MEET THE CHANGE MAKER IN IT FOR THE LONG RUN How Bhavesh Vaghela is harnessing AI T here are many things that might go awry on the day of the TCS London Marathon – the world’s biggest mass participation event – but Bhavesh Vaghela and his team will be ready. As chief product technology and
uses maths to model it. There can be no delays. “Even moon missions can be postponed if something’s wrong. But the Sunday marathon will happen regardless – you have 60,000 people rocking up,” he says. Amid the excitement and chaos, Bhavesh tries to exude calm. “The worst thing you can do is panic. In the weeks before, when mission-critical items must be in place, the energy of the team goes through the roof.” For one day, London stops for a magical celebration of humanity. People congratulate each other, restaurants offer finishers free food, and train and tube passengers talk to one another. Last year, participants raised a world record-breaking £87 million for charity. “It’s a really beautiful time, a party atmosphere. I joined LME because it has such a high purpose – charities tell us how much the donations mean to them – this can be very emotional.” Friends often assume he takes a breather after the big day, but his attention turns to the Bath Half and Brighton marathons, swims, cycle races and many other running
AI officer at London Marathon Events (LME), he’s poised for the problems no-one saw coming. That includes rats munching through internet cable, as they did at the marathon’s sister event, the Vitality London 10km, in September last year. “It’s such a complex event to organise – things will go wrong,” he says. “What’s key is to be prepared for every eventuality. The team mantra is – whatever happens, we will get through it.” Bhavesh never imagined this success growing up in Salford. After his father died in his early 40s, his mother was forced to sell their car and possessions to feed her young family. But, at school, he discovered an affinity with technology, which led him to a degree in computer science and an Executive MBA at Warwick Business School. He began work as an engineer
in technology and defence, moving to digital innovation within retail banking, before entering the start-up world. At LME, his job spec includes crowd control, communications, and creating a hybrid world of interactive maps and apps to connect runners and spectators. “You have no idea how much maths is involved in a marathon,” he says. Each wave of runners departs to a strict timetable, which keeps the data team busy. “We have someone who works full time on crowd dynamics, looking at road widths, calculating pinch points, ensuring everyone is separated in a logical way for the start times to avoid build-ups,” he says. From queues at loo stops to well-placed water stations, the team
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