Data Science Perspectives

A discussion with Keyur Desai, former Chief Data Officer, TD Ameritrade. He has held other roles at Teradata, MicroStrategy, Attensity, Informatica, and Herbalife Nutrition.

A discussion with Kathleen Maley, Vice President, Analytics, Experian. She has held prior roles at Bank of America, Key Bank, and her own consulting firm.

Kathleen talks about her view of math versus statistics and how she became a math teacher to start her career. We discuss how great it is for analytics teams to have a seat at the table these days and she outlines her philosophy of helping business partners become data informed instead of data driven. She ends with some advice to students and early career professionals related to the importance of soft skills.  

A discussion with Chris Donovan, EVP, Chief Data and Information Officer at Medical Mutual. Medical Mutual is a multi-billion-dollar health insurer in Ohio. Previously, Chris spent several decades in various roles at the world-famous Cleveland Clinic.

He talks about what he focused on as he advanced in his career and why he never lets himself worry more about his next job than his current one. He talks about the growing acceptance of analytics supporting medical decisions and how it can make healthcare more efficient. He also outlines what he means when he says that you must be trustworthy if you want to gain people’s trust. He finishes with a nod to emerging technologies.

#analytics #datascience #leadership #machinelearning #ai #artificialintelligence #healthcare #clevelandclinic #medicalmutual

A discussion with Joe DeCosmo, Chief Analytics and Technology Officer, Enova International. Joe spent time in the direct marketing industry before starting and running his own company for 10 years. He then stayed with The Allant Group, who bought his company, for six years before his move to Enova.

He talks about how he met his goal of starting his own business before he turned 30, how being in a heavily regulated industry requires lots of documentation and discipline, some things he thinks people early in their career should put above money, why he craves white space in his calendar, the rise of model ops, and more.

#analytics #datascience #leadership #machinelearning #ai #artificialintelligence #EnovaInternational #TheAllantGroup

A discussion with Satish Padiyar, Divisional VP of Data & Analytics, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). HCSC is a $50B member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield family. He has held prior roles at McKesson, Ally Financial, Caterpillar, and BMC Software.

He talks about the commonality he’s seen in the fundamentals of data and analytics across industries, the advancements in operationalizing and automating analytics, why he thinks his efforts to acquire various certifications helped make him a better leader, how building a career requires some leaps of faith, and more.

#analytics #datascience #leadership #machinelearning #ai #artificialintelligence #HCSC #BCBS #bluecrossblueshield #McKesson #AllyFinancial #Caterpillar #BMCSoftware

A discussion with Don Vu, Chief Data Officer, @Northwestern Mutual. Don has had a wide-ranging career including many years with Major League Baseball, as well as roles with WeWork, Atari, and his own ecommerce company.  

He talks about how running his web business taught him how to be scrappy, entrepreneurial, and just get anything done that needs done. He discusses how Northwester Mutual is disrupting itself, and also about the different types of analytics happening in sports, how MLB Advanced Media’s streaming platform came to be the engine driving many of today’s major streaming sites, and why he thinks EQ and communication skills are so important.    

#analytics #datascience #leadership #machinelearning #ai #artificialintelligence #NorthwesternMutual #WeWork #MLB #Atari

A discussion with Frances Boykin, Director, Advanced Analytics, AT&T. She has held multiple roles in different parts of AT&T over nearly 2 decades, including in IT, supply chain, and marketing.  

She talks about how she learned what she wanted to do for a living at age 13 (!!??), how growing up as an “Army brat” influenced her, the importance of networking and being prepared to grab opportunities that arise, how she planned her time to complete degrees while working, and why autoML tools are both here to stay and a good thing.    

#analytics #datascience #leadership #machinelearning #ai #artificialintelligence #ATT #Army

A discussion with Scott Radcliffe, Managing Director, Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) Program, Emory University. Prior roles at Cox Communications, SAS, IBM, and Home Depot.

He talks about the depth and complexity of the operational analytics helping drive content delivery services like cable TV and streaming services, why he look at business as a system of processes, how students should focus on gaining skills and not just a specific job or company, and how he ended up transitioning to a university.

#analytics #datascience #leadership #machinelearning #ai #artificialintelligence #Emory #CoxCommunications #SAS #IBM #HomeDepot

A discussion with Erika McBride, Group VP Data & Analytics, Tenerity. Also prior roles at Dow and Paychex.

She talks about how she got herself into analytics translator roles early, how her team drew in business users with internal poster events and Shark Tank-style contests, understanding the analytical maturity level of business leaders so you can meet them where they are, and why she manages her team like a classroom.

#analytics #datascience #leadership #machinelearning #ai #artificialintelligence #Tenerity #Dow #Paychex