The Data Playbook Podcast

Dataminded
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🎙️ The Data Playbook is a podcast where we aim to build a playbook for data leaders. We do that through a series of interviews with other data leaders, data practitioners and data experts. In each episode, we break down real-world data challenges: from building modern architectures and embracing Data Mesh to navigating cloud sovereignty, we help you make smarter decisions one play at a time.

  1. 4D AGO

    Scaling Data in Aviation: Inside Brussels Airlines’ Data Strategy - The Data Playbook Podcast with Kris Peeters & Tom Holsteens

    How do you transform a broken data landscape into a scalable, self-service data platform? In this episode of The Data Playbook, Kris Peeters sits down with Tom Holsteens to unpack how Brussels Airlines rebuilt their data foundation from the ground up. Coming out of the pandemic, the organisation faced a classic problem: 👉 A “spaghetti” data warehouse 👉 No ownership of data assets 👉 A central team becoming the bottleneck What followed was a multi-year transformation focused on: Building a modern cloud data platformMoving to a data product architectureEnabling self-service analytics across teamsBalancing central governance with decentral ownershipLeveraging AI tools to empower non-technical users💡 You’ll learn: Why most data platforms fail (and how to fix them)How to introduce data ownership in business teamsThe real difference between controlling vs. BIHow to reduce bottlenecks with hub-and-spoke modelsA real use case: cutting food waste by 30% with dataWhy perfect data quality is a mythThis is a must-watch for data leaders, engineers, and anyone scaling data in complex organisations. 👉 Subscribe for more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Dataminded 👉 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/your-podcast-link 👉 Explore more content & insights: https://dataminded.com Struggling with data bottlenecks, unclear ownership, or slow delivery? 👉 Explore our Data Product Workshop: https://www.dataminded.com/what-we-do/data-product-workshop Turn your data landscape into a business accelerator with a shared framework, clear ownership, and hands-on guidance in just one day. Chapters 00:00 Introduction & Brussels Airlines context02:30 What is controlling vs. business intelligence?06:00 The problem: “spaghetti” data warehouse & bottlenecks12:30 The transformation: platform, operating model & group strategy19:00 Hub-and-spoke model & self-service analytics27:30 Data products & the “restaurant” analogy35:30 AI, data analysts & scaling data adoption43:30 Real impact: reducing waste & driving business value

    1h 1m

  2. MAR 16

    Machine Learning in Energy: Forecasting, MLOps, and Business Impact - The Data Playbook Podcast with Kris Peeters & Jean-Michel Begon

    How do you move machine learning from notebook experiments to production in a real business environment? In this episode of The Data Playbook Podcast, Kris Peeters sits down with Jean-Michel Begon, Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Luminus, to explore how machine learning models are built and operationalized inside an energy company. They discuss electricity demand forecasting, the machine learning lifecycle, model experimentation, industrialisation, monitoring, collaboration with IT, and the role of GenAI and LLMs in modern ML teams. You’ll hear practical lessons on: production machine learningML team structureforecasting model developmentdata pipelines and platform supportmodel monitoring and performance reviewbalancing business value with technical rigorExplore the full podcast series: The Data Playbook PlaylistDiscover more podcasts, blogs, and webinars: Dataminded ResourcesVisit the Dataminded website: https://www.dataminded.com/

    55 min

  3. JAN 29

    How Dataminded Was Built: Kris Peeters on 11 Years of Data Engineering & Culture - The Data Playbook podcast with Kris Peeters & Pascal Brokmeier

    In this season finale of The Data Playbook Podcast by Dataminded, the tables turn: Kris Peeters (Host & Founder of Dataminded) is interviewed by Pascal Brokmeier (guest from the Episode 2 and former colleague). Kris shares the real story behind 11 years of building Dataminded - from the stress of having zero customers, to landing the first project, to scaling from a small team to a company with a leadership layer. We dive deep into what makes an engineering-first culture work: autonomy + responsibility, raising (and protecting) the hiring bar, learning from mistakes, and why timeless engineering practices (Git, CI/CD, testing, monitoring) still matter, no matter the tech hype cycle. If you’re a data leader, data engineer, engineering manager, or founder, this episode is a practical playbook on building a company (and a culture) that can survive and scale. ✅ Subscribe and follow Dataminded for more episodes, deep dives, and real-world data engineering stories. https://www.youtube.com/@Dataminded ✅ Explore The Data Playbook Podcast archive for more conversations on data platforms, data products, AI, and cloud decisions. https://www.dataminded.com/resources/podcast ✅ Want to work with us? Check our open roles or reach out directly. Open vacancies: https://www.dataminded.com/about/join-usOr email: careers@dataminded.comChapters: 00:06 - 11 Years of Dataminded: Why This Story Matters01:54 - Why Kris Founded Dataminded (Engineers First)04:12 - From Zero Clients to the First Big Win07:53 - First Hires & How Culture Was Born11:14 - Git, CI/CD & Why Engineering Discipline Wins15:59 - Growing from 6 to 20: Chaos to Structure23:30 - Autonomy, Trust & Professional Culture35:13 - COVID, Overhead & the Push to 50 People41:13 - How Dataminded Keeps the Hiring Bar High55:59 - Germany, The Netherlands & What’s Next

