At DSF we are lucky enough to have some very talented MCs who volunteer their time at our events, bringing their personality, warmth and expertise to the room. During our festivals, our MCs take centre stage, offering a helping hand to our speakers and keeping the show going both on and off stage. This interview provides a glimpse into the personal side of our MCs within our expanding community. Dive into the brief interview below!
A bit about Niclas:
Niclas specialises in running retail data science teams. He initially started out in academia, doing a PhD in Machine Learning and a short period as a postdoctoral researcher before joining Tesco as a data scientist, largely focussing on macro and micro space optimisation. From there, he moved to Sainsbury’s, continuing in technical hands-on roles to begin with before transitioning into a leadership position as Head of Data Science. More recently, he has led data science teams at Gousto and Next.
When did you MC for DSF?
The most recent sessions I hosted were in August 2023, where the topics were data architecture and Spark at scale – two great talks that were great to be a (small) part of.
How many times have you been an MC and from what year?
I’ve hosted five sessions in all, spanning the past couple of years.
Why did you want to volunteer as an MC with DSF?
Firstly, it’s great to just be part of the community, whether that’s as a host, speaker or audience member. Having given many talks in my 10+ years as a data scientist, and numerous more in academia, it’s nice to take on a slightly different role, and get a ringside seat for some great talks in the process. Secondly, it’s great to be involved with DSF specifically to host these talks – I love the breadth of topics, more than just data science, and I’ve been really keen to support them across multiple events. And in addition to the above, it’s great from a personal perspective to grow my network, meet with the speakers I host in the sessions, as well as the wider audience.
What is your favourite thing about being an MC?
Getting to hear great talks first hand, on topics that aren’t always the kind of talks I’d attend as an audience member if they’re less related to what I do day-to-day.
What advice would you give other people looking to MC at an event?
Just get involved, put yourself forward – it’s not a huge commitment in terms of time to prep, but you get a lot out of it.
What is next for you?
Longer term, I’d love to stay close to data science and focus more on Chief Data Scientist roles than a wider Chief Data Office role. Though I would say that choosing the right company to work in with great opportunities for growth and development is far more important than any role title. More immediately, I’m enjoying my role as Head of Data Science at Next – we’ve got plenty we’re working on across personalisation, recommendations and search on our web and app platforms, and I’m really excited to see these products and features land in 2024, as well as developing the next iterations for each of these products to continue to build a brilliant experience for our customers.
Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers for taking part in our MC Spotlight!
Want to become a DSF MC? Apply here!