045 - Wise: How a lean team of Analytics Engineers supports 300+ Analyst

Most data orgs scale their AE team as they grow. Wise didn't. Moritz Kerstan runs a lean team of 17 supporting over 300 data practitioners — and he's got a clear thesis on why that's the right call. In this episode, we dig into how Wise structures their analytics engineering function, how the team operates without hierarchical authority, what good prioritisation actually looks like, and the honest truth about building with LLMs inside a large regulated fintech. 00:00 How can you effectively manage and build systems at a large scale? 00:25 Introduction to Omni and AI Grounding 01:05 Meet Moritz Kerstan: Leading Agile Analytics at WISE 01:53 Moritz's Journey into Analytics 02:20 Empowering Agile Teams at WISE 03:04 From Marketing to Data: A Self-Taught Journey 03:48 Finding Motivation in Impact 04:36 Data as a Tool for Achieving Goals 05:27 Focusing on Impact over Vanity Projects 06:05 Flexible Roles at WISE for Greater Impact 08:23 Sustainable Scaling through Incentives and Guardrails 09:25 Advantages of a Lean Team 10:27 Analysts Taking Ownership with DBT 11:54 WISE's Approach to Prioritization and ROI 17:24 Quantification in Decision-Making 19:15 Ownership and Career Growth in Data Roles 22:09 Building Scalable Solutions 23:52 Measuring Success with KPIs 30:34 Improving Data Accessibility and AI Integration 37:43 Conversational Data Tools and Security in AI 40:24 Learning from Failures and Adapting to Needs 45:13 Evolving Roles and Skills in Data 51:55 Conclusion and Reflections