Fergal Reid (PhD)

Fergal Reid (PhD) has a diverse work experience in the field of machine learning and data analytics. Fergal began their career as a co-founder and director of Edgespace, a software consultancy based in Dublin. Following this, they worked as a contract software developer while studying AI, economics, and statistics independently.

Fergal then pursued a PhD in Complex/Social Network Analysis at University College Dublin. During their PhD, they focused on using machine learning techniques to analyze structure in complex networks. Fergal also completed courses in Machine Learning, AI, Data Mining, and High Performance Computing.

After completing their PhD, Fergal joined Synference Predictive Analytics as a co-founder and CEO. Synference developed predictive analytics software and was later acquired by Optimizely. At Optimizely, Fergal worked as a product manager, overseeing backend analytics infrastructure and A/B-testing results functionality. Fergal also served as a senior machine learning engineer, where they worked on new machine learning and optimization technologies.

Fergal then joined Swrve as a machine learning architect, where they helped prototype and tune new machine learning systems. Fergal also assisted with data strategy and explored future ML/analytics possibilities.

Following their time at Swrve, Fergal worked as a lecturer at Griffith College Ireland, teaching "AI for Games," and at Dublin Business School, teaching "Advanced Data Analytics." Fergal delivered course material on various topics, including linear and logistic regression, feature engineering, ensemble methods, and applied Bayesian methods.

Fergal then joined Clevercards as the Chief Technology Officer, where they worked on a new product that analyzed Facebook data to find ideal gifts for friends and family.

Currently, Fergal is employed at Intercom, where they have held various roles. Fergal initially joined as a machine learning strategist, reporting to the CTO, and later became the principal machine learning engineer. In these roles, they led the machine learning team and was responsible for developing the ML core of Answer Bot, a best-in-class NLP bot engine. Fergal also contributed to other product features, such as search and recommendations.

In 2021, Fergal was promoted to the Director of Machine Learning at Intercom, and in 2023, they became the Senior Director of Machine Learning, highlighting their continued growth and expertise in the field.

Fergal Reid (PhD) has a strong education history in the field of computer science and mathematics. Fergal obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, known as BA Mod, in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin, where they studied from 2000 to 2004. Later, from 2009 to 2013, they pursued their passion for research and academia at University College Dublin, where they earned their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Computer Science. During their PhD studies, Fergal specialized in areas such as Machine Learning, Complex networks, and Graphs. Additionally, Fergal holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Honours (BSc Hons) in Mathematics from The Open University; however, specific details about the duration are not provided. Prior to their higher education, Fergal completed their secondary education at Mercy Secondary School Ballymahon.