The AI Framework is on a mission towards accomplishing an intelligent future, with its experts dedicated to implementing AI-driven transformations for client organisations. As the company is recognised within the Artificial Intelligence Awards 2022, we got in touch with its founder, Errol Koolmeister to learn more.
With customers such as H&M, Sandvik, Pernod Ricard, Nordea Bank, and many more on board, The AI Framework’s team of prominent business developers, data scientists, and engineers have built up a sterling reputation for their next-level knowledge and reliability. They stand out for their hands-on experience in managing AI initiatives, all the way from low level GPU programming, to rationalising data assets on blank sheets, to building data science departments with hundreds of employees at global enterprises.
Errol Koolmeister explains, “We know that there are ways to successfully build up and scale AI initiatives; we have done it. Therefore, we started the company with a clear goal: enable the AI-driven transformation of companies. That goes beyond hiring the smartest data scientists; it spans across the company and will enable growth in the new era.”
One of the company’s core values is to provide leadership and its way of doing that is to hire some of the most senior people in the field. It might be a small boutique firm, but as Errol says, “You don’t hire us to get hands-on, you hire us to get the advice to build up the capability yourself internally. We teach you how to do that.”
The AI Framework doesn’t only work with theoretical exercises, with its people having practically applied all the things they advise on. With the experience of interacting and working for some the largest enterprises in the world, the team knows what it takes to succeed. They don’t give the advice that clients want to hear; they give them the advice that they need to have.
Errol enthuses that what makes the company so special and successful is truly the individuals that make it up, saying, “The people we employ are given a lot of freedom to execute. We see tremendous growth in the people we work with by enabling them. We see no need to tell smart people what to do. We let them guide us. That is what we stand for, and it has proven very successful.”
But that’s not to say that working in this industry doesn’t come with its challenges, as Errol goes on to tell us, “The biggest challenge we faced in the last 12 months was working with a customer who wanted to build the ship simultaneously as they wanted to launch it.” He continues, “The way to approach this was to divide the delivery into smaller parts that we later could puzzle together into a large vessel. By doing it this way, we could test the safety and design of each part to ensure maximum ROI and feasibility of the design. Not only did they get a bigger ship, but they were able to remove the costly parts of the operation.”
Errol himself has over 10 years’ experience in applied data science and enterprise transformation, being an award-winning AI and technology expert who has worked as an advisor for several start-ups and large companies in Europe and Russia. Prior to founding his own business in The AI Framework, he was head of AI at H&M Group where he was involved in recruiting over 100 people, integrating AI in the core business, and driving the technical transformation of the company.
Before that, Errol was a lead data scientist for Vodafone group and contributed to building up the international AI team which today consists of over 500 people. However, his career began at Nordea Bank, the largest financial institution in the Nordics, where he helped build the fraud and anti-money laundering department. With this background in risk and security, Errol has deep knowledge of using and extracting value from data both ethically and responsibly.
An experienced leader and futurist, Errol is also frequently hired as a public speaker, being appreciated for his communication skill. He often talks about the importance of the AI-driven transformation and how it can benefit enterprises and society in the new digital economy.
So, what advice would Errol give to those who are looking to be successful within the industry? He shares, “Start with gaining experience, and then make sure you have integrity. Share your knowledge and understand that the best proof that you are on the right track is when you start seeing other people using your words. Think big, and make it happen.”
In terms of moving forwards with The AI Framework, Errol seeks to enable a new way of working where knowledge is able to move more freely. He says, “We know that the future is already here, but the problem is that it is unevenly distributed. We have as a general goal to make the world a better place and knowledge is what we believe will make that happen.”
For further information, please contact Errol Koolmeister via email at [email protected] or visit www.taif.co
