How Equifax Empowers Talent in the Age of Applied AI

If you ask Mariette De Meillon about her journey in data and analytics, she will tell you how her natural curiosity has constantly driven her toward continuous learning and experimentation. Spanning expertise from SQL and Big Data to Data Science and Generative AI, she currently serves as SVP of Customer Intelligence and Applied AI, shaping how we build smart solutions for our customers. An analyst at heart and a mighty force in this space, Mariette is also an avid chess player who organizes annual tournaments at Equifax, proving that technical innovation and human connection go hand in hand.

We caught up with Mariette to discuss how our evolving use of AI is not only a game changer for our customers, but a powerful shift in how we work and innovate every day.

How AI is Reshaping How We Work at Equifax

The arrival of enterprise AI has fundamentally shifted day-to-day work across the organization. For Mariette, it starts with streamlining repetitive administrative tasks, from triaging crowded inboxes to drafting routine replies. But where it truly shines is in accelerating complex work like writing code, analyzing data, and assembling executive-ready presentations.

Beyond speed, AI serves as an ideation partner. As Mariette puts it: “If you can think it with AI, you can now create it.” Team members can take an initial spark and instantly generate an HTML mockup to workshop with peers. By letting AI handle execution, teams have more room to bring their creativity and curiosity to the table.

The Cloud Advantage and Product Innovation 

Powering that kind of rapid experimentation is the early migration at Equifax to a cloud-native Google Cloud Platform (GCP). In addition to transforming how we serve our customers, that early shift gave our teams front-row access to top enterprise AI models the moment they are released.

By leveraging Google Vertex AI as an end-to-end platform, our Data & Analytics team has made AI an integrated part of our daily workflows. This infrastructure allows teams to move quickly from experimentation to building real solutions that solve customer challenges.

A few standout examples include:

• AI Advisor: A customer-facing capability that provides AI-generated insights and recommendations directly to clients.
• Equifax IQ: A novel tool developed by the innovation team that helps customers make smarter, data-driven decisions using our proprietary data assets.

For Mariette, having early access to powerful cloud technology, coupled with massive data and great people, creates an environment where everyone can truly do their best work.

Critical Thinking in an Automated World

While the speed and capability of enterprise AI are impressive, Mariette is quick to remind her teams that technology has clear limits. She frequently references a favorite maxim: "AI can do your thinking for you, but it cannot do your understanding for you."

At Equifax, using AI is not about handing over the reins; it is about partnering with the technology while staying deeply engaged in the work. As Mariette explains, machines can process datasets, generate code, and synthesize outputs, but they do not possess genuine comprehension of our customers, our business context, or our mission.

"We encourage everybody to work with AI, but to still bring critical thinking," Mariette emphasizes. "It is that critical thinking that allows people to make good decisions."

Engaging critically with deliverables rather than passively accepting automated answers is also key to personal career growth. In Mariette’s view, that process of questioning outputs, connecting dots, and exercising judgment is how employees build deep domain expertise and develop into the future leaders of the organization.

Launching and Growing Your Career

"Equifax has always been a company that invests heavily in its people and in people development," Mariette shares.

For her, that commitment hits close to home. With two college-age sons about to graduate and look for their first jobs, she has spent considerable time thinking about what actually makes a great place to start a career. She noted that at Equifax, early-career hires get to dive right into big data, work on cloud-native technology, and learn how the financial industry really operates.

Most importantly, you do not just learn about AI by reading about it; you build practical skills on the job while tackling real problems for customers. When you bring together great people, proprietary data, and early access to the latest tools, it creates an environment where people can truly grow and do their best work.

And as quickly as technology is evolving, Mariette is the first to tell you that this is only the beginning: "AI has changed how we work in such a big way in such a short time. And honestly, I believe it's just the tip of the iceberg."

Learn more about available opportunities at Equifax.