#126 Data-Driven Approaches From Politics to Aerospace with Adam Bonnifield – VP Artificial Intelligence

In episode 2 of our “Bitesize Insights for Data Driven Leaders” Series, Adam Bonnifield is a VP of Artificial Intelligence at Airbus. He is a former Chief Product Officer (Census) at the U.S. Department of Commerce and Co-Founder of Spinnakr and Giv.to. Adam lives and breathes online engagement - he ran digital strategy for political campaigns since he was in college, breaking Congressional fundraising records. After graduating from Cambridge University, he was awarded the Tsuzuki Fellowship to direct online youth outreach in Japan.

Adam never thought of himself as a data scientist – at school, he was interested in computer science. His interest in data came during a political campaign; Adam decided to volunteer his time to help get a candidate elected. At the time, there was no digital operation when it came to getting campaign donations. Adam thought he could set up a way for people to donate to the campaign online. So, Adam built some data tech to target people online with specific asks. They ended up raising several million dollars by using a data-driven approach.

Then, Adam touches on the relationship between VC and entrepreneurs. When you're an entrepreneur, people are going to take bets on you. Sometimes, this can happen in the corporate world as well. Getting a taste of power early in your career can be helpful. Later, Adam made the jump to a corporate setting, Airbus. If you're thinking of moving to the corporate world, you need to be in love with the product. Fortunately, Adam loves the aerospace sector. Plus, he appreciates how Airbus stays on top of cutting-edge technologies to create a safer world. Stay tuned as Adam speaks about how Airbus manages large teams.

Enjoy Adam Bonnifield in our Bitesize Insights for Data Driven Leaders” Series!

We speak about:

[2:05] How did you get started in the data field?
[6:25] How long did you work on that? (Political fundraising and his own startups)
[8:33] What things did you learn in your journey of making analytics accessible to regular people?
[12:14] Do you think a real-time notification engine can be combined with some insights and the data journalism side?
[16:23] How was it working with the people at Andreessen Horowitz?
[22:35] Tell me about your time in Airbus. How did you get there and how has it been so far?
[27:48] How are the teams and sub-teams organized? Can you describe the work processes and how the teams tackle their challenges?
[31:19] What is the difference between the Product Manager and the BD?
[37:50] Do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share with us?

Resources:

Adam’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnifield/

Airbus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/airbusgroup/

Quotes:

“Don’t talk so much when you’re the boss. Just stop talking so much about stuff.”
“You have a sort of natural optimism because you have the experience of building something from nothing. And realizing that anything can be done, especially in data technology. At the same time, you’re a child when it comes to navigating corporate politics.
“I was the kid that went to the Aerospace Museum every week. I am in love with aircraft. When you work with a company with a specialized product, you’re surrounded by people with a patriotic feeling for what they do.”
“It was a special time because it wasn't really known what you could do with data.”
“If you're working in data science, I would look for companies with complex supply problems."
“We need a new paradigm of data storytelling and data visualisation built for regular people.”

We are now on YouTube! Watch the episode here: https://youtu.be/DmZIvKklH9A

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