Dr. Bettina E. Schirrmeister – Head of Data Science (MONY Group) – Linkedin Profile

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Enthusiastic, commercially-focused Data and AI leader, building and scaling high-performing data science teams to deliver data-driven, actionable solutions operating at the core of an organisation’s strategy. With a PhD in evolutionary statistical modelling, I have a decade of experience translating data opportunities into enterprise value.My passion lies in architecting the ‘full stack’ of data science capability:

Strategy & Leadership: Defining an AI vision and scaling teams to deliver measurable ROI

MLOps Vision: Implementing state-of-the-art ,scalable MLOps (DBT, GCP, Vertex AI) solutions that ensure reproducibility and rapid time-to-value

AI Acceleration: Championing AI adoption, leading initiatives to embed tools like Gemini and Github copilot across functions unlocking new levels of productivity and innovation

Short Bio:

Over the past four years, I’ve led data science at Royal Mail and MONY Group, where I built and developed teams of full-stack data scientists delivering impactful AI and ML solutions across commercial, marketing, and operational domains.

My teams have created scalable, maintainable solutions for:

Commercial analytics: customer propensity modelling, product recommendations, and marketing ROI optimisation.
Operational forecasting: parcel delivery windows, revenue, and demand forecasting. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2058802X.2021.1943191
Automation & anomaly detection: AI-driven monitoring and root cause analysis across digital KPIs.
GenAI innovation: embedding AI assistants and automation tools to streamline workflows and improve decision speed.

Before transitioning into industry, I spent nearly a decade as a computational biologist at the Universities of Zurich and Bristol, leading EU- and Swiss-funded research projects on the early evolution of life and the oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere. After completing the Science to Data Science (S2DS) fellowship in 2016, I pivoted into data science, combining scientific rigour with commercial application.

Latest Talks

2023 – Customer Insight Leader Podcast – featuring the transition from academia to commercial businesses. https://open.spotify.com/episode/75NDmQ78uJUpsLvY75rYxN

2022 – Operational Research Society, Annual Meeting (OR64), University or Warwick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6otcu6NLmE

Major achievements

Data Science Transformation at MONY Group: Built a new data science organisation and defined AI strategy aligned with business goals. Implemented an MLOps platform on GCP and improved time-to-deployment while ensuring robust data governance.

Investment Analytics Platform: Delivered interactive dashboards for investment performance monitoring, enabling commercial teams to make data-informed recommendations and track predicted outcomes.

Customer propensity modelling: Delivered profitability and customer propensity models improving marketing ROI through triggered journeys and improved audience selection for campaigns

Enterprise Forecasting at Royal Mail: Led teams of up to 12 data scientists and ML engineers to deliver predictive and operational forecasting frameworks used across the UK network.
Parcel Delivery Windows Project: Directed data science and engineering teams in one of Royal Mail’s major capital programmes, improving delivery accuracy and customer transparency nationwide.
Research Excellence: Secured competitive research fellowships worth over €350K and led international collaborations published in peer-reviewed journals.
Thought Leadership: Frequent keynote speaker and panellist on applied AI, leadership, and data transformation — with features in outlets including BBC Earth.

Education & Background

Postdoctoral Research Fellowships – University of Bristol (Marie Curie & Swiss NSF grants)
PhD in Evolutionary Genetics & Computational Biology – University of Zurich
Science to Data Science (S2DS) Fellow – Pivigo, London
M.Sc. in Biology (Diplom) – University of Munich

Please feel free to have a look at my Linkedin Profile, and previous Research Project Webpage. You can also look out for me on dev.to, Kaggle, Stack Overflow, Codewars, Github and twitter .

🧭 10+ years bridging academia and enterprise data science
🤝 Leadership of high-performing, cross-functional teams (up to 12)
🚀 Proven record of delivering AI and data strategies that scale
🧠 Deep expertise in statistical modelling, MLOps, and AI transformation
🎤 Frequent speaker on applied AI and data leadership