    1h 5m

  4. JAN 14

    How OBI Built a Lean, High-Impact AI Function That Scales - The Data Playbook Podcast with Kris Peeters & Dr. Ruth Janning

    In this episode of The Data Playbook, we sit down with Dr. Ruth Janning, Head of Data Science & AI at OBI, to talk about what actually drives AI impact in real organisations. We break down: Why GenAI hype leads teams in the wrong directionHow to choose between ML, GenAI and agentic AIReal-world retail AI use cases (recommendations, assortment, automation)How a 10-person team delivers outsized business valueAI governance, self-service, templates & AI ambassadors🎧 Listen to more episodes of The Data Playbook for real-world stories on data platforms, GenAI, data products and cloud independence from Europe’s leading data practitioners and leaders. 🌐 More at https://www.dataminded.com/resources and subscribe to our Spotify channel. Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hzI9VizGyHM

    1h 14m

  5. 12/18/2025

    S2 E9. Data Science vs Data Engineering: Breaking the Wall - The Data Playbook Podcast with Kris Peeters & Jelena Grujic

    In this episode of The Data Playbook, Jelena Grujic (Dataminded) explains why the divide between data scientists and data engineers still exists and how to finally break it. We dive into real-world conflicts around unit tests, notebooks, production data access, documentation, and overengineered solutions. Jelena shares pragmatic alternatives like data testing, functional pipelines, and purpose-based access that actually work in production. A must-listen for data leaders and practitioners who want fewer debates and better data products. 🎧 Topics include data testing, notebooks, production data, functional programming, and team collaboration. 🎧 Listen to more episodes of The Data Playbook for real-world stories on data platforms, GenAI, data products and cloud independence from Europe’s leading data practitioners and leaders. 🌐 More at https://www.dataminded.com/resources #DataScience #DataEngineering #DataLeadership #DataTeams #DataPlatform #AnalyticsEngineering #DataInProduction #MachineLearning #ModernDataStack #TheDataPlaybook

    1 hr

  6. 12/11/2025

    S2 E8. A Structured Framework for Building Successful Data Solutions - The Data Playbook Podcast with Kris Peeters & Frederic Vanderveken

    Most data leaders know the statistic: the majority of big data initiatives never deliver the value they promised. In this episode, Kris sits down with Frederic Vanderveken from Dataminded to unpack a practical framework to choose and validate the right data use cases. We cover: Why so many data initiatives fail before they even startHow to anchor your work in business strategy, not technologyHow to run problem discovery interviews that surface real headaches, not minor annoyancesPrioritising solutions using five lenses: customer, growth, money, pragmatic feasibility and differentiatorsBuilding a quantifiable business case and defining success upfrontIf you’re a data leader or product owner deciding where to place your next big bet, this episode gives you a structured way to reduce risk and ship data solutions that actually move the needle. Follow The Data Playbook for more episodes on data platforms, data products and making AI useful in real life. 🌐 More at ⁠www.dataminded.com⁠ and subscribe to our channel. ⏱️ Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Data Solutions Framework09:03 Effective Problem Discovery Techniques17:53 Mapping Customer Journeys26:39 Collaborative Solution Brainstorming32:27 Testing Solutions and Integration44:39 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways

    47 min

  7. 11/27/2025

    S2 E7. Data Engineering Meets Excel: Building Explainable and Reliable Decision Models with River Solutions

