Dr. Susie Harding
Nominated Award: Women in AI Person of the Year
Linkedin profile of Person: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-susie-harding-489a7341
Dr. Susie Harding, VP of Data Science, has been leading the development of Arvoia’s behavioural cloud since 2018.
Susie has a unique combination of theoretical expertise from her PhD in Biostatistics at University College Dublin, coupled with more than a decade’s experience building big data, behavioural science-driven AI solutions at some of the world’s largest online gaming sites such as PokerStars, Full Tilt and Matchbook.
She is passionate about using data to transform businesses and solve challenges. Susie’s thirst for results helps Arvoia deliver world-class technology that enables hospitality businesses to improve their sales results with a simple code, while the data does the heavy lifting in the background to drive conversion and incremental revenue. Susie’s innovations have helped Arvoia’s clients automate and refine data models in hours, not days or weeks. She is very active within the Analytics and Tech communities in Ireland, speaking at Women in Tech Dublin 2019, as a lecturer for the Professional Diploma in Data Analytics & AI at the Analytics Institute of Ireland and guest speaker on TechRadio podcast to name a few. Susie is passionate supporter of women in technology.
Reason for Nomination
Arvoia provides advanced Artificial Intelligence to the hospitality industry and has analytics at the core. This environment is built around data insights advanced analytics to create the Arvoia AI Platform. These insights are relayed to customers and internal stakeholders, to strive for data informed decisions. Analytics creates data driven products that enable the successful growth and development of the company. An exceptional analytics leader is critical to the development AI platform tailored to the hospitality sector which enables every hotel to transform their booking experience with the power of AI, with minimal tech overhead.
As VP of Data Science at Arvoia, Dr Susie Harding has been leading the development of the Arvoia behavioural cloud, the establishment of Arvoia’s Model Factory and Model Manager over the last number of years which are our bespoke approach to AI modelling and audience selection at scale. This includes the development of the Arvoia’s AI platform and supporting framework which transforms raw data into behavioural data & understandings, the identification of key behavioural-driven AI use cases to solve problems in the hospitality. Susie also introduced an end-to-end predictive modelling framework (Model Factory) which puts Arvoia at the forefront of deep learning and behavioural insight.
Susie manages, develops & mentors a growing team of data scientists at various levels working on prediction and personalisation technologies to improve the customer experience for clients across the travel sector. She leads and defines the strategic focus of the data science team to drive business objectives and support the development of new products and features. Susie engages with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders and clients from C Suite to mid management level, across multiple departments including sales, marketing, product, and delivery. She has been instrumental in building key relationships with clients through her level of collaboration, insights and sharing. Her level of expertise instils trust with clients along with her ability to translate complex subjects into layperson’s language.
Arvoia hold each and every one of its team members to account for our cultural values, Respect, Courage, and Impact. These cultural values ensure that everyone is working with the same mindset and the collective will exceed the individual. Susie lives these values daily in her role and as a leader in at Arvoia. Susie proactively promotes the company culture driving key culture initiatives with her infectious enthusiasm.
As a Data Scientist reporting to Susie, I have daily first-hand experience of her leadership qualities. First and foremost, Susie puts the development of her team ahead of all else. She constantly encourages us to improve as individuals be it through delegation, critical feedback, or coaching. Our Data Scientists are regularly given the flexibility to innovate and improve, while still having the guidance to ensure all improvements impact the better good of the company. Any enhancements made are sure to be given sufficient acclaim both within and outside the organisation, by our number one cheerleader (Susie). Being a leader is not just about managing your direct reports but also how you interact with the wider organisation. Susie is the primary source of all things Data Science within Arvoia, this is communicated directly to the Data Science, Development and Testing teams and to the Leadership group. This means ensuring the focus addresses both our current needs and our future scalability concerns. Part of this is having the courage to hold frank, open, and honest discussions if the current solution needs refactoring. This cross-cultural communication is one to key reasons for the exceptional level of data and analytics awareness with the organisation.
In conclusion, Susie drives me to be the best Data Scientist I can be. She is fundamental to any progression I have made over the last two years since joining the company. The mix of critical feedback, strategic focus and delegation is tailor-made to respect my current skills and focused on developing me both professionally and personally.