Trust Science secured more than just financial support this week, gaining backing from a former industry leader who “has already opened doors, at the highest levels, that were previously impenetrable.”

The provider of underwriting support powered by artificial intelligence announced an equity investment by Donald Guloien, the previous president and chief executive officer of Manulife Financial, which is the parent of John Hancock in the U.S. and one of the largest insurance and asset management companies in the world.

Since retiring, Guloien has been “investing in early stage companies with truly exceptional ideas” through Guloien Capital.

Guloien went on to say in a news release, “Trust Science addresses a fundamental issue that companies deal with all the time: How to assess the reliability and creditworthiness of individual customers and counter-parties. This issue is even more daunting when dealing internationally, where conventional scoring may be inconsistent, unreliable or completely unavailable. 

“This rapidly growing service seeks to level the playing field for all the world's citizens to be fairly considered for commercial transactions,” he added.

During his 36 years at the company, Guloien participated in the consistent growth of Manulife and John Hancock across the United States, Canada and Asia, reaching more than $1 trillion of assets under administration and a $50 billion market cap.

Guloien’s leadership did not go unnoticed, being voted as one of the highest rated CEOs by Glassdoor.com.

And now he’s throwing his support toward Trust Science and its product Credit Bureau 2.0.

Trust Science explained that it sifts prime borrowers and insurance applicants from wrongly scored subprime applicants in a legally compliant manner. Trust Science informs its machine learning engine by gathering inclusive, alternative, unstructured data and consumer-consented data from among other sources their mobile phones. 

An applicant’s social map is part of the uniquely powerful matrix of insights that Trust Science has developed that can help underwriters with both decisioning and also with marketing outreach. 

“It is truly a privilege to have someone of Mr. Guloien’s caliber and discipline help with our explosive growth,” Trust Science CEO Evan Chrapko said. “Donald’s previous experience, advice and contacts will be invaluable as we expand the reach of Credit Bureau 2.0 around the world and into other verticals. 

“He has already opened doors, at the highest levels, that were previously impenetrable,” Chrapko added.