Data Science Perspectives

A discussion with Chris Miller, VP, Biometrics - Respiratory & Immunology and Statistical Innovation at AstraZeneca. Impressively, he was one of the first non-PhD employees to break into senior roles on the clinical side of the business.Chris talks about why he tasked everyone on his team to have three examples of using AI in their daily jobs by end of year. He also talks about how AI agents are being used to explore complex drug data to identify new paths to explore. He explains why he is like a fox and how important relationships are to a career. Chris also stresses the importance of jumping on opportunities that come your way. He talks about how much he values being a part of the CEOs portfolio review committee and then finishes with some advice about not stressing over long term career paths too much. #analytics #datascience #ai #artificialintelligence #healthcare #pharma #pharmaceutical #AgenticAI

A discussion with Hatem Sellami, founder and CEO of both Cognira and RetSci. His career has been centered on software and modeling solutions in the retail forecasting and promotion space. He previously founded Predictix and sold it to Infor. He started his career with Retek, which was acquired by Oracle.Hatem talks about how, growing up, his family owned some retail stores, but that he didn’t plan to also get into the industry. He outlines some of the key data and analytics challenges faced in the retail space. He discusses how he has learned to be more comfortable with risk over time while also explaining how he was so far ahead of the curve on the move to the cloud (the answer may not be what you’d expect!). He finishes with a discussion of how important it is for people to brainstorm in person and to build their networks over time. #analytics #datascience #ai #artificialintelligence #retail #promotions #forecasting

A discussion with Divyes Patel, Director, Innovation, Research, & Development at a large Healthcare company based in Tennessee. During his current tenure, as well as past jobs at UnitedHealth Group and Cigna, he’s focused on using data to make healthcare more efficient and effective.Divyes talks about how he initially started programming in COBOL, but quickly moved to building reports, and then to analytics. He dives into the complexity and inconsistency of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems data with a memorable sarcastic quote of “If you’ve seen one EMR, you’ve seen one EMR!” He outlines how #LLMs are helping to not only transcribe discussions, but interpret those discussions and prepopulate medical history entry forms. He provides some advice to young students and professional and also outlines how agentic AI will impact analytics roles. Don’t miss his description of how showing business partners a new product energizes him every time!#analytics #datascience #ai #artificialintelligence #healthcare #insurance #payer

A discussion with Kira Barclay, CEO and founder of Black Antler Advisory & Consulting. Kira is also the past Chief Data & Analytics Executive at John Deere, where she spent nearly 20 years.Kira talks about how growing up on a farm gave her an innate understanding of John Deere’s business. She knew how customers used Deere’s equipment and even went to the John Deere store with her grandpa for coffee when she was young. She dives into how sensors have transformed both factories and equipment, leading to a current goal of individually tracking and managing literally every seed planted! She outlines her focus on developing and investing in the people working on her team. She finishes with a discussion of how grit helped her succeed and why she loves having some free time to think through problems. Don’t miss her explanation of how she got into an ecommerce side gig! #analytics #datascience #ai #manufacturing #IOT #internetofthings #agriculture #farming

A discussion with Doug Hague, Executive Director, Corporate Engagement at UNC Charlotte. In recent years, he helped UNC Charlotte establish its School of Data Science. Prior to that, he spent many years with Bank of America ending with the role of Chief Analytics Officer of Bank of America Merchant Services. Doug discusses how the variety and growth in the financial industry kept him happy over the years. He also discusses his long-term plan and path to academia and how his management style has had to adjust. We have a back and forth on how the roles of CAO, CDO, and CDAO have evolved. He finishes with some good advice for students and early career professionals, as well as some insights into how to stay relevant in the age of generative AI. #analytics #datascience #ai #artificialintelligence #generativeAI #banking #finance