Alex Benke

🎙️ Episode 14 of 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐈 𝐏𝐨𝐝: 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐞 – 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 🎙️ 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫!    𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 / 𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆: 🍏 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬: https://lnkd.in/dVmeMhqi ▶️ 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞: https://lnkd.in/dwp5D3x8 🎧 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲: https://lnkd.in/dzHc_24j In this week’s episode of The Fund AI Pod, I speak with Alex Benke, Head of Artificial Intelligence at Ridgeline, a cloud-native, front-to-back platform built specifically for asset and wealth managers. Ridgeline was founded by Dave Duffield, the entrepreneur behind PeopleSoft and Workday. Alex has spent nearly 25 years building financial systems, including a decade at JP Morgan and early experience at Betterment, before joining Ridgeline seven years ago. We explore how Ridgeline approaches responsible AI and discuss practical, real-world agent use cases including a knowledge management assistant, trade compliance agent, reconciliation agent, CRM agent, and an observability agent. We also explore data integration, MCP, internal software coding copilots, client adoption, measuring outcomes, the future of investment workflows, and much more! A breakdown of episode chapters include: 🎙️ [00:00] Introduction to Alex and Ridgeline 🎙️ [04:33] Ridgeline’s AI beginnings 🎙️ [08:07] Initial client facing AI abilities 🎙️ [09:31] Agents and digital coworkers 🎙️ [11:38] Reconciliation agent 🎙️ [13:38] Security and compliance in a regulated industry 🎙️ [18:06] Three additional agent use case examples 🎙️ [21:15] AI models powering Ridgeline 🎙️ [22:33] Integrating external data and MCPs 🎙️ [24:00] Internal software development via coding copilots 🎙️ [25:38] Client adoption and measuring success & outcomes 🎙️ [31:07] The future of investment management workflows 🎙️ [37:09] Staying current with AI developments and contact details The Fund AI Pod is a weekly podcast focused on how asset managers and the wider funds ecosystem are adopting AI in practice. If you work in the industry and are exploring AI, I hope these conversations help accelerate your journey. Subscribe and follow to stay updated. Visit www. thefundaipod .com #TheFundAIPod #Ridgeline #InvestmentWorkflows #Podcast #AI #Agents #Data

Excited to feature Alex Benke in the upcoming #Cornell #AI in #Finance #Certificate! “Generative AI has limitless use cases. If businesses are to derive actual value from AI, they need to filter the noise and get very specific about their workflows and how to introduce it.” This is the essence Alex Benke session, where he will share practical principles for uncovering where AI can truly create value inside financial organizations. https://lnkd.in/ertDWkwd

This chart shows what happened when we rolled out Claude Code to every Ridgeline employee at our kickoff last week. Eight days in, 500+ curious people with a powerful new tool are exceeding expectations. The experimentation started immediately, questions flew, and valuable ideas took off. It’s early days, but clear patterns are emerging. 1. Responsibility starts with guardrails and an established culture. Before unleashing Claude Code, we laid a foundation: our Responsible AI program, a close partnership with Security, and a sandboxed environment for safe experimentation. Ridgeline has always been security-first. People are trained to pause and consider, “Claude asked me to do this… should I say yes?” Claude may be new, but it’s operating within a culture built for this moment. 2. Learn in public. Launching to everyone created instant momentum. Curiosity spread quickly, and teams shared ideas across functions. When someone, especially in a non-technical role, has a question, they post in open Slack channels. “Vibe coding” help is normalized. Within minutes, engineers and power users jump in to help. Observers learn along the way, far faster than any support ticket could enable. 3. Determinism = Token Amortization. One emerging strategy: use Claude to design deterministic workflows, then run them cheaply forever. Ask Claude to do the same ad hoc task repeatedly, and the token meter runs. Use it once to build a script or repeatable workflow, and you amortize that cost over time. The pattern applies far beyond engineering. Anyone doing repeatable work can pair Claude with automation to make it more reliable and cost-efficient. As one Marketing teammate said, “My role has been fundamentally transformed overnight.” 4. Watch economics, but don’t use the brake too soon. As shown in the chart, usage has accelerated quickly. In the first few days of broad access, we spent the same amount as we had the entire previous month when Claude was limited to engineering. From day one, employees could see their own usage and costs, and we shared tangible economic examples like, “Just saying ‘hi’ can cost 3 cents.” That transparency made tokens feel finite. While profitability is a core value at Ridgeline, leadership has been clear: this initiative is an investment in transformation. Learn first, then optimize together. 5. Direction comes from the top. Definition comes from the teams. “Become AI-native” is a leadership directive. What that means in practice will be defined by the people closest to the work. As one colleague said, “This week has been professionally life-changing. I can spin up an MVP in hours without waiting in an engineering queue.” Employees already know what “great” looks like, and AI gives them the power to redesign their work to achieve it faster. No one knows exactly what an AI-native company looks like yet. At Ridgeline, patterns are emerging, and teams are redesigning how work gets done. We are just getting started.

Excited to share an incredible roster of industry experts joining our AI in Finance Certificate. Evan Reich, Alex Benke, Mohamed M K., Andrew Chin, Kathryn Zhao, and Dhagash Mehta, Ph.D. Mehta Offered by Cornell Duffield College of Engineering and the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management School, and powered by eCornell, the certificate launches on April 13. Each speaker brings deep, hands-on expertise at the intersection of AI, data, and financial decision-making, adding meaningful industry perspective throughout the program. https://lnkd.in/eUnQhkXe

Want to help build the next generation of trading technology for the investment management industry? At Ridgeline, we're redefining how investment firms run with a system of record that unites the front, middle, and back office. If you’re an engineer who thrives on ownership, speed, and impact, we’d love to meet you. Apply through the links in the comments or visit our careers page to explore more opportunities: https://bit.ly/4qxv7U6

💡 After a full — and fulfilling — few days with our customers, partners, and other investment management firms at our annual Base Camp conference, what stood out most? 🤝 It’s about community and connection. Attendees shared their toughest challenges and learned how other ambitious firms are solving theirs. Now, we’re bringing those conversations directly to you with our four-city Ridgeline Summit series. 🏔️ "You can't just throw AI at people and expect them to use it. If you take someone's problem and say, 'I can solve that with AI,' they're much more likely to adopt it." 🧠 That’s just one insight our community shared at Base Camp, as part of our discussion about why contextual, industry-specific agents are key to optimizing work. 💪 Join us, and bring your hardest problems, your most curious teammates, and your boldest ideas to drive growth for your firm. 🚀 🔔 Philadelphia, October 7th 🗽 NYC, October 8th 🦞 Boston, October 16th 🏙️ Chicago, October 22nd Register: https://lnkd.in/g6A5W985

Roads aren’t valuable because they’re made of asphalt. They’re valuable because they take you somewhere you want to go. Generative AI is valuable when it takes you somewhere. Too many businesses are obsessing over technology for technology's sake instead of thinking from first principles and designing systems that drive outcomes. Your CRM, ERP, and BI tools track the “what” and the “how.” But the most powerful layer, the “why” has been invisible until now. Intent is the key to turning AI from a shiny object into real value. This week's Reading Ambitiously is our first-ever takeover! Co-authors Pat Hughes and Mark Funari explore why intent is the missing piece and how thoughtfully designed systems that capture intent will define the next era of enterprise software. It's one you're not going to want to miss! Link in the comments below!