    Kris Peeters sits down with Amaury Anciaux, founder of River Solutions, to tackle a painful reality for data leaders: critical decisions still depend on fragile Excel models. They explore why Excel won’t disappear, how River turns spreadsheets into visual, explainable and reliable decision models, and what happens when you bring data quality checks, testing and documentation into the analyst workflow. Topics include: Why 99% of models in organisations are still built in ExcelSilent errors, risk, and the real cost of debugging formulasVisual flow-based modelling and model maps inside ExcelBuilt-in checks for missing data, duplicates and broken lookupsHow AI copilots helped build River, and why AI won’t replace transparent modelsThe evolving role of analysts and managers in data-driven decisions🎧 Listen to more episodes of The Data Playbook for real-world stories on data platforms, GenAI, data products and cloud independence from Europe’s leading data practitioners and leaders. 🌐 More at https://www.dataminded.com/resources Chapters: 00:00 – Intro & episode setup00:45 – Amaury’s background & consulting career02:00 – The hidden reality of Excel decision models04:00 – Why “just get it out of Excel” doesn’t scale05:10 – What River Solutions does in Excel06:40 – Visual model maps for explainable models08:40 – Removing formulas & adding data quality checks10:50 – Why Excel errors are so risky for big decisions13:15 – Who River is for: analysts, Excel gurus & managers16:05 – Why Amaury started River now & building with Copilot19:00 – Will AI copilots replace River and Excel modelling?22:51 – How River works as an Excel add-in (UX & interactivity)26:25 – How River changes the analyst role (less debugging, more thinking)28:10 – Roadmap: community, cloud, AI & connecting to data warehouses31:14 – Biggest lesson learned: software is easy, change is hard

    32 min

  8. 11/20/2025

    S2 E6. 5 Years Kate 🎂: Inside KBC’s AI Playbook - The Data Playbook Podcast with Kris Peeters & Dr. Barak Chizi

    What happens when a bank decides that AI and IP are so strategic they must be built in-house - then actually follows through for more than a decade? In this episode of The Data Playbook, Dr. Barak Chizi, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at KBC Group, joins Kris Peeters to reveal how KBC built one of Europe’s most mature AI organisations and what it took to bring Kate, their AI assistant, to life, and keep her evolving for 5 years. You’ll hear how KBC: Grew from early machine learning to 2,000+ AI use cases in production Developed an AI-driven anti-money laundering platform and commercialised it for other banks Scaled Kate, now celebrating 5 years and upgraded with GPT. Uses the U-model to govern AI safely from idea to production Keeps ROI at the centre of every AI project Stays vendor-independent while still leveraging hyperscaler LLMs Builds diverse, high-calibre AI teams with a rigorous recruitment approach Explores soft logic and modelling customer intent as the next frontier of financial AI If you want to understand how to turn AI from experiments into a true competitive advantage, this conversation is your playbook. 🌐 More at www.dataminded.com and subscribe to our channel. Show notes: The Foundation of Soft Logic👉 https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-58233-2 Dan Ariely – Predictably Irrational👉 https://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expanded-Decisions/dp/0061353248/ ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – Intro to The Data Playbook & today’s guest01:15 – Barak’s backstory: 25 years in AI & high-dimensional data03:02 – What a CDAO does at KBC & enabling 24/7 AI-assisted service04:55 – Towards continuous, machine-supported customer journeys06:37 – The U-Model: KBC’s framework for data & AI projects08:35 – Flagship AI products, finite project lifecycle & retraining10:07 – Prioritising AI use cases across 5 countries12:31 – ROI mindset, conservative risk culture & data as an asset14:21 – Why KBC keeps AI in-house & limits external consultants18:17 – Beyond data warehouses: from reporting to prediction22:21 – AI-driven AML platform & the creation of SKY25:30 – Patents, AI IP and KBC’s competitive positioning27:25 – Generative AI at KBC since 2018 & early transformer experiments29:11 – Pragmatic tech choices: LLMs vs ML vs simple automation31:42 – Avoiding GenAI hype and focusing on customer value33:03 – Why KBC built Kate: 24/7 banking & impatient customers35:28 – From FAQ bot to execution engine: Kate’s end-to-end capabilities37:07 – Customer reactions, branches vs digital & Kate’s 2026 roadmap39:24 – Multi-LLM strategy, vendor independence & design partnerships40:44 – Inside Kate’s architecture: NLU, open source & KBC-built layers42:37 – Proactive AI: timing, context and personalised offers44:51 – Soft logic, consciousness & modelling customer intent49:19 – Building a diverse, 24-nationality AI team at KBC51:37 – Recruitment process, tests & how candidates are evaluated55:21 – What KBC looks for in modern data scientists57:15 – Lessons after 10 years at KBC & book recommendation

    58 min
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🎙️ The Data Playbook is a podcast where we aim to build a playbook for data leaders. We do that through a series of interviews with other data leaders, data practitioners and data experts. In each episode, we break down real-world data challenges: from building modern architectures and embracing Data Mesh to navigating cloud sovereignty, we help you make smarter decisions one play at a time.

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