Welcome to episode 40 of AI Mentors, the podcast that helps you pave the way for a successful career in the world of Data Science and AI.

Powered by Alldus International the premium AI Workforce Solutions, our top consultant’s interview AI Leaders and Data Scientists from around the world about their personal journey to becoming a front-runner in AI. Guests offer practical advice to those interested in becoming a leader in Data Science.

Today’s guest is Wally Lo Faro, VP of Data Science at Mastercard. Wally has successfully built the data science capabilities and team in MasterCard Operations and Technology over the past five years. He is responsible for applying advanced techniques for improving and maintaining data quality of very large data sets, information product ideation and development as well as applying data science principles for process improvement. 

Wally has applied techniques from the areas of mathematics, machine learning, information retrieval, text analysis and statistics to design highly scalable approximate string matching systems, data quality monitoring and alerting systems, and fraud detection applications. He has also worked in designing marketing analytics and modeling environments, as well as building scalable and personalized recommendation engines. 

In the episode, Wally will tell you about:

Interesting projects he is leading at Mastercard 

How his role has evolved in his 13 years with the company 

Transitioning from academia to industry 

3 ways you can get involved in AI and Data Science 

What the ideal Data Science team looks like 

How to successfully add business value from Data Science projects 

What he looks for in an interview

To find out more about Wally and his work at Mastercard, check out the website www.mastercardservices.com/data-analytics or follow them on Twitter @Mastercard. You can also connect with Wally on Linkedin.

What were your key learns from Wally’s podcast? What takeaways did you gain from the show to help in your AI and Data Science aspirations? I would love to hear your thoughts so please leave a comment below.

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