techUK AI Leaders Joe Thomas, FinancialForce

29 Apr 2019 01:21 PM

This month’s AI Leader is Joe Thomas, Global Analytics Evangelist at FinancialForce.

techUK Has Launched A Year Long Campaign to Promote The AI Leaders Helping to Make The UK AI Ready.

The purpose of techUK’s ‘AI leaders’ campaign is to showcase technology leaders that are playing a leadership role in making the UK AI ready. The campaign will highlight best practice by leaders that are creating AI enabled organisations, across all sectors, and building a culture of trust and confidence in AI technologies that have the power to be a force for good and are vital to the UK’s economic, societal and digital future.

If you are an AI leader, or know someone that is, get in touch with techUK to see how you can get involved!

This Month’s AI Leader is Joe Thomas, Global Analytics Evangelist at Financialforce

We asked Joe 10 questions about his work and experiences with AI. Read on for a taster and find the full interview below.

What is your current role and responsibilities? 

I’m the Global Analytics Evangelist at FinancialForce where I’ve worked for the last 2 years. FinancialForce is a leading provider of Professional Services Automation, and the only provider of customer-centric ERP. My job is to help drive the adoption of analytics and AI within FinancialForce itself, as part of our products, and of course, out in the global marketplace.  

What is your background that led you to AI?

I grew up in Silicon Valley, watching fruit orchards turn into the greatest tech companies in the world, so I’ve always been immersed in tech. My best friend and I built the first computers (Zenith Heathkits!) for our high school computer lab. Probability and Statistics were always my favourite maths classes, and yes, I’m a science fiction nerd, so AI-driven characters such as HAL from 2001, Data from Star Trek TNG, Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics” or the various ships in Iain M Banks “Culture” books were always part of my consciousness.  A large portion of my undergraduate studies in Asian Industrial Systems was focused around robotics, particularly in the Japanese automotive industry. As analytic mindsets became standard for most organizations, I found my interest shifting towards the power of AI-enabled business applications as the next frontier of competitive advantage for organisations!

Read the PDF below to find out more about Joe's background and why he got involved in AI. To read more from techUK's AI week, visiting our landing page by clicking here!