All Speakers for CAI24 London

Aleksander (Alex) Molak is an independent consultant, researcher and educator specialized in causality. He’s the author of a best-selling book Causal Inference and Discovery in Python and the host of the Causal Bandits Podcast

Alex holds a PhD in Economics specializing in experimental and observational causal research into human behaviour. During his academic career he worked on multiple projects at the intersection of economics and computer science and built and co-managed an experimental laboratory. After academia he decided to bring his fascination for analyzing data to answer complex questions to an industry role. Currently, Alex works as a Data Scientist at Bergfreunde, Europe’s leading Outdoor eCommerce retailer. In this role he utilizes tools from Statistics, Machine Learning and Causal Inference to generate actionable insights for the organization.

Álvaro holds a BSc in Computer Science and a MSc in AI and Data Science from the University of Cantabria. He co-founded Skriva, a healthtech startup that aimed to automate medical bureaucracy. Currently, Álvaro is an expert data scientist at BBVA AI Factory, where he works on research and groundbreaking projects that apply AI for solving real-world challenges. He is currently exploring the applications of Causality in the banking sector.

Ari brings nearly two decades of experience in data defence, offence, and foundational capabilities, having built and led business functions in data science, analytics, business intelligence, data management, and market data procurement. Prior to joining Macquarie, Ari was Group CDO at Investec, responsible for governing enterprise-wide data migration to Cloud and leading Data & AI Management across regions and business units.

With nearly 20 years of experience in data, analytics, and CRM, Christopher Barth is a seasoned professional passionate about understanding the intricacies of business operations. His career began in consulting, where he honed his skills and gained extensive experience. Christopher then transitioned to a senior leadership role at HUGO BOSS headquarters, where he was instrumental in building a centralized team focused on customer data & analytics, CRM, and Performance Marketing. Currently, he leads the centralized Data & Analytics team at Europe’s leading Outdoor eCommerce retailer, driving the organization towards a data-driven future.

Ciarán is passionate about making fundamental advances in Causal Inference, translating them into practical & useful tools, & applying them to important problems in modern society. He is the Head of the Causal Inference Lab at Spotify & and holds an Honorary Associate Professorship at University College London. I have a DPhil (PhD) in Computer Science from University of Oxford, specialising in Causal Inference & Quantum Computing.

Clara is an experienced manager, leading a team that implements qualitative and quantitative research (focused on using customer, sales, brand) in order to measure customer perceptions and satisfaction. Clara manages a mixed technical team, composed of data scientists, data analysts and big data specialists, in order to obtain useful insights out of raw data. She is an executive MBA graduate with a financial and statistical academic backround.

Clara Higuera is Lead Data Scientist at BBVA AI Factory. She holds a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence from Complutense University in Madrid. With over 13 years of professional experience, Clara has worked in both academia and industry, applying AI techniques across various sectors, including bioinformatics, media at the BBC in London and banking at BBVA. The last years she led a data science team involved in building models that help financial advisors manage debt as early as possible. Clara has also worked in causal inference and algorithmic fairness and is currently part of BBVA’s Generative AI Lab, which aims to accelerate the safe adoption of generative AI.

Cristiano is a Machine Learning specialist in bp’s Digital Science discipline. He explores emerging trends in AI and Machine Learning, identifying disruptive technologies that could shape bp’s digital strategy. Having specialised Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics, he is passionate about using frontier technologies to drive innovation and sustainability in energy.

AI scientist turned tech entrepreneur Dr Darko Matovski is known for his pioneering work in Causal AI – a new category of intelligent machines that reason like humans and understand cause-and-effect relationships. He is the co-founder and CEO of causaLens, a $50M venture-backed scaleup headquartered in London. 

Dr Dimitra (Mimie) Liotsiou is an experienced data scientist and computer scientist, specialised in causal inference. She is a Senior Research Data Scientist at dunnhumby, a world-leading customer data science company. She has been leading the development of dunnhumby’s causal inference capacity. Her data science experience spans several domains, including retail (dunnhumby), online human interactions, social media, and online misinformation (University of Oxford, University of Southampton), healthcare (UK Department of Health), and financial computing (Morgan Stanley). She holds a PhD in Computer Science and an MSc in Operational Research from the University of Southampton, and a BA (Hons) in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge. Her work has been honoured with awards and has been featured in top media outlets.

As a Data Scientist and KTP Associate at Croud, Fernanda is applying her expertise in mathematics to innovate advertising measurement techniques. In her KTP role, she collaborates with academics from the University of Essex to push the boundaries of marketing optimization. Fernanda is currently focused on Media Mix Model (MMM) projects, where she evaluates and refines different methods to precisely attribute marketing impact. In addition to traditional MMM approaches, she is investigating the use of causality analysis to gain deeper insights and enhance marketing strategies. Her educational background, which includes a Master’s in Optimization and Data Analysis and Bachelor’s degrees in Applied Mathematics and Economics, provides her with a strong foundation for addressing complex data challenges.

Gideon leads the Research team at McCann Worldgroup, focussing on consumer journeys, brand roles, and concept & campaign co-creation. He specializes in consumer insights, advertising optimization, and collaborative solutions.

Driven by a fascination with understanding the world around us, I have consistently focused on addressing causal questions. My work has evolved from early applications in decision support systems using expert knowledge to my current research in promotion personalization, leveraging causal inference and uplift modeling. I currently serve as a Senior Machine Learning Scientist in the Pricing Department at Booking.com. I hold a PhD in Computer Science from Leiden University, where I concentrated on statistically robust learning for interpretable machine learning models using information theory, in collaboration with GE Aviation. My career spans diverse industry experience, including positions at Huawei Research Labs in Ireland and Silo AI in Helsinki.

Javier holds a B.Sc. in Economics and mathematics and a master in Data Science. His career in data science began in consulting at the R&D department of Management Solutions developing NLP projects for quantifying reputational impact of companies as well as time series ML models for predicting market variables or financial fraud detection models. He also led a backend team in creating an AutoML tool. Two years ago he moved to the financial sector joining BBVA AI Factory as a senior data scientist. He currently works on developing predictive and propensity models that help financial advisors manage the debt of clients as early as possible. He is also leveraging causal inference applications in the financial sector.

Maria is an acknowledged AI ethics and policy expert. As PwC’s Head of AI Public Policy and Ethics, she is responsible for integrating ethical and policy considerations into the company’s AI strategies, promoting partnerships with key stakeholders, and leading PwC’s engagement in public policy debates and initiatives. Previously she was PwC Responsible AI lead, pioneering the adoption of ethical AI practices for the UK firm and its clients.. Additionally, Maria champions AI for children and human-centric AI.

Author of Causal Inference in Python and Causal Inference for the Brave and True, and Staff Data Scientist, Matheus is passionate about all things causal.

Matteo Courthoud is an applied scientist at Zalando, supporting loyalty and assortment decision-making with experimental and observational causal inference. Previously he worked on Geo experiments for advertisement at Google. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Zurich and regularly writes about causal inference on Medium.

Michael John (Mike) Williams has 30 years’ experience across numerical methods and remote sensing, primarily for energy services. He has worked on large scale physics simulation for porous media flow, geomechanics, and fluid mechanics; defined statistical methods for analysing microseismic events caused by hydraulic fracturing; developed the use of fibre-optic distributed sensing for geoscience applications; and pioneered neurosymbolic real-time risk assessors. Currently a Research Program Manager for SLB, he is responsible for the Automation and Planning group which research trusted automated decision-making. In recent years this group has supported the development of neurosymbolic and cyberphysical systems deployed globally as part of SLB’s energy transition strategy.