How OBI Built a Lean, High-Impact AI Function That Scales

•

Kris Peeters & Dr. Ruth Janning

How OBI builds high-impact AI use cases : From GenAI realism to team structure, impact-first use cases, and avoiding the hype.

In this episode of The Data Playbook, we sit down with Dr. Ruth Janning, Head of Data Science & AI at OBI, to talk about what actually drives AI impact in real organisations.

We break down:

  • Why GenAI hype leads teams in the wrong direction

  • How to choose between ML, GenAI and agentic AI

  • Real-world retail AI use cases (recommendations, assortment, automation)

  • How a 10-person team delivers outsized business value

  • AI governance, self-service, templates & AI ambassadors



🎧 Listen to more episodes of The Data Playbook for real-world stories on data platforms, GenAI, data products and cloud independence from Europe’s leading data practitioners and leaders.

🌐 More at our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxi05zIoV9bm69OAUmRoUDQ?sub_confirmation=1

Latest

Data Producer Enablement and Developer Experience for Data Teams

Andrew Jones on data contracts, producer tooling and why access alone never solved self-service.

Data Contracts and Data Products: What AI Agents Need to Access Enterprise Data

AI agents need their own access rules. Simon Harrer, Entropy Data, on data contracts, data products and purpose-based access control.

Data Mesh After the Hype: Why Data Products Matter More Than Ever

Why Data Products outlasted Data Mesh, where Data Contracts fit, and how AI is changing modern data architecture.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter

Belgium

Vismarkt 17, 3000 Leuven - HQ
Boomgaardstraat 115, 2018 Antwerpen


Vat. BE.0667.976.246

© 2026 Dataminded. All rights reserved.


Belgium

Vismarkt 17, 3000 Leuven - HQ
Boomgaardstraat 115, 2018 Antwerpen

Vat. BE.0667.976.246

© 2026 Dataminded. All rights reserved.


Belgium

Vismarkt 17, 3000 Leuven - HQ
Boomgaardstraat 115, 2018 Antwerpen

Vat. BE.0667.976.246

© 2026 Dataminded. All rights reserved.