ML & Automation in Finance

Fraud detection, credit risk, portfolio optimisation, customer churn, credit default

ML & Automation in Marketing

Lead scoring, campaign attribution, customer segmentation

ML & Automation in Healthcare

Readmission prediction, diagnostics, length of stay, drug response

ML & Automation in HR & Policy

Attrition prediction, performance forecasting, sentiment analysis

ML & Automation in Retail

Churn prediction, demand forecasting, pricing optimisation, recommendations

ML & Automation in Supply Chain

Demand forecasting, supplier risk, logistics optimisation

ML & Automation in Manufacturing

Predictive maintenance, quality control, OEE & energy optimisation

ML & Automation in Real Estate

Property valuation, rental yield prediction, market analysis

Econometrics & Data Mining

Panel data methods using SAS, statistical analysis, data mining techniques

Research as Sound & Story

Data Emotionalisation

Research findings transformed into AI-generated songs and emotional narratives.

Millions of Stories, One Song

Sole Parent Financial Wellbeing research converted into an AI-generated song — “Set Fire to the Pain” — where lyrics directly reference research results.

Am I My Brothers’ Keeper?

93–96% of hardship damage is psychological, not financial. Every lyric is a real coefficient. Every verse maps to actual model output.

Emotion Studio

The production platform that turns research datasets into narrated songs and short films at scale.

Financial Hardship Dynamics Platform

437,006 observations across 21 years of HILDA data. Automated survival analysis, transition matrices, competing risks, and AI-generated research draft sections.

FamNet — Family Network Transitions

Household-to-individual transmission analysis across partner, parent, and child dyads. Tracks financial anxiety trajectory (t=0, t+1, t+3) after household financial hardship landing. N=285,978 individuals.

Fisheries ML Dashboard

Fisheries analysis dashboard with machine learning models and AI commentary for automated interpretation of results.

Property Valuation Platform (Ames Housing)

Seven-tab property valuation system including geographic visualisation and comparable sales analysis. Linear, Ridge, Lasso, Random Forest, XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost, and Stacked Ensemble models.

Advisory and consulting roles distinct from the commissioned research projects above. These are subject-matter and technical advisory engagements with NZ public and private organisations.

Provided technical and subject-matter research advice to NZ public and private organisations including:

Ministry of Social Development · Financial Markets Authority · Inland Revenue · Banks & Insurance Providers · District Health Boards · Manufacturing Industries

Also assisted Silicon Valley-based startups with AI and analytics projects through global joint ventures.

First SAS Viya university deployment in Asia Pacific (Massey University). Pilot participant shaping SAS Viya V2 with direct technical feedback to SAS USA team. 2026 SAS Global Educator Award recipient (Asia Pacific). Connected SAS with NZ's largest analytics community.

When It Rains It Drains: Psychological Distress and Household Net Worth

Journal of Banking and Finance

Establishes negative effect of psychological distress on household net worth using U.S. panel data. K6 distress increase decreases net worth by 13.2%.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2022.106620

Stock Market Literacy, Trust, and Participation

Review of Finance

Distinct channels of stock market literacy and trust in stock ownership decisions. Literacy matters more than sociability.

DOI: 10.1093/rof/rfu040

Essays in Household Finance (Doctoral Thesis)

Durham University Business School

Doctoral research on household financial decision-making, psychological distress, and financial literacy. Best Thesis Award at Summer Congregation 2015.

SAS Global Educator Award 2026

Asia-Pacific Region — SAS Institute

Presented at SAS Innovate, Grapevine TX, April 2026

Massey University was the first university in Asia-Pacific to teach SAS Viya — introduced and taught from its earliest development stage. Helped shape SAS Viya V2 as a pilot participant providing direct technical feedback to the SAS USA team.

Senior Lecturer — Finance, AI & Analytics

Massey University, Auckland & Singapore (PSB Academy) | Jan 2018 – Present (7+ years)

Developed ‘Big Data in Finance and Banking’ and ‘Applied Econometrics Methods’ courses for Master of Analytics. Pioneered the first-ever university course using SAS Viya at a time when both academia and industry were barely aware of the platform. Shaped its V2 as a pilot participant providing direct technical feedback to the SAS USA team. Built SAS automation applications and taught across the entire SAS software ecosystem. Built 100+ AI applications on local NVIDIA RTX 4090 infrastructure. Supervised PhD and Master’s students in advanced analytics and household finance. See Student Projects for details. Also taught at Massey’s Singapore campus at PSB Academy. Recipient of the 2026 SAS Global Educator Award.

