Hello World

The Why of my substack

Hey There!

Do you get this overwhelming urge every once in a while to start writing down what you’ve learned? You know, to clear your thoughts, to shape what you’ve picked up here and there into a coherent story, to share something useful to the world.

Happens to me like clockwork. So I’ve decided to give in and try.

I’m Mikheil (pronounced just like Michael), I’ve spent 10 years in data analytics at this point - pretty much all of it in financial industry - and currently lead a 80+ people team at Bank of Georgia, the largest bank in Georgia (the country!).

Leading data analytics teams is many things, and a lot of them start with “super”: super-fun, super-intense, super-rewarding, super-frustrating…. You get the idea.

It’s also super-uncharted. Ok, maybe not so dramatic, but it’s still respectably hazy. Technology is evolving at warp speed, talent is pouring in from all professions with wildly different experiences, businesses are as hyped as it gets but mostly don’t know how to actually squeeze value out of it, and good leadership in the area is scarce. It can feel overwhelming trying to run this freak show.

Of course it’s not that doom and gloom. A lot of voices have emerged and are bringing sanity to the field, but it’s still early in the game. This is why I’d like to contribute whatever I can.

So here’s my plan: I’ll write periodically about what I’ve learned leading data science teams over the years. It’ll definitely help me understand my own learnings better. And hopefully it can help you avoid some costly mistakes I had to suffer through. Or get some fresh ideas and perspective. Or commiserate.

Either way, hope this will be fun for all of us.