An interview with Ramsey Funwie, Innovation Specialist

Ramsey Funwie is an innovation specialist at CTI Digital.

Before taking up his role in October 2025, he was an international student at the University of Derby, where he gained his MSc in Information Technology and ran weekend coding clinics for those struggling with programming.

We caught up with Ramsey to ask him about his role, and his first impressions of the world of digital agencies.

How did you land in your role at CTI?

I knew I wanted to work somewhere that stimulated me creatively and also in a sector that was ahead of the curve, which naturally led me towards AI.

I was at an event with Prolific North and happened to speak to a few people, one of whom was Chris Burgess, CTI Digital CEO, and it just clicked. It was one of those situations where the conversation felt really natural, and the more we spoke, the more I realised it was exactly the kind of environment I wanted to be in, one where I'd actually get to build things and not just talk about them.

Tell us about your role. What does an innovation specialist do?

It genuinely changes week to week. Sometimes I'm building a custom AI tool or automation for a client. I've designed AI image generation systems, and put together workflows.

Other times I'm helping internally to automate repetitive tasks for efficiency across the business, which usually starts with someone saying "there must be an easier way to do this." 

The end goal is always the same though – figure out what the actual problem is, then build something that solves it properly.

What are your favourite innovations or innovative brands, projects or campaigns of the past couple of years?

For me, NVIDIA is still the foundational player, because what they're doing at the hardware level makes everything else possible.

Products like Spotify's AI DJ and Claude by Anthropic are some of my current favourites. Spotify is showing how AI is evolving from simple search tools into something that understands human taste and mood over time. Instead of just suggesting songs based on what similar people listen to, its AI learns from behaviour like skips, replays, saves, listening time, and context to continuously improve recommendations. This is part of the future of AI,  where deep learning models are being combined with feedback-driven systems that adapt based on user behaviour.

Claude, on the other hand, is simply a real thinking partner. As a developer, one of the most interesting parts is watching it reason through problems step by step and noticing the patterns behind how it thinks, breaks down complexity, and arrives at solutions.

What have you learned in the last few months about agencies?

That everyone in this space is creative in completely different ways, but somehow it all blends together perfectly.

Agencies move fast, so you’re constantly learning from people with very different skill sets and perspectives, which means no two days ever really look the same.

There’s a real culture of building on each other’s ideas and figuring things out together, which keeps the work exciting and constantly evolving and, of course, there’s also an impressive amount of coffee and free snacks involved.

Are there any mentors or role models who have influenced your professional growth?

My mentor has always been my mum, who made me a strong advocate for women in tech. At work, Chris is the type of CEO who shows up, supports and always aims to make the environment the best it can be. There are a lot of tech professionals I’m influenced by but that list would be long.

What advice would you give an undergrad who wants to work in marketing or tech?

One of the biggest things I’d say is to stay curious and ask as many questions as possible. A lot of people hold themselves back because they’re worried about sounding inexperienced, but honestly, asking thoughtful questions is usually what makes people remember you.

I’d also encourage undergrads to seek feedback early, whether that’s from lecturers, mentors, managers, or even peers. Learning how to listen, adapt, and improve quickly is such an important skill in both marketing and tech because everything really evolves so fast.