Fay Churchill has combined technical excellence with commercial insight to establish herself as one of the most promising data and AI leaders. Through high-impact AI products, a commitment to AI literacy, and a leadership style centred on trust and collaboration, she has positioned data science as a strategic capability across ITV.
In just a few years, Fay has become a driving force behind ITV’s AI and data science strategy. As Head of Data Science, she leads a team delivering machine learning solutions that support some of the broadcaster’s most important commercial and strategic decisions, while fostering a culture where innovation, technical excellence, and people development go hand in hand.
With a background spanning psychology, neuroscience, and commercial data science, Fay brings a distinctive perspective to AI leadership. She focuses on applying AI to solve genuine business challenges, ensuring every initiative delivers measurable value while remaining understandable and accessible to stakeholders across the organisation.
Delivering AI that creates business value
Over the past two years, Fay has led the delivery of three major AI initiatives that have improved marketing performance, forecasting accuracy, and content discovery across ITV.
Key achievements include:
- Delivered three major AI products: NODE, ITVX Viewer Forecast, and CoMET.
- Founded ITV’s AI Guild, creating a cross-business community of almost 200 members to improve AI literacy.
- Generated more than £300,000 in annual savings through the NODE programme by replacing legacy systems.
- Improved CRM effectiveness by 2.5 times, while reducing cost per acquisition by 25%.
- Reduced forecast error by 50% by rebuilding ITV’s strategic viewer forecasting model.
- Delivered more than £30,000 in annual savings by replacing a third-party forecasting solution.
- Increased click-through rates by 33% on marketing campaigns using CoMET’s AI-powered content recommendations.
- Maintained 100% team retention over four years (excluding organisational restructuring).
Beyond delivering successful products, Fay has consistently helped ITV build confidence in AI. Through the AI Guild and internal education sessions, she has translated complex concepts such as LLMs into practical knowledge, enabling colleagues across the business to engage with AI responsibly and effectively.
“One of the most compelling emerging leaders in the category. What stood out is the blend of deep technical credibility, human‑centred leadership, and the bravery to shape how AI is understood and adopted across the organisation.” – Judges’ comments
Leading through influence and trust
Following the creation of ITV’s Insights Group in 2024, Fay played a central role in shaping its culture during a period of organisational change, fostering openness, psychological safety, and continuous learning within her team.
Her ability to communicate effectively with executives, engineers, and business stakeholders has secured support for data science initiatives while ensuring technical work remains closely aligned to commercial priorities.
Colleagues consistently highlight her technical credibility and her ability to develop those around her.
“Fay has a rare ability to make data science feel like a business conversation… her team’s work has delivered measurable impact across marketing, content, and forecasting, and Fay ensures that impact is understood, trusted, and acted on at the most senior levels.”
“Fay’s communication with the team and the client was outstanding. Her confidence and credibility led to the development of a great learning programme which has gone on to aid hundreds of people in their journey of AI literacy.”
“Having Fay as a manager and leader is incredibly reassuring. She sets a brilliant example and is someone I deeply respect and admire.”
A multifaceted leadership
What distinguishes Fay is the combination of technical depth, commercial awareness, and people-first leadership. She continues to write code alongside her team, champion AI literacy across ITV, and ensure that data science delivers measurable business outcomes rather than technical novelty.
As organisations seek leaders who can bridge the gap between AI innovation and business value, Fay is demonstrating what that leadership looks like. By combining strategic thinking with genuine investment in people, she has established herself as one of the emerging voices shaping the future of data and AI leadership.
