Rumman Chowdhury – Keynote

Rumman Chowdhury is the Responsible Lead for AI and Analytics Executive at Accenture Applied Intelligence, where she works with clients to create cutting-edge technical solutions for ethical, explainable and transparent AI. Her passion lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence and humanity.

She is a TedX speaker, a Forbes Tech contributing author and has been named by InformationWeek as one of 10 influential AI and machine learning experts to follow on Twitter. She was also named one of BBC’s 100 Women for 2017, and recognized as one of the Bay Area’s top 40 under 40. Chowdury has been featured in international media, including the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, MIT Technology Review and the BBC.

Viktor Mayer-Schönberger – KEYNOTE

Viktor Mayer-Schönberger is the Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation at Oxford. His research focuses on the role of information in a networked economy. Earlier he spent ten years on the faculty of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He has published eleven books, including the international bestseller, Big Data

Dr. David Olaleye

Dr. David Olaleye is a Senior Software Development Manager and Principal Research Statistician at SAS Institute, Cary, NC. He is responsible for managing the Analytics R&D team for SAS Episode Analytics and SAS Real World Evidence products. He received his postgraduate training in statistics, demography and clinical epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences, and School of Medicine, Philadelphia. His areas of specialization include episode-of-care analytics, pharmacovigilance/drug safety, clinical trials, big data, and machine learning algorithms. David frequently presents at scientific conferences and has authored articles that have been published in peer-reviewed journals. When he’s not reading research articles or dreaming, David is actively engaged in local and international mission projects for non-profit organizations.

Doug Jennings

Doug, a 13-year Lowe’s veteran, was appointed to lead the Data, Analytics and Customer Insights organization in January 2017. In this role, he oversees the Enterprise Data Management, Consumer Research, Customer Analytics, Business Intelligence and Data Science functions. Doug is responsible for leading teams at Lowe’s Corporate locations in Mooresville, NC, Bangalore, India and Montreal, Canada. Leveraging his extensive Home Improvement Retail knowledge and systems thinking approach, he works closely with business leaders to solve problems and drive decisions using data, insights and advanced analytics.

Prior to his current role, Doug served in many Finance leadership roles at Lowe’s. Most recently, he was Group Finance Officer, responsible for the Finance and Accounting functions for Lowe’s Canada, Lowe’s Mexico, Orchard Supply Hardware and other Lowe’s subsidiaries. He also led strategic finance functions as a partner to Strategy, Business Development and the Lowe’s Innovation Labs. With extensive M&A experience, Doug played critical roles for multiple acquisitons including Alacrity Restoration Services, Orchard Supply Hardware and Rona.

Before Lowe’s, Doug spent 4 years in the airline industry as a leader in various functions including Finance, Revenue Management, and Marketing Analytics. Prior to that, Doug worked in both quality assurance and business analysis roles in IT consulting. Doug has an MBA from the University of Arizona and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Meteorology from North Carolina State University. He serves on the Advisory Board for the Data Science and Business Analytics program at the University of North Carolina – Charlotte.

Doug’s favorite quote is ‘Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm’, and this serves as a guidepost for his journey through life.

Tracey Smith

Tracey Smith has over 25 years of experience in mathematics, statistics and data visualization and holds degrees in Applied Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering and Business from well-recognized universities in Canada and the U.S. She is the author of multiple books in the HR Analytics field.

Ms. Smith’s career spans the areas of mechanical engineering, supply chain and human resources. Prior to forming Numerical Insights LLC, Ms. Smith led global strategic initiatives for FedEx Express World Headquarters, process improvement projects in supply chain and mathematical simulation creation for an automotive company.

She has been recognized as one of the “Top 50 Global Influencers in HR Analytics” and one of the “Top 15 HR Analytics Experts to Follow” in 2017 and 2018. She is also a certified professional in Supply Chain through the Institute for Supply Management.

Jie Chen

Jie Chen is Managing Director in the Advanced Technologies for Modeling (AToM) Group of Corporate Model Risk at Wells Fargo. She is leading the Statistics and Machine Learning team, focusing on development of cutting-edge models, algorithms, and a computing platform to advance the Bank’s practice in the areas of credit, operational, and market risk management. She has over ten years experience on machine learning, artificial intelligence and advanced statistics in the banking industry.

Jie holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a bachelor’s degree in Computational Mathematics from Nanjing University.

Timothy Hetherington

Tim Hetherington received his Master of Science in Analytics from North Carolina State University. His passion for data began with tracking basketball stats while attending the University of Pittsburgh basketball games as a child. Tim began his career in the home improvement industry working on an omni-channel analytics team. Understanding customers’ purchasing trends was his primary focus. He transitioned to working at Atrium Health in the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation in 2017. He is currently responsible for leading the data management team, which provides services for research projects varying in scope. A notable contribution is Tim’s support for a project investigating a standardized care plan for COPD patients.

Dr. Jason Roberge

Dr. Roberge received his PhD from the University of Arizona in Epidemiology. His primary research was on evaluating arsenic concentrations in water, beverages, and food found among households in Arizona and northern Mexico. He has been designing, managing, and analyzing epidemiologic studies for more than 13 years. He has worked at Atrium Health for six years. Dr. Roberge’s current role within the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation as a senior data scientist focuses on assessing initiatives that seek to improve outcomes for patients. Acting as co-principal investigator, one recent study focused on the assessment of a standardized care plan for COPD patients in the hospital while anther initiative focused on assessing virtual follow-up care among behavioral health patients seen in the emergency department. He is currently the principal investigator on a study that aims to reduce Vitamin D orders among the general population as part of a strategic initiative to lower wasteful testing and procedures.

Kyra Koch

Kyra is a graduate from Clemson University with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. She is currently working on her Master’s in Machine Learning from Georgia Tech, while also working full time. She is proficient in Python, C, C++, and Java, though Python will always be her favorite (don’t tell the others). She started at TIAA in July of 2017 through the rotational program there, and found her home on the Data Science team. She loves learning and looks forward to the challenges each day presents.

Weifeng Zhong

Weifeng Zhong is a research fellow in economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, where his research focuses on Chinese economic issues and political economy. His recent work has been on the applications of text analysis and machine learning to economic issues such as predicting policy changes in China, the US presidential election, and income inequality. Dr. Zhong has been published in a variety of scholarly journals, including the Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics. In the popular press, his writings have appeared in the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, Real Clear Politics, and the South China Morning Post, among others. Dr. Zhong has a Ph.D. and an M.Sc. in managerial economics and strategy from Northwestern University. He also holds M.Econ. and M.Phil. degrees in economics from the University of Hong Kong and a B.A. in business administration from Shantou University in China.