πŸ“„ Pankaj Pandey β€” Resume
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Pankaj Pandey

AI Strategy & Delivery Leader Β· AI Governance Author Β· Hands-On AI Builder
πŸ“§ [email protected] πŸ“± 312.282.9270 πŸ“ Naperville / Chicago, IL πŸ”— linkedin.com/in/ppandey-ai-nativeleader πŸ’» github.com/pandeydumka ✍️ medium.com/@pankajpandey_66547

Professional Summary

Senior technology leader with 20+ years governing enterprise delivery across regulated financial services and insurance. Author of the Decide-Generate-Verify model β€” a 7-phase governance framework for AI-native software development in compliance-first environments β€” and the Cognitive Partner framework for human-AI thinking relationships. Both published on Medium in March 2026 and cited in active executive search briefs for senior AI delivery roles and transformation searches. Career-deep delivery experience at JPMorgan Chase, Discover Financial Services, Northern Trust, Citi, and CNA Insurance β€” combined with hands-on architecture of multi-modal AI systems integrating voice and vision with MCP-based memory persistence and tool execution orchestration across 7 production AI-native products shipped in 2026. PMP and SAFe certified. Open to senior AI strategy, delivery, transformation, and product roles β€” full-time, consulting, or fractional engagements considered.

Core Competencies

Cross-AI Review Protocols
Multi-Modal AI Architecture
Multi-Agent AI Systems
Responsible AI & Safety Guardrails
Program & Portfolio Management
Agile Delivery Leadership
Product Strategy & Roadmap
Governance & Risk Alignment
Executive & C-Suite Reporting
Cross-Functional Leadership
Cloud & Infrastructure
Change Management
Stakeholder Management
Agile Engineering & CI/CD

Published Frameworks

The Decide-Generate-Verify Model β€” A Governance Framework for AI-Native Software Development in Regulated Environments
Medium Β· March 2026 Β· 9 min read
7-phase AI-native SDLC (Conversation β†’ Decision Lock β†’ Prompt Build β†’ Verify β†’ Integrate β†’ Ship Small β†’ Loop) with three core principles, governance layer (Change Control, ADRs, Prompt Library versioning, Cross-AI Review Protocol), and compliance-first design. Built and applied during a multi-domain fintech platform construction.
medium.com/@pankajpandey_66547 β†’
It Has No Name Yet β€” Coining "Cognitive Partner" for Human–AI Thinking Relationships
Medium Β· March 2026 Β· 12 min read
Three-voice essay co-authored with Claude and ChatGPT exploring what AI-assisted thinking actually is when it works. Coins the term "Cognitive Partner" β€” the named model for the relationship that is more than tool and less than human partner.
medium.com/@pankajpandey_66547 β†’

Professional Experience

VedaLogic β€” Naperville, IL
Feb 2026 – Present
Founder Β· AI Strategy & Build Leader Β· Author of Decide-Generate-Verify & Cognitive Partner Frameworks

Founded VedaLogic as an AI automation consulting practice and product studio. Authored and published the Decide-Generate-Verify model and Cognitive Partner framework on Medium β€” both now referenced in active executive search briefs for senior AI delivery roles and transformation searches. Built and shipped 7 production AI-native products in under 4 months, demonstrating end-to-end mastery from architecture through deployment β€” including multi-modal voice + vision AI and MCP-based memory and tool orchestration.

Key Achievements β€” AI Products Shipped:
  • πŸš€ AI SmartApp Factory β€” Architected and launched a multi-agent AI software development platform with GPT as Product Owner, Claude as Architect, Claude Code as Builder. Implemented a 9-step ceremony pipeline with Playwright E2E test gates, intent-driven development, automated build & deployment, and soft-delete safety. Stack: TypeScript Β· PostgreSQL Β· Drizzle ORM Β· Multi-agent orchestration.
  • πŸ₯ NeoAssist β€” Designed and built a clinical decision support system for neonatal resuscitation with real-time state machine, checklist engine, and "Aria" multi-modal AI assistant integrating real-time voice (hands-free clinician interaction) and vision (visual clinical context analysis). Architected MCP (Model Context Protocol) layer to manage Aria's memory persistence and tool execution orchestration β€” structured access to checklists, drug calculators, and birth-anchored reminders, all governed by strict human-review safety guards (never auto-administers, never auto-escalates). Production deployment with offline queue.
  • 🩰 DanceRise β€” Shipped an all-in-one SaaS platform for competitive dance studios. Dancer management, AI dance coach, progress analytics, competition planning across 24+ companies, career portal, Stripe billing, push notifications. Stack: React 18 Β· TypeScript Β· Express Β· PostgreSQL Β· OpenAI.
  • πŸ€– VedaBots Manager β€” Built a multi-tenant AI SMS bot platform powered by Claude Haiku and Twilio. Plug-and-play for local businesses β€” first paying customer (VIM Dance Studio) onboarded with after-hours lead capture automation.
  • πŸ’Ό JobSurf β€” Founded and shipped an AI-assisted job execution platform with URL parsing, AI fit scoring, resume tailoring, and pipeline tracking. Dogfooded daily as both founder and primary user.
  • 🎨 VIM Dance Studio β€” Delivered a premium client website paired with VedaBots Manager SMS bot β€” full website + AI deployment for a real local business.
  • 🏒 VedaLogic Consulting Practice β€” Established AI automation consulting for operations-heavy businesses (landscaping, home services, professional services), with practical AI systems reducing manual work and scaling lead response without adding headcount.
Technical Foundation:
  • Architected MCP (Model Context Protocol) layer for managing agent memory persistence and structured tool execution across product suite
  • Built multi-modal AI integration (voice + vision) for clinical and operational contexts where hands-free and context-aware interaction matters
  • Implemented model-tiering strategy (Claude Haiku for cost-efficient flows, Sonnet/Opus for complex reasoning) β€” operationalizing the published DGV framework
  • Built in public β€” 11 active GitHub repositories
  • Established Definition of Done and three-lane execution model for solo-founder velocity
Discover Financial Services β€” Chicago, IL
Jun 2019 – May 2026
Manager, Program Management

