Amir Banifatemi is the Chief Responsible AI Officer at Cognizant, where he leads the company’s global Responsible AI strategy and governance across enterprise AI systems and platforms, while contributing to the development of broader AI governance practices and standards that shape how AI is deployed at scale across industries.

Prior to Cognizant, Amir was Chief Innovation and Growth Officer at XPRIZE, where he designed and launched large-scale global competitions addressing challenges in artificial intelligence, climate resilience, and human health. He has played a formative role in advancing AI for Good initiatives, including co-founding AI Commons and contributing to the establishment of the AI for Good Global Summit.

Amir works across business, technology, and policy to align AI development and deployment with international standards and regulatory frameworks, including ISO/IEC 42001 and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, while contributing to global AI policy and standards initiatives through organizations such as the OECD, Global Partnership on AI, IEEE, and the International Telecommunication Union. His work focuses on enabling large-scale AI adoption while managing systemic, operational, and societal risk.

He has over 25 years of experience spanning advanced R&D, venture innovation, and policy strategy, and has worked with public institutions, multinational companies, and deep-technology startups. Amir serves on boards of private and nonprofit organizations and teaches as a guest lecturer and adjunct professor at leading universities.