Season 6 - Episode 10 – “50 coffees, 100 problems and a new Data Science and AI Capability" with Nathan Williams

Nathan walked into Slater and Gordon as one of the firm's first data science hires, in an industry not known for embracing new capability quickly. In this episode he explains how he built trust and momentum from scratch, how his team's build versus buy framework has evolved and why governance now sits at the centre of AI strategy rather than at the edge of it. **Key points:** - Nathan's non-linear path from computer engineering to drug discovery research to AI leadership at Slater and Gordon - Cold emailing across the org chart and coffee chats in the first two months to map a hundred potential problems - Why Slater and Gordon's existing data maturity created a different starting point to most businesses - How the build versus buy framework has shifted now that AI coding tools make proof of concepts faster to produce - The three stage gates and checklist used to make build versus buy calls on larger systems - Why governance and innovation now sit under the same remit and how an internal ethics committee with an external ethicist supports that - The eighteen AI solutions delivered in the past year and the launch of a direct to consumer legal assistant - What Nathan looks for when hiring for data and AI roles, with growth mindset ranked above specific technical skills