Gautam Verma — Data & AI Catalyst

Beyond the title

The person behind the programs

I've spent fifteen years learning that data transformation doesn't happen on slides — it happens in rooms. Coaching a first-time Chief Data Officer through their opening hundred days, debating AI with university students, or walking a leadership team through why data quality is a people problem before it's a technology one: that's where I do my best work.

Outside the day job, you'll find me on stages and in community sessions across the MENA region — CodersHQ, Dubai Future Skills, the Data Innovation Summit — because I believe this region's data future is built by the people who show up for it. I first called the UAE home back in 2010, and after stints across India, the US and Australia, I've been back since 2019 — the pace here still feels like day one.

Impact

Where transformation meets reality

Led Data & Analytics Enablement for 20,000 employees across GCC Group, building the culture and capability layer that technology vendors consistently leave unaddressed.

Built Equipment Condition Monitoring solution predicting Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of critical fracking pumps using sensor data—reducing failure rates by 30%.

Achieved 80% success rate executing CDMP Data Management Certification for 160+ Data Executives, establishing GCC's first cross-government data leadership cohort.

Delivered 200+ training programs for business and data practitioners across hierarchies, focusing on value realization and storytelling over technical theater.

Developed region's first organization-wide Data Enablement Accelerator covering 10 data management disciplines with frameworks now adopted government-wide.

Activated data offices for 30+ Abu Dhabi Government entities through centralized frameworks, toolkits, and the Data In A Box platform serving governance, cataloging, and analytics.

Experience

Journey through complexity

2023 – Present

Head of Data Enablement

Department of Government Enablement, Abu Dhabi

Leading Data Enablement across 30+ government entities in service of AI Native Government and Digital Strategy 2027. Driving data governance, quality frameworks, technology stack deployment, and culture transformation through integrated communications and literacy initiatives in collaboration with CDOs.

2019 – 2023

Head of Technology — Data & AI

NobleProg

Developed and activated 10+ data strategies for government and semi-government clients across UAE and Saudi Arabia. Built region's first organization-wide Data Enablement Accelerator covering 10 data management disciplines. Led multi-million dollar people transformation programs across GCC.

Lead Consultant (Majid Al Futtaim): Drove Data & AI adoption for 5,000+ employees across Carrefour, VOX, Lifestyle, Malls, and Real Estate holdings
Lead Consultant (Abu Dhabi Digital Authority): Delivered region's first cross-government Data Leadership program for 160+ executives
Lead Consultant (Emirates Global Aluminium): Built Data Academy reaching 300 employees across mining, refining, and smelting operations

2016 – 2019

Lead Consultant — Data & AI

Forum Energy Technologies (Client via Cyient)

Led multi-million dollar Condition Based Monitoring project for US energy OEM as Lead Translator. Built Remaining Useful Life (RUL) prediction solution using ML algorithms to forecast asset health. Optimized site operations implementing edge, fog, and cloud architecture—shifting from reactive to predictive maintenance.

2016 – 2019

Analytics Solutions Specialist

Cyient

Partnered with Microsoft to build cloud-based ML and AI solutions for industrial use cases. Developed and delivered cloud-based AI solutions around M2M and sensor telemetry data, solving business problems like predictive maintenance at scale.

2014 – 2015

Associate Consultant

KPMG

Led program management for projects involving assurance reviews and process benchmarking. Worked with IBM SPSS on industry client data for RFM analysis, pricing analysis, and web analytics—bridging strategy teams and technical delivery.

Voices

What colleagues say

Gautam is a perfect bridge between the perception and reality of implementing projects. He is a true consultant who can identify the problem, lead sales, convince the business, bring home the project, assemble the team, and execute the job with perfection.

Sesha Modukuru

CEO, Dristia AI · ex-CEO, Cyient Insights

The first thing that comes to my mind with his name is enthusiasm — that is symbolic of him. He is a very lively, cheerful and passionate person who gives his cent percent to whatever he undertakes.

Jitin Arora

Senior Manager, Deloitte USA

Capabilities

Depth across the transformation stack

Strategic

Data & AI Strategy Development
Change Management & Adoption
Executive Coaching
Stakeholder Management
Organizational Design
Program Leadership

Technical

Generative AI & LLMs
Machine Learning & Data Science
Prompt Engineering
Responsible AI Frameworks
Python, SQL, R
Cloud Analytics (Azure, AWS)

Governance & Quality

Data Governance Frameworks
Data Quality Management
Master Data Management
Data Cataloging & Metadata
Data Architecture
Policy & Standards Development

Gautam Verma
Catalyst for Intelligent Transformation

The person behind the programs

Speaking & community engagement

Where transformation meets reality