Membership ID: SAS/SEFM/698/2026
Balakumaran Sugumar is an Independent Researcher and Applied AI Principal Engineer with over 16 years of experience designing secure, scalable, and cloud-native financial systems. His work spans data tokenization, payment security, event-driven architectures, and real-time AI/ML solutions and transaction intelligence. He is an IEEE Senior Member and an invited speaker and session chair at international conferences. Balakumaran has authored multiple peer-reviewed and industry publications and actively contributes to global technical communities through research, reviewing, and mentorship. His professional focus is on building trustworthy, intelligent payment platforms at enterprise scale.
Membership ID: SAS/SEFM/697/2026
Velu Kaliappan is a distinguished technology consulting leader at Ernst & Young (Big 4) in Boston (USA), specializing in automation architecture, digital transformation, and enterprise modernization. With 15+ years of experience across insurance, banking, healthcare, and utilities, he delivers high‑impact automation frameworks powered by AI, cloud engineering, and advanced analytics. His work includes securing healthcare cloud environments, driving multimillion‑dollar transformation programs, and developing high‑ROI accelerators that enhance speed, quality, and operational efficiency for Fortune 100, 500 clients. He holds a Master’s in Computer Applications and a Bachelor’s in Computer Science, bridging academic research with industry‑driven engineering.
He is also an active researcher with contributions in digital health data safeguards, privacy architecture, literary AI, digital persona generation, and adaptive predictive analytics. His research includes pioneering PHI‑protection models for U.S. healthcare systems, creating Innovative cloud‑based Python automation filtering algorithms, and advancing next‑generation medical informatics. His scholarly footprint reflects a meaningful impact on data privacy, AI evolution, and applied machine learning.
His professional recognition includes serving as a Keynote Speaker and Paper Reviewer at the International Conference on Trends in Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, and Digital Governance. His expertise is strengthened by certifications in AWS, Snowflake, Data Science, and AI Engineering. He is known for combining deep theoretical knowledge with transformative real‑world application, positioning himself as a respected leader in both engineering innovation and technology consulting.
Membership ID: SAS/SEFM/696/2026
Membership ID: SAS/SEFM/695/2026
Chetan Yeddula is an Engineering Manager at Cisco Systems, specializing in large-scale cloud security, AI-driven automation, and distributed systems. He leads foundational initiatives for Cisco’s Secure Access (SSE/SASE) platform, including policy architecture, multi-organization enablement, and intelligent security enforcement. His work integrates artificial intelligence with cybersecurity to improve reliability and scalability at global scale. Chetan is an IEEE peer reviewer (ORCID: 0009-0007-4246-0434), a hackathon judge, and a published DZone author. He is a recipient of the prestigious TITAN Award for engineering leadership and innovation.