Wesley Deelman
Data Scientist
Cape Town
Summary
B.Sc. Math and Stats graduate that is experienced in drawing insights from data, with techniques ranging from simple to complex. Worked across multiple industries such as the Market Research industry, Mobile Money industry,
Banking and Retail. The aim is to leverage data, in
order to support optimal decision-making.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Data Scientist
Capitec
Stellenbosch, South Africa
04.2024 - 04.2025
- Connect RFM: Built a Connect RFM model using Connect transactional data. The idea behind a RFM is to provide a segmentation that ranks clients according to their engagement. Where there engagement is dependent on there scored percentile position, for Recency, Frequency and Monetary value.
- VAS RFM: Built a RFM model for the value-added service of airtime. The steps taken to build this model/segmenation was the same as for the Connect RFM.
- Connect potential audience: Essentially a lead generation engine that looks for non-users of connect that look like(in profile) high-usage customers of connect. The methodology involved building a Machine learning model, that predicted how likely someone was to be a higher quality client. High quality clients, not on the connect base, then would receive a treatment in an effort to onboard those customers to the connect product. This model was deployed using various AWS tools, most important of which is SageMaker.
- Connect Churn Model: The connect churn model aims to identify "at risk" clients pre-emptively, by using a machine learning model that calculates the probability that someone might "churn".
Head of Data
DataDrive 2030
Cape Town, South Africa
10.2023 - 03.2024
- Ensured data quality throughout the entire production pipeline, utilizing comprehensive measures.
- Build dashboards that give visibility on data quality.
- Perform data engineering to prepare data for data products.
- Led a team of professionals in executing data quality assessments, maintenance, and enhancements.
- Successfully improved workflows through the implementation of automated tools and technologies.
- Proactively researched and recommended innovative solutions to drive continuous improvement in data quality and workflow efficiency.
Senior Manager II (Data Scientist)
Massmart Holdings
Cape Town, South Africa (Remote)
07.2022 - 09.2023
- Stakeholder engagement to identify problems and
pain points, and to devise data driven solutions.
Regular check-ins with stakeholders is conducted to
ensure that delivery meets the clients needs. - Problem formulation and applying the appropriate
Data Science solution. The solution could be as simple
as a once off analysis or a complex machine learning
model with a scoring pipeline. Converting the
business needs of a client to a technical specification
is an important part of the job, and has been done for
all the projects that I have worked on. - Built a margin management tool, that shows the
corresponding margins and quantities sold for a given
price change. Have built a product quantity forecast to
help plan the stock buying process as a part of margin
management. The tool has been completely built and
is being used by merchants to help set prices on
important articles. - Built an Attrition model, that predicts the likelihood
that a particular client would churn over a 3 month
horizon. It will be used to have a proactive
communication with the client rather than reactive. - Currently in the process of building a daily quantity
forecast model that will be used to plan promotions
more effectively. This will use SOA machine learning
techniques as such as XGBOOST and LightGBM.
Data Scientist
Pepkor
Bellville
04.2018 - 06.2022
- Utilized advanced analytical techniques to extract
meaningful insights from large datasets. - Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop
comprehensive solutions to mitigate risk in lending. - Continuously monitored model performance,
identified areas for improvement, and implemented
enhancements to ensure accuracy and scalability. - Proficient in developing state-of-the-art machine
learning models. - Adept in monitoring and fine-tuning models to
enhance their performance. - Skilled in deploying models on various platforms for real-world applications.
- Demonstrated expertise in applying coding best
practices to ensure top-quality project delivery.
Decision Scientist
Capitec Bank
Cape Town
05.2015 - 03.2018
- Performed late stage recoveries analysis to identify
opportunities that could increase revenue and
improve performance. - Developed scorecards to monitor and evaluate key performance indicators, resulting in data-driven decision making.
- Constructed the Book Evaluation Methodology to better assess and evaluate the intrinsic value of bad debtors books.
- Constructed the Book Evaluation Methodology to better assess and evaluate the intrinsic value of bad debtors books.
- Conducted exploratory data analysis to identify trends and patterns, providing insights that informed strategic business decisions.
- Employed data analytics techniques to extract insights and guide business decisions with actionable intelligence.
- Conducted statistical analysis to identify significant factors and trends, providing insights to optimize business performance.
Data Scientist
Zoona
Cape Town
04.2014 - 04.2015
- Conducted statistical and data analysis for mobile money operations, utilizing Python and SQL to gather, process, and analyze large datasets.
- Leveraged advanced machine learning techniques to prototype and develop accurate forecasting models.
- Designed and developed Qlikview dashboards to visually communicate complex data insights to diverse stakeholders, including non-technical audiences.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to identify, prioritize, and address critical business questions using data-driven insights. Proactively implemented data cleansing and validation techniques to continuously improve data quality and accuracy, ensuring reliable analysis results.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Mathematics And Statistics
University of The Western Cape
Bellville 04.2001 -
Skills
Python programming
SQL
GCP (Bigquery and notebooks)
AWS (Sagemaker and Redshift)
Machine learning
Statistical analysis
SQL databases
Scikit-learn
Data mining
R programming
Optimization techniques
Time series analysis
Problem-solving abilities
Timeline
Data Scientist
Capitec
04.2024 - 04.2025
Head of Data
DataDrive 2030
10.2023 - 03.2024
Senior Manager II (Data Scientist)
Massmart Holdings
07.2022 - 09.2023
Data Scientist
Pepkor
04.2018 - 06.2022
Decision Scientist
Capitec Bank
05.2015 - 03.2018
Data Scientist
Zoona
04.2014 - 04.2015
Bachelor of Science - Mathematics And Statistics
University of The Western Cape
04.2001 -