Eldon Marks
• Email: eldon.marks@v75inc.com • Website: https://eldonmarks.com • LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/eldonmarks • D.O.B: 14-05-1984 •
Summary
An accomplished serial tech entrepreneur with a strong background in Conversational Artificial Intelligence, Interaction Design and Product Development, focusing on driving impactful technological solutions while fostering youth empowerment, tech ecosystem growth and national development. With more than two decades of experience in the tech field as an academic, practitioner, and serial entrepreneur, I have mentored thousands, founded companies, started movements, and created empowering opportunities for the next generation of tech innovators out of Guyana.
Education
Professional Experience
Founder
ImperaTech Inc.
July 2023 – Present
ImperaTech Inc is a subsidiary of V75 Inc. exclusively contracted by the Guyana Defence Force for special technology projects.
Founder & CEO
V75 Inc.
Mar 2019 – Present
V75 Inc. engineers conversational artificial intelligence and enterprise software solutions for companies worldwide while combining technology, innovation and youth empowerment for national development. I have built V75 Inc. from its inception to become Guyana's first AI company which created over 50 tech jobs for Guyanese, upskilled hundreds through industrial training initiatives and pioneered a shift in the national paradigm of exporting talent to exporting technological innovation.
- Played a pivotal role in activating the local tech community in Guyana through digital industry exhibitions, hackathons for social good and of late, an AI for development showcase.
- Contributed to digital transformation in the country with solutions like FerryPass, which positively impacts thousands of citizens.
- Conceptualized and engineered the TrueSelph agentive AI platform and pioneered AI democratization efforts in Guyana, as highlighted during the 2024 IDB Lab meetup.
- Advocated AI utilities manifesting in public-serving AI agents to improve access to services as seen in Launch of Jesse AI and Launch of Damion AI.
- Advocated practical AI products in tourism as documented in my 2024 THAG Talk.
- Conceptualized and executed the AI-4D Showcase to launch TrueSelph's AI Platform; a first-of-its-kind event riding the waves of Generative AI adoption which served to demonstrate homegrown AI innovations in practical industry use-cases.
- Advocated for regional development through tech, exemplified by AI-4D movement, focusing on AI as a catalyst for growth.
- Founded Nexus Hub Inc. as a not-profit arm for tech-industry growth, combining a co-working space and tech accelerator.
Jaseci Sifu
Jaseci Labs LLC
Apr 2022 – Present
Jaseci Labs LLC focuses on AI research and development around an end-to-end open-source computational model, technology stack, and methodology for building bleeding edge AI solutions. Select members of my technical team at V75 Inc. and I have been early contributors to the Jaseci open source project, educators in its growing community of developers as well as implementors of the stack. As a Jaseci 'Sifu' (expert with an oversight role), I lead the ecosystem development team for the Jaseci Intelligent Virtual Agent Stack (JIVAS) - an AI core I built on top of Jaseci which powers agentive solutions such as the TrueSelph platform.
Co-Founder & Product Inventor
TrueSelph Inc.
May 2021 – Present
- Designed and engineered the 'TrueSelph AI Platform', a revolutionary, patented agentive product which simplifies the creation and management of human-like conversational AI experiences at a fraction of the cost of comparable, generative AI products.
- Co-Founded TrueSelph Inc. around the platform with a vision to democratize AI, enabling the rapid deployment of human-like conversational AI.
- Pitched for and won IDB Lab Technical Cooperation funding totaling USD 150,000 to execute an AI Enablement Program under TrueSelph, supporting 15 startups and organizations in Guyana by providing tools and strategies for integrating AI into their operations, fostering local innovation.
- Prominent project involvement includes AI-driven initiatives such as AI for Tourism and Education AI contributions.
- Led the development and launch of 'Jessie', a multilingual AI agent for the Diaspora Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, improving diaspora engagement through intelligent conversational agents.
- Pioneered the launch of ‘Damion', an AI agent in collaboration with the Department of Consumer Affairs to assist consumers via digital communication channels, enhancing consumer protection information access.
- Conceived and spearheaded the AI-4D event, the first of its kind in Guyana, showcasing the potential of AI for development across multiple sectors including tourism, healthcare, and education, attracting over 600 attendees and generating significant partnerships (source1, source2).
- Delivered keynotes and presentations on AI democratization, including talks at THAG on leveraging AI in tourism and hospitality to address talent shortages and enhance customer experiences.
Founding Director
NeXus Hub Inc.
Jun 2018 – Present
- NeXus Hub Inc. is a non-profit technology & innovation center for tech ecosystem growth and development in Guyana, South America.
- Executed engaging tech events like Hack Solve Civic Engagement.
- Spearheaded the AI Competency Engineering Apprenticeship Programme, offering paid apprenticeships aimed at training local talent in cutting-edge conversational AI technologies alongside industry partners.
- Established partnerships with global technology firms like Clinc Inc. to provide advanced training and real-world AI project opportunities for local tech talent.
- [2020] Awarded IDB Lab grant of USD150,000 to deliver intensive technical and transversal skills training to youth in coding, AI, game design and systems design and management to facilitate their transition into technology jobs within the local ICT sector in Guyana.
- [2018] Awarded IDB Lab grant of USD150,000 to support development of the technology driven innovation ecosystem in Guyana.
- Launched several initiatives to foster collaboration and innovation including the Nexus Link Social Network to connect developers with opportunities and facilitate impactful projects.
- Increased the visibility and opportunities for local developers via the Nexus Developer Stories initiative, promoting their achievements and connecting them with global platforms.
- Addressed urban planning and civic issues through tech solutions developed during Hack Solve events, for example, a centralised public information dissemination system.
