Keynotes.
Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III
"Miracle on the Hudson" Pilot; Contributor to CBS News and Best-selling Author
Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III has been dedicated to the pursuit of safety for his entire adult life. While he is best known for serving as Captain during what has been called the "Miracle on the Hudson," Sullenberger is an aviation safety expert and accident investigator, serves as the CBS News Aviation and Safety Expert, and is the founder and chief executive officer of Safety Reliability Methods, Inc., a company dedicated to management, safety, performance and reliability consulting.
Presenting:
Shane Battier
Vice President, Analytics and Basketball Development, Miami Heat; 2012 and 2013 NBA Champion, Miami Heat
Where Shane Battier went, winning followed. After graduating with honors from Duke University with two Final Four appearances, one national championship, two All-American awards, and Naismith and John Wooden National Player of the Year awards, he was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2001 NBA draft. Battier went on to be part of the back-to-back 2012 and 2013 NBA championship Miami Heat team and a member of the USA Basketball national team.
Presenting:
Spencer Burke
VP of Growth - Braze
Spencer Burke is the VP of Growth at Braze, customer engagement platform that delivers messaging experiences across push, email, in-app, and more. Braze powers cross-channel marketing for the world's largest enterprise and digital-first brands in 40 countries across six continents. He joined the Appboy team in 2011 and over the past six years has helped leading brands develop digital marketing and growth strategies. Previously, Spencer worked at PwC as a management consultant and has his Master's in Information Systems from the London School of Economics.
Presenting:
Susan Cook
Executive Vice President - North American Sales - Microstrategy
In October 2014, Susan Payne Cook joined MicroStrategy as Executive Vice President, North American Sales. In this role, Cook leads sales operations in North America.
Susan Payne Cook brings nearly two decades of experience in analytics in large global technology companies. Most recently, she was a Vice President of Sales in both global and North American roles in the Business Analytics software brand at IBM, which included the Cognos, TM1 and SPSS products. She joined IBM as a Partner and global leader in the Business Analytics and Optimization practice within IBM Global Business Services.
Presenting:
Julie Fleischer
SVP, Head of Customer Intelligence, WW
Julie Fleischer leads Customer Intelligence for WW, a global wellness company and the world’s leading commercial weight-management program. At WW, Customer Intelligence supports the company’s millions of members in their wellness journey and enables WW to touch and impact more people around the world.
Prior to joining WW, Ms. Fleischer led marketing at Neustar, and previously served as Senior Director of Data, Content and Media at Kraft Foods Group. Ms. Fleischer is a proud Board Member of She Runs It, a nonprofit that strives to pave the way for women to lead at every level of marketing and media.
Presenting:
Jon Hyman
Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer - Braze
Jon Hyman is the cofounder and chief technology officer of Braze, customer engagement platform that delivers messaging experiences across push, email, in-app, and more. He leads the charge for building the platform's technical systems and infrastructure as well as overseeing the company's technical operations and engineering team. Prior to Braze, Jon served as lead engineer for the Core Technology group at Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund. There, he managed a team that maintained 80+ software assets and was responsible for the security and stability of critical trading systems.
Presenting:
Alex LePage
Product Marketing - Neustar
Alex LePage leads Product Marketing for Neustar. He is responsible for driving the positioning, go-to-market strategy and messaging for Neustar's full Marketing Intelligence Platform, including the MarketShare analytics suite, the Identity DMP, and the Customer Intelligence solution.
Previously, Alex held leadership positions in product strategy and product marketing at Rubicon Project and Chango, marketing at Toys R Us, and strategy and client revenue roles at iCrossing/Hearst and Wunderman/Y&R. With over 20 years of experience, he is a sought-after speaker at the intersection of marketing, data and technology
Presenting:
Hugh Owen
Senior Vice President - Product Marketing - Microstrategy
Hugh Owen is the Senior Vice President in charge of Product Marketing for MicroStrategy. He is responsible for the product marketing of MicroStrategy's Enterprise Analytics and Mobile Software platforms. He has been with MicroStrategy since 2000. Prior to running Product Marketing, he launched and ran MicroStrategy's Mobile Product business (launch in 2010). From 2006-2010 he worked as a Senior Product Manager, during which he launched multiple new MicroStrategy Business Intelligence products. From 2000-2006 he cut his BI teeth in MicroStrategy Technology Services. Mr Owen received a Bsc (Hons) degree in Business from The University of Bath, England.
Presenting:
Rob Thomas
General Manager of IBM Data and Artificial Intelligence
Robert Thomas is the General Manager of IBM Data and Artificial Intelligence. He directs IBM's product investment strategy, sales and marketing, labs, and software product development.
With a portfolio of over 1000 products, IBM has emerged as a leader in data and AI, spanning databases, data integration and governance, business intelligence, planning, data science and AI tools, and AI applications. Major product brands under Rob's leadership include Watson, Db2, Cognos, SPSS, and InfoSphere. He has overseen 4 acquisitions representing over $2.5B in transaction value.
Presenting:Featured Speakers.
