Dr Katia Walsh is a globally recognised business technologist with a proven track record of making brands indispensable through the strategic application of Digital, Data, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities across a range of industries. She is known for transforming companies into customer-centric powerhouses, solving high-value problems that enhance customer experience, drive efficiencies, unlock new revenue streams, and deliver meaningful societal impact.
Dr Walsh has consistently delivered billions in revenues, cost savings, margin improvements, and return on investment. She has led the global vision, development, and scaling of digital products, fuelling digital disruption and innovation in both established and emerging markets. A passionate advocate for lifelong learning, she has upskilled employees with no prior coding experience into machine learning professionals, and is deeply committed to mentoring individuals and organisations to realise their full potential.
A champion for humanising the technical disciplines of digital technologies, Big Data, Machine Learning, and AI, Dr Walsh is also a leading voice in the advancement of ethical and responsible AI for social good.
Her exceptional contributions have earned her global recognition, including:
2022: Global Data Power List; Data Leader (CDO Magazine); Top 50 Women of San Francisco
2021: VentureBeat AI Mentorship Award; Evanta's Women Technology Leaders
2020: Corinium Business of Data 100 Global Data Innovators; Business Transformation 150; Leading business figures in the UK AI industry
2019: Forbes Women Defining the 21st-Century AI Movement; World Economic Forum Data Policy Leader (2019 & 2020); Top 50 Retail Insider Movers and Shakers; UK Influential Business Woman Award
2018–2019: Data Leader of the Year (Women in IT); Top 10 Most Influential People in Data-Driven Business
2017: Data Leader of the Year; Best-in-Class Winner (Internet and Telecoms); Ranked among the top five Women in Tech globally
Dr Walsh has held influential roles across industry. At Forrester, she enabled Fortune 500 brands and start-ups to capitalise on technology change. At Fidelity, she empowered businesses to meet strategic goals and lead in customer experience, including building one of the first FinTech platform businesses. While at Prudential, she launched a landmark Kaggle competition attracting ~45,000 entries and 2,200 teams, and used AI to transform life insurance sales from a 10-week to a 2-day process. At Vodafone, she built and scaled a Big Data and AI capability for 500 million customers in 25 countries, delivering €2 billion annually. Most recently, at Levi Strauss & Co., she is leading the digital, data, and AI transformation of the iconic brand.
Dr Walsh’s cross-sector expertise spans Retail, Telecommunications, FinTech, InsurTech, Financial Services, Consumer Goods, and B2B, cementing her status as one of the world’s foremost digital and data leaders.