Technology & Innovation Week

Nabil has more than 25 years of experience in business and technology strategy development, project management, systems and process engineering spanning both the corporate and the entrepreneurial worlds.

Nabil’s current focus is on helping individuals and organizations transition to using advanced analytics and data science techniques including Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. He provides academic leadership and oversight for different data programs at the McGill School of Continuing Studies and teaches several data related courses.

Nabil loves engaging through service with non-profits such as TechAide and Le centre culturel syrien.

Having lived in North America, Asia and Africa, Nabil is skilled in intercultural dialogue. Nabil has an Executive master in business administration from the John Molson School of Business in addition to his degree in Electrical Engineering (computers) from McGill.

As the CTO at ABC Intelligence, Alex leads a team that builds products that leverage high-quality data to improve healthcare outcomes for pets and their owners. Before working at ABC Intelligence, Alex spent three years as a Data Science consultant, where he implemented AI-based solutions in the healthcare, telecommunications, and retail industries. He has a Masters in Fluid Mechanics and is a recipient of the NSERC and FRQNT research scholarships for his research in Forest First Propagation Mechanisms. Alex completed the McGill SCS Professional Development Certificate in Data Science and Machine Learning in 2019.

Faisal Al Azem is an Engineer and a Senior Manager at Bell. He leads a team of Data Science Developers and Product Managers to deliver AI products aimed at optimizing Bell’s call centre operations.

He has 15 years of experience in the telco industry where he held roles in Engineering, Marketing and Customer Operations. He holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from McGill, a Master of Applied Sciences from L’Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, and completed the McGill SCS Professional Development Certificate in Data Science and Machine Learning in 2020.

During the past 12 years, Hossein has had chance to work in different domains such as Food and Retail, Environmental, Cosmetics and Beauty, Aerospace,and Consulting services to clients. Hossein earned a Bachelor of Software Engineering in Iran, and he started his career as a BI Developer analyzing and integrating data from ERP systems into different stages of on-prem data warehouses and data marts.

In 2012, he was admitted into the M.Sc (Information Technology) program at École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS). His thesis was about VM recourse consolidation algorithms in Cloud Computing. After graduation, he worked as a Database & Reports Developer in an Environmental’s software company, that provides applications and reports to different clients in environmental, health, safety, and compliance management domains.

Hossein joined L’Oréal in 2017 as BI architect where he focused on solutions to integrate data from different data sources into data warehouse and build multidimensional models for Business to build multiple dashboards. At SITA, he spent a couple of years doing design, implementing and supporting self-service BI solutions based on Azure platform and Power BI to provide better insights to different airlines clients.

Hossein started his consulting journey at Slalom in 2021, where he focuses on architecture, design and integration in cloud solutions for clients based on different platforms such as Azure, Databricks, AWS, Snowflake and works on projects in Bank, Oil, and gas domains.

Outside of work, Hossein enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, camping, outdoor activities, reading, and eating. He loves to cook so much that even after a long hard day, he finds cooking a nice meal utterly relaxing. He considers it one of life’s great joys.

Nathanael Weill is an experienced Director of Data Science at B-Yond, where he leads a team in developing cutting-edge AI and analytics solutions for the telecom industry. He previously worked as a Senior IoT Data Scientist at Mnubo and as Director of Data Science and Research at LANDR, where he achieved state-of-the-art algorithms in various fields. Nathanael holds a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences and is a lecturer in the Professional Development Certificate in Data Science and Machine Learning and Professional Development Certificate in Applied Artificial Intelligence programs at McGill SCS.

Oliver Foster is a Senior Data Scientist at Intact Financial with a background in mechanical engineering and analytics. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from McGill University, a master's degree in analytics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and has completed the McGill SCS Professional Development Certificate in Data Science and Machine Learning program. With his skills and knowledge, Oliver has developed data-driven solutions for a range of business challenges at Intact Financial and is excited to share his insights on data science on the professional panel.

Raghad is a pure mathematician and data scientist/engineer. Her expertise includes project design and management, data analysis and interpretation, and the optimization and implementation of data solutions in the cloud (1x GCP | 5x Azure certified).

