Spotlight on Tech with SARAH
Interested in some insights in our AI Strategy department? As Associate Director Data & AI Strategy, Sarah has been part of ProSiebenSat.1 for six months. In the interview, she gives insights into why she appreciates coffee talks with our developers so much, what our “AI Ambassador Circle” is all about and what new colleagues can look forward to in her team.
Hi Sarah, you’ve been with us for half a year now. Can you tell us what you do at ProSiebenSat.1 and what you’ve experienced during your first time with us?
I work in our AI Strategy Team as Associate Director Data & AI Strategy, actually only for six months, although it feels much longer! I think that’s also because I joined a really great team and everyone took a lot of time for my onboarding.
The topic of AI has only recently reached the “masses”. You have been personally interested in it for quite a while, but the fact that you are also involved in it professionally is also new to you. What did you do before, and what skills help you in your current role?
Indeed, I have been fascinated by the topic of AI for quite some time. However, it has only become my focus professionally since joining ProSiebenSat.1. Previously, I was a founder of a Mental Health Tech startup, so I am used to diving into new topics, which I find very enjoyable. For example, during the early stages of the startup, we took over the production of short animated videos, and we taught ourselves everything we needed to know about it.
In my current role, entrepreneurial thinking is crucial, which is another skill I acquired during my time as a startup founder. I was used to identifying the most promising ideas from customer conversations and market analysis, quickly implementing them with the available resources and being agile in responding to market needs. And that is also a part of my current job.
Furthermore, my experiences as a research assistant at the Institute for Market-based Management at LMU and in Management Consulting have been helpful in the field of AI strategy. Statistics was my daily doing back then, and it also has a connection to AI since statistics plays a significant role in AI. That is something I find very exciting.
Together with your team, you have launched the so-called “AI Ambassador Circle”. What is it exactly?
When I started, the “AI Ambassador Circle” was actually my first big and exciting project. Its purpose is to coordinate AI activities, create synergies, and strengthen the AI competence of all employees. The “AI Ambassadors” were nominated by the leadership team of their respective departments. Currently, we have around 100 AI Ambassadors at ProSiebenSat.1 who exchange ideas with each other in our circle meetings to further advance AI topics within the company. Additionally, our “AI Ambassadors” receive regular AI training and bring that knowledge back to their teams.
How else can we imagine working in the AI Strategy Team?
We not only focus on so-called “enablement topics” like the “AI Ambassador Circle”, but also extensively on how we want to strategically position ourselves as a company to use AI in a targeted and responsible manner. This includes identifying concrete projects with a significant impact.
What’s special about our team is that we are part of the AI Hub and closely collaborate with product owners, developers, and data scientists from the AI Solutions team, who are responsible for a range of exciting topics. These include the “GenAI Playground”, which allows all P7S1 employees to use GenAI tools in a secure environment, generating AI solutions for content metadata, or innovative AI-based advertising formats like contextual targeting.
“After my first half year here, I would say that I especially appreciate the culture and the people at P7S1. I really like how we interact with each other and the values we live as a team. My personal highlight is that I can easily go to the kitchen and have one of our developers, for example, briefly explain complex AI topics to me.” (laughs)
You are currently looking for an “Associate Manager AI Strategy (m/f/d)”. What should a person bring to be successful in this role?
Yes, we are currently looking for an “Associate Manager AI Strategy” — a position that I find very exciting. The person will support us in the development and implementation of our AI strategy and also work on topics such as the “AI Ambassador Circle”. The most important criteria for this position, in our view, are a passion for AI and entertainment topics and a genuine desire to make a difference. Additionally, a very good university degree and professional experience in a strategy department or management consulting are important to us.
What advice would you give to future colleagues?
ProSiebenSat.1 has a lot of interesting people and characters. Therefore, I would advise everyone to participate in networking events and simply go for a coffee with people from other departments whom you haven’t met before. It has always been enriching for me.
