Matthew Upson
Dr. Matthew Upson is Co-Founder of Mantis NLP, an AI consultancy specializing in delivering impact through natural language processing and generative AI. With over a decade of experience in data science and software development, he has worked across academia, government, and industry to build innovative AI solutions.
At the UK Government Digital Service (GDS), Matt contributed to some of the first applications of AI for GOV.UK, and developed an approach to automating workflows "Reproducible Analytical Pipelines" which is now widely used across government. Matt is a founding member of the Data Science Section of the Royal Statistical Society, and a fellow of the Software Sustainability Institute.
Matt lives in Valencia, Spain and is a dedicated (very) amateur triathlete and former bushcraft instructor who enjoys connecting with nature. His talks combine technical expertise with personal stories, in a humorous and informal way.
Sessions
Transitioning from a hands-on Pythonista to a leadership role is a journey filled with challenges, and like debugging code, it requires identifying, isolating, and fixing problems. In this talk, I’ll share eight key lessons from my journey from Data Scientist to Co-Founder of a small software company, framed as Python errors.
From battling imposter syndrome (ValueError: self-worth not defined), to learning to delegate (DeadlockError: unable to release control), and avoiding burnout (RuntimeError: system overload), this talk offers actionable advice for anyone navigating the leap from technical contributor to technical leader.
Expect a mix of humour, relatable stories, and hard-won lessons as we explore how debugging leadership challenges is just as rewarding (and occasionally frustrating) as debugging code. Whether you’re considering a leadership role or already on the journey, this session will leave you with practical insights to navigate common pitfalls and approach a leadership transition with a clearer understanding of what to expect.