Led program management discipline across cloud modernization and digital banking transformation initiatives. Owned portfolio governance for 40+ engineering teams.

  • Built CIO-level dashboards providing real-time program health visibility, risk indicators, and dependency mapping across the technology portfolio
  • Led cloud modernization governance, partnering with engineering, security, and compliance to enable safe migration to AWS / cloud-native architectures
  • Coached and managed a team of Agile Program Managers and Scrum Masters, scaling agile practices and delivery maturity across the organization
  • Drove process improvements that reduced cycle time and improved delivery predictability for senior leadership
CitiBank β€” Elk Grove Village, IL
Aug 2018 – May 2019
Agile Project Manager Β· Portfolio & Delivery Lead
  • Led portfolio intake and prioritization for global retail banking technology programs
  • Drove the transition of global delivery teams from waterfall to Lean Agile methodologies
  • Managed offshore / onshore coordination and stakeholder alignment across multiple time zones
Northern Trust β€” Chicago, IL
Jun 2017 – Jun 2018
Senior Scrum Master Β· Agile Project Manager
  • Directed Agile delivery for trading platform modernization initiatives supporting global equity and derivatives systems
  • Managed delivery for multi-million-dollar platform modernization programs involving 40+ global technology and business resources
  • Coordinated migration of legacy applications to cloud-based Java platforms
  • Implemented CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and Agile engineering practices to improve deployment reliability
CNA Insurance β€” Chicago, IL
May 2016 – May 2017
Scrum Master
  • Supported Agile adoption across enterprise technology initiatives within a $40M technology portfolio
  • Coached cross-functional Agile teams across onshore and offshore delivery models
  • Coordinated release planning and execution for enterprise database upgrades impacting 200+ applications
JPMorgan Chase β€” Chicago, IL
Jun 2011 – Feb 2016
Senior Technology Project Manager (AVP) Β· Scrum Master
  • Led Agile delivery and project management for enterprise Treasury technology platforms
  • Managed a $7M+ portfolio of application development and infrastructure initiatives
  • Built governance frameworks, delivery plans, and executive reporting dashboards for large-scale programs
  • Delivered Agile training and transformation workshops for 200+ global technology and business stakeholders
Allstate Β· State Farm Β· CCMSI Β· IDES β€” Chicago Area
Pre-2011
Progressive Program & Portfolio Leadership Roles

Progressive program and portfolio leadership across application modernization, ERP delivery (SAP, PeopleSoft), and enterprise technology transformation. Foundation of two decades in regulated industries β€” financial services, insurance, and public sector.

Technical Expertise

AI & Modern Stack: Anthropic Claude (Opus / Sonnet / Haiku) Β· OpenAI GPT-4 Β· Voice AI Β· Vision AI Β· MCP Protocol (memory persistence + tool execution) Β· Multi-Agent Orchestration Β· Cross-AI Review Β· LangChain Β· Prompt Engineering Β· Responsible AI Frameworks
Development: React Β· TypeScript Β· Node.js Β· Express Β· Vite Β· Tailwind Β· Drizzle ORM
Data & Infrastructure: PostgreSQL Β· Neon Β· Cloudflare R2 Β· Railway Β· Replit Β· GitHub Actions Β· REST APIs
Delivery & Methodology: PMP Β· SAFe Β· Certified Scrum Master (CSM) Β· Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) Β· Kanban Β· Lean
Tools: JIRA Β· Confluence Β· Azure DevOps Β· ServiceNow Β· Tableau Β· Microsoft Project Β· Smartsheet

Certifications

PMP β€” Project Management Professional (PMI)
SAFe Agilist β€” Scaled Agile Framework
CSM / A-CSM β€” Certified ScrumMaster / Advanced Certified ScrumMaster

Education

Bachelor of Engineering, Electrical Engineering
National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela Β· Orissa, India Β· 1998