Beena Ammanath
Global Vice President for Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Innovation - HPE
Beena Ammanath is an award winning senior executive with extensive global experience in AI and digital transformation. Her knowledge spans across e-commerce, financial, marketing, telecom, retail, software products, services and industrial domains with companies such as HPE, GE, Thomson Reuters, British Telecom, Bank of America, e*trade and a number of Silicon Valley startups. Beena is currently the Global VP for AI and Innovation at HPE. She is also the Founder and CEO of nonprofit, Humans For AI Inc. Prior to that she was the VP of Innovation and Data Sciences at GE. She has co-authored the book "AI Transforming Business".
Presenting:
Ben Young
Solutions Lead - InterWorks
Throughout his career, Ben has bridged the gap between the technical and strategic needs of organizations. Whether working on a strategy team or honing his craft at Oxford University where he earned his MBA, he’s always balanced both the business and technical requirements of a project. He also enjoys simplifying and communicating complex ideas to any audience, regardless of their level of familiarity with the topic.
Ben is naturally at ease in front of groups, whether teaching, training, tutoring or presenting. He thrives in situations where he can help others learn, understand, and apply all kinds of new concepts.
Presenting:
Beth Ritchie
Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis, Disney Parks, Experiences & Products
Beth joined The Walt Disney Company in 2007. Beth is currently responsible for DPEP segment-wide forecasting, annual operating and capital plans, review of major capital projects, finance support for Human Resources, and facilities for the Glendale campuses for Consumer Products. Beth graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and earned her MBA from Arizona State University.
Beth lives in Santa Monica with her husband, her 13 year old daughter, and her dogs. She enjoys spending time with friends, her large extended family and playing / watching sports.
Bill Stratton
Head of Media, Entertainment, & Advertising - Snowflake
Bill Stratton leads Snowflake's Media, Entertainment and Advertising vertical. Bill joined Snowflake at the end of 2018 from Turner/TIme Warner where he was Senior Vice President, Consumer Data and Analytics. A customer of Snowflake, Bill and team created an industry leading platform called the Turner Data Cloud comprised of all consumer data in the company. He led a team of strategists, engineering, data operations, product development and data scientists responsible for data monetization, data products and marketing analytics.
Presenting:
Brajesh Jha
Global Head, Media and Entertainment - Genpact
Brajesh Jha is a Senior Executive with over two decades of experience in building and running professional services at multi-billion dollar technology companies. He is currently responsible for Genpact's Technology, Media and Entertainment vertical. This involves managing a global business deploying Genpact's capabilities in Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Intelligent Automation. It also extends into driving co-innovation with each micro-segment such as studios, cable providers, publishers, entertainment companies and advertising agencies in building new operating models and customer experiences.
Presenting:
Brent Lever
Strategic Accounts Lead - Dataiku
Brent Lever has spent the last two years managing some of Dataiku's most strategic accounts, such as Disney. Prior to Dataiku, he held various positions in sales, strategy, and analytical consulting at technology firms such as SAS, Adobe, and Red Hat. Brent has a passion for analytics and enjoys nothing more than seeing customers implement new, more efficient business processes using data to create value. He lives in North Carolina with his family and has an MBA as well as an engineering degree from the University of Michigan.
Presenting:
Brian Hoffstedder
Director, Clorox Shopper Science & Experimentation, The Clorox Company
Brian Hoffstedder is an industry leader in Shopper Science & Insights. A 20-year veteran of the Consumer Package Goods industry, his thinking and work in “human insights” and “shopper journey” have influenced some of the world’s best known retailers, including Walmart, The Home Depot, Kroger, Target, Sam’s Club and Amazon. Brian is regularly recognized by Shopper Marketing Magazine as a “Who’s Who” in Shopper Insights and currently sits on the Shopper Insights Management Associations Board of Directors.
Presenting:
Cheri Kaplan-Smith
Strategic Account Manager - Tableau
Cheri Kaplan-Smith is a Strategic Account Manager at Tableau, evangelizing Tableau’s mission to help people see and understand data.
With over 25 years of experience, Cheri has been responsible for initiatives related to organizational transformation, mergers and more. She manages the relationship between Tableau & clients and enables best practices related to people, process and the Tableau platform. She and her team empower companies to embrace a culture of analytics. Cheri has an M.Ed from Harvard and a BA & BS degree from Boston University. Away from work, she loves to travel, practice yoga and spend time with her family.
Presenting:
Cindy Tyeskey-Gage
Senior Director, Executive Programs, Salesforce
Cindy Tyeskey-Gage drives business enablement through go-to-market engagements with customers and team members. Cindy led the execution of C-Level Advisory Boards around the world, managed a global business development team, and has consistently created a synergy of people and processes. Cindy is in multiple professional and civic affiliations including BOLDforce and other Equality Ally groups, a Board Member for Habitat for Humanity, and was elected for a two-year term on the School Board and Superintendent Council for Cambridge High School. Cindy holds a MBA, emphasis on Organizational Behavior, a Master of Science in Telecommunications, and a BA in Economics.
Presenting:
Dr. Christopher Hamm
Data Science Training Lead, Bayer
Chris Hamm is the Data Science Training Lead helping drive the Bayer effort to increase data fluency at all levels across the entire company. He also worked as a data scientist for Monsanto, working on projects that use forecasting, machine learning, and simulations. Chris worked in academic research on the ecology, evolution, and genomics of butterflies. Chris earned PhDs in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology & Behavior and Entomology at Michigan State University in addition to his Master of Science in Biology from California State University, Fresno. Chris has a passion for coding, teaching others, and delivering data science training at scale.
