2016 Conference Archive

Help us Champion Charlotte as the
Data Science and Analytics Hub

UNC Charlotte is taking another significant move to stake its claim as a national leader in data analytics.

The Data Science Initiative at UNC Charlotte will convene the Analytics Frontiers Conference on Wednesday, March 30, to address the latest updates in the high-powered use of technology to analyze massive amounts of data generated by consumers and organizations. The conference is an outgrowth of the University’s top-priority Data Science Initiative (DSI), which has deep-seated support from prominent corporations and other institutions in retail, healthcare, energy and financial services.

“This conference is the next step in UNC Charlotte’s strategy to help Charlotte become a national hub for data analytics, an achievement that would have a major impact on the economy and higher education in this region,” said Mirsad Hadzikadic, professor of software and information systems and director of the Complex Systems Institute and the DSI.

Organizers expect 400 senior executives, professional analysts, data scientists and business leaders to participate in the conference that features keynote addresses by two of the most prominent voices in data analytics – Tom Davenport, who teaches at Babson College, Boston University, Harvard Business School and the Sloan School at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and David Kiron, executive editor of MIT Sloan Management Review’s Big Ideas initiative.

In addition to keynotes from David Kiron and Tom Davenport, there will be an afternoon keynote with discussing “The Promises and Challenges of predictive Analytics in the Age of Big Data.” This presentation will be followed immediately with panel commentary moderated by Dr. Derek Raghavan, President, Levine Cancer Institute, and panelists Sully McConnell, Time Warner Cable’s VP of BI, and Ahmer Inam, Head of Analytics for Nike.

More than 30 speakers and panelists are participating in 15 breakout sessions. Some of the industry speakers include:

  • J.D. Elliott, Sr. Mgr. Enterprise Data & Analytics, TIAA-CREF (Analytics for Decision Makers);
  • Mark Wyatt, Retired engery executive (SmartCities/Envision Charlotte);
  • Amy Aussieker, Exec. Dir., Envision Charlotte (SmartCities/Envision Charlotte);
  • Glenn Devitt, CEO, Delitor (Analytics for Social Good);
  • Joe Topinka, CIO SnapAV;
  • Phil West, Dir. Devices & IoT Strategy, Microsoft;
  • Larry Steffann, Gen. Mgr. Wireless Research Center of NC;
  • Dan Thyer, CEO Logical Advantage (Internet of Things panel);
  • Erin Adamaitis, Sr. Dir. Media BI, Time Warner Cable (Agile Analytics);
  • John Thomas, VP of Data Science, Red Ventures (Building a Data Science Team);
  • Managing Dir., KPMG (The Strategic Magic of Big Data).

Many of Charlotte’s leading businesses are already involved as sponsors of the conference including: Bank of America, Sealed Air, Red Ventures, Grant Thornton, Cisco, Duke Energy, Dickson Advanced Analytics Group, Ingersoll Rand, Teradata, Syntelli Solutions, DataChambers, MapR, Hall Booth Smith and RapidMiner.

Learn more about the conference and sponsorship opportunities online or by contacting Executive-in-residence Olin Broadway at 704-687-8638 or email.