“Do away with the Superwoman syndrome because what happens is in our own heads we keep thinking, oh, I am expected to be a superwoman. I'm expected to do well on the job and I'm expected to do well at home. I would say don't do that to yourself. Do a fair share of work at home. Do a fair share of work at the office. There is only so much that you will be able to do, but whatever you do, do a great job of it. And don't shy away asking for help.”  - Mamta Rajnayak’s advice to women professionals. Excerpt from the Expert Talks @MAAVRUS interview with her.

Today is Episode 11 of the Interview series on Expert-Talks, with Leaders in the Analytics, AI and Transformation space.  For this episode, our CEO Mahadevann Iyerr (Mahaa) is in conversation with Mamta Rajnayak VP - Head of AI-ML Products & Platforms@AI Labs , American Express. Prior to American Express, Mamta was managing Director and Retail Analytics Leader at Accenture Global AI Hub. Prior to Accenture, Mamta worked at Adobe, Evalueserve and ICICI Bank. Mamta holds 5 patents and is a frequent speaker at Analytics & AI industry forums.

Listeners will find Mamta’s perspectives very insightful and enriching. We are listing below, a few key points from the interview :

“People run organisations, technology doesn’t. So it is important to explain the WHY behind the recommendations of an AI model to business leaders and users. The whole field of Explainable AI is becoming increasingly important; it started with SHAP and LIME which help go deeper behind the features in AI models. Currently “counterfactual explanations “ is another emerging area in the explainability space.” - Excerpt from the Expert Talks interview with Anirban Nandi.

Today is Episode 10 of the Interview series on Expert-Talks, with Leaders in the Analytics, AI and Transformation space. For this episode, our CEO Mahadevann Iyerr (Mahaa) is in conversation with Anirban Nandi, Vice President – AI Products & Business Analytics at Rakuten. Prior to Rakuten, Anirban has had analytics programs at Landmark group and Target. Anirban is a frequent speaker and Analytics and AI industry forums and is also an extensive blogger on AI topics.We are sure listeners will enjoy listening to Anirban’s perspectives over the next 40 minutes. We are listing below, a few key points from the interview :

1. Anirban emphasizes the key building blocks required for a successful AI and Analytics program in any organisation. Firstly, there has to be organisational and business alignment and belief system in the AI and Analytics program, secondly, there has to be a vision and data strategy with well-articulated KPIs and goals, thirdly the company needs to invest in collecting and storing quality data with the appropriate data latency and fourth it needs to build the right team, platform and tech capabilities to convert the data into actionable insights and models. Most importantly the AI and Analytics teams need to invest in developing a business context which is relevant to its specific industry and market situation.

2. A combination of quick turnaround analytics and deep breakthrough AI models may be required to create both immediate as well as long-term value for organisations. For companies which are at initial levels of AI and Analytics adoption/maturity, the proportion may be skewed more towards quick turnaround analytics & insights. However as an organisation matures, it can automate more and more insights and focus on building transformative AI models and integrate them into its delivery/platform features.

3. It is always a good idea to get outside in perspective and data and augment it with internal data, during an organisation’s digital transformation journey. While the products that customers buy are different in different industry segments and have their own nuances, some of the basics like why and when customers buy can be applied from first principles across industries. Businesses can also leverage external anonymised data from external providers, data from GEO SDKs and in some cases avail the services of consulting firms to build more outside-in perspectives.

4. Generative AI is an augmentation or extension to the existing field of AI, and will soon large disruptive adoption by businesses, in many areas like EdTech, Contact support etc. As it begins to get wider traction, Prompt Engineering will become an increasingly important skill. Business Transformation Professionals who have a good understanding of business constraints/ outcomes, and the possibilities of Tech / AI, are most likely best positioned to leverage their experience for better prompt effectiveness.

5. Future of AI and Future of Work will definitely influence each other. AI will not take away your job, but a person who uses AI effectively could take away your job. With increasing adoption of generative AI, the nature and expectations from each job/role will change and professionals will need to stay abreast, upskill themselves and adapt to changing environments.

