BEN Appoints Rick Howard as Chief Information and Data Officer

Rounding Out Recent Hiring of Management Team

JACKSON, Wyo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Brand Engagement Network (“BEN”), an emerging provider of personalized customer engagement AI, today announced the appointment of Rick Howard as Chief Information and Data Officer (“CIDO”). Mr. Howard’s appointment rounds out the recent hiring of our management team, including Michael Zacharski as Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), Paul Chang as Global President and Bill Williams as Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), to provide fulsome service and expertise to our customers.

Mr. Howard brings a longstanding track record of successfully helping businesses in the healthcare space develop and implement their technology strategy – launching many key initiatives related to data analytics, data security, intelligent automation, and cost control to support executive clinical, operational, and financial decisions. Collectively, BEN’s management team brings over 25 years of experience in technology and financial market leadership. Mr. Zacharski has held multiple long-tenured C-Suite roles, and has founded and operated multiple start-up businesses across the advertising, media, entertainment, and music industries. Mr. Chang’s background similarly includes deep experience with startups, as well as nearly two decades at IBM in a variety of global management roles. Mr. Williams was most recently Chief Financial and Sustainability Officer at American Tire Distributors, and has held similar titles at a variety of companies, providing leadership across finance, operations, legal, technology, analytics and ESG.

Rick Howard, CIDO of BEN, said:

“There’s a clear market opportunity and value point for BEN’s technology in the healthcare segment and we’re already starting to see some nice traction there. I’m excited to join the team and bring my knowledge of the healthcare space and tap into my deep technical and strategic leadership to help continue to push the innovation envelope for the company moving forward.”

Michael Zacharski, CEO of BEN, said:

“Rick joins our team at a critical moment in our growth and we’re looking forward to tapping his industry and technical expertise to continue to build out our vision. BEN’s Al consumer interfaces bring a deeper level of comprehension, empathy, and understanding to human-machine interactions and pave a new way forward for businesses to leverage AI. I look forward to working with our leadership team, partners, and stakeholders to continue driving innovation and growth in our sector.”

About BEN

BEN is a leading provider of conversational AI technology and human-like AI avatars headquartered in Jackson, WY. BEN delivers highly personalized, multi-modal (text, voice, and vision) AI engagement, with a focus on industries where there is a massive workforce gap and an opportunity to transform how consumers engage with networks, providers, and brands. The backbone of BEN’s success is a rich portfolio of conversational AI applications that drive better customer experience, increased automation, and operational efficiencies. Powered by a large language model developed based on years of research and development from leading experts in AI and advanced security methodologies, BEN seeks to partner with companies with complementary capabilities and networks to enable meaningful business outcomes.

For more information about BEN, please visit: https://beninc.ai/