From left: Laura Haldane, Alastair McKinley and James Campbell. Image: Richard Trainor
Alistair McKinley’s appointment comes as SciLeads launches a new AI-powered messaging tool, created to generate leads in the science sector.
Belfast-based scientific SaaS company SciLeads has hired Alistair McKinley as their head of data engineering and AI, as the company launches new AI products.
McKinley, who has a PhD in electronic and electrical engineering, was previously chief technology officer at Analytics Engines. In his new role, he will build on SciLead’s existing AI tools while developing more customer-facing features using AI. He will also lead AI implementation in the company to assist in its expansion.
Founded in 2016 by Daniel McRitchie, Laura Haldane and James Campbell, SciLeads uses it global scientific database to provide market intelligence software to help scientific companies identify buyers. Its customer base ranges from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, with more than 90pc based outside the UK.
The appointment of McKinley comes as the company launches an AI-powered message generation feature to create personalised messages for specific researchers.
“These messages can be copied and sent through platforms like email or LinkedIn, saving time for users and making lead generation more efficient by automating the creation of contextually relevant messages that resonate with their target audience,” the company said.
“I’m delighted to join a company that’s already taking advantage of the benefits AI has to offer and am excited to grow this even further to benefit both our customers and the company as a whole,” McKinley said.
McKinley has 15 years of experience with data engineering, including data cleansing/matching, search, database architecture and performance optimisation.
“We’re very happy to have Alastair onboard. As someone who has been using AI since before it was cool, we’re excited to see how we can build upon our recent generative AI features to develop even more impactful tools for our customers,” said Haldane, SciLeads’s co-founder and VP of sales and marketing.
The company has 90 employees, mostly based in Northern Ireland and Canada. Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com last year, Haldane said that as a small company SciLeads is able to offer staff more flexibility, with a fully remote workforce and opportunities for upskilling and career progression.
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