Hey there, I’m Alex, a data and AI leader with a track record of building data capabilities that drive tangible business impact.
I specialise in AI, machine learning, and data platform architecture. I’m currently Head of Data at Stream. Previously, I was Head of Data & AI at Lunos, where I led data and AI efforts as part of the founding team.
I write about data leadership, AI strategy, and building data capabilities in high-growth environments.
My journey
My career is grounded in a strong foundation in Data Science. I hold an MSc in Statistics (awarded with distinction) and have been a Chartered Statistician (CStat) for over a decade. From there, I applied machine learning in various domains: starting with geophysics, where I developed ML approaches that reduced seismic data QC time by 70%; and later in financial services, open banking, and fintech.
Since 2018, I’ve worked at the forefront of Open Banking and fintech AI, being the first data hire at companies like TrueLayer (the UK’s first open banking unicorn) and Tarabut (MENA’s leading open banking platform). Across these roles, I built data teams, delivered data products deployed across six regions, and generated multi-million dollar revenue from data initiatives - always with a pragmatic, impact-driven approach to AI and data science.
Highlights
- AI & Machine Learning Leadership: Delivered production-grade ML systems in fintech: from financial behaviour insights to automated categorisation and verification services. Led MLOps efforts ensuring 99.9% availability and weekly model updates at scale.
- Data Platforms & Governance: Designed and integrated cloud-native data platforms (AWS, GCP, Snowflake, dbt). Chaired data governance committees, embedding compliance with data protection laws through policies, processes, and culture change.
- Open Banking & Fintech Data Products: Built data capabilities and products that opened new revenue streams, contributing over $4M in data product revenue and serving internal and external stakeholders across regions.
- Team Building & Technical Leadership: Scaled data functions across 4+ countries, managing 10+ FTE, and reporting directly to CEOs and CTOs.
Certifications & Affiliations
- Chartered Statistician (CStat) - Royal Statistical Society
- Advanced Data Science Professional (AfDSP) - Alliance for Data Science Professionals
- Certified ML Engineer (AWS)
- Professional Data Engineer (Google Cloud)
Speaking & Publications
I’ve presented on ML/MLOps and open banking data products at industry conferences, and co-authored peer-reviewed research in applied ML and statistics.
Let’s connect
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Email: contact@alexiospanos.com LinkedIn: Alex Spanos
Experience snapshot
Head of Data - Stream (2025–Present) Leading data initiatives at Stream.
Head of Data & AI - Lunos (2025) Founding team member; built data & AI capabilities, implemented data governance, observability, and AI-driven decision systems.
Head of Data - Tarabut (2021–2025)
Scaled data team across 4 countries; delivered >$4M in data product revenue; established group-wide data governance.Lead Data Scientist / ML Engineer / PM - TrueLayer (2018–2021)
Built first ML-powered services and data products at UK’s first open banking unicorn.Senior Data Scientist - Black Swan Data (2017–2018)
Delivered consumer trend prediction models for Fortune 500 clients.Data Scientist - IBM (2015–2017)
Built ML solutions for customer analytics and fraud prevention in Tier 1 banks.Geophysicist (Applied ML role) - PGS (2012–2015)
Developed ML approaches for seismic data processing as part of applied projects.