Management
Lionel Bisschoff
CEO and Founder
Lionel has over 25 years’ experience as entrepreneur, consultant and director in the technology space. Lionel has trained, coached and mentored startups and corporate executives; designed, directed and delivered multi-million corporate programmes across a broad range of industries; authored books on the impact of technology on individuals, companies and countries and presented at some of the most prestigious conferences such as TED.
Lionel founded Learning Machines with the aim of benefiting organisations through the correct application of machine learning, big data and cloud services in their value chains. His vast experience of business processes and how technology should be applied across various industries, uniquely positions Learning Machines as a thought leader in the application of artificial intelligence in South Africa.
Fred Senekal
Head of Research and Development
Fred has worked in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning and pattern recognition for more than 15 years. He has extensive experience in various industries, including robotics, bioinformatics, finance, defence and web. He founded various companies, authored research papers in computer vision and has patented technologies. He holds a Master of Engineering degree with specialisation in pattern recognition.
Fred is passionate about the advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning and the impact it will have to transform the world for the better. As Head of Research and Development at Learning Machines, he is keen to show clients how artificial intelligence can be utilised to benefit their organisations.
Team Leads
Kabelo Mofokeng
Data Engineer
Kabelo has worked as a data engineer for the past 10 years. He is a specialist in SAS, with strong skills in data analysis, ETL and SAS Programming using various tools (BASE SAS, Enterprise Guide and Data Integration). He gained experience at various large enterprises, including ABSA, Mutual & Federal, Eskom and IQVIA. He has been trained in Advanced SAS Programming and Macros and holds National Diploma in Information Technology from University of Johannesburg specializing in Software Development.
Otto Saayman
Data Engineer
Otto started coding at age 11 and has been working in the IT industry since 1997. He has extensive experience in full stack web-based application planning, development, deployment and hosting. This made the transition to big data technologies a natural progression. He has experience in setting up and using the Hortonworks Data Platform in a production environment as well as developing, testing and deploying ETL and AI workflows using Scala and Python.
Carl Steyn
Data Scientist
Carl is a data scientist with industry experience in AI technology such as image classification, Natural Language Processing and fraud detection. He has an academic background in Actuarial Science with a Master’s degree in Mathematical Statistics, specialising in Computer Vision.
Gabriel de Wet
Machine Learning Engineer
Gabriel is a machine learning engineer with experience in developing machine learning solutions specialising in Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, and the design of valuable interactive visualisations. He has an academic background in Economics and Statistics, with a Master’s degree in Statistics, and enjoys learning and improving his skills. He is passionate about using AI and ML as a tool for positive change in the world.
Felix Kamdem
Data Engineer / Data Scientist
Felix is a data scientist/data engineer with experience in building and deploying AI solutions within the field of Computer Vision and predictive modelling. He has a B-Eng Electrical and Electronics as well as a Bsc in Information technology from the University of Johannesburg. He is a firm believer in the capabilities that deep learning offers in solving real world complex problems given the right amount of data.
Claudio Jardim
Data Engineer / Scientist
Claudio is a data engineer/data scientist with experience in machine learning and statistical techniques. He has an academic background in Actuarial Science with an honours degree in Mathematical Statistics, specialising in Bayesian networks. He is currently completing his Master’s degree in Advanced Data Analytics.
Mandlenkosi Vezi
Data Engineer
Mandlenkosi is a data engineer with experience in Java and Scala Development. He has worked within the banking, health, telecoms and retail industries and holds a B.Tech Degree in Information Technology.
Ronald Conco
Software Developer
Ronald is an experienced technology team leader with expert knowledge in server technologies and frontends, such as Amazon AWS, LAMP, RabbitMQ, Java SE, Twitter Bootstrap, etc. He studied software development at the Tshwane University of Technology.
Romeo Taljaard
Data Engineer
Romeo has a passion for technology and solving real-world problems. He has extensive experience in the data streaming and data processing domain and has built large-scale containerized data pipelines in the telecoms industry, utilizing Kafka, Flink, Kubernetes, and Helm. Romeo is graduate from the University of Pretoria with a degree in Information Technology.
Lionel’s TEDx Talk
In his TEDx talk, “A radical idea for the economic transformation of nations”, Lionel explains how the world is being transformed through automation, and how nation states need a new way of thinking to keep up with the changes that are happening. Take a look at the video below:
Societal Renaissance
Lionel’s book, Societal Renaissance, describes the increasing inequality, growing public debt, growth or slums and youth unemployment and the steps we need to take to eradicate this.
The book explains how we can collaborate better locally and globally, by applying our latest understanding of complex adaptive systems, money, capital, human nature, digital value exchange, peer-to-peer platforms and lean product development and manufacturing.
Concrete proposals are made on how to reform monetary systems, financial services industries, politics and societal systems with the hope of inspiring the public to contribute in a meaningful way to bring about societal change.
You can download the book here.
