CHESTER, UK, June 17, 2026 – The rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping career prospects across countless industries, but one experienced data leader believes the biggest risk is not facing underperformers. Instead, professionals who have spent years becoming technical specialists, without building strong business and relationship skills, could find themselves most exposed as AI capabilities continue to advance.
James Matthews, founder of DataCareer.Coach and a veteran of the banking and financial services sector, says many professionals have focused heavily on technical mastery while overlooking the commercial and interpersonal abilities that organisations value most. As AI increasingly handles technical tasks, he argues those neglected skills will become even more important.
“The people who are really technically strong but socially a bit weak are going to be challenged a lot by AI,” Matthews explained. “If they are relying on technical skills alone, AI will quite likely take them out.
“For business owners and senior leaders, the frustration is just as acute. They have invested in technical talent that struggles to translate its work into language the boardroom understands, or to ask the right questions before spending weeks solving the wrong problem. AI will not fix that gap. If anything, it will widen it.”
Industry forecasts suggest the challenge is already gathering pace. The World Economic Forum predicts that 92 million jobs could disappear globally by 2030, while more than four in ten employers are planning workforce reductions in areas where AI can automate work. At the same time, Sigma Computing research found that 20% of business professionals feel judged by data specialists because they lack technical expertise. Matthews believes this communication divide is a major obstacle to business performance.
His career has given him a unique perspective on both sides of the equation. After studying Computer Science and Business, Matthews joined KPMG, where he learned to evaluate technology through a commercial lens. Influenced by his father’s career in commercial accounting, he developed an early appreciation for the importance of linking technical solutions to measurable business outcomes.
That mindset remained consistent throughout a career spanning 25 years, during which he led high-performing data teams and helped organisations generate significant financial returns. Yet despite technological advances, he repeatedly encountered the same challenge.
“There are a lot of people who can do really technically brilliant stuff, but they cannot communicate the value of that work to the people they are working with, or establish what is really required beyond the high-level request,” Matthews said. “They deliver something technically brilliant that does not solve the problem.”
He argues that many technical professionals fail to uncover what stakeholders actually need because they do not ask enough questions at the outset.
“A lot of the time, people will say they want to understand something simple, sales by channel, for example, when what they are really after is sales by channel for new customers. The skill lies in being able to ask further questions in the right way to work out the actual brief. Understanding how this fits into the commercial picture may also mean they can add additional insights over and above those originally requested, delivering real value and positioning themselves well for more senior roles.”
For Matthews, technical tools should always serve a wider purpose.
“A lot of people with technical skills go into work and think: ‘I enjoy playing around with this tool and I get paid to do it. Happy days.’ Well, actually you get paid to do it because you are supposed to deliver value with that tool. Having business value front and centre of what you do, and using your technical skills to augment that value, that is the way it should be.”
His coaching approach is also shaped by personal experience. As someone who describes himself as naturally introverted, Matthews understands the frustrations that can arise when talented professionals struggle to make themselves understood.
“The types of people who are in these roles tend to be pretty introverted and pretty geeky, and I include myself in that. As a result, they tend to internalise a lot of emotions when they are struggling to communicate with their manager, or do not know how to handle a difficult stage in their career productively. I spent a couple of years working for a manager who did not get me at all, and even though I am a naturally positive person, I hated it.”
To overcome those challenges, Matthews spent years developing communication and leadership techniques informed by psychology and NLP principles.
“I did not become a different person. I just became a more effective version of myself. That is exactly what I want to help others do.”
Today, DataCareer.Coach works with three main audiences: professionals aiming for leadership roles, individuals seeking greater confidence and career direction, and senior executives who want stronger business outcomes from their technical teams.
His belief in people development was reinforced when half of his own team faced potential redundancy. Although four employees decided to leave, the three who wanted to stay all secured their roles and achieved salary increases.
“I have always believed that if you focus on developing people properly, their confidence, their commercial thinking, their ability to communicate, the outcomes take care of themselves. That redundancy process proved it. I just want to help more people experience that.”
“AI is great at many things, but it struggles to provide constructive challenge which is often exactly what is needed in these conversations. That is where a human coach, with real commercial experience, makes the difference.”
