USAA’s $250 million contract with IBM to build a Data and AI Center of Excellence (thx AU) is a textbook insider siphon built on premeditated sabotage. Upon taking office, Granddaddy systematically gutted USAA’s internal AI program, creating fake fires to liquidating internal talent to manufacture an operational void. He then hand-picked his personal buddy of 20 years from IBM, Frank, positioning him onto the USAA account just in time to open a $250 million financial pipeline straight to his companion. This was not a strategic vendor selection—it was the deliberate destruction of enterprise assets to funnel a quarter-billion dollars of member money to a personal crony. Never mind the fact that IBM already failed multiple times at effectively deploying AI and we wasted millions of dollars in the process. Now we are losing our brightest data scientists. Can’t wait for the next TH to hear about Granddaddy’s new Ferrari. AU must new kneepads by now.
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@OP I know that some people writing on this post were in his office when Granddaddy told us he’s going to “burn this piece of sh-t to the ground” because his next move is retirement. Don’t come here at complain when he’s doing exactly what he told us he’s going to do. Why are you surprised? Did you expect something different. HR reads this site regularly - they don’t care.
@ed you are spot on. I am a multi generation member and we have already started the process of moving to other institutions. I can’t work here and have the conscience to let my family do business here. It’s not spite and it’s extremely saddening.
USAA has lost its way. It is incredulous to see they’ve installed Granddaddy as a short timer CIO and have allowed him to make such consequentially devastating strategic decisions and drive away or fire what little remaining top tier technical talent was still there, hoping to save the company and uphold the mission for the membership. As a 40 year member with deep ties to the IT community at USAA the downfall of ethics feels personal. My family will be taking our business elsewhere.
@OP where the he-l is HR? Not doing a formal investigation??. Tami’s poker face/filler face may be strategic.
If this is true which it seems to be it is, what a sh-t show at all the levels of leadership especially starting all SVPs & above. Not met a single leader so far who actually inspires to do right thing. All just talkers...
@as I'm sure the down votes are from the data engineers from DAT?? LOL
@aa WTF is KSAT?
@b1 you must be in his org to know this much detail.. LOL. Is that the reason behind the AI Principal Architect leaving last week??? Btw, the architects at USAA are at subpar level just like the staff and lead engineers who were just promoted because of their relationship with their managers. I guess those are core values to live by. HILS
Ethics is for us little people so we can get fired for $250 transactions to our parents bakery for an event
Not for actually holding corrupt leadership accountable
But don’t forget to go/ethics and our pawsativity officer
It no different than when Mary Beth Eckart chose Guidewire because her husband worked there. HR didn’t do s@ht about that conflict of interest.
@av who is this AU? Don’t recognize I work on the bank side
@OP investigations@ksat.com sent. Thanks for the summery.
@a3 HR & ethics? Who?
@OP hello, Juan…. Earth to Juan.
@a2 AU that you?
@as LOL who is Yoda?
@OP Funny how things come full circle. The previous CIO was accused of favoring IBM and other vendors, and many of you couldn’t wait to see her go. Then Grandpa arrived, and suddenly everyone was happy - no more “Yoda teddy bear” to look at. 😂
Now Grandpa is being accused of favoring IBM too.
And while we’re at it, do you really think USAA has an actual AI strategy? I keep hearing about all this “agentic engineering” happening at the DAT org level, which is another level of foolishness. Just look at some of the use cases and the ridiculous “skills” they’ve developed.
It feels like everyone is desperately trying to push AI onto teams just to justify all the money that’s already been spent, while hardly anyone is actually using the stuff. And now the managers are whining, “Why aren’t people using it?” 😂
Maybe, just maybe, if the use cases weren’t so stupid, people would actually use them.
Also rumor has it that Dan is asking for approvals left and right from other areas with just submissions of blank templates.
You lost me at USAAa internal AI Program.
Teehee u made a funny.
@OP there are many reasons Dan was pushed out of Santander. This financial pattern with this same IBM individual not excluded.
@OP i can personally confirm this is in fact a true statement. Dan pushed it through quickly and it’s executed.
@a9 investigations@ksat.com
You can call the general assignment desk at (210) 351-1212. Note: If you call, ask to speak with a producer for the "KSAT Investigates" team. Be prepared that phone calls are not inherently encrypted or anonymous.
@a8 share the link.
@OP I just sent to this KSATs whistleblower hotline.
@OP Frank Attaie
@a3 yep.
@OP is this real? As a decade long employee and a member for even longer - this is completely insane. If confirmed local media outlets need to disclose this behavior to members at large. Going back to my resume edits.
These are serious allegations. I know that HR, communications & ethics read this site. Not that anything is going to happen. In another example, people at the senior level gave senior roles to people having zero experience in managing large functions, because the person has survived 4 org changes. Such a shame.
Not supporting what granddaddy is doing and know IBM will fail as usual. But that AI program we had was a flop guided by prior leaders who couldn’t spell AI and were more executive project managers than technologists. The data scientists were just collateral damage in the political war that played out to cleanse the org of those executive PMs. That $250 million is going to make IBM rich and our members poor. One day, that’ll be a mission moment.
@OP I work in ESG is that the same Frank dude that knows nothing about cyber Dan keeps forcing us to meet with to no end? What’s his last name?