Alka Patel is the inaugural Deputy Director of the Risk and Regulatory Services Innovation Center (an industry/academic partnership) at Carnegie Mellon University.  In addition to leading the start-up of the $11 million Center including developing and executing Center strategy, operations, and finances, she manages the industry sponsor’s collaboration with interdisciplinary faculty teams across the University in innovation and digital transformation in the areas of artificial intelligence, data analytics, and cybersecurity/privacy.  She is also a research intern for the Montreal AI Ethics Institute.

 

Working at the intersection of technology, law and business, Alka has over 20 years of industry experience and most recently was a Managing Director and Senior Counsel at BNY Mellon for its Treasury Services business line where she was responsible for drafting/negotiating commercial contracts as well as addressing privacy, HIPAA-related matters, as well as risk management.  Prior to her role at BNY Mellon, Alka, a registered patent attorney, worked in private practice for 9 years representing start-ups, universities, and Fortune 500 companies to protect and address their technology and intellectual property needs.

 

Among her professional affiliations, she is Board Chair of PART (Partnership for Advancing Responsible Technology), a charter member of TIE Pittsburgh (focused on entrepreneurs), serves on UPMC’s Board Diversity & Inclusion Committee and the board of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, is a member of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, and is a former Chair of the Women in Law Division of the Allegheny County Bar Association.  Alka also teaches in the executive education program at CMU and is a frequent speaker on topics relating to law, technology & ethics, risk management, corporate/academic partnerships, and diversity.

 

Alka holds a Juris Doctorate and Masters in Business Administration from Duquesne University and a Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.