Today is Episode 9 of the Interview series on Expert-Talks, with Leaders in the Analytics, AI and Transformation space.  For this episode, our CEO Mahadevann Iyerr (Mahaa) is in conversation with Nitin Srivastava, Data and Analytics Leader at Advanced Auto Parts.  Prior to Advanced Auto Parts, Nitin has had a wonderful career at UnitedHealth, Wells Fargo and Mahindra Satyam. 

We are sure listeners will greatly learn from Nitin’s practical examples of business value creation through the application of analytics. We are listing below, a few key points from the interview :

You can watch/listen to the interview on our website, youtube, apple, amazon music and Spotify podcasts on the links below.  Please do share your comments and subscribe/follow us on @maavrus.com on LinkedIn, facebook and Twitter.

Today is Episode 8 of the Interview series on Expert-talks @MAAVRUS,  with Leaders in the Analytics, AI and Transformation space.  For this episode, our CEO Mahadevann Iyerr (Mahaa) is in conversation with Vijoe Mathew, Senior Global Director - Analytics at AB InBev.  Prior to AB InBev, Vijoe was Advanced Analytics solutions leader at Honeywell. He has also worked across all areas of retail analytics at TESCO.  Vijoe is an Engineer, Masters in Industrial Management and Six Sigma Black Belt. 

Listed below are, some key points from the interview :

Today is Episode 7 of the Interview series on Expert-talks @MAAVRUS, with Leaders in the Analytics, AI and Transformation space. For this episode, our CEO Mahadevann Iyerr (Mahaa) is in conversation with Utpal Chakrborty, Chief Digital Officer at Allied Digital. Prior to Allied Digital, Utpal was Head of AI at YES Bank. He has also worked as principal architect in Capgemini, IBM and L&T Infotech. He is an eminent speaker, researcher and author on topics ranging from Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Web3 and Metaverse, Blockchain and IoT. In 2022, he was conferred with the award of Global AI Ambassador.

Today is Episode 6 of the Interview series on Expert-talks @MAAVRUS, with Leaders in the Analytics, AI and Transformation space. For this episode, our CEO Mahadevann Iyerr (Mahaa) is in conversation with Gary Cokins, Founder & CEO of Analytics-based Performance Management LLC, a company that provides financial insights and analytics. Gary has previously worked with KPMG, Deloitte, EDS and SAS Institute. Early on in his career, Gary worked with Dr Robert Kaplan and Dr David Norton, the creators of the balanced scorecard. Gary completed his BSc degree in industrial engineering and operations research from Cornell University, and MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He has also authored many books on activity-based costing, and co-authored a book “Predictive Business Analytics”

Today is Episode 5 of Interview series on Expert-talks @MAAVRUS, with Leaders in the Analytics, AI and Transformation space. For this episode, our CEO Mahadevann Iyerr (Mahaa) is in conversation with Rob Hand, Founder & CEO of Hand Promotion Management, a company that provides advisory services and transformation consultation to Global CPG and Retail Organisations, in the areas of Trade Promotion, Retail Execution and Revenue Growth Management. Previously Rob has worked with Capgemini, SAP, Oracle and Media Net. He is also author of the book “Invisible Economy of Consumer Engagement” We are sure we can learn a great deal from Rob’s insights based on his extensive domain experience. 

A few key points from the interview : 

Around 19-20% of CPG Sales turnover is spent on Trade Promotion, making it the 2nd largest cost line for CPG & FMCG companies, and hence there is a need for a lot more linkage between Trade Promotions and the end Consumer engagement and outcomes. This requires a good understanding of Trade Promotion Planning, Execution and Revenue Growth Management processes. With Covid lockdown strangling businesses, Rob decided to write the book “Invisible Economy of Consumer Engagement” to explain the current on-ground situation and his thoughts for the future. 

Two-thirds of trade promotions do not deliver on business expectations and are categorised as failures – a key reason being the availability of trade promotion performance data. Even existing data with CPG companies are lacking in accuracy, granularity and scope. To be able to apply sophisticated AI/ML engines, will require data with highly concentrated hierarchical detail. 

