African data expert, Uyi Stewart Joins Data.org

Data.org has announced that Dr. Uyi Stewart will join the organisation from August 15, as Chief Data and Technology Officer. In this newly created position, Stewart will provide senior technical leadership in all aspects of data.org’s work, with particular focus on the firm’s initiatives, which today include the Inclusive growth and recovery challenge, the capacity accelerator network, and epiverse.
   
Stewart will play a critical role in designing and building new initiatives, leveraging his global network to drive inclusive co-creation and strengthen outcomes. He will also be responsible for data.org’s overall data strategy, leading the design, development, and implementation of advanced analytics to glean insights from data.org’s own data generated through its initiatives, and data from the wider social impact sector.
   

“We are delighted to be working with an esteemed data and technology leader to bring oversight and insight to our efforts, and to deepen our networks globally, particularly in Africa.”
    
Previously, Stewart served as an executive director ofdata science, technical operations, at Seagen Inc., where he focused on the digitalisation of biologics data to accelerate the development of transformative cancer drugs. Prior to that, he was the executive director at AI Commons, a non-profit focused on democratizing access to AI in emerging markets

He was a director of global development’s strategy, data and analytics at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, centralizing the use of data to fight disease, poverty, and inequity.
   
He was also a distinguished engineer, co-founder and chief scientist, at IBM Research — Africa, where he pioneered the use of big data to combat the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and other ML/AI solutions to address societal challenges across the African continent. He continues to serve as Chair of Data Scientists Network’s board of directors.
   
Stewart holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from McGill University. He has 15 patents, has authored 65 publications, and has been involved in the implementation of hundreds of innovative digital solutions across Africa, Asia, and the USA.