AI AND DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS AT WORK AT ASPEN TECHNOLOGY
WRITTEN BY : HELEN ADAMS
At software development company Aspen Technology , Mike Brooks is invested in using AI to remove mundane tasks for his workforce and prevent downtime MIKE BROOKS GGGGGGGLOBAL DIRECTOR ASSET
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT , ASPEN TECHNOLOGY
Mike Brooks has been in the manufacturing industry for a long time . He ’ s seen a lot , and he ’ s still learning . Brooks started his career at Esso in England , in advanced process control and operations planning . Later , in Canada , Brooks completed large projects on upstream oil drilling facilities . In 1986 , he moved to the USA and worked for Chevron with industrial IT projects . He ’ s been with AspenTech for six years now , as Global Director of Asset Performance Management .
“ It ' s been an exciting career for me ,” he says . “ I get to learn new things all the time .”
Brooks has always had an interest in learning about mining , but one educational experience stands out .
“ I was 16 , and I went on a trip into a mine underneath the North Sea . I went 4,000 feet down . The ceilings were five feet high and dripping water . That ' s the day I decided I was not going to be a mining engineer .”
Instead , Brooks went to Newcastle University to study chemical engineering but that , too , included a deep learning curve .