Historically, Grocery retailers have looked at Trade Promotion spending by CPG companies as a way to boost their thin profitability margins. So while retail data which is rich and timely in customer shopping behaviour and experience, can help the overall product value chain, there has been a reluctance to transparently share data. However, given the rise of e-commerce during the pandemic and the fact that it has remained at record levels, the brick and mortar retailers know they have to fight back smarter, and that means sharing intelligence with CPG companies to execute productive promotions. 

A traditionally painful area of trade and channel promotion is the full reconciliation and settlement of deductions taken by the retailers and distributors where, due to the lack of visibility, the supplier has difficulty identifying the source or reason for the deductions. For most CPG companies the deduction could range between 20 to 40K deductions per month, and write-offs in the range of approx. 3% of that value. Lack of historical data granularity is one of the reasons, why auto-reconciliation continues to be a challenge even with sophisticated trade promotion solution vendors. 

Another reason for trade promotion failure is the lack of alignment between the trade calendar and the corporate marketing event calendars – coupons, e-commerce events, advertising, and so on. With most CPG companies also investing in their own digital commerce channels, a portion of their consumer marketing spend is used up in immediate gratification through coupons etc, putting pressure on their brand-building investments. Most CPG companies have now adopted Revenue Growth Management roles to be better prepared for the Omni-world. His book “Invisible Economy of Consumer Engagement” explains, 4 stages to the level of consumer engagement. The final stage “Engaged” is almost utopian – and means no failed promotions, which means accurate, granular and trusted data, NO out-of-stock conditions, 100% alignment between trade promotions, corporate marketing and ecommerce promotions, and it means 100% execution of the integrated business plan every day of the year. Most companies are though in the first or second stage of the ladder.

Today is Episode 4 of Interview series on Expert-talks @MAAVRUS,  with Leaders in the Analytics, AI and Transformation space.  For this episode, our CEO Mahadevann Iyerr (Mahaa) is in conversation with Rahul Pednekar, Vice President & Head – Advanced Data Analytics, Actuarial and Data Insights at Swiss Re. Prior to Swiss Re, Rahul has had a wonderful career at Vodafone, JP Morgan Chase and Infosys.  He also frequently participates in AI & Analytics hackathons, and speaks at Industry conferences on the Applications & Future of AI.

We are sure listeners will greatly benefit from Rahul’s depth of knowledge, and his thoughts on achieving analytics success, by using a practical project lifecycle.  We are listing below, a few key points from the interview :

Today is Episode 3 of Interview series on Expert-talks @MAAVRUS,  with Leaders in the Analytics, AI and Transformation space.  For this episode, I am in conversation with Saswata Kar, Senior Director and Global head of Data, Analytics and Data Sciences at Philips Global Business Services.  Prior to Philips, Saswata has had an illustrious career at Capital One, HSBC and GE Capital.  He is also a Forum Member of Nasscom CoE for IoT and AI.

It was wonderful to speak with Saswata and understand how he uses  his background in economics, statistics and corporate finance, to provide impact creating insights & analytics solutions. It was great to learn from his business empathetic practical approach. Am listing below, some key learning from the interview.

I am sure you will find the conversation with Saswata very interesting. You can also watch / listen to the interview on our website, youtube, apple and spotify podcasts on the links below. Please do share your comments and subscribe / follow us on @maavrus.com on LinkedIn, facebook and twitter.

Today is Episode 2 of the Interview series on Expert-talks @MAAVRUS,  with Leaders in the Analytics, AI, and Transformation space.  For this episode, I am in conversation with Dr. Prashanth Southekal, Founder & Managing Principal of DBP Institute Canada, which is a data & analytics consulting, research, and education firm.  Prashanth has consulted for over 75 global companies including GE, P&G, SAP, and Apple to name a few. Prashanth is the author of 3 books – Data for Business Performance, Analytics Best Practices, and Data Quality. He is also an adjunct professor for data & analytics at IE business school, Madrid, Spain. He writes extensively for Forbes, FP&A Trends, and CFO University.

It was wonderful to speak with Prashanth and understand how he uses the education & training of corporate leaders, as a key step in the organization's analytics & Transformation Journey. Am listing below, some key learning from the interview.