Ryan Bank
Ryan Bank | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 27, 1981 |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University |
| Occupation(s) | Emerging Technology Expert, New Media Expert, Communications |
| Years active | 2005-Present |
| Known for | Founding the Geospatial Insurance Consortium; social-media rescue analytics for the 2010 Haiti earthquake |
| Title | Executive Advisor, Vexcel |
| Board member of | Board of Advisors, Vexcel Group, National Geospatial Advisory Committee |
| Partner | Dr. Sandra Köhldorfer |
| Children | Kaia Amelia |
| Website | Vexcel, Personal Site |
Ryan Clayton Bank (born April 27, 1981) is an American technology executive best known for applying aerial imagery and open-source intelligence to risk management and disaster response.[1] He sits on the senior leadership team and Board of Advisors of Vexcel Group, a global aerial-imaging company, and founded the not-for-profit Geospatial Insurance Consortium (GIC) in 2017. Bank earlier consulted with governments on the use of social intelligence gathering, and produced the Holocaust-themed documentary A Private War.
Early life
[edit]Bank grew up on Chicago’s North Shore and graduated from Deerfield High School. He earned a Bachelor of Philosophy in Communication from Northwestern University, graduating cum laude and joining Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society.[citation needed]
Career
[edit]Vexcel
[edit]Bank is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and serves on the Board of Advisors at Vexcel, a global provider of aerial imagery and geospatial data. At Vexcel, he has contributed to expanding the company's aerial data collection to over 40 countries and advanced imagery products, which support industries including insurance, government, telecommunications, utilities, transportation, and technology sectors worldwide.
Geospatial Insurance Consortium (GIC)
[edit]In 2017, Bank launched the Geospatial Insurance Consortium (GIC) in partnership with the National Insurance Crime Bureau and Vexcel to supply high-resolution “Blue Sky” (baseline) and “Gray Sky” (post-disaster) imagery to insurers and public agencies.[1] GIC’s first large-scale deployment captured 24,000 square miles after Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017, processing 100 terabytes of imagery within days.[2] GIC rapidly grew to become the world's largest aerial imagery program for insurers.
Social Intelligence consulting
[edit]Bank consulted with governments on leveraging Social and Open Source Intelligence (SOCINT/OSINT) to support public safety and disaster response efforts. Notably, during the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, he developed a social media monitoring platform for the U.S. Coast Guard that aggregated distress messages from social platforms to facilitate real-time rescues, credited with saving thousands of lives.[3]
Clayton Entertainment
[edit]Ryan Bank served as the president of Clayton Entertainment, a media production company based in Chicago, Illinois. Clayton Entertainment was founded as a media production company and has worked on projects ranging from music videos, television programs, media production and now New Media.[4]
Clayton Entertainment has become involved with the production and distribution of new media projects with platforms such as Hulu.[citation needed]
A Private War
[edit]In 2001, Bank produced a documentary and feature film, A Private War, about the life of Dr. Eugene Lazowski.[5] Lazowski saved the lives of about 8,000 Jews in the town of Rozwadów as well as in surrounding villages by creating a fake typhus epidemic during World War II. He used medical science to save Jews and other Poles from being deported to the Nazi concentration camps.[6]
Public Sector and Advisory Roles
[edit]National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC)
[edit]Appointed by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior in December 2024. NGAC is an advisory body to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Bank provides strategic guidance on national geospatial policy and the management of federal geospatial programs and resources. [7] :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
[edit]Bank acts as a Private Sector Representative for the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). In this role, he advocates for integrating advanced technologies, including aerial imaging and AI, into global strategies aimed at disaster preparedness and risk mitigation, particularly focusing on vulnerable communities worldwide.
International Government Advisory
[edit]Bank has consulted extensively for international governments and organizations on the strategic use of geospatial intelligence and aerial imaging technology. His advisory portfolio includes work with senior leadership at BP during the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill, advising the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and collaboration with U.S. Southern Command. His international engagements have extended to consulting for more than 25 foreign governments, primarily on disaster response planning and intelligence integration.
Notable Projects
[edit]Haiti Earthquake Response (2010)
[edit]Bank developed a system for the United States Coast Guard that used social media monitoring to find survivors after the 2010 Haiti earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Based on an extensive set of tools — including the remarkable work of several NGOs and Private Volunteer Organizations — he was able to monitor hundreds of thousands of messages coming from Haiti, looking for those that needed immediate rescue. Upon receiving distress messages, Bank worked with military responders to coordinate message traffic with information from other sources. Ultimately, this intelligence would be passed to commanders in the field and rescue teams were launched to the location.[8][9]
Global Disaster Management Consulting
[edit]Bank has provided strategic guidance on leveraging aerial imagery and geospatial data in numerous international crises, including advising BP's executive team on innovative technology deployment during the Gulf Oil Spill, and supporting emergency and military operations in multiple disaster scenarios.
Personal life
[edit]Bank became engaged to Austrian psychotherapist and television personality Dr. Sandra Köhldorfer on the finale of the ninth season of Hochzeit auf den ersten Blick (Sat.1), the German-language adaptation of Married at First Sight where Köhldorfer serves as a host and relationship expert, on 21 November 2022.[10] The surprise proposal was broadcast on Sat.1 and garnered significant public attention in German-speaking countries.
Their daughter, Kaia Amelia, was born seven weeks prematurely on 15 January 2025.[11] The couple announced plans to marry in August 2025 on the Schlossberg in Graz, Austria.
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Morris, Gregory DL (14 September 2018). "This Risk Manager Put Critical CAT Data at the Industry's Fingertips". Risk & Insurance. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ "This Risk Manager Put Critical CAT Data at the Industry's Fingertips". Risk & Insurance. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Podolsky, Randy (Spring 2010). "From the Bridge" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Clayton Entertainment homepage
- ^ "Life Preserver". Archived from the original on June 5, 2007.
- ^ American Medical Association article
- ^ "National Geospatial Advisory Committee Membership – December 2024" (PDF). Federal Geographic Data Committee. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Gentile, Carmen (February 20, 2010). "Cries for Help via Text Messages Are Used to Direct Aid to Haiti" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Cell Phones Become Lifeline for Haitian Survivors". VOA.
- ^ "Der erste Antrag bei „Hochzeit auf den ersten Blick"". Sat.1. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Rebbin, Merle (17 January 2025). "„Hochzeit auf den ersten Blick": Baby von Sandra Köhldorfer ist da – 7 Wochen zu früh". TV Movie (in German). Retrieved 29 June 2025.
External links
[edit]- Personal Site
- Vexcel Site
- Ryan Bank at IMDb