Neel Pandya, CEO, APAC & Europe, Pixis, a Global AI Infrastructure Startup
Neel is proficient in building and leading large teams and projects successfully. Instantly identifying growth opportunities and thinking outside the box come naturally to Neel.
Podcast
Overview
Artificial Intelligence is certainly making our lives simpler. We can see the use of Artificial Intelligence everywhere. However, there are several misconceptions about Artificial Intelligence as well.
For this episode of The Brand Called You, we have invited the Artificial Intelligence expert, Neel Pandya.
Neel is the CEO of Pixis for Europe and APEC, which is a global Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure startup. He earlier worked at L’oreal. He moved out of his comfort zone, left his job at L’oreal, and started to work at Pixis. His name is also mentioned among India’s top 40 disruptive minds. Neel Pandya is working on the integration of AI in marketing and branding.
About Pixis and Neel’s work there
Neel tells us that Pixis is a firm that uses Artificial Intelligence tools to develop models that can help in marketing and branding. He considers his team as a bunch of engineers with entrepreneurial skills. They try to bridge the gap between what kind of air models marketers want and what they get.
Now that Neel is taking charge of Europe as well, he tells us that AI in European markets is quite popular. Europe today spends about 69 billion dollars on digital advertising which makes Neel’s job more exciting for him.
How is Pixis using AI in marketing and building brands?
Neel tells us that there are three major challenges every business faces.
- The first challenge is the lack of knowledge of how to use data.
- The second challenge is deploying a highly productive team to ensure who needs that data.
- Lastly, Neel feels that businesses face problems in creating video content that resonates with the consumers.
Neel with his team at Pixis has created an AI infrastructure. The foremost priority of which has always been to design a solution that unifies all the teams that contribute towards generating revenue.
How does Artificial Intelligence help in advertising?
Neel tells us that while advertising, businesses tend to understand the outcome of the ad after a period of time. By the time the business understands that the ad is not good, they lose months. However, Artificial Intelligence helps businesses to take action in real-time.
How is Artificial Intelligence affecting the lives of the common man?
Neel believes that five years earlier people did not understand AI and ML much. However, since the pandemic hit the world more and more people started to understand the digital ecosystem, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning. People now use AI in their daily lives without even realizing it. It is helping us in small things like reading an email or getting directions while driving etc. According to Neel, common people are adapting more and more to AI.
Artificial Intelligence and misconceptions
Neel believes that as AI is getting more and more into the daily lives of people, the misconceptions regarding it are fading away. However, there are still some misconceptions.
Neel in the conversation talks about the four major misconceptions people have about Artificial Intelligence:
- Expensive
People believe that the adoption of AI is expensive. However, Neel believes that it might be expensive at the start but it gives better returns than non-AI products.
- Big businesses have an advantage over small businesses
Neel tells us that since AI is not expensive, small businesses would not have any problem adapting and using AI.
- Need of Data Scientist
Neel tells us that companies like Pixis provide the AI infrastructure to the organizations and they do not need any data scientists further.
- AI will replace humans
Neel tells us that AI is an amazing combination of the human brain and accuracy which gives better output. He believes that AI can never replace human beings.
- Privacy Violation
Neel tells us that there are different organizations that take your data and those that act on it. Especially at Pixis, they believe that the owner of the data is the customer. Pixis is just the custodian that uses the data to help the organization fulfill the business objectives. He adds that AI is getting more and more transparent.
More about Neel Pandya
Neel tells us that many people believe that they need to learn by themselves. But Neel believes that you can learn from anyone, even from your mentees. Neel considers moving out of his comfort zone by leaving his job at L’oreal and working at Pixis as a milestone he has achieved. He also considers having a life partner like his, who understands him and helps him create a balanced life achieving a milestone.
Neel also tells us that he is inspired by failures. He believes that if one is not failing, one can never succeed. In his opinion, failure is just a way of learning new things.
Neel advises young people not to shy away from trying new things.
Profile
For Neel Pandya, the biggest leap is to put India on the global map for AI and innovation in marketing and business growth. He aspires to equip brands and marketers with robust AI capabilities to help them effortlessly scale their growth. Having had extensive experience working in digital with global brands such as L’Oreal, Vodafone, and Unilever, Neel is able to accurately identify pressing brand pain points that can be alleviated with AI.
An articulate and driven leader with high energy and an engaging personality, Neel is proficient in building and leading large teams and projects successfully. Instantly identifying growth opportunities and thinking outside the box come naturally to Neel. He has a demonstrated history of working in the FMCG, Telecom, Marketing, and Advertising industry.
Currently, Neel has taken on the role of the Chief Executive Officer for APAC, at Pyxis One – a global AI infrastructure start-up. With over 12 years of experience as a marketing expert with focused digital marketing and research expertise, Neel believes that growth and technology go hand-in-hand.
