Everguard.ai Hires Chief Strategy Officer Mark Bula to Drive Global Expansion

By AIT News Desk On May 27, 2020

Experienced metal industry veteran joins company to make industrial environments safer for workers through advanced AI implementations

Everguard.ai, a developer of AI-based worker safety solutions, announced that it has appointed Mark Bula as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and General Manager (GM) of Steel. Bula will be responsible for the strategic leadership of Everguard.ai’s overall growth plans and will also specifically spearhead the company’s efforts in the steel industry.

Bula is a proven senior executive in the industrial sector with 30 years of experience in organizations ranging from $38 million USD to billion-dollar startups. He brings steel industry-specific knowledge to the development of Everguard.ai’s growing product portfolio, as well as developing and implementing effective go-to-market strategies.

Bula has been intimately involved in the steel industry for the majority of his career. He previously worked at electric arc furnace (EAF) mills at Nucor, Severcorr and Big River Steel. Prior to joining Everguard.ai, Bula was part of the founding management team and oversaw the commercial launch of a $1.6B new steel company, Big River Steel. He was responsible for the company’s go-to-market strategy along with industry legend John Correnti.

“Every organization wants to prioritize the safety of their employees,” said Mark Bula, Chief Strategy Officer of Everguard.ai. “Technology and artificial intelligence can play a critical role in protecting workers and making a plant both more efficient and safer. Everguard.ai’s Sentri360™ offers an AI suite of applications and devices that gathers data through multi-sensor inputs in real-time to proactively avoid workplace injuries and reduce safety concerns.”

Sentri360 sensor fusion safety net has the following objectives in its recent commercial release:

Encourage proper PPE protocol, including hard hat detection. This is evolving to meet post-COVID-19 needs which may also include mask and glove detection.
Provide proactive health detection (i.e., temperature, dehydration, etc.).
Encourage safety zone and lockout tagout compliance.
Safeguard employees, machinery and vehicles from impending collisions involving cranes, forklifts, people, etc.
Specific to steel mills: detect rolling mill cobble possibilities.
Provide for fall detection through workers wearables.
Data analytics viewable on the Sentri360 User Portal for action and review in ongoing training customized to plant safety program.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mark to help guide Everguard.ai’s expansion in the metals industry,” said Sandeep Pandya, Chief Executive Officer of Everguard.ai. “With Mark’s rich expertise, we aim to help industrial environments maintain safe and healthy workplaces, especially in a post-COVID-19 world.”

Steel companies today rely on human-in-the-loop methods to assess worker and environmental safety. Traditional video surveillance must also be actively monitored with the possibility of missing critical events due to distraction. The entire process is reactionary with the inability to offer real-time proactive warnings to workers. Sentri360 is an end-to-end system that provides a cloud-based user portal with predictive analytics, and a coaching module to build overall safety adherence.

Bula has also impacted other heavy industries such as construction, chemicals, mining, steel fabrication and consumer product manufacturing during a tenure in strategic management consulting. Bula earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in International Business from the University of Toledo and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree in Industrial Marketing from Robert Morris University.