A founder-led data consultancy, built in Dubai
AW Data Consultancy exists to give Middle East enterprises direct access to senior data architecture expertise, without the overhead of a large firm or the distance of an offshore one.
Meet the founder
Wasim Shahzad has spent more than 20 years building enterprise data platforms, from Oracle and SQL Server systems to Azure Databricks lakehouses.
His recent work focuses on the part of data engineering that most projects underinvest in: proving the data is right, and fixing it at the source when it is not. He designs metadata-driven data quality and remediation frameworks, governed Medallion lakehouses, and finance and supply-chain data products used for executive reporting.
He works directly with finance, FP&A and data governance teams as well as engineers, so the rules and models he builds reflect how the business actually reads its numbers. He has led distributed data engineering teams of more than 15 people and has delivered work across FMCG, food, retail, telecom, insurance and consumer technology.
His experience spans organisations including Americana Foods, Oliver Wyman, elGrocer and The Entertainer. He is based in Dubai and holds a UAE Golden Visa.
Certifications
- Databricks Lakehouse Fundamentals (Azure)
- Microsoft Azure Developer (70-583)
- MCSD Web Applications
- ASP.NET MVC Developer (70-486)
- HTML5, JavaScript and CSS3 (70-480)
Education
- Master of Computer Science
- Postgraduate in Computer Science
- BSc Mathematics and Statistics
How we work
Four principles that shape every engagement.
Senior and hands-on
The person who designs your platform also reviews and writes the code.
Quality by design
Validation, reconciliation and audit are part of the architecture from day one.
Business outcomes first
Every design decision is tied to a report, a process or a decision that matters.
No lock-in
Clear documentation and knowledge transfer, so your team owns what we build.
Two decades in enterprise data
From backend Oracle engineering to leading data functions and architecting lakehouses on Azure.
- 2024 to present
Senior Data Architect, Americana Foods
Data quality and remediation framework, finance and SKU profitability data products, and Oracle and ODI modernisation on Azure Databricks and Fabric.
- 2023 to 2024
Senior Data Consultant and Data Architect, Oliver Wyman
Medallion architecture for a telecom operator, cloud modernisation design and client-facing architecture reviews.
- 2022 to 2023
Enterprise Data Architect, elGrocer
Azure Databricks lakehouse with CDC and streaming, 50+ pipelines and a 71% platform cost reduction.
- 2016 to 2022
Data Engineering Manager and Acting Head of Data, The Entertainer
Led data engineering and BI, built the Azure data warehouse and executive analytics.
- 2006 to 2016
Engineering and integration leadership
Senior roles at Eworx Technologies, Mind Share Solution, COMSOFT and Systems Limited, covering ETL architecture, Oracle and SQL Server, and ERP systems.