Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Analytics are the two sides of a coin. Where the traditional methods fail, AI and Data analytics can collectively dig deeper into the datasets and discover insightful trends and patterns with superior accuracy and efficiency—fuelling organizational growth.
Considering the multifaceted potential of automation, forward-thinking leaders spanning various industries are leveraging branches of these technological advancements to enable businesses to reach their full potential. One such dynamic leader we want to highlight today is Nisha Dulhani, VP of Big Data and Advanced Analytics at Vodafone Idea (Vi).
Journey Toward a Smarter World
“Whatever I’ve accomplished in life thus far is solely due to my mother’s inspiration, love, and blessings.”
After beginning her professional journey as a statistics professor in India, Nisha joined a public health research institute to mark her data analytics journey. At the institute, she delved into critical issues such as HIV/AIDS, gender-based discrimination, women empowerment, adolescent health, financial inclusion, and ICT. She also published research papers in globally renowned journals.
Soon, Nisha got several opportunities as a data science leader in three reputable organizations—transforming from a core researcher to a business leader. So far, she has applied her expertise in various industries such as Telecom, BFSI, IT, Retail, and Healthcare.
Nisha specializes in identifying and implementing AI-driven projects to make the world smarter, faster, and more automated. At Vi, she focuses on identifying the correct customer set for its products and Return On Investment (ROI) through AI acceleration.
Understanding the AI vision, she mentors her team to deliver AI-driven solutions to the stakeholders.
“For me, it’s more than a career—it’s a journey rooted in gratitude and driven by a passion for leveraging AI to shape a smarter, faster world.”
Nisha Dulhani
Three Pillars of Leadership
Authenticity, genuineness, and transparency are the three pillars of Nisha’s leadership. Staying true to her values even amidst challenges makes her feel more content. Whether she or her team, Nisha actively seeks out growth opportunities through training programs, mentorship relationships, or self-directed learning initiatives.
In the AI industry, innovation plays a vital role in minimizing risks. To keep up with the rapid AI advancement, Nisha pushes her team to be creative and innovative to produce novel AI solutions, simultaneously maintaining the stability and profitability of the present solutions.
According to Nisha, it is better to experiment with fresh ideas on smaller sets before extending them to larger ones. Time constraints and clear vision are essential when taking risks to revert when innovative solutions do not work.
To extract the maximum organizational potential, keeping yourself motivated is paramount. Uncovering valuable insights and driving informed decision-making to contribute to organizational success through data-driven strategies motivates Nisha tremendously.
“I feel satisfied when my data solutions give a substantial monetary benefit and social recognition to my organization.”
Nisha Dulhani
Complex AI Hurdles
While AI promises massive gains, it also comes with several challenges at an organizational level—data infrastructure, incorrect hiring, data illiteracy, and less budget allocation. However, with her team, Nisha overcame these challenges strategically. She clearly articulates the value of data science initiatives to demonstrate the potential return on investment (ROI) and advocate for a budget that reflects the importance of data-driven decision-making.
Dealing with large, complex, and poor-quality datasets was another challenge for Nisha that she tackled with robust data pre-processing skills and efficient techniques such as data sampling for effective management and analysis.
“To ensure data quality, accuracy, and consistency, I implement robust data governance practices.”
On a broader level, the data science field faces issues such as interoperability, computational failures in deep learning, and data lake overload. To address these problems, Nisha promotes proactive planning and a learning environment where the team feels empowered to share challenges and mistakes—maintaining transparency with stakeholders.
Cultivating a Positive Impact
Nisha has successfully implemented numerous solutions in Customer Analytics, Digital Transformation Analytics, Collection Models, Up-and cross-sell modeling, Recommendation engines, Social Media Analytics (NLP), and more.
Here are a few instances where Nisha and the team made a positive impact:
·For one of the clients in the UK, Nisha and her team developed an AI-enabled chatbot that enhanced customer service—cutting operational costs by 20% and boosting revenue.
·One of the reputed Indian retail banks produced an additional 8% higher debt collection post-model deployment.
·Based on Nisha’s model predictions, one of her organizations optimized its marketing budget by allocating funds to the vital components—resulting in an increased annual revenue of 3% at the organizational level overall.
Empowerment through Unique Solutions
Nisha leads by example, demonstrating a commitment to innovation through her own actions with her team and then by sharing her personal success stories of innovation to inspire them. She has cultivated a thriving culture of independence where individuals can freely experiment with technology to push the boundaries and learn.
“I nurture an environment where they feel empowered to take risks and try unconventional approaches.”
Every problem statement presents a different challenge in the telecom sector, requiring unique solutions. To tackle these problems, Nisha pushes her team to create novel and creative approaches.
Ahead of the curve
Nisha’s team stays ahead in AI through continuous learning and experimentation. Nisha and her team attend various training programs, workshops, and conferences on data analysis, AI, and machine learning. She encourages her team to participate in hackathons and datathons to boost their confidence and help them stay updated with the latest industry trends.
To help the team enhance their understanding, Nisha Dulhani regularly conducts knowledge-sharing sessions. For better exposure, Nisha encourages her team to publish white and research papers to establish trust and credibility.
Diversity in AI
Nisha values a variety of backgrounds within her team at Vi. There is a mix of qualifications to solve the problem from all angles—statisticians bring econometric modelling expertise, engineers offer programming and AI/ML skills, management consultants contribute business acumen, software developers create tools, and visualization specialists deal with reporting.
Nisha actively supports gender equality and fair compensation. According to the latest stats, women are one-half of the global population but only contribute 37 percent to the GDP. Moreover, women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. Estimates say that at the current rate, it will take 257 years to close the global gender pay gap.
To overcome such social issues, promoting diversity is essential. On a positive note, a recent study found that around 15% of data scientists are women, with 3% of that number being women of color—highlighting the commitment of AI leaders who continue to champion increased diversity.
Role of Communication
In data science, communicating and interacting with CEOs, stakeholders, managers, data engineers, and legal people in a cross-cultural setting and in an appropriate manner is essential. That includes utilizing charts, graphs, dashboards, and other visual aids to make the information more accessible.
From her previous consulting experience, Nisha Dulhani has learned to structure her communication in a narrative format, creating a story around the data to provide context and highlight the implications of the findings.
Looking into the AI Future
Data science and Artificial Intelligence are becoming widely used across all industrial sectors. Nisha aims to drive innovation through cutting-edge solutions using AI, machine learning, and statistics to solve real industrial business problems. She wants to create frameworks to make data science and AI accessible to anyone. As someone who began her career as a researcher, Nisha aims to keep publishing my work, continue researching in my free time, and bridge the gap between corporate and research fields.\
Nisha Dulhani Data Science Leader with Impact
