Benoît Hespel

Benoît Hespel, PhD, has a diverse work experience spanning over a decade. Benoît currently serves as the AI Business Development Lead at Proximus Ada, a position they have held since 2023. Prior to this role, they were a Senior Data Scientist and Data Science Lead at the same company from 2022 to 2023.

Before joining Proximus Ada, Benoît worked as an Advanced Analytics Team Leader at BICS in 2021. From 2019 to 2022, they held the position of Senior Data Scientist and Machine Learning Engineer at Proximus, where they were responsible for various advanced analytics use cases and projects. This role involved tasks such as data collection, exploration, machine learning modeling, performance evaluation, prediction and model management, deployment and API creation, as well as project and model monitoring. Benoît also worked on a Natural Language Processing (NLP) framework within the customer operations department and participated in technical interviews and mentoring.

In 2021, Benoît was a Senior Data Scientist at TeleSign for a short period. Previously, from 2017 to 2021, they worked as a Senior Data Scientist at Positive Thinking Company. In this role, they contributed to data science projects and applied their expertise in various domains.

Benoît has also gained experience in the pharmaceutical industry as a Data Scientist at GSK from 2017 to 2018. Their responsibilities involved improving and optimizing statistical tools, developing new ones for data collection and trending analysis, and automating and standardizing statistical analyses and reports.

Before transitioning into the industry, Benoît pursued a PhD in physics at F.R.S. - FNRS, where they focused on loop-induced production of scalar particles in the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model at the LHC. Their research aimed to build new physics models, implement them, and make accurate predictions related to the LHC. Benoît belonged to the Mathematics and Physics Research Institute / Center for particle physics, phenomenology, and cosmology (IRMP/CP3).

Benoît also gained work experience at the Ville de Mouscron as an employee in the municipal administration in 2013 and 2012. In this role, they worked as a state registrar, handling tasks such as eID renewal, certificate delivery, and address changes. These experiences helped him develop valuable skills such as relational sense, rigor, conflict management, diplomacy, and courtesy.

Additionally, Benoît participated in a Martian simulation expedition in the Utah desert base as part of the crew 127 of the Mars Research Desert Station (MDRS) in 2013. The goal of this expedition was to set up research protocols for future studies on Mars and understand human behavior in a hostile environment.

Through their extensive work experience, Benoît Hespel has demonstrated strong skills in data science, machine learning, advanced analytics, and project management, making him a valuable asset to any organization in these domains.

Benoît Hespel, PhD, holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Physics from the Université catholique de Louvain, which they earned between 2013 and 2017. Prior to that, they obtained a Master's degree in Physics from the same university from 2011 to 2013. Additionally, Benoît holds a Bachelor's degree in Physics from the Université catholique de Louvain, which they completed from 2008 to 2011.

Furthermore, Benoît has obtained several certifications in various fields. The certifications include "Scala Essential Training for Data Science" and "Spark for Machine Learning & AI" from LinkedIn, both obtained in 2021. Benoît also completed "Image processing in Python," "Big Data with PySpark," "SQL for business analysts track," "Supervised machine learning in R," and "Machine learning scientist with Python track" from DataCamp, all in 2021.

Moreover, Benoît acquired certifications such as "Addressing large hadron collider challenges with machine learning" and "Advanced Machine Learning Specialization" from Coursera, both in 2020. Additionally, they completed "Deep learning in python track," "Bayesian methods for machine learning," "How to Win a Data Science Competition: Learn from Top Kagglers," and "Introduction to deep learning" from Coursera between 2020 and 2021.

Benoît also holds certifications from DataCamp, including "Time series with Python track," "Coding best practices with Python track," "Marketing analytics with Python track," "Python toolbox track," "Data visualization with Python track," and "Foundational Data Skills for Business Leaders Track," all completed in 2019 and 2020. Additionally, they have obtained the "Professional Scrum Master I" certification from Scrum.org in 2019.