Director
Brand Youth Global Inc.
Aug 2019 – Present
Co-founder
WeOwn Space
Mar 2016 – Dec 2020
- Co-founded a concept coworking space that fosters sustainable social impact in a third-world economy.
Founder
Version75 Solutions
Jan 2014 – May 2019
- Version75 Solutions is a software consulting firm created to provide competitive software solutions while fostering skills exchange and networking among local freelance developers. As it grew, it was later incorporated as V75 Inc.
- Personally engineered or managed the engineering of several successful software solutions for clients in Canada, the US and Guyana.
- Mentored budding entrepreneurs and helped them start or further develop their own startups.
Head of Department
Department of Computer Science, University of Guyana
Aug 2010 – Jul 2012
- Managed the Department of Computer Science; coordinated department faculty & staff activities; represented department at various boards and statutory meetings; spearheaded various departmental activities and events.
- Spearheaded the inaugural Computer Science Expo 2011 that gave rise to new industry partnerships and a renewed utilitarian status for the Department of Computer Science.
- Lobbied for and implemented a second computer lab for the department to cope with the growing student population.
- Spearheaded the computer science curriculum review process towards internationally comparable academic programmes in Computer Science and Information Technology.
- Designed and instituted the Department of Computer Science intrinsic operating model composed of specialized units such as Curriculum, Quality Management, each with its own focus crafted according to departmental objectives and aligned with the University’s Strategic Goals and international standards.
- Spearheaded the development of an information system to replace the paper-based, ‘student assessment of lecturers’ exercise. This was a departmental endeavour in service to the University. The developed system saves the University over GYD$750,000 each year and renders real-time reports.
IT Consultant
Guyana Elections Commission, Georgetown, Guyana
Jan 2010 - April 2010
- Oversaw IT support operations during the preparation period for the 2010 Local Government Elections related to voter registrations and ID card production.
- Monitored and evaluated existing registration information system and related procedures.
- Produced system improvement plan for voter registration, verification and processing.
Lecturer
Department of Computer Science, University of Guyana
Aug 2004 – Sept 2017
- Authored and delivered multifaceted Computer Science courses, including Introduction to Object Oriented Programming, Interactive Internet Computing, Object oriented Analysis & Design and Computer Networks.
Patents
- Systems and methods for generation and deployment of a human-personified virtual agent using pre-trained machine learning-based language models and a video response corpus.
Patent No. 11550831, Issued Jan 10, 2023.
- Systems and methods for collecting and processing memory-related data and synthesizing memory-based narratives.
Patent Pending. No. 63/462,072, Filed Apr 26, 2023.
Skills and Expertise
- Specializations: AI Experience Design, Generative AI Product Architectures, Conversational AI, AI Innovation Strategy, Product Development, Strategic Planning, Fundraising, Team Leadership.
- Technical: Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing (AWS, GCP), Data Science, Java, C#, C++, PHP, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, LISP, .NET, JEE, AngularJS, Bootstrap, Android, Flutter, Jaseci, JIVAS
- Methodologies: RAD, OOAD, Spiral Approach, Prototyping Approach
Awards & Honors
- 2008: Graduate School Tuition Award, Howard University
- 2019: BrandYOUth 40 under 40 entrepreneurial award - Honored as one of the top 10 special awardees.
- 2019: Heart to Art Foundation Man of Honour Award for International Men's Day 2019.
Talks & Keynotes
- Digital Transformation in Hospitality - Leveraging AI for Success (THAG Talk) - inaugural episode of the THAG Talk series organized by the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana, a non-profit organisation dedicated to serving and advocating for the interests of Guyana's dynamic tourism and hospitality sector.
- The Use of AI Tools in Education - remarks from the panel discussion on the Use of AI Tools in Education: Implications for Academic Integrity organized by the University of Guyana's Centre of Excellence for Teaching and Learning (CoETaL) in collaboration with the Educational Onlining Support Services (EdOSSS).
- The AI4Education Keynote - Caribbean AI4Education Conference 2024
- The AI-4D Keynote - keynote address at the AI-4D Showcase event, Nov 2024.
- 37th Annual CANTO Panelist - Caribbean Entrepreneurship Roundtable ( Ayodele Pompey, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), SmartTerm, Tyrone Wilson, Founder and President, iCreate,
Eldon Marks, CEO and Founder, V75 Inc., Keith Downer, Chairman & President, AEGEUS)
- Nexus2022 Panel on Success Criteria for a New Generation of Entrepreneurs - panel remarks from Nexus 2022 event in Manhattan, NY, June, 2022
- From Academia to Industry - IDBLab Forum 2021 - presented at the 2021 IDB Lab Forum.
- The Future of AI and Personal Interaction - as part of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica's 35th Anniversary Digital Communication Forum - Doing Now for Then: Visioning the Next 35, July 2021.
- Moderated Session 4: AI and 21st Century Learning - as part of the UNESCO Caribbean AI Initiative Forum 2: Opportunities to Accelerate Human Progress for Sustainable Development, organized by the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica, Feb 2021.
- On AI Innovation and Policy for the Region - presented as part of the UNESCO Caribbean AI Initiative Forum 1, organized by the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica, Dec 2020.
- Keynote Address - Facebook Developer Circles Georgetown - the Facebook Developer Circles keynote, Sept. 2019.
- Startup Grind Fireside Chat - first fireside chat and networking forum, Startup Grind Georgetown.
- Computer Science Expo 2011 - Opening Remarks - opening remarks at the 2011 Computer Science Expo while serving as Head of Department, Computer Science, University of Guyana.
Research and Publications
First-Author Research
References
Available upon request.
