Karen joined the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority recently. She and her colleagues are creating a scientific research agenda to: (i) protect consumers in financial services; (ii) promote competition, innovation and ethical behaviour among firms; and (iii) enhance the resilience of the UK financial system. An important part of this work is to identify and address the most impactful AI / machine learning use cases.
Previously, Karen was a Principal at QuantumBlack, where she led teams of PhD and postdoc data scientists, engineers and domain experts. Together they helped C-level clients use advanced analytics to solve strategic and operational problems. Before specialising in data science, she worked as an academic economist at Oxford University and a strategy consultant at McKinsey, based in London and Washington D.C.
Karen holds a PhD in game theory and applied econometrics from Oxford and enjoys staying connected to teaching and research as a Guest Lecturer in Economics for Public Policy at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government and a member of the advisory board for the MSc and PhD programmes in Social Data Science at Oxford.
She is a regular speaker on AI, policy, and the economy, invited to speak recently at the British Parliament, the Royal Society, and CogX.