IBIT News

Karthik Sridharan knows how much a college student can benefit by working on real-world business problems. He still recalls the knowledge and experience he gained in his senior year project at Temple University, as he pursued dual degrees in business administration and management information systems.

He worked with students from the science and medicine programs to build a database-driven solution for Temple University Hospital to safely track and dispose of radioactive chemotherapeutic waste.

“At that time, the hospital did not have the systems or technology. It didn’t exist yet. We wrote the code, and they used it for a few decades.”

His subsequent career in banking—which includes roles at Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America—was fueled in part by that practical learning. He joined the IBIT Advisory Board to ensure Temple students continue to have such opportunities.

“I have a passion for not just technology, but also for Temple, and seeing the university continue to advance and grow and create and shape young minds.”

In particular, he wanted students to be able to tackle “challenges with financial literacy and banking in the modern era,” he says. He committed Fulton Bank to an IBIT industry partnership with the goal to benefit the university and the company, which he joined in 2023. Fulton Bank acquired assets of Republic First Bank in 2024, nearly doubling its presence in greater Philadelphia and southern New Jersey.

“We are a financial institution that cares a lot about our community. We use technology to change our customers’ lives for the better and be their trusted advisors, and it’s a great time for technology and banking to really flourish. As an IBIT partner, we can gain insights and potential talent from Temple. The sky is truly the limit.”

Over his four decades in technology, Frank Fawzi has seen multiple waves of innovation. However, witnessing recent advances in AI and the resulting opportunity for business growth, he says, “I’ve never seen anything this large and this rapid.”

At IntelePeer, a leader in the communications automation platform (CAP) market, he is tapping into that opportunity. IntelePeer has 2,500 customers in industries ranging from healthcare and financial services to education and retail. The goal: optimize their customer interactions by voice, text, and more.

We jumped on generative AI in late 2022, and we’ve developed a whole set of capabilities our customers can use to improve automation and self-service rates.

They created their AI Hub and Data Hub, which has enabled IntelePeer clients to reach 85% self-service rates—meaning their customers can resolve their issues without needing a live agent. “Just 24 months ago the best we or anyone else was able to do was maybe 30%, 35%,” Fawzi says.

Appreciating that his passion for “creating great products that improve business outcomes” aligns well with IBIT, he joined the IBIT Advisory Board in 2024.

I’ve always believed that technology has to serve a purpose, and IBIT has a mandate to serve a combination of business, technology, and students and learning all in one.

In addition to Fawzi’s board service, IntelePeer is an IBIT industry partner. Their first project for Temple faculty and students involves IntelePeer and one of its healthcare customers. The business challenge is aimed at using AI to improve the quality and efficiency of the customer’s patient communications. Tens of thousands of patients could benefit, and Fawzi values the chance for real-world impact. 

We have a collaborative triangle to explore how our technology and IBIT’s smart people can lead to value for the patient population and our customer,” Fawzi says. “I can see a lot more projects like this in our future.