Alejandro Padilla Jonguitud

Data Team Leader

Interview

Meet Alejandro, our Data Team Leader. To him, analyzing data is like having superpowers because it allows you to anticipate the future and make impactful actionable decisions. He prioritizes clear explanations and direct communication with his team and is personally interested in Generative AI and the impact it will have in the future cookieless industry. If he won the lottery, investing in AI would be his plan.

To organize himself better, Alejandro usually splits his day in two: during the mornings, he works closely with teammates (through Slack, Gmail, and Calendar), in the afternoons, he focuses more on completing his own tasks and projects… on making the magic happen!

Question: What is the best part of being a Data Scientist?

Answer: Being a Data Scientist is like having superpowers, you get to anticipate the future, uncover hidden patterns, and derive meaningful insights from vast amounts of data. The best part lies in the ability to transform raw information into actionable knowledge, enabling informed decision-making across various industries.

Q: Could you list some tips to become a good Data Scientist? What are the essential skills needed in your job?

A: In my experience, the most effective Data Scientists are those skilled in extracting valuable insights rooted in business context. Prioritizing clear explanations over complex models often leads to more impactful contributions, contributing significantly to increased revenue.

Q: Tell us about a recent success story or job goal you’re proud of.

A: One that I’m particularly proud of, is the development of a system that would help one of the main banks in the world to measure their advertising efforts across their different channels online and offline and how they would contribute to the purchase of their financial products. The project was so successful that it was set to be implemented in 6 different countries that I know of.

Q: How do you organize your day? What tools do you use and which of them are your favorite ones?

A: I tend to split my day in two. The first half I use to solve as many things as I can that involve communicating with other members of the team, for which I use Slack, GMail, Calendar, etc. The second half, I focus on whichever task that I need to complete regarding the projects I’m involved in, and in this case I mainly use Python and SQL in a variety of tools.

Q: What do you expect from the future of the industry? What needs to be improved?

A: The pervasive impact of Generative AI is unmistakable across various industries, and ours is no exception. While the continuous evolution of this technology is inevitable, it holds immense potential to address significant challenges. A noteworthy example is enhancing the contextual understanding of content, particularly in the realm of targeted advertising. Advancements in this area could revolutionize user experience by delivering relevant ads without relying on intrusive tracking methods such as cookies. This reflects a promising avenue for improvement within our industry, showcasing the potential for Generative AI to bring about positive transformations.

Q: Do you have any idea how many emails you send per day?

A: I’m not much of an email guy, I rather have a quick chat to make things run faster and less prone to miscommunication.

Q: What is the app you use the most in your daily life?

A: Slack for communication and VSCode for development and notetaking.

Q: What is the first thing you do when you get home and disconnect from work?

A: Be with my wife and kids 🙂. They are my reason for all the hard work.

Q: What would you do if you won the lottery?

A: Invest in AI 🤖 This tech should be close to us, making our lives easier and better in every step of the way.