Bio

timeline
    title Career timeline
    section Academia
	    2007 : Researcher
	    2010 : Ph.D. thesis
	    2013 : Postdoctoral researcher
	section Private Sector
    2015 : 1st solo Data Scientist at Weplan
    2016 : DS Consultant at BBVA Next
    2018 : Lead Data Scientist at idealista/data
    2020 : Head of Data Science & AI at idealista

I lead Data and AI strategy at idealista, Southern Europe’s largest real estate marketplace, where my team has shipped 90+ AI projects across automated valuation, search ranking, fraud detection, and content moderation. My work sits at the intersection of applied machine learning, spatial data science, and the messy reality of making AI useful inside a product organization.

Before idealista, I built recommender systems and loyalty models reaching 7 million customers as a consultant working rat BBVA Next Technologies for different companies. I hold a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oviedo, with 7 peer-reviewed publications. I’ve given 20+ talks at venues including Banco de España, Carto Conference, and Instituto Tramontana, and I teach AI and data science as adjunct faculty at IE University and The Valley.

I believe AI succeeds when it amplifies domain expertise rather than replacing it, and that most data science teams fail by chasing technical sophistication instead of business impact. That conviction shapes how I build teams, choose projects, and teach.

When I’m not thinking about models and organizations, I shoot analog photography and read about creative processes and philosophy.

Teaching & Speaking

• Adjunct Faculty, IE School of Science and Technology (Master in Business Analytics & Data Science)
• Professor, The Valley Digital Business School (AI and applied ML)
• External instructor, Instituto Tramontana (Product Management program)
• Public speaking: 20+ talks and podcast appearances

Selected Publications

• Rey-Blanco, D., Arbués, P., López, F. A., & Páez, A. (2024). Machine learning for spatial market segmentation. Environment and Planning B, 51(1), 89-108.
• Kenyon, G.E., Arribas-Bel, D., Robinson, C., et al. (2024). Intra-urban house prices in Madrid. npj Urban Sustainability, 4(1), 26.
• Full publication list

Let’s Connect

I write about management, data science, and AI on my blog. To see what I’m working on right now, check now page. If you’d like to talk, grab a slot during office hours.