Raghad has an M.Sc. in Differential Geometry (UQAM), a Professional Development Certificate in Data Science & Machine Learning (McGill SCS) and a Professional Development in Applied Artificial Intelligence (McGill SCS, in progress). She enjoys generating new ideas and devising feasible solutions. Her colleagues would describe her as a driven, energetic individual who maintains a positive, proactive attitude under most circumstances. She is a mother of two (11-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl) who loves swimming, cycling, running, and Arabic poetry.

Zachary Markofsky is a Senior Data Governance Specialist at Talent Neuron (formerly Gartner). He holds an MS in Industrial Organization Psychology and is a graduate of the McGill SCS Professional Development Certificate in Data Science and Machine Learning program. He's previously worked in various roles and industries such as data analytics in manufacturing, behavioural science consulting, startup leadership, and HR business analytics. Zachary is passionate about the "soft" sides of Data Science, how we build systems which are meaningful, ethical, and designed with a human centric approach.

Ekué is a Data Analytics Manager at KPMG Canada. He has a background in finance and took the data Analytics and completed the Professional Development Certificate in Data Science and Machine Learning at the McGill School of Continuing Studies.

Nathanael Weill is an experienced Director of Data Science at B-Yond, where he leads a team in developing cutting-edge AI and analytics solutions for the telecom industry. He previously worked as a Senior IoT Data Scientist at Mnubo and as Director of Data Science and Research at LANDR, where he achieved state-of-the-art algorithms in various fields. Nathanael holds a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences and is a lecturer in the Professional Development Certificate in Data Science and Machine Learning and Professional Development Certificate in Applied Artificial Intelligence programs at McGill SCS.

Reza Filsoof is the Lead Data Scientist at VetGenus, and creates tools to help improve healthcare outcomes for pets and humans by connecting vets, managers and researchers with high-quality data and AI-driven insights.

Bobby is a seasoned software developer with over 20 years of experience in programming, starting with VB.NET. He currently runs a small software company that specializes in providing medical billing services. In addition to his passion for programming, Bobby is an avid coffee lover and proud owner of an orange cat named Ginger.

Zachary is a Senior Data Governance at TalentNeuron, a Big Data Talent Analytics company and formerly part of Gartner. His focus is helping build better data practices through transformative governance and organizational development. He has also worked in several roles such as Data Analysis, Behavioral Science Consulting, and Startup Development. He holds an MS in Industrial Organization Psychology and is an alumnus of the McGill School of Continuing Education's Data Science and Machine Learning program.

Bonaventure F. P. Dossou is pursuing his doctorate at the Center for Research on Intelligent Machines, McGill University. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (Russia) and a Master of Science in Computer Science and Data Engineering (Germany). Previously, he worked as a researcher at the Mila Quebec AI Institute, Google Research, Roche Canada, and Modelis, to name but a few. Bonaventure is interested in natural language processing for African languages and machine learning for healthcare. He is actively working on the creation of linguistic datasets and technologies such as multilingual machine translation systems (like FFR, MMTAfrica), multilingual speech recognition systems (like Okwugbe), and large language

Elisa is a Finnish mathematical computer scientist with a keen interest in computational intelligence. Her research jumps around the potential applications of graph theory and machine learning, touching areas such as social sciences, medicine, economics, and forestry. She is passionate about digital learning, real-time and asynchronous, and an early adopter of emerging software and hardware solutions to facilitate teaching and research, especially open-source solutions.

Kapinga Kalombo holds a B.A. in Political Science from McGill University and is currently in her final year of a master's degree in international Affairs, Cyber Security at King's College London. She has five years of experience in research and project/program management, having worked as a research assistant in the field of artificial intelligence, as a partnership coordinator for a startup and as a program coordinator for an NPO. Her research interests are mainly focused on the use of AI in warfare, and the integration of human-machine teaming in such settings.

Valerie is a multi-passionate career and business strategist driven to leverage her diverse education and management experience to serve as a catalyst for positive impact. She uses her skillset in career development, marketing, and operations management to lead impactful initiatives that support and empower a diverse community of learners and professionals. She sincerely enjoys hearing about and assessing client and students' needs while advising them to develop career strategies with which to navigate the ever-changing world of work.