people. That is a huge part of my why, and I want to make a difference, for not just the wealthy but the underserved population.”
About his motivation for his work at the company, Ryan explained, “Vanguard’s 50 million clients, and the 9.8 trillion that we have under management, touches blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, the ultra-wealthy, the school teacher that’s just trying to make ends meet, but has Vanguard in her 401K or her pension fund, right? And they’re relying on us in order to deliver so they can be successful in retirement. That is why we do it. That’s why I do it.”
Along with the Swann brothers, other tech leaders from various walks of life will hit the Main and Executive stages to chat about everything from the future of digital transformation technology like VR/AR and artificial intelligence to content creation, the business of the music industry, and more.
Beyond the panels and discussions, attendees have networking opportunities and concerts to look forward to and the chance to access exclusive lounges, curated receptions (based on ticket type), and more.
The 2024 AFROTECH™ Conference will be held Nov. 13-16 in Houston, TX. The Main and Executive stages will return, but attendees also have new stages and experiences to look forward to this year.
