Stuart Davie: A Data-driven Vision Inspires Meaningful Change

Peak is a leading provider of artificial intelligence technology and services. The company helps customers wherever they are in their data journey and gives them the platform, applications, and expertise they need to move at pace. Peak's outcome-focused approach, alongside the experience of working with companies across multiple industries and sectors, has allowed it to develop a range of tried and tested AI applications that help its customers grow.

Leading With Vision And Purpose

Stuart Davie joined Peak as one of the first data scientists back in 2016 when the company was about 10 people. Before Peak, he had spent several years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Manchester, applying AI to molecular optimization, but Stuart decided that he wanted to move to industry, where AI research seemed more dynamic and impactful.

His role at Peak has grown with the company. In 2018, when Stuart took the lead on Data Science R&D, the company established research partnerships with local universities and deployed the first suite of business-relevant ML models for AWS on its launch of the ML marketplace. "I then moved into the position of Head of Data Science Operations, responsible for all the AI solutions we delivered for our customers, from Nike to PepsiCo. As VP of Data Science, I am now responsible for all our AI-focussed teams, including Insight and Data Engineering, our Application products function, and our Professional Services," Stuart opined. 

Empowering The Team To Be Curious

A background in research has given Stuart the confidence to see beyond what already exists in order to innovate and invent and has allowed him to approach problems at Peak (both technical and not) with more freedom than others. A key lesson that applies to data science, in particular, is to empower the team to be curious. This technology is both broad and fast-moving, and most data science teams have practitioners from a variety of backgrounds. Giving diverse people an inclusive space to collaborate, learn, and try new things will result in both a happier team and one better placed to solve tomorrow's problems.

Finding Effective Balance Is The Key

A common start-up analogy is to build the plane while the business owner is flying it. One can be exposed to every part of the business while having to navigate the complexities that come with limited processes and infrastructure. This can stretch the leader out of his/her comfort zone! When everything needs to be done as fast as possible, prioritization becomes key, and this requires an effective balance of short and long-term strategy. This is doubly true for tech, which suffers from the Red Queen Effect more than most industries.

Start With The End In Mind

One of the key principles at Peak is to start with the end in mind. Data Science is often used to optimize a metric, but what will the impact of that be on business outcomes? Everyone wants better forecasts, but if a business is not using its forecasts effectively, then striving for a 20% increase in accuracy could be a waste of time. An accurate sales lead-scoring model would achieve little if all sales leads were going to get the same bulk email treatment.

Maintaining Close Relationship With Customer Base

Peak is fortunate to have a great customer feedback loop. The company's Professional Services team works with customers directly, and this experience feeds directly back into the Product team. Peak specializes in operationalizing AI, but it also believes that every business is different, so that close relationship with the customer base has been crucial to its success.

Consistency Breeds Trust And Growth

"I think the speed at which AI is impacting modern innovation is probably unprecedented, which is what makes the field so interesting. It only took 5 years to go from Vaswani's seminal paper "Attention is All You Need" to the Large Language Models we have today," Stuart stated. Go-playing AI went from amateur-dan level to unbeatable-by-humans within 3 years. On the other hand, the hype around blockchain has faded, and Peak still sees many businesses working in traditional ways without modern data infrastructure or even foundational statistical approaches to business analysis. For a data leader to be successful, they need to balance keeping a broad view of how evolving tech can be relevant to their business with a narrow focus on making sure the work they focus on will have an operational impact.

Delivering AI Solutions Through An Application-first Approach

The power of AI is going to continue to grow, but to get the most out of it, companies are going to need an AI that understands their specific business and customers. Every business is different, and a one-size-fits-all approach to operationalizing AI will be doomed to fail. Peak understands this and, through an application-first approach to delivering AI solutions, helps businesses solve this problem and grow faster.

Embrace The Journey of Becoming a Leader

The tech industry evolves rapidly, and data science is no exception. Stay up-to-date with the latest trends, tools, and methodologies. Continuous learning is essential to remain competitive. It's crucial to have a strong foundation in data science, statistics, and machine learning. Building expertise in the fundamentals is crucial before diving into complex projects. According to Stuart, "Always remember that you have front-row seats to the most exciting and transformative times in the history of tech, so enjoy the ride."