Sanjeevan Bala is the Group Chief Data and AI Officer at ITV. A leading expert in AI strategy and a pioneer in the use of data to drive business innovation and growth, he has built several award-winning teams at leading organisations and launched a number of global first commercial innovations, leading to vast improvements in advertising and viewing value. Adopting a holistic approach to data strategy, Sanjeevan decodes culture and cultural changes to effectively use data to drive growth. At the forefront of innovation in AI and data, Sanjeevan is a highly demanded big data speaker.
After completing a BSc in Management and Computing at King’s College London, Sanjeevan moved to Australia to start his career in investment banking. In 1993 he joined AT&T as a Consultant before moving to New York to serve as a Principal at PwC. Sanjeevan then landed the role of Senior Business Strategist at Event Zero, moving to London in 2002 to join dunnhumby as a Senior Client Service Director. His time at dunnhumby was a pinnacle point in his career, as he was able to learn pioneering data strategies for business innovation and growth.
Joining Clear Cell Group as Head of Insight in 2006, Sanjeevan showed great talent and was rapidly promoted to Head of Customer Intelligence and Head of Business Development. After becoming the Managing Director at eMpresto, Sanjeevan was headhunted by Channel 4 for the role of Head of Planning & Analytics due to his world-class data capabilities. He was then elevated to Head of Data Science- Consumer Strategy, concluding his tenure at Channel 4 in 2020 after building a multi-award-winning data team.
In his capacity as Non-Executive Director of a Multi Academy Trust, Sanjeevan influences the way education secures the next generation of AI talent. In acknowledgement of his distinguished work in data and AI, Sanjeevan has received several awards, such as the Top 100 Global Innovator in Data & AI from Corinium Global Intelligence, Best Commercial Use of Data from the British Media Awards, and the Shared Culture Award by DataIQ. A thought leader in data and AI, Sanjeevan delivers cutting-edge presentations in his speaking engagements, leaving audiences with many valuable takeaways.
in October 2023 we sat down virtually with Sanjeevan Bala and discussed the benefits to companies of integrating data science and AI into their operations. Watch our Exclusive Interview with Sanjeevan Bala.
