Craig Burgon

Associate Director, Boston

Craig Burgon is a driving force in Protiviti’s digital transformation. An early adopter of Gen AI tools, he now plays a key role in increasing adoption across teams and delivering impactful client solutions.

"I love that my work makes people’s lives easier. If you take away the data analytics aspect of it, we are fundamentally solving puzzles to give people back time in their day and make tedious manual tasks more manageable."

Driving AI Innovation

Craig began his career building descriptive and predictive analytic models in the insurance industry. Looking to expand his experience and understand how data science analytics can be applied outside the insurance industry, Craig joined Protiviti in 2021.

Today, Craig is as an associate director on the analytics team and a leader within Protiviti’s iNN, an in-house Protiviti incubator and accelerator of ideas, where teams with different backgrounds, geographies, industries, and career levels collaborate on business ideas and client challenges. 

In these roles, Craig focuses on developing and promoting AI tools that streamline manual tasks for clients and internal teams. One notable example of this work is the Protiviti Atlas Controls Transformation Accelerator. This tool automates and streamlines the process of analysing clients' risk and control frameworks. It identifies key gaps and duplicates, rewrites controls in a standardised format, and performs multiple quality assurance checks tailored to each client's specific needs. The implementation of this accelerator has drastically reduced the time required for processing each control record from approximately 15 to 20 minutes to roughly one minute. This remarkable efficiency gain translates into substantial time savings for our clients, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Craig and his team also developed another AI tool designed to assist in writing test scripts and defining test attributes, eliminating the need to begin from scratch, and further enhancing their operational efficiency.

“AI accelerators like these can have a transformative impact in optimising processes and delivering significant value to our clients,” says Craig.

Delivering and Improving Data Consistency

While the end-product may solve complex data problems, the process is straightforward. His approach begins with identifying unmet client needs, then rapidly prototyping minimum viable products (MVPs) to test and refine in close collaboration with stakeholders. By aligning solutions with real user journeys and continuous feedback, Craig ensures each tool delivers meaningful and practical value.

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When asked about his recent work, Craig describes a project for a major financial client as his “biggest success to date.”

Craig and his teammates used Protiviti Atlas, one of Protiviti’s proprietary AI platforms, to automate a previously manual data analytics process. The client had thousands of risk controls requiring consistent review and updates – a task that was both time-consuming and prone to errors.

In just six weeks, the team piloted an MVP using five key data metrics. Impressed by the speed and impact, the client collaborated to expand the tool’s capabilities, eventually running it across 7,000 controls and 8,000 risk instances – dramatically accelerating delivery and improving data consistency.

What motivates Craig to continuously drive innovation at Protiviti? “I enjoy creating AI solutions that are not limited to one client or industry but can be easily updated and applied to anyone. More importantly,I love that my work makes people’s lives easier. If you take away the data analytics aspect of it, we are fundamentally solving puzzles to give people back time in their day and make tedious manual tasks more manageable. I love hearing, ‘this used to take up 80% of my day and now I have more time to focus on things I actually care about."

Encouraging Early Adoption

While tech-savvy peers readily adopt AI tools, Craig finds the real challenge lies in helping less technical teams embrace AI to improve their workflows.

Through Protiviti town halls and roadshows, Craig encourages Protiviti employees to reflect on time-consuming tasks they wish were automated – then demonstrates how to use tools to address similar needs. For instance, he often recommends using AI tools for drafting repetitive emails and points teams to in-house resources for a range of customisable AI solutions designed to simplify everyday work.

Craig’s work in innovation and digital transformation embodies Protiviti’s commitment to deliver for our clients and our teams. By harnessing advanced analytics and encouraging early adoption among team members and clients, Craig is reshaping how we serve our clients and drive business success. A testament to the power of innovation in creating meaningful change, Craig’s story reflects the essence of Life At Protiviti.

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