Edward Scott, ElectrifAi CEO, loves learning. This doesn’t just mean time in the classroom, although he’s done plenty of that.
It also means constantly researching developments in the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning field. It means talking to the company’s employees around the world about their ideas and the status of their projects. It means talking to clients about their challenges and finding ways to help solve them. This can be especially exciting: the field is so new, which means every solution and every situation has the potential to be considered creative and innovative.
Edward Scott has spent more than 25 years in different areas of business and finance, especially technology and private equity solutions. But he has particularly enjoyed the last few years at the helm of one of the oldest machine learning product companies and a global leader in the AI/ML field.
He was hired in 2019 with the challenging task of fully rebranding the company, previously called Opera Solutions, including a new site and an emphasis on creating a stronger culture.
The company’s transformation under his leadership included modifying its technology platform to be open source, making it easier for internal and external data scientists to create code and view data in any programming language.
The platform also allows ElectrifAi to create and deploy hybrid enterprise solutions that can get results, often within six to eight weeks and less than half the time of the previous best practice. Working in a machine learning/AI environment can also provide lower risk and fewer costs.
Clients include state and federal agencies plus several Fortune 500 companies. All of these innovations fit perfectly with Edward Scott’s vision of businesses succeeding because of their embrace of technology and their ability to use it for positive purposes.
Prior to being hired as ElectrifAi CEO, Edward Scott held a variety of roles, starting with the LBO group of Drexel Burnham Lambert. This led to a position with the Apollo Investment Fund, where he focused a large portion of investments in the telecommunication field. He also supported companies in the transportation, financial services, and chemical sectors.
Working with these funds, including several board positions at portfolio companies, gave him the opportunity to look closer at what made businesses succeed or fail.
Edward Scott later was hired as a partner of the Baker Communications Fund, where he managed the company’s two largest portfolio companies, Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ AKAM) and Holding NV (NASDAQ INXN.) Both of these have grown significantly and are now at the multi-billion dollar level.
He also held leadership roles at White Oak Global Advisors and Napier Park Global Capital.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Columbia University and Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, with second-year honors.
Looking at AI and ML in the future, the ElectrifAi CEO affirms that technology can play a crucial role in how businesses interact with each other and their customers in order to see success. But ultimately, customer service and communication remain important, as well as good judgment and positive intent in how data is gathered and used.
