What’s your job title?
CEO
What do you actually do?
I’m wearing many hats right now, but day-to-day I work with our clients on their projects. I’m a PRINCE2 project manager and manage our projects, governance and spending. We’re creating new tools for charities to build chatbots, so me and Jamie work together to find the best roadmap forward. But most critically, I keep us stocked in coffee pods.
What made you get into it?
We’ve had a long-term relationship with Positive East to build their sexual health chatbot, Pat. It’s really opened the door to chat technology for charities and healthcare. There’s incredible and exciting opportunity for chat technology – especially right now – and finding a balance between taking advantage of the technology while also not losing safety and privacy is an interesting challenge.
What’s your journey getting here been like?
I’ve always been interested in the cross section of healthcare and technology. Probably from reading too much Michael Crichton. I’m from the US and studied microbiology at Michigan State, working at the Centre for Microbial Ecology Image Analysis that used image processing to identify bacteria from petri dish photos. That type of technology has come a long way since then.
I did some R&D work in Virginia before coming over to do my Master’s in Medical Microbiology at Queen Mary University. I loved the science but lab work wasn’t for me… I was doing graphic design as a side hustle and joined Fintek in 2016 for that. The business and technology was instantly exciting, things move so fast! After learning on the job, I took over Fintek in 2022 to focus on our charity, local government and healthcare clients.
What topic in chatbot technology do you care a lot about and why?
Privacy and chat AI is really interesting. Chat AI does not exist without training it on data – what expectations of privacy should or could we even have now?
What is your go-to lazy dinner?
Throw together ripped up sourdough, a jar of artichoke, and some bell pepper or cherry tomatoes into a roasting tin with olive oil, lemon juice and herbs – very easy and fancier than it has a right to be.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Give me a Last Podcast on the Left binge and a cupboard to organise and I’m happy!
What is the strangest thing you ever saw while walking down the street?
This was while driving, but I once saw a Smart car filled with clowns on the highway in Chicago.
