Rich Edwards: Differentiating with Data in a World of AI

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Rich Edwards, CEO of Mindspan & former product leader for IBM Watson. He has a knack for demystifying complex topics like machine learning & getting to the heart of how companies can drive real business value.

In our conversation, he shares a contrarian view — the biggest differentiation won’t come from algorithms but rather a company’s first-party data assets.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Seeing where AI & machine learning was going, it wasn’t quite a mainstream adopted technology in 2017, but it clearly was going to be. Where was the interesting part of that to look at? A lot of the value was going to come from data, particularly first party data, that even now is sitting untapped. Eventually that search led me to the company I’m at now, Mindspan, which is a small business which I eventually bought.
The information that they’re entrusted with (when used correctly) can be very, very valuable & allow them to provide very high value services to their customers. The trick is making that come together with the compliance element required in the banking and insurance sector. A lot of the organisations that we work with don’t have the technical skills to build it up which is where a lot of the differentiated value comes from.
AI isn’t one thing. Science fiction has portrayed it as a monolithic thing that’s all knowing. In reality it doesn’t work like that, it’s component pieces that work together in a pipeline/flow handling things. It’s more like the summer intern, the person that comes to you from university who is diligent, eager, literate, can follow instructions, can write but doesn’t know anything about your business or background, & has no context or experience to base it from, but can answer simple questions.
An important issue that we as a society are stumbling into with AI is similar to healthcare or the extension of credit: Areas where there’s a lot of personally identifiable information that’s out there that businesses have about the people they work with that could be misused or exploited. There’s a lot of regulation around healthcare information in the US that states clearly who’s allowed to possess that information & what they’re allowed to do with it. There’s a lot of stuff we haven’t even thought of yet with AI, for example facial recognition. Data is a valuable asset & requires a level of care around it that isn’t just protection but governance.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I had no business being around AI, based on my background, but I was the guy that had been around IBM long enough & knew how to get things done. That afforded me the ability to be at the forefront of this.’

‘For many use cases with generative AI, the differentiation between the providers is getting less & less & less. It’ll be a thing that you buy, but it won’t be a thing that’s going to make you stand out.

‘Anything we can do today is machine learning, anything we can’t do yet is AI, but the line between the 2 is blurry.’

‘AI is a superpower that you can give to people that are most responsible for an interaction/experience that your customers have.’

ABOUT THE GUEST

Rich Edwards is a veteran technology leader with over 20 years of experience working at the intersection of data, AI, and business strategy. As former product management lead for IBM Watson, Rich helped global banks and financial institutions leverage artificial intelligence to uncover growth opportunities and gain a competitive edge. He currently serves as CEO of Mindspan, a firm focused on helping community banks and credit unions transform through data-driven technologies.

Under Rich's leadership, Mindspan turns client data into an operating asset to boost differentiation, create personalized customer experiences, and future-proof their business. With his extensive background in regulated industries like finance and healthcare, Rich understands the importance of building trust and maintaining rigorous data governance. He offers a unique perspective on AI ethics, data privacy, and the responsible use of generative models like ChatGPT.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.