Welcome to episode 218 of the AI in Action podcast, the show where we break down the hype and explore the impact that Data Science, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are making on our everyday lives.

Powered by Alldus International, our goal is to share with you the insights of technologists and data science enthusiasts to showcase the excellent work that is being done within AI in the United States and Europe.

Today’s guest is Emily Bailey, Director of Data Products & Machine Learning at Rent the Runway in New York. Founded in 2009, Rent the Runway is transforming the way modern women get dressed by pioneering dynamic ownership and enabling women to rent, subscribe to and purchase secondhand clothing. They have been named on CNBC’s “Disruptor 50” five times in ten years and have placed on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list multiple times. 

Rent the Runway is disrupting the $2.4 trillion fashion industry through their in-house proprietary technology and a one-of-a-kind reverse logistics operation. Emily leads a team of talented data scientists and machine learning engineers who work on problems that span all areas of the business and many technical domains, such as recommender systems & personalization, dynamic pricing, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing and operations research.

In today’s episode, Emily tells us about:

The impact Rent the Runway are making in the retail industry

How the pandemic has impacted the business

Leading and building a successful data science team

What they look for when hiring into the team

Interesting projects they are working on at Rent the Runway

To find out more about Emily and all the great work happening at Rent the Runway, check out the website www.renttherunway.com or follow them on Twitter @RenttheRunway. You can also connect with Emily on Linkedin.

What did you think of Emily’s podcast? Where do you see the future of AI and Data Science in the retail industry heading in the next few years? We would love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please leave a comment below.

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