Hallmark Appoints Global AI and Data Leader Usama Fayyad to Board of Directors

CHARLESTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2026--

Hallmark Health Care Solutions (Hallmark), the leader in Workforce Intelligence and Enablement, today announced the appointment of Usama Fayyad, a globally recognized leader in AI, machine learning, and enterprise data strategy, to its Board of Directors. Fayyad brings decades of experience helping organizations build scalable data systems and use AI to drive operational and financial performance. His appointment reflects Hallmark’s mission to deliver clarity and operational resilience to healthcare's most important investment—its workforce—to enable better care for every patient and better lives for the people who deliver it.

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“Usama is one of the most respected and influential leaders in AI, machine learning, and enterprise data strategy,” said Bharat Sundaram, CEO of Hallmark. “Hallmark has built a strong data and intelligence foundation to support the next generation of AI-driven workforce decision-making, and Usama’s expertise will help us deliver actionable insights more effectively to healthcare leaders.”

Fayyad is widely recognized as a pioneer in enterprise AI, machine learning, and data science. He currently serves as Chairman of Open Insights, the AI and data technology consulting firm he founded in 2008. He is also SVP for AI and Data Strategy, Senior Adviser to the President, and the Inaugural Director of the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University, where he is a professor of the practice at the Khoury College of Computer Sciences.

Previously, Fayyad became the first executive to hold the Chief Data Officer title following Yahoo’s acquisition of his second startup, after spending five years at Microsoft working on AI and data mining. He served as CDO and Executive Vice President of Research and Strategic Data Solutions at Yahoo, where he also founded Yahoo Research Labs. Earlier in his career, he founded the Machine Learning Systems group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, earning a U.S. government medal from NASA and top research award from Caltech for his work in machine learning. After serving as the first Global CDO for Barclays Bank, Fayyad was Co-Founder and CTO of OODA Health, Inc., a VC-funded healthcare tech company that was acquired by Cedar in 2021. He has published more than 100 technical articles, holds more than 20 patents, and is a fellow of both the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

“Healthcare organizations are managing enormous amounts of workforce, financial, and provider data, yet many still lack the visibility needed to make coordinated, real-time decisions,” said Fayyad. “Too often, workforce decisions happen in a black box. Fragmented data, manual processes, and limited context leave healthcare leaders reacting instead of planning. Most systems were designed to manage transactions, not to give healthcare leaders clear, real-time insight into workforce and provider operations. Hallmark is built to provide the intelligence, visibility, and coordination health systems need to turn that data into actionable decisions.”

Hallmark helps healthcare leaders understand workforce capacity, physician enterprise performance, compensation dynamics, and organizational demand. This enables organizations to anticipate needs earlier, evaluate tradeoffs more clearly, and make better financial and strategic decisions.

About Hallmark

Hallmark is the leader in Workforce Intelligence and Enablement, providing technology for health systems and provider groups nationwide. The platform combines workforce intelligence, flexible workforce management, vendor management, and provider enablement to help health systems optimize labor spend, integrate physician performance and compensation, and improve workforce engagement and retention.

Serving more than 50 health systems, Hallmark’s technology manages $10B+ in physician compensation annually, enables sourcing of 25K+ clinicians, and supports 100K+ users daily. By delivering real-time insights and AI-enabled automation, Hallmark empowers health system leaders to drive sustainable margin improvement while advancing access, quality, and staff well-being. Follow us on LinkedIn.

Usama Fayyad, Hallmark Board of Directors

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s parliament on Friday appointed right-wing populist politician Janez Jansa as the new prime minister, in a shift for the small European Union country that was previously run by a liberal government.

Lawmakers backed Jansa in a 51-36 vote in the 90-member assembly. The new prime minister will need to come back to Parliament within the next 15 days for another vote to confirm his future Cabinet.

Jansa's appointment concludes a postelection stalemate in Slovenia after a parliamentary ballot two months ago ended practically in a tie. Former liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won by a thin margin but he was unable to muster a parliamentary majority.

Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party signed a coalition agreement this week with several right-wing groups. The new government also has the backing of a nonestablishment Truth party that first emerged as an anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new term in office will be the fourth for the veteran Slovenian politician. Jansa, 67, is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election last month.

Jansa in a speech listed the economy, fight against corruption and red tape, and decentralization as key goals of the future government. He has promised to lower taxes for the rich and support private education and healthcare.

Critical of the previous government's alleged “inefficiency," Jansa said the new government will turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted."

Like Orban, Jansa was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge migration wave to Europe in 2015. Also like Orban, Jansa has faced accusations of clamping down on democratic institutions and press freedoms during a previous term in 2020-2022. This led to protests at the time, and scrutiny from the European Union.

Golob in his speech described Jansa as “the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy."

Alleging that Jansa had threatened to arrest him, Golob said Jansa's "idea of democracy is that anyone who dares speak a word against you deserves only the worst.”

Jansa, a supporter of Israel, also has been a stern critic of the Golob government's 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state.

The vote on March 22 was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The around 2 million people in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.

Janez Jansa, center, addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa arrives for a session of the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)