Jucheng (Jim) Zhao

Jim Zhao brings over two decades of experience at the intersection of quantitative risk management, financial regulation, and AI governance. He has held model risk management and governance roles at five of the largest U.S. financial institutions, including Fannie Mae, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Charles Schwab, and U.S. Bank, giving him direct, inside-the-institution experience with the examination processes, regulatory expectations, and operational realities that shape effective AI governance.

Jim holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of California, Davis, is a Chartered Financial Analyst, and is a certified AI Governance Professional (AIGP) through the International Association of Privacy Professionals. He completed the Program for Leadership Development at Harvard Business School.

His practice is built on a simple premise: the gap in the market is not more AI policy templates — it is an expert who has sat inside the institution, run model risk reviews from the MRM chair, and knows where the examination risk actually lives.

His engagements are selective and outcomes-first. He works directly with CROs, Chief Audit Executives, and Heads of Model Risk at institutions navigating ISO 42001 implementation, EU AI Act and NIST RMF compliance readiness, SR 11-7 model risk extension for AI, and board-level governance architecture.