What impact does the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence (AI CoE) have on Fresenius’ business segments? Shabbir Shaikh is an AI CoE Principal Consultant in this relatively new and dynamic team. In this interview, he tells us why he sees this as a special phase in his career.
My job title is “AI CoE Principal Consultant” and I am responsible for project and product management. I work on relevant AI use cases for business segments, using a product management and consultancy approach. I manage these AI projects from start to finish, i.e. from the ideation phase up until we hand the solutions over to the businesses. A typical end-to-end journey starts with a brief design thinking workshop, followed by an early prototype to align on AI use case value realization, and it ends with an agile implementation of the enterprise grade, scale-up AI solution.
I would like to point out two aspects: Firstly, our focus is not just on delivering the AI solutions. As a team we enable the business segments to gain new efficiencies, derive business value and thereby address real business problems. We work very closely with the business segments and so provide a direct impact through an AI solution that delivers value.
Secondly, I feel that our team is like the popular Indian “biryani” dish: It is the unique combination of the spices that go into the dish, the aromas and the various flavors that make the dish special. And this is similar for our team: Our team’s diversity helps us to address problems from different perspectives, so we can approach the business problems or a use case from a multitude of dimensions. We often consider the big picture from three different perspectives: management, commercial, and the often-contrasting technical viewpoint. Our common goal is always to find the best solution – focusing on providing the best value for the business segment and for the end customer.
I have a degree in Financial Accounting and Auditing, as well as a diploma in Computer Systems and Application Development. I started my career designing and developing software applications for different global organizations and did this for over a decade. I have worked as an Enterprise Solutions Architect since 2015, tackling business problems and investigating the big picture behind them. I then moved into IT consulting and eventually joined a consultancy firm, mainly focusing on enterprise architecture and roadmap development for end-to-end supply chain management. I joined Fresenius in October 2023 as a Principal Consultant in Enterprise Architecture Management.
If you want to feel like you are at the heart of digital transformation and if you want to ride the AI wave, then join the AI CoE at Fresenius. We are in a unique position to steer the moving engine that is AI. We can also see the direct impact of our work, which is extremely satisfying. Let me give you an example: When we worked on an AI solution with Fresenius Kabi MedTech, we co-created our first custom AI solution/assistant to help improve the efficiency of technical services. Upon completion of the project, we could see the direct impact that this had in terms of efficiency for the business segment but also indirectly for the end customers. Our AI solution seamlessly assists field service engineers by providing a single point of access to a vast, audited knowledge base that is required for servicing these MedTech devices.
If you want a role that allows you to bring ideas and visions to life, to make things happen, and that allows you to see how the solution goes on to impact the business and reach the end user, then this is a great option. Honestly, I look forward to each day at work – it is both challenging and filled with engaging activities. I consider my time at Fresenius to be one of the most special phases of my career.
I am proud of the openness and trust that we experience and the new avenues that we are heading down. In my role here, I can participate in and contribute to a very interesting mix of experiences and perspectives within the team. I really like that I am part of a team that can address real problems the business segments are dealing with. We work alongside the full chain of ideation, understanding the issues, then working together as an agile team on the prototype and finally delivering a scale-up solution to the business. This is really satisfying and gives me a great sense of pride. I feel the trust not only from our management but also from the business segments who approach us with a new business problem to be solved. This is a responsibility that I love to shoulder. Each day I get to work on exciting business problems that must be solved, collaborating with business and technical experts to co-create a value-driven and best-in-class AI solution. That’s very special to me.