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With Phoenix Pei — SVP, Analytics Manager at Truist

What will the Data Scientist and Data Engineer of the future look like?

In this episode, Ben Parker speaks with Phoenix Pei about how AI and automation are changing data roles — and why technical expertise alone may no longer be enough.

Phoenix explores the growing importance of business understanding, trust and leadership alignment, why many data initiatives still struggle to create meaningful impact, and how organisations may need to rethink the structure of their data teams.

You’ll hear practical insights on:

• How AI and automation are changing Data Science and Data Engineering 
• Whether the future belongs to specialists or full-stack data professionals 
• The technical, business and leadership skills that will matter most 
• Why so many data initiatives struggle to deliver business value 
• What prevents Data Science projects reaching production 
• How Data Scientists and Data Engineers will work together in the future 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
02:18 Phoenix’s career and leadership journey
09:34 How AI is changing Data Science & Engineering
11:08 Why business understanding matters more than ever
24:54 Why Data Science initiatives struggle to deliver
25:07 The importance of leadership alignment
33:53 Preparing Data teams for the future

Thank you for listening!