OW Spotlight Will Maunder Taylor

What inspired you to work in AI?

It’s a fast moving space similar to Cyber, MedTech and FinTech; you can feel the momentum, as well as the constantly changing landscape. We are beginning to see meaningful applications of AI, using it to help solve problems rather than just experimenting with it. From helping detect cancer with large global medical data bases, to helping governments activate economies post-COVID; Pepsico is using AI to identify changing customer buying behaviours; the likes of Metlife offer Life Assurance to those older generations previously deemed too risky. SEB (Sweden) is also using it to offer loans to entrepreneurs and young professionals who were previously unable to get them due to their risk profile and the lack of information available on them.

 

What is your speciality and how has the Covid-19 pandemic affected  your normal working routine ?

I specialise in helping business decision makers (CEOs through to heads of business departments) identify challenges they face which could be solved by applying AI or leveraging data to identify what’s behind the problems, or to predict the future and then shape it. If anything, it has humanised many working relationships with clients. From seeing kids, spouses and pets in the background of video calls with clients, through to seeing inside people’s homes, the ability to work digitally has lowered many interpersonal barriers. Team culture has suffered, especially for new joiners, and the ability to learn from teammates has been hugely diminished. I never thought I’d say it, but I’m looking forward to coming back to London.

 

How did you get to where you are today?

Having co-founded a successful cyber defence software company, I ran a pro-bono recruitment agency that specialised in ex-forces placements into the private sector. All revenue and fees were donated to military charities, which helped me expand my network to hear about my current role. I also had the chance to work alongside some social impact-focused individuals, from the founder of the Invictus Games through to the organiser of Row2Recovery.

 

What advice would you give to students or young OWs who would like to join the AI profession?

Don’t just consider the big names or the best trodden paths. Get involved in the start-up and scale-up scene in junior Business Development or Sales roles. These roles allow for rapid growth, and perhaps more importantly, exposure to a multitude of roles (internal and external).

I’d also recommend looking at grad schemes with the large cloud names such as Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft, which are under-rated. To stand out from the crowd, there are many well-regarded certifications, such as Microsoft’s Azure. They offer certifications from Data Science Associate to Power BI (data visualisation) that can be done in several days and accelerate your understanding of the landscape, as well as providing a head start in the job search.

 

What is it like working within AI at the moment?

There are a lot of very capable and inspiring individuals in the sector. It feels fast moving, with capital available to enable fast growth of companies. This adds to the excitement and companies are increasingly spending more on many areas of AI, thus ensuring its future. It can be difficult to see behind the marketing and jargon, or understand exactly what a technology is doing. However, the barrier to harnessing AI is dropping, meaning less technical people can use it.

 

What are your career highlights?

For me, it’s the people I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside and the friendships I’ve made. I’ve been fortunate to meet many people who are solving meaningful, real world problems and am working within a team where people are inspired by are their priorities in life.

 

Do you have a fond memory from your time at Wellington that you would like to share or perhaps a particular teacher that really stood out?

Snowballs fights on the frozen lake or freezing cold morning dips in the outdoor pool.

Featured in the 2019 – 2020 Yearbook.