City of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Christiaan van der Walt holds a PhD with specialisation in machine learning and has 19 years experience in the development of novel artificial intelligence and machine learning systems. He has established and led a number of machine learning and data science competencies in the financial services industry and work performed by him and his teams in artificial intelligence has been featured in Forbes and has been awarded with a number of international prizes and patents. Christiaan is currently the Head of Advanced Analytics at Momentum (a South African listed financial services group with a market capitalization of 1.5 Billion USD) where he is responsible for establishing and leading a data science competency to implement artificial intelligence and machine learning across all aspects of the business and to assist with disruptive innovation. Prior to Momentum, Christiaan was the Chief Data Scientist / Officer and CTO of the MyBucks group where he established the MyBucks AI Innovation Lab and lead the conceptualisation, architecture, prototype development, testing and deployment of machine learning products into production for the MyBucks group across 14 operating countries. The AI team consisted of 10 data scientists and software engineers. The MyBucks AI and innovation lab successfully developed core AI products for the MyBucks group, including automated credit scoring, automated fraud detection, prediction of client payment behaviour, question answering systems, automated bank statement analysis, prediction of loan uptake etc. Prior to MyBucks, Christiaan technically led numerous machine learning teams and projects within the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) that focused on the research and development of novel machine learning algorithms and the application of machine learning algorithms to solve real-world machine learning tasks. During this time he established a strong research track record with a number of international research publications and he collaborated with a number of international R&D organisations, including German Institute of Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), University of Connecticut and Dartmouth College. Christiaan also worked as a research intern at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in 2008.
Responsibilities: -Lead data science competency in the Momentum group -Establish an operational model for the data science competency to work across 11 product businesses and make business impact -Engage with stakeholders across 11 product businesses in the Momentum group -Identify and lead development of new machine learning products and applications that will add business value to the group -Manage team of data scientists -Provide strategic leadership on machine learning in the group -Provide technical leadership on all existing and new machine learning systems and data science projects -Establish a data science community in Momentum and upskill existing Momentum employees -Oversee operational monitoring and reporting of existing machine learning systems -Communicate machine learning impact and objectives to senior management -Communicate business objectives to data science team -Remain up to date with latest developments in machine learning research -Remain up to date with latest application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in financial services
Responsibilities: -Establish and lead artificial intelligence and machine learning innovation competency in the MyBucks group -Identify and lead development of new AI products and applications that will add business value to the group -Manage group of data scientists (currently 9 excluding myself) -Provide strategic leadership on group EXCO and STEERCO -Provide technical leadership on all existing and new AI systems and products -Implement proof on concept AI systems and products -Identify new features for existing AI products and systems -Oversee operational monitoring and reporting of existing AI systems -Work closely with stakeholders in the group -Communicate machine learning impact and objectives to senior management -Communicate business objectives to data science team -Present work at AI and FinTech conferences -Remain up to date with latest developments in machine learning research -Remain up to date with latest developments in financial technology -Investigate and implement cutting edge AI and machine learning algorithms -Monitor, analyse and communicate business value and impact of AI systems across the group