A data-driven approach to reimagining energy: Fran’s story
Having recently joined bp as VP data & analytics and distinguished advisor, data science, Fran leads bp’s data and analytics discipline, which encompasses everything from data engineering and data management to AI and data science
Fran joined bp from the Toyota Research Institute. There her teams were focused on two areas: (i) using theoretical chemistry in combination with artificial intelligence, to come up with novel batteries and fuel cell materials and (ii) developing a human-centred AI for machine-assisted cognition.
Before Toyota, Fran headed platform data science at Uber, an organization that sits horizontally across the company. As one of the first data scientists to join Uber, Fran was tasked with growing the company’s data science capabilities. She founded and built several large data science platforms from scratch, with a mission to transform anyone in the company into a data scientist at a push-of-a-button.
Reimagining data and analytics
Having recently joined bp as VP data & analytics and distinguished advisor, data science, Fran describes her job at bp in much the same way. “It’s up to me to be the connective tissue across data and analytics”, she says. Fran leads bp’s data and analytics discipline, which encompasses everything from data engineering and data management, to AI and data science.
A big part of her work involves setting bp’s data and analytics strategy to ensure that the organization can make data-driven decisions. Data and analytics will sit at the heart of bp’s operations and, ultimately, will be a crucial element of bp’s journey to become a net zero company by 2050, or sooner.
“The role of data and analytics is to ensure that the whole business has all the information and actionable insights it needs to run safely, efficiently, and successfully”, she says. “Data and analytics can help accelerate the pace at which we’re able to make decisions, and this will help us build an organisation that iterates and innovates faster than any other in the world.”
Rewiring the world’s energy system
The chance to be a part of this journey was an opportunity Fran knew she couldn’t turn down and, since joining the company, she’s been impressed by how much action is already underway. “We’re laying the foundations to rewire the world’s energy system”, she says. Fostering a data-driven mindset that can drive this transition is part of what makes her role so dynamic.
Looking beyond bp and net zero, Fran also sees an opportunity for her work to generate purposeful change for the wider world.