Consultant — Public and Private Organizations

New Zealand | Jan 2019 – Present (6+ years)

Assisted Ministry of Social Development, Financial Markets Authority, Retirement Commission, FinCap, IRD, banks and insurance providers with data analytics consulting, policy research, and advanced econometric modelling.

Lecturer in Accounting & Finance

Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK & Mauritius Campus | Jan 2016 – Jan 2018 (2 years)

Program Leader for Accounting and Finance. Module Leader for Investments and Financial Instruments, Corporate Finance, Financial Management, Auditing, and Financial Accounting. Also taught at Aberystwyth’s transnational campus in Mauritius.

Consultant — AI and Analytics Joint Ventures

Silicon Valley & Global | Jan 2015 – Dec 2017 (3 years)

Assisted several organisations including Silicon Valley based startups with local and overseas artificial intelligence and analytics projects.

Consultant — Corporate Finance

Deloitte, Pakistan | Jan 2016 – Dec 2016

Led corporate finance teams in consulting and advisory projects for international clients including The World Bank and high-profile international investors. Provided training and mentorship to consulting teams.

Research Student Teacher

Durham University Business School, UK | Jan 2011 – Mar 2013

Taught seminars in Advanced Microeconomics and Economic Principles modules. Assisted postgraduate students in dissertation work.

Visiting Professor

Institute of Industrial Electronics Engineering (IIEE), NED University, Pakistan | 2006 – 2009

Taught Engineering Economics and Mathematics modules at the same institution where I graduated as an Industrial Electronics Engineer. Conducted workshops in computer programming and automation.

Assistant Manager — EMI/EMC Engineering & Quality Compliance

National Engineering & Scientific Commission of Pakistan | Jan 2006 – Dec 2010 (5 years)

Led ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS compliance and EMI/EMC Engineering across major industrial clients in petroleum, telecoms, hospitals, manufacturing, and logistics. Delivered automation and instrumentation projects for OGDCL, Pakistan Steel Mills, Pak Suzuki, and national telecom and healthcare infrastructure. Supervised quality management systems and electromagnetic compatibility testing across diverse industrial environments.

Instrument & Control Engineer

ENAR Petrotech Services Pvt. Ltd. | Jan 2005 – Dec 2005

Designed, implemented and supervised instrumentation and control systems for petroleum giants including British Petroleum (BP), OMV, and NRL. Automated industrial processes across petrochemical, manufacturing, and energy sectors — building safety-critical systems where failure means explosions, chemical leaks, or production losses costing millions per hour.

SAS Institute — Global Educator Award (Asia Pacific) & APAC Pioneer

First university in Asia Pacific to teach with SAS Viya — deploying it at a time when both academia and industry were barely aware of the platform. Shaped SAS Viya V2 as a handpicked pilot participant, providing direct technical feedback to SAS USA. Built SAS automation applications using cloud and local license installations. Taught the entire SAS software ecosystem: Base SAS, SAS/STAT, SAS/ETS, Enterprise Miner, Enterprise Guide, SAS/GRAPH, SAS/OR, SAS Studio, SAS Viya, JMP, and more. Recipient of the 2026 SAS Global Educator Award (Asia Pacific). Personally invited to SAS Innovate 2026 in Texas. Attended the inaugural SAS Educate APAC 2026.

New Zealand Government & Regulators

Assisted Ministry of Social Development, Financial Markets Authority, Retirement Commission, FinCap, IRD, Banks, Insurance providers, Ministry of Health, DHBs and manufacturing industries with analytics and subject matter advice.

Silicon Valley & Global Joint Ventures

Assisted several organisations including Silicon Valley based startups with local and overseas artificial intelligence and analytics projects through global joint venture collaborations.

Massey University Fin-Ed Centre

Completed several commissioned and noncommissioned analytics and research projects for Massey University Fin-Ed Centre, earning significant revenue for the school and the Centre.

PhD in Finance

Durham University Business School, UK | 2011–2015

Best Thesis Award • Distinction in all coursework

Commonwealth Scholarship (full fee and maintenance grant). Research focus on household finance, financial literacy, and stock market participation. Published in FT50 journals.

MBA — Finance

Institute of Business Management, Pakistan | 2006–2008

Second Position — CGPA 3.68/4.0

Merit scholarship recipient. Foundation for transition from engineering to financial research and academia.

B.Eng — Electronics

NED University of Engineering & Technology, Pakistan | 2001–2004

Fourth Position — CGPA 3.55/4.0

Merit scholarship (2001–2004). The engineering mindset that drives the technical architecture behind every AI project.