Presenting:
Dr. Gita Sukthankar
Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Central Florida, Director of the Intelligent Agents Lab
Dr. Gita Sukthankar is an Associate Professor and Charles N. Millican Faculty Fellow in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Central Florida. She received her Ph.D. from the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon and an A.B. in Psychology from Princeton University. Dr. Sukthankar directs the Intelligent Agents Lab, which received funding for applying AI techniques to the study of socio-computational systems. She is a recipient of young investigator awards from DARPA and AFOSR, as well as an NSF CAREER award. Dr. Sukthankar is the editor of Plan, Activity, and Intent Recognition and Social Interactions in Virtual Worlds.
Presenting:
Dr. Tim Oates
Principal Data Scientist, Atos
In addition to being a Principal Data Scientist with Atos, Dr. Tim Oates is also an Oros Family Professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was in the areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning. That was followed by a postdoctoral position in the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab. Dr. Oates has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers in areas such as time-series analysis, NLP, graph analytics and machine vision. He has served as Chief Scientist for several startups and consults extensively in a variety of industries.
Presenting:
Edoardo M. Airoldi
Millard E Gladfelter Professor of Statistics & Data Science; Director of Fox Data Science Center, Fox School of Business, Temple University
Edoardo M. Airoldi is the Millard E. Gladfelter Professor of Statistics and Data Science in the Fox School of Business, at Temple University. He also serves as Director of the Fox School's Data Science Center. His current research focuses on statistical theory and methods for designing and analyzing experiments on social networks. His work has appeared in journals across statistics, computer science, and general science. Airoldi is an IMS Fellow, and has received a Sloan Fellowship, the Shutzer Fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies, an NSF CAREER Award, and an ONR Young Investigator Program Award, among other honors.
Presenting:
Eric Shiarla
Director of BI Markets and Deliver - InterWorks
Eric is a tech enthusiast who began working in the industry at fifteen when he latched on as a part-time developer and systems technician for a local ISP. Based out of Chicago, he now directs InterWorks’ various geographies, composed of data experts that are actively involved in some of the largest Tableau deployments in the world.
Presenting:
Greg Derderian
Vice President, Global Leader, Finance & Accounting Consulting Business - Genpact
Gregory is a Finance, Risk & Compliance leader with over 37 years' experience as both an industry practitioner and consultant in the design, construction, and deployment of the underlying processes, data, information, tools and technology. He is a Results oriented having led projects that achieved significant cost reduction, improve finance/control/compliance process structure and efficiency, developed and deployed data rich information capabilities, and restructured the finance function leveraging global talent models. Specific focus on topics ranging from Finance Strategy, Finance Operating Model (all components), Finance Transformation and Change Management, Finance and Risk & Compliance data integration, and Finance/Risk/Compliance Technology deployment.
Presenting:
Gus Cavanaugh
Solutions Architect - Dataiku
Gus Cavanaugh is a solutions architect at Dataiku. He has been working in analytics for the last ten years. A proud proponent of open source tools for data science, Gus prefers Python for most data tasks but doesn't discriminate. Prior to joining Dataiku, he worked at Anaconda, as a data consultant at IBM, and at Booz Allen Hamilton. He hates buzzwords and loves talking all things data, so if you see him please say hi.
Presenting:
Jeff Segebarth
Head of North American Sales - Workfusion
Jeff is a 25-year veteran in the technology industry with a keen understanding of linking business value to technology solutions. In his current role, Jeff is the head of North American Sales at WorkFusion where he is responsible for delivering Intelligent Automation Solutions across a global client organization. These solutions include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Robotic Process Automation. Jeff is a proud father of Ryan (12) and Scott (10) and spends most of his free time coaching and helping out with various family activities. Jeff is also an active member of his community and school system.
Presenting:
Jenna Booth
Marketing Analyst Data Science Strategy & Visualization - Acxiom
Jenna Booth is a Marketing Analyst specializing in data enablement and storytelling through data visualization. Jenna's interest in data visualization began when she recognized it as a powerful communication tool at the intersection of multiple disciplines (technology, mathematics, design, psychology, and many more) with endless applications in various contexts. Today, she enjoys working in cross-functional teams to create scalable, dynamic reporting that fosters natural exploration and insight generation.
Presenting:
Jess Lella
Solution Consultant - Tableau
Jess Lella is a solution consultant at Tableau, where she helps customers solve technical problems and visualize their data. Before coming to Tableau, she was a data analytics consultant for a large consulting firm where she fell in love with Tableau. Jess lives in Manhattan Beach, California, and loves to spend her free time doing Pilates, reading and going to the beach.
Presenting:
John Magee
Vice President of Analytics and IoT Portfolio Marketing - Hitachi Vantara
John Magee is Vice President of Analytics and IoT Portfolio Marketing for Hitachi Vantara. His teams collaborate with customers, partners, and industry thought leaders to identify new growth opportunities and define go-to-market strategies to help customers maximize their return on data and innovate faster. Prior to Hitachi Vantara, he served as Vice President and CMO at GE Digital and he has held executive product management and marketing positions at Symantec, EMC, and Oracle.
