At Smart Data Foundry, David is responsible for leading the product development team. His main objective is to utilise financial data in order to gain insight into how individuals and businesses manage their finances. David collaborates with government institutions, banks, charities, fintech and academics to make more informed decisions, develop better policies and create superior products that will ultimately lead to improved outcomes.
Prior to joining Smart Data Foundry, David held the position of leading the Data Science and Innovation team for the UK Consumer data division at Experian. He has also gained extensive experience in the banking and insurance financial services industry, as well as contributing to the success of start-ups such as FanDuel and Castlight Financial.
Smart Data Foundry was established in 2022 to unlock the power of financial data to tackle big issues and create positive impact across society, the economy and the environment.
Located in Edinburgh Futures Institute, the company is a spin-out of Edinburgh University. It is an independent, not-for-profit organisation and works with major financial institutions, including the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, the public sector and charities, to use data for good.
In association with its partners, Smart Data Foundry uses financial data to understand the economic dynamics at play in people’s lives and how consumers, businesses and communities can be helped with the insights.
Data privacy and security are the pillars of Smart Data Foundry’s work, with rigorous protocols in place to ensure the ethical use of data held in its Trusted Research Environment (TRE). Its TRE infrastructure is provided by the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC) at the University of Edinburgh, a supercomputing centre with a strong track record of supporting secure cutting-edge research.
Smart Data Foundry has developed aizle, a synthetic data platform. Using advanced agent-based AI simulation, aizle generates data with exceptional utility, fidelity, and zero risk. It mirrors and even surpasses real-world data features without the need for actual input data, completely eradicating privacy concerns and overcoming all data and security constraints.
