Shyna Mistry Punjani

I began my professional journey in technology in 2001 and banking in 2003, when I joined Bank of America Corporate as a contractor in a technical writer role. As a new immigrant, I knew I was overqualified but wanted to get into the space, and I leveraged that opportunity to demonstrate my project management capabilities. Within six months, I transitioned to a full-time position and grew through the ranks, working on very strategic projects as a project manager and program manager. I focused on innovative sourcing models, whether offshore, onshore, or nearshore, and was instrumental in developing a domestic delivery center program that saved the bank upwards of $700 million. I had the privilege of proposing this program directly to the consumer banking CIO and later sat across the table from the Federal Reserve Board to address audit findings, which we successfully remediated. Beyond my corporate banking career, I served on the board of an award-winning credit union in Georgia, starting as one of the directors in the outreach portfolio and ultimately retiring as the first female chairperson of the board in the credit union's history. Today, I manage multiple businesses and a consulting practice where I provide insightful commentary on board of directors operations, structure, AI risk and governance, succession planning, and onboarding. I also manage a real estate portfolio handling transactions, showings, and identifying new opportunities, along with consulting businesses in managed services and regulated gaming. My work is asynchronous, operating on an entrepreneurial schedule from midnight to midnight rather than a traditional 9-to-5. I'm passionate about becoming a voice of authority in the directorial space and making AI accessible to women, helping them gain confidence that they don't need to be extra technical to leverage AI and overcome barriers that have prevented them from moving forward.