Bond University’s top alumni prize for 2023 has been awarded to Neeti Mehta Shukla who co-founded a company from her spare bedroom and built it into US$7.3 billion tech trailblazer.
Ms Shukla (Class of 1992) graduated from the university in 1997 with a Bachelor of Commerce and an MBA.
In 2003 she and her husband Mihir Shukla founded Automation Anywhere, a cloud automation platform that uses robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence and machine learning to create software robots that perform repetitive tasks typically carried out by humans.
The company’s clients include the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), with Automation Anywhere initially stepping in to help a single hospital at the height of the pandemic.
“We built an accurate, 24-7 reliable ‘oxygen bot’ in just 12 hours that monitors oxygen flow, saved hundreds of patient lives, and gives more than 1500 hours a year back to nurses and front office staff,” Ms Shukla said.
“The NHS believes by this year, its hundreds of subsequent automations across dozens of clinical and non-clinical departments will repurpose one million hours of time annually.”
Ms Shukla recently took up the role of Social Impact Officer at Automation Anywhere to help non-profit organisations leverage the company’s technology.
Beneficiaries include Step With Hope which is providing humanitarian assistance to victims of the war in Ukraine.
“Their 100 volunteers were overwhelmed taking manual notes during urgent phone calls and too busy to spend the time required for equally crucial in-person interactions,” Ms Shukla said.
“In its first 10 weeks of operating, the ‘Telegram for Humanity’ bot we built answered 17,500 aid requests from 14,000-plus Ukrainians.
“Managing up to 400 per cent more aid requests, the bot improved, expedited, and scaled the NGO’s processes.”
Automation Anywhere is at the forefront of the AI revolution, with the Shuklas attending the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos earlier this year as a ‘unicorn partner’ – a start-up valued at more than US$1 billion – to give their perspectives on the future of work.
Ms Shukla said AI would seep into almost every role.
“We believe 95 per cent of the people on the planet will work with AI in the future,” she said.
“It is simply about doing more. Increasing productivity of humans will help us make progress as a society.
“History has shown us that when we progress, some jobs will go away but progress also creates more jobs and more wealth.”
Ms Shukla said she cherishes memories of her time at Bond University.
“I loved meeting so many new people from so many different countries, learned so much from them and made so many friends for life.
“Even my professors were from so many different countries and backgrounds and the small class sizes really allowed me to make personal connections and learn so much more.
“The Bond University experience evolved many skills that were inside of me that I didn’t even know were there to begin with.”
Ms Shukla was presented with the Robert Stable Medal at a gala dinner at Bond University on May 18.
The medal is named in honour of former Bond University vice chancellor Professor Robert Stable.
The award recognises an alumni for achievement of an exceptional nature in any field who has reached the top of their profession, has demonstrated sustained leadership, and brought distinction to themselves, credit to the university, and benefit to their communities.
The Alumni Award for Community Achievement went to Yas Matbouly (Class of 2015), Founder of Serving our People, a logistics, delivery, and emergency relief charity.
The winner of the 2023 Young Alumni Award was James Rosengren (Class of 2016), Continuous Improvement Manager - Logistics at The Kraft Heinz Company (Australia and New Zealand).