AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 15, 2026--
Praxent, the award-winning AI transformation firm for financial services, today named Dr. Ranjit Tinaikar, Jeremy Wing, and Garrett Marsilio to its board of directors, as financial institutions push to turn AI pilots into production systems that hold up in regulated environments.
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As a select partner to Anthropic and a managed Microsoft Cloud and AI solutions partner, Praxent helps financial institutions and enterprise fintechs become AI native by transforming their technology, processes, and people. The firm brings 25+ years in financial services, 500+ digital transformations, and more than $3T managed on platforms it has built — with results like a #1 SBA loan facilitator with 60 agents in production underwriting 3X faster than the industry average. The new appointments deepen the board's operating and investment experience as Praxent meets rapidly growing demand for its services.
"Financial services firms have run the AI experiments. What they need now is production results that hold up in a regulated environment," said Ranjit Tinaikar, Chairperson, Praxent. "Praxent has the domain depth and the forward-deployed engineering model to get there, and I'm excited to help scale it." Ranjit brings nearly three decades of experience in BFSI technology consulting across firms like McKinsey & Company, Thomson Reuters, and Ness Digital Engineering.
“AI is creating opportunities for technical professionals to focus on higher-impact work,” said Kevin Hurwitz, Managing Partner, Praxent. “Praxent is hiring more forward-deployed fintech engineers than ever to meet sustained demand and help organizations apply AI thoughtfully in real-world environments to better serve their customers, employees, and communities.”
"I’ve spent my career building and scaling businesses across payments, lending, and fintech including Payroc and Fora Financial, and Praxent is squarely in the markets I know best,” said Jeremy Wing. “AI is creating a generational opportunity in financial services and Praxent has the domain expertise and execution capability to turn that opportunity into scale.”
"AI is fundamentally changing how financial firms operate, and our clients are looking for the domain expertise we've built over decades," said Tim Hamilton, Founder and CEO, Praxent. "Ranjit, Jeremy, and Garrett have helped create billions of dollars of enterprise value across multiple private-equity backed businesses. They know what it takes to turn rapid demand into durable growth and enterprise value. That experience is particularly valuable as we capitalize on the acceleration we’re seeing across AI and financial services.”
About Praxent
Praxent is the award-winning AI transformation firm built on 25+ years of financial services experience. Praxent helps financial institutions and technology providers become AI-native market leaders across lending, payments, banking, fraud, capital markets, and insurance — modernizing legacy platforms and deploying AI into regulated operations. See how at praxent.ai.
The appointments of Dr. Ranjit Tinaikar, Jeremy Wing, and Garrett Marsilio back Praxent's push to help financial institutions and enterprise fintechs become AI-native market leaders.
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace overnight, officials said Tuesday, less than a day after NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that strikes close to the alliance's territory would drive the trans-Atlantic organization to increase its support for Kyiv.
The drone was downed near the village of Pratkūnai in the Kaišiadorys district, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of the country's capital, Vilnius, and near the Kaunas Reservoir, Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center said Tuesday.
Lithuania’s military said that the incident marked the first time that a drone had been shot down in the country’s airspace. Authorities didn’t comment on the drone’s origin or purpose, saying the incident needed further investigation.
The incursion follows a speech by Rutte on Monday at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where he said that strikes “close to NATO territory” showed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “desperation and also his desire to sow fear and terror.”
“Russia is growing increasingly reckless as it continues its terrible war against Ukraine,” Rutte said. He also pledged to bolster the 32-nation alliance's own defenses along its long eastern border with Russia.
The menace of drones has repeatedly loomed over the skies of Lithuania, which shares borders with Belarus, a key ally of Moscow, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Antanas Matutis, commander of the Lithuanian air force, said that the wreckage had been found, and the drone was “likely” carrying explosives.
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the crisis center, told Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT that the drone most likely entered from Belarus. It remained in Lithuanian airspace for about 30 minutes and flew along the outskirts of populated areas before being intercepted, he said.
In a separate encounter between Russian and NATO forces Tuesday, Denmark’s Foreign Ministry said that a Danish air force helicopter had been fired upon with flares in connection with “routine photographic coverage” of a Russian frigate in waters off the port of Gedser in the Baltic Sea.
“This is completely unacceptable,” the ministry wrote on X, saying that the Russian ambassador was summoned over the incident.
Meanwhile, Russian drone strikes continued across Ukraine following a social media post from U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed “not to hit” each other’s energy infrastructure.
Trump didn't offer further details on the purported agreement, and Russia didn't immediately comment on Trump’s post. Previous efforts to broker even a partial ceasefire have repeatedly fallen apart within hours, with both sides accusing each other of violations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Monday that Kyiv was “ready to support de-escalation” if the United States could ensure “Russia is genuinely ready to stop this war.”
But Zelenskyy said in a statement on Tuesday that Moscow had continued to attack Ukraine's energy sector, logistics and critical infrastructure, and that Kyiv had responded by striking an oil refinery in Syzran, a city in western Russia.
“There is no alternative to ending this war. And all forms of pressure on Russia must create the right diplomatic conditions,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said Tuesday that Russian strikes on Kyiv had killed one person and wounded seven other people since the start of the day, with attacks carried out on the capital's gas stations.
Another two people were killed in separate Russian strikes in the Ukrainian cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.
Elsewhere, Russian forces shot down 222 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
A “massive” Ukrainian drone attack sparked several fires in the Russian city of Taganrog, regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said. He said on Telegram that two apartment buildings and three private homes had been damaged, as well as an educational institution, agricultural warehouses and a site belonging to Russian e-retailer Ozon.
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Kyiv's forces had targeted a drone production facility in the city.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Lithuanian soldiers are securing the area where Italian fighter jets during NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission shot down a drone early this morning near Pratkunai village, Kaisiadorys district some 90km (55,9 miles) northwest of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo) CAPTION CORRECTION: corrects removes byline attribution
Lithuanian soldiers are securing the area where Italian fighter jets during NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission shot down a drone early morning near Pratkunai village, Kaisiadorys district some 90km (55,9 miles) northwest of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo) corrects and removes byline attribution
Lithuanian soldiers are securing the area where Italian fighter jets during NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission shot down a drone early this morning near Pratkunai village, Kaisiadorys district some 90km (55,9 miles) northwest of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo) CAPTION CORRECTION: corrects removes byline attribution
Lithuanian soldiers are securing the area where Italian fighter jets during NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission shot down a drone early this morning near Pratkunai village, Kaisiadorys district some 90km (55,9 miles) northwest of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Monaco's Foreign Minister Isabelle Berro-Amadei walks past the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Lithuanian soldiers are securing the area where Italian fighter jets during NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission shot down a drone early morning near Pratkunai village, Kaisiadorys district some 90km (55,9 miles) northwest of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Lithuanian soldiers are securing the area where Italian fighter jets during NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission shot down a drone early this morning near Pratkunai village, Kaisiadorys district some 90km (55,9 miles) northwest of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
