International Experts Named to Judge 2026 FICO Decision Awards

BOZEMAN, MT —September 29, 2025 — FICO (NYSE: FICO)

Highlights:

• FICO announces panel of independent industry judges for 2026 FICO® Decision Awards
• Winners of the FICO® Decision Awards are to be announced in January 2026
• The 10 award categories are AI, Machine Learning and Optimization; Cloud Deployment; Customer Onboarding and Management; Debt Management; Decision Management Innovation; ESG Champion; Financial Inclusion; Fraud Management; FICO Industry Vanguard and Pioneer Award
• More information at www.fico.com/decisionawards

Global analytics software leader FICO has announced its panel of independent judges for the 2026 FICO® Decision Awards, which honor businesses achieving outstanding results using analytics and decision management technology to grow their business, manage risk and reduce costs.

“AI is having a breakout moment globally, with innovations like focused language models and agentic AI rapidly moving from concept to enterprise application,” said Nikhil Behl, president, Software at FICO. “This year’s Decision Awards highlight how FICO customers are starting to harness this potential to drive real business outcomes. I’m grateful to our panel of eight judges, including analysts, business leaders and journalists from around the world, for their time and expertise in recognizing the most impactful projects.”

This year our judges, in alphabetical order, are:

• Sam Abadir, research director, risk, financial crime & compliance, IDC Financial Insights
  Sam Abadir leads global research at IDC Financial Insights on how financial institutions apply analytics, AI, and regulatory technology to manage fraud, risk, and compliance. His work spans AML, KYC, identity verification, and AI governance, with a focus on how financial institutions can align regulatory requirements with intelligent decisioning and operational resilience. Drawing on decades of experience in Big Four consulting, GRC software, and privacy-enhancing technologies, Sam brings a practical perspective on how innovation in fraud detection and compliance can improve customer trust and business performance. He is a frequent speaker on the future of financial crime prevention, advanced analytics, and responsible AI in financial services.
• Shrimanth Adla, senior director, credit risk strategy and analytics, Comcast
  At Comcast, Shrimanth Adla leads credit risk strategy and analytics for the internet, cable, Xfinity Mobile, and business mobile portfolios. He brings extensive experience from previous pivotal roles at TransUnion, MUFG Union Bank, Barclays, and Citi in financial risk management. With a background in engineering and data science, Shrimanth is ardent about using advanced AI practices to deliver actionable business intelligence. Shrimanth is widely regarded as a thought leader in credit and risk management, frequently invited to share insights at conferences, panels, and industry forums.
• Manoj Agrawal, group editor, Banking Frontiers
  With 30+ years of experience spanning software development, IT leadership, and biz-tech journalism, Manoj Agrawal directs the strategy for editorial and conferences at Banking Frontiers, a leading publication covering business, innovation and digital transformation across financial services. He has previously held editorial roles at Express Computer, ERP Journal, and Digital Age, and is well known for his insights into BFSI business and technology trends.
• Courtney Haan, strategic payments experience product manager, Velera (Previous Winner)
  With a career spanning leadership roles in payments and product strategy, Courtney helps shape Velera’s approach to fraud prevention and cardholder engagement. She played a key role in Velera’s transformation using FICO Platform, enhancing fraud alerting and communication for over 700 financial institutions. Her background includes senior roles at FIS, eFunds, and Wildcard Systems, and earlier experience in consumer products marketing. Courtney holds an MBA from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and a BA from Colby College, and brings a sharp issuer perspective focused on secure, seamless customer experiences.
• Shelly Kramer,principal analyst at Kramer & Company and theCube Research
  Based in the U.S., Shelly Kramer is a principal analyst and co-founder of Kramer & Company, and a senior analyst with theCUBE Research. With more than 25 years of experience in B2B technology, she covers trends in artificial intelligence, customer experience, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and enterprise SaaS. Shelly works closely with enterprise tech vendors on go-to-market and brand strategy, and is a frequent contributor to industry media, research, and events.
• Andy Lawrie, credit risk tech lead at Nationwide Building Society (Previous Winner)
  A leader in decision science, credit risk, and financial technology, Andy Lawrie has transformed Nationwide Building Society’s credit decisioning framework by leading its migration to FICO® Platform. This shift centralized decision-making across key product lines, improving efficiency, agility and compliance. Prior to Nationwide, Andy held senior roles at Aviva and Banco Santander, where he developed automated risk models and AI-driven credit assessments. His expertise has helped modernize decisioning systems across Europe.
• Lisa Morgan, technology journalist and contributor at InformationWeek
  A seasoned journalist, industry analyst, and content strategist, Lisa Morgan focuses on the business impact of emerging technologies. She contributes regularly to InformationWeek and has also written for The Economist Intelligence Unit and The Washington Post. With a background in journalism and market research, she brings a clear, pragmatic perspective to the complex forces shaping enterprise technology.
• Déborah Oliveira, founder and editor-in-chief at IT Forum
  With over 20 years in tech journalism and content leadership, Déborah Oliveira leads editorial strategy, executive engagement, and events at IT Forum, Brazil’s largest technology community platform. She previously held senior roles at Computerworld, CIO, and IDG Now!, reporting on AI, cybersecurity, and innovation. Déborah holds a journalism degree, an executive certification, and an MBA in marketing. Named Brazil’s Best IT Journalist in 2018, she continues to be recognized as a prominent voice in the tech industry and a strong advocate for women in tech.

Awards will be presented in ten categories: AI, Machine Learning and Optimization; Cloud Deployment; Customer Onboarding and Management; Debt Management; Decision Management Innovation; ESG Champion; Financial Inclusion; Fraud Management; FICO Industry Vanguard and Pioneer Award.

Winners will receive recognition at FICO® World, which will be held May 19-22, 2026 at the Signia By Hilton hotel in Orlando, Florida. Winning implementations will be featured in conference activities, and two representatives of each winning company will receive complimentary conference passes.

Last year’s winning firms represented multiple industries and countries worldwide, all with outstanding results:  Santander Consumer USA (AI, Machine Learning & Optimization); Lloyds Banking Group & Nationwide (Cloud Deployment); UnionBank & Octane (Customer Onboarding & Management); Telstra (Debt Management); Scotiabank Peru (Decision Management Innovation); E-agro (ESG Champion); PicPay (Financial Inclusion); Velera & Yapi Kredi (Fraud Management); Woolworths Financial Services (Pioneer Award); and iA Financial Group, Santander Brazil & Bradesco (FICO Industry Vanguard Award).

About FICO

FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational Decision. FICO holds more than 200 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 80 countries do everything from protecting 4 billion payment cards from fraud, to improving financial inclusion, to increasing supply chain resiliency. The FICO® Score, used by 90% of top US lenders, is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US and has been made available in over 40 other countries, improving risk management, credit access and transparency. 

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Contacts:

Media:    
Saxon Shirley
saxonshirley@fico.com 
+65 9171 0965