Presenting:
Justin Bauer
Vice President of Product - Amplitude
Justin Bauer is the Vice President of Product at Amplitude, Inc., where he strives to make it easy for companies to make better decisions from their data. He’s a 2x entrepreneur as well as an alumnus of McKinsey, Stanford GSB and Carleton College.
Presenting:
Kathi Enderes, Ph.D.
Vice President, Talent and Workforce Research Leader - Deloitte
Kathi leads talent and workforce research for Bersin, Deloitte Consulting LLP, enabling organizations to transform work and the worker experience for increased organizational performance. With more than 20 years global human capital experience from management consulting with IBM, PwC and EY and as a talent management leader in large complex organizations, she specializes in talent strategies, talent development and management, performance management, and change management. Kathi is passionate about helping organizations transition to the future of work. She holds a doctoral degree in mathematics and a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Vienna, Austria
Presenting:
Mingxu Chu
Principal Analyst Data Science Strategy & Visualization - Acxiom
Mingxu Chu is a Principal Analyst within Acxiom's Analytics COE, specializes in the areas of Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Product Prototyping, and Digital Ecosystems. She has been working closely with clients from various industry verticals utilizing data-driven solutions with advanced analytics to drive business values.
Mingxu holds a Master's Degree in Applied Statistics from Columbia University and a Bachelor's Degree in Software Engineering from Tongji University in China.
Presenting:
Phil Cooper
Vice President Product, Einstein Analytics
Phil Cooper is Vice President of Product Go-to-Market for Salesforce Einstein Analytics—the leading AI-augmented Analytics platform. In his role, Phil is responsible for growth and product strategy in Einstein’s emerging markets, bringing Augmented Analytics and AI to Salesforce’s 150,000 customers and vibrant ecosystem of partners. He joined Salesforce in early 2014, leveraging his extensive machine learning and data management expertise to help launch the Analytics Cloud and build its product design and engineering team. Phil received his Masters in GIS & Remote Sensing from the University of Cambridge and his BSc in Geography from the University of Exeter.
Presenting:
Rachel Epstein
Senior Director of Marketing, ESPN
Rachel Epstein is a Senior Director of Marketing for ESPN. In this role she oversees marketing for ESPN’s emerging brands and properties, including audience expansion efforts focused on women and youth. She also oversees marketing and partnership development for espnW, ESPN’s brand dedicated to serving women who love sports.
Presenting:
Scot Richardson
Director of Data Science Strategy & Visualization - Acxiom
Scot leads the Data Science and Visualization team within Acxiom's Analytics COE. His career spans 25 years, almost all of which has been on the consulting side of analytics. Scot's experience extends from Retail and CPG to Financial Services and T&E. His team focuses their efforts on the confluence of Analytics, Technology and Data Visualization to deliver Omnichannel analytic solutions to Acxiom's clients.
Presenting:
Scott Hamilton
Senior Hardware & HPC Expert, Atos
Scott has several years of experience in software and hardware engineering and has a desire to share his passion and knowledge of high-performance computing (HPC) with others. As lead for HPC research at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Scott supported multidisciplinary research through computational simulation on HPC systems. At Atos, Scott custom designs hardware and software solutions for computational sciences, data sciences, and scientific simulation and modeling. He frequently partners with research scientists in various fields, assisting them with software design for simulations and demonstrations.
Presenting:
Steven Keith Platt
Research Director, Retail Analytics Council and Adjunct Professor, Northwestern University
Steven Keith Platt is the Research Director at the Retail Analytics Council, Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University, and Director and Research Fellow at the Platt Retail Institute.
Steven received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance and Marketing from the Boston University School of Management. He also has a Law Degree and an LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University, where he served as Articles Editor for the University's Journal of Tax Law. He has authored many studies about retail analytics and digital communication networks, and has published articles in various journals, and appeared on various news outlets.
Sudharshan Seerapu
Strategic Customer Success Manager - Tableau
Sudharshan Seerapu is a Strategic Customer Success Manager at Tableau Software. He manages accounts that include some of Tableau’s largest customers. Before joining Tableau, he worked for Cisco as a Tableau Architect and was responsible for building the Tableau Centre of Excellence and helping business users see and understand their data. He has vast experience and expert skill in BI, Databases, Data Warehousing & ETL.
He has a bachelor’s degree in Petro-Chemical Engineering & Diploma in Computer Science from India and is very passionate about cricket, continuing to play in the US.
Presenting:
Vivek Saxena
Senior Vice President, Finance & Accounting Service Line - Genpact
Vivek, Senior Vice President for the Finance & Accounting service line at Genpact, is responsible for developing domain expertise, designing process solutions, and implementing digital transformation projects. He has over 20 years' experience in closing, consolidation, process transformation, and software design. He joined Genpact in 2006 from Oracle Corporation, where he led product management for Oracle applications. He has filed two patent applications in US office for process and intelligent automation maturity models.
Presenting:
Andrea Acevedo
Director, Consumer Insights, Disney Channels Worldwide
Andrea has over 15 years of research experience. She is currently a Director on the Consumer Insights team for the Disney kids' media brands, including Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD and Radio Disney. Andrea is responsible for research initiatives surrounding brands and franchises, digital offerings, distribution strategies, and the kids' media landscape at large. She holds an MBA from UCLA's Anderson School of Management, where she focused on Marketing and Branding.
Presenting:
Andrew Wright
Manager, WDW Commercial Optimization Platform & Insight, Disney Parks, Experiences & Products
Andrew Wright loves an audience, and is honored to be a returning DDAC speaker. As a manager in Walt Disney World's Commercial Strategy organization, Andrew focuses on integrating analytics and insight from a variety of inputs in support of improving revenue predictability. In his 13 years with the company, he has also supported marketing and operations analytics. Prior to joining Disney, Andrew worked in financial services and consulting firms, where he learned the value of performant storytelling backed with data. Andrew holds an undergraduate degree in Foreign Affairs, as well as an MBA and a Master's of Applied Science.
Presenting:
Ashutosh Modi
Researcher, Disney Research
Dr. Ashutosh Modi is a researcher at Disney Research, focusing on developing computational methods to understand human languages and machine learning models for various applications. Dr. Modi obtained his PhD in Computer Science from Saarland University, Germany. For his dissertation, he developed computational models for instilling Common Sense knowledge about the world into Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications. In the past, Dr. Modi has worked at Siemens Research, Princeton in the area of bio-medical text and image processing. He has also worked at Symantec Corporation in the area of email security with focus on application of machine learning techniques.
Presenting:
Brad Dancer
EVP, Insights, Analytics & Data Strategy, National Geographic Partners
Brad Dancer -- one of National Geographic Channels' first 10 employees -- is Executive Vice President of Insights, Analytics & Data Strategy, overseeing all insights, analytics and business intelligence across National Geographic, including Global Channels, Nationalgeogrpahic.Com, Social platforms, podcasts, all publications, and kids content. Dancer launched all of NG Channels' digital distribution including its VOD, TV Everywhere services as well as natgeotv.com, Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and others. When head of global programming, Dancer helped NGC & WILD see its highest ratings in history and helped cultivate some of NGC's best rated shows to all-time highs.
Presenting:
Brian Jeselnick
Director, Corporate Brand Development, The Walt Disney Company
Brian Jeselnick is responsible for driving brand and business development with 13+ years of leadership and analytical experience at the worldwide leader in entertainment.
Jeselnick is charged with leading major consumer research to assess competitive positions and build brand development strategies in markets across Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Jeselnick served in leadership positions on projects ranging from informing corporate business strategies to working on key corporate initiatives such as the integration of 21st Century Fox.
Brian previously spent 9 years working in a variety of business and product development roles in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Doug Hill
Staff Security Automation Engineer, The Walt Disney Company
Doug Hill is a Staff Security Automation Engineer for The Walt Disney Company. In his role, Doug is responsible for ETL pipeline development, API data integration, and event driven automation for Global Information Security.
Doug has worked in roles as an application developer, automation engineer, system administrator Contributing to projects such as Keystone, Enterprise Portal, and WDPRT Infrastructure Modernization (iMod).
Doug has been in Information Technology within The Walt Disney Company for over 25 years working in segments such as ABC, Corporate, and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Eric Olivencia
Manager of Consumer Insights, Disney Channels Worldwide
Driven by an insatiable love for all things media, Eric left the safe confines of the Midwest, moving to Los Angeles straight after college, where he's worked in entertainment research ever since. First at Nielsen, before transitioning to Disney, eventually joining the Disney Channels Consumer Insights team, where he's called home for the past 7 years. Eric's primary focus is the digital domain, but is also an expert on the media landscape and emerging technologies. He's the proud father of two angels, Mia and Hudson, who remind him daily of why he does what he does.
Presenting:
Farnaz Shoraka
Director, Business Planning & Analysis, The Walt Disney Studios
Farnaz has spent 11 years working in multiple lines of business within entertainment. Currently, Farnaz is a part of The Walt Disney Studios Consumer Insights team, leading Business Planning and providing strategic and analytical support to senior executives. In her prior role at the studio, Farnaz led Theatrical Distribution Planning & Analytics at the Studio and prior to that, she worked in Financial Planning & Analysis at Disney Consumer Products. Before joining Disney, she spent 3 years at Paramount Pictures in Business Planning & Development for Home Entertainment.
Presenting:
Glen Taylor
Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer, The Walt Disney Company
Glen Taylor is Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer for The Walt Disney Company. Glen has over 30 years of experience in a variety of infrastructure management, service delivery, information security, and risk management roles.
Glen has been involved in ITIL best practices for most career and in recent years has focused on applying the service disciplines he learned from ITIL to Security and Privacy.
Glen holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Portsmouth, and Masters in Business Administration from the University of Wales. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and a Chartered IT Professional.
Justin Ford
Managing Consultant, Disney Parks, Experiences & Products
Justin Ford is a Managing Consultant for Disney Parks, Experiences & Products. He began exploring tech at a young age and formalized his experience in Information Technology at the University of Central Florida. Justin has worked in telecom, developing custom solutions to support Wireline and Wireless operations, and Co-Founded a big data start-up company. He's an inventor on several patents. At Disney, Justin now implements advanced analytic solutions for Disney's media networks, such as A+E, ESPN, and Freeform, as well as the infrastructure it runs on.
Presenting:
Matt Estes
Executive Director of Security Automation and Orchestration, The Walt Disney Company
Matt Estes is Executive Director of Security Automation and Orchestration at The Walt Disney Company. In his role, Matt is responsible for automation, orchestration, data management and data science in support of Global Information Security’s mission to protect TWDC assets.
Matt joined Disney in 1998 as a DBA, moving to roles in database engineering, software development, data warehousing, architecture and ultimately security automation. He holds patents in cloud computing, has contributed to eight published papers and has been active on three standards bodies and served on three vendor’s product advisory councils.
Matt Keefe
Decision Science Consultant, Disney Parks, Experiences & Products
Matt Keefe is a Decision Science Consultant for Disney Parks, Experiences & Products. His work at Disney involves building statistical models and analytical tools to help make business decisions across different lines of business within the company. His primary projects have supported the Media Ad Sales line of business. Prior to joining Disney, Matt received his PhD and MS in Statistics from Virginia Tech and a BS in Mathematics from Millersville University of Pennsylvania. His dissertation research focused on Bayesian Spatial Statistics and Statistical Process Monitoring.
Presenting:
Matt Nickens
Manager, Data Science, The Walt Disney Studios Consumer Experience, Insights & Analytics
Matt Nickens is Manager, Data Science for The Walt Disney Studios Consumer Experience, Insights & Analytics team. Matt and his team are building machine learning tools and econometric models to help the Studio better understand moviegoers and their diverse preferences. He comes to Disney from 20th Century Fox, where he was a member of the theatrical data science team. Matt holds a PhD in econometrics and research methodology with a focus on modeling counter-insurgency.
Presenting:
McKay Curtis
Sr. Principal, Decision Science, Disney Parks, Experiences & Products
McKay Curtis is Sr. Principal, Decision Science for Disney Parks, Experiences & Products. His work at Disney involves building analytical tools to help business units make optimal decisions. His primary projects have supported the resorts line of business at Walt Disney World. Additionally, he has taken an advisory role on several projects that span multiple lines of business including the Walt Disney Studios, Disney Cruise Line, ESPN, ABC, and Disney Theatrical Group. Prior to joining Disney, McKay worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Washington where he helped develop statistical methods to analyze data on Alzheimer's disease.
Presenting:
Mia Vallo
VP, Analytics, National Geographic Partners
Mia Vallo is Vice President, Analytics at National Geographic Partners, where she oversees the Insights and Analytics team for the Media and Expeditions business units. Leading a team of analysts, data scientists, and researchers, and drawing from her 18 years of experience in media and consumer products, she is responsible for driving actionable insights and developing data solutions for the business. In addition to her role at National Geographic Partners, Mia Vallo is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, where she teaches Digital Analytics and Measurements in the Master's program for Integrated Marketing and Corporate Communications.
Presenting:
Mitkumar Pandya
Data Scientist, The Walt Disney Studios Consumer Experience, Insights & Analytics
Mitkumar Pandya is a Data Scientist on The Walt Disney Studios Consumer Experience, Insights & Analytics team. Mit is working to solve theatrical marketing and campaign challenges using computer vision, natural language processing, and advanced analytics. He specializes in machine learning, data-guided business intelligence, and software engineering. His experience prior to Disney includes software engineering at Motorola Mobility and Nokia. Mit graduated from North Carolina State University with a Master's of Science in Computer Science in May of 2018.
Presenting:
Nick Lewerke
Vice President, Data Strategy, Planning and Analytics, The Walt Disney Studios Consumer Experience, Insights & Analytics
Nick is VP, Data Strategy, Planning and Analytics for Walt Disney Studios. He leads the team that creates and implements global data science approaches to optimize performance and identify future opportunities for some of the world’s most iconic film brands: Disney Animation, Disney Live Action, Marvel, LucasFilm, Pixar, Fox Studios, Blue Sky Animation and Fox Searchlight. His previous roles at Disney include leadership positions in Strategy, Distribution, and Finance. Prior to Disney, he worked in Private Equity and Investment Management. A Los Angeles native, he holds an undergraduate degree in Business from UC Santa Cruz and an MBA from USC.
Presenting:
Steve Appleby
Vice President, Corporate Brand Development, The Walt Disney Company
Steve Appleby is Vice President of Corporate Brand Development at The Walt Disney Company. Responsible for leading a team tasked with understanding consumer engagement across the Disney enterprise, identifying opportunities for growth and maximizing the economic value of The Walt Disney Company's brands, franchises and customer relationships. He has over 13 years of global consumer insight, strategy and business development experience across a wide range of entertainment categories. Steve believes in keeping things simple, being rooted in the business decisions that need to be made, and loves podcasts.
Presenting:
Teddy Benson
Director of Data Integration, Disney Parks, Experiences & Products
Teddy Benson, has worked in various positions across IBM, CEN, Lockheed-Martin, and founded Central Intelligence, which was ultimately purchased by Google. In 2015, Mr. Benson joined Disney's RMA (Revenue Management and Analytics).
Benson has a MS in Computer Science, minors in Mathematics & Electronics. He holds patents in fields of computing & computing methodologies; has written technical articles, spoken on computer security & computer forensics, and recognized as an expert witness in federal courts of Florida. He is runner, Star Wars fan, tinkerer, poker player, & amateur magician.
Presentations.
Capt. Sully's story is one of dedication, hope, and preparedness, revealing the important lessons he learned through his life, in his military service, and in his work as an airline pilot. In this riveting presentation, he shares details from the 208 seconds that put his entire career on the line. He reminds audiences, even in these days of conflict, tragedy and uncertainty, there are values still worth fighting for—that life's challenges can be met if we're ready for them. Are you ready to aspire to new levels of excellence in life and business?
While statistics have always been a huge part of professional sports, a focus-shift occurred in recent years: the traditional measurements of athletic success have increasingly been surpassed by more analytical approaches. From Major League Baseball’s sabermetrics to the use of data analysis by a growing number of NBA teams, Shane Battier breaks down how athletes can leverage every point of data available to achieve success, even if they do not live up to many of the traditional metrics.
Audiences will learn: How tech industry trends have intersected with professional athletics, and what every athlete should know if they want to fine-tune their abilities. Strategic takeaways any organization can use to mine the data available to them in order to improve on key performance indicators. The technology available, from wearables to digital analytics, to improve athletic performance.
When the hero of the moment suits up, she’s aided by a computer that superimposes intelligence on things she sees, such as buildings and vehicles, friends and foes. Is this type of technology just fantasy? Or is it now possible to inject AI, advanced analytics, and ML-generated insights on top of what you see every day to run your business—all in zero clicks? With MicroStrategy, you can instantly view intelligence on physical objects like merchandise, restaurants, and attractions. We deliver context to emails, webpages, applications, and more. Join us for an introduction to HyperIntelligence and experience the superpower that will change how you run your business.
AI is driving new processes and business models in every industry. Beena Ammanath will provide a unique AI perspective across different industry verticals, their maturity and the advances HPE is driving. She will also discuss the more complex and nuanced challenges around ethics, culture, privacy and trust in the age of AI.
Classical approaches to A/B testing largely rely on assumptions about the absence of network effects, according to which measured outcomes on an individual do not depend on the treatment assigned to other individuals, as well as on other simplifying assumptions including the absence of strategic behavior. In many applications, however, from testing crowd management policies in large amusement parks, to evaluating the effectiveness of health interventions that leverage social structure, the classical simplifying assumptions are untenable. Moreover, network effects are often a quantity of interest, rather than a nuisance. In this talk, we will review some technical issues that arise when we wish to design A/B tests that account for a social network, or correlated behaviors, among the individuals in the population of interest. We will describe a simple strategy for experimental design that leverages statistical models predictive of individuals' behavior.
As companies harvest the tsunami of available data and drive increasingly more sophisticated analytics, culture becomes a critical enabler of scale and adoption. This breakout will deep dive into four key practices that create a data culture, leveraging research from over 900 companies globally. We will explain what these practices are, give examples of organizations that demonstrates them, show the impact these practices have on business and workforce outcomes, and share lessons learned to capture the broader promise of human potential.
AI solutions at Salesforce promise to make companies more productive by augmenting the decisions they make with relevant information. But in practice, how can you deliver algorithmic insights at scale for your business at the moment of action? Join this session to see real-world examples of data and analytics intelligence embedded in any app and hear from our experts on how Salesforce is optimizing business processes for mass media and entertainment companies with intelligence. #EinsteinForAnyApp
We live & work in a world driven by data and analytics, but we must never lose sight of the fact that in almost every data set we look at, there is a human being trying to tell us something. It’s the “human” elements in our data that create powerful and compelling stories with which to influence decisions. In this session, you’ll learn why “human” context is so important and how to use it to influence decisions.
Nearly every innovation in the last decade have been data-driven and we are now seeing the benefits in nearly every line of business. But with that rapid growth, there's been some added challenges for enterprises: New languages seem to emerge daily, Data is difficult to govern, and there are limited tools for collaboration. How do we avoid the pitfalls the data revolution has brought on to continue to innovate?
In this talk, we will share: - A short history of the data revolution and the challenges it has brought along with it - What the options are for implementing self-service analytics & machine learning in a way that empowers everyone involved - data scientists, business analysts, data engineers, and business line managers - Examples of how leading enterprises such as GE Aviation are overcoming these challenges in democratizing analytics across the organization.
Analytics, ML, and AI are transforming industries. But most organizations still lack the data agility required to take full advantage. Data engineering challenges make it time-consuming to discover, blend, and deliver data. Data governance requirements place new demands on how data is shared and managed. And IoT and distributed edge-to-cloud infrastructures require new ways of working. DataOps has emerged as a collaborative data management discipline focused on improving communication, integration, and automation of data flows. In this session, you’ll learn how Hitachi Vantara is working with innovative customers to leverage DataOps to unlock data agility and turn data into actionable insights.
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are all the rage in analytic and marketing circles of late. Clearly, this is due to the increased power of these techniques. Their rise to popularity is also due to the new challenges brought about by high-dimensional data sources which were largely unheard of a few short years ago. While exceptionally powerful, ML/AI is not without its criticisms which include solution complexity, believing that it can solve all problems and a lack of transparency and insight generation. This session will explore some of these criticisms, and dive deeper into the insights that can be gleaned from high-dimensionality data sources using ML/AI techniques with the proper diligence. Real examples will be offered that demonstrate the benefit of the power of ML/AI in combination with insights that help marketers bridge the gap between numbers and their target consumers.
Business decisions are increasingly driven by data analytics, but training for data fluency has not kept pace with demand. Here I discuss the multi-faceted approach that Bayer has developed to up-skill our colleagues at all levels of the business.
For our "data curious" colleagues we offer regular "learn to code" opportunities including in-person workshops taught in the Software Carpentry style. For our "data fluent" colleagues, we have developed a set of "best practices" for enterprise data scientists. For our management level colleagues, we have developed a reverse-mentoring program that educates our people managers about the roles that data science can play in a modern business environment.
Together, these efforts have helped our colleagues learn to code, become more effective contributors, generated new collaborations, and increased the speed of project iteration. I will share Bayer's experience and the lessons we have learned while iterating through this process.
Bringing teams, technology, and data together for greater agility Innovations are reshaping industries and today's businesses have to think about how they're building an approach that will ensure they can adapt to new opportunities and solve ever increasingly complex problems. Born agile companies have rewritten how we think about work and the growth of our businesses. In this presentation, we explore how we can find the sweet spot that brings our teams, data, and technologies together to produce innovations
TV as we know it, will be altered forever. That is, our new found ability to precisely measure TV changes the game for brand marketers, creating a step-change improvement in insights about the medium. Planning and buying of TV and video formats will be viewed differently from here on out, providing a marked shift in brands’ ability to control reach and frequency across channels, ultimately improving the customer journey.
The race for "quantum supremacy" is on, as more computing power is required to solve some of the most complex, data-intensive problems in existence today. How will quantum computing overcome its inherent challenges - cost, footprint, power consumption, temperature requirements, instability - to leapfrog super computers as the platform for the future? See how quantum simulators are helping to overcome those challenges and enabling researchers and end users alike the ability to develop quantum algorithms that will solve problems faster leading to new pharmaceuticals and medical treatments, improved financial modeling and weather forecasting, cheaper energy production and much more.
Hear about the three biggest trends occurring in the media and entertainment industry and how your organization can remain competitive. Get expert insights on: 1) The great unbundling of cable and the rise of over-the-top (OTT), 2) How data can drive the ad marketplace to deliver positive business outcomes, and 3) How personalized content and privacy can co-exist. Attendees will understand how these major trends are shifting the role of data from being descriptive to playing a critical role in how media and entertainment companies operate their businesses today
Intelligent AI-Powered Automation can deliver meaningful results to the enterprise. Learn how top global companies are using Intelligent Automation as a lever to grow productivity and revenue without growing costs across business operations. In this session you will learn the following:
• How humans and bots work together to automate end to end business processes • Why AI Powered RPA can deliver real results and why RPA alone is not a total solution • How to unchain cost from growth as you deploy your next generation digital workforce
Today, we live in the age of product. Digital products are fully integrated into people’s lives; the best teams are product-led, focused on creating experiences that build customer retention. In this session, Amplitude VP of Product, Justin Bauer, will discuss what the next 2-3 years of product will look like. Justin will share three key product trends: first, a redefinition of product as a full, end-to-end experience; second, a shift to focus on lifetime value; and third, how teams will reshuffle and rethink their priorities to be product-led. We will then walk through real-world examples and end with why product intelligence — not just product analytics — is what will power the next generation of products.
Many software engineering efforts are conducted by distributed teams working on social coding platforms. These platforms are not only valuable for helping teams collaborate more effectively, but also the data from them can aid our understanding of team cognitive processes. The aim of my research is to use machine learning to model and predict the performance of virtual teams over long time periods. We use data from software developers who collaborate using GitHub, a popular software repository and collaborative development tool. I will talk about three research projects: 1) predicting the productivity of human teams 2) analyzing teamwork collaboration styles 3) studying the impact of automated build process management tools on human teams.
Enhance your analytics with a boost from Tableau. The InterWorks and Tableau team will help you get the most value from your data at every step of the process. We’ll start by connecting to datasets to assemble, clean and prep data for analysis. Then, we’ll find the data we want to question, explore how to keep it fresh and, finally, unleash Ask Data to gain additional insights. When it’s all said and done, you’ll be able to chart a new future for your analytics practice.
Session Takeaways • Use natural language to ask questions of your data with Ask Data • Better understand outliers with smart analytics by leveraging smart algorithms to explain a mark • Prepare your data for analysis with Tableau Prep Builder • Utilize Tableau Prep Conductor to schedule flows and search for data to question
According to Juniper Research, retailers globally will spend a projected $12 billion on AI services by 2023, up 230 percent versus 2018. As retailers explore AI, various applications are being advanced. In this season, Steven Keith Platt will detail various cutting-edge applications and the results from various experiments his team is undertaking. Models presented and discussed will include store traffic predictions, store labor optimization, demand planning and pricing for perishables, and rolling store sales time-series models.
Navigating your career can sometimes feel harder than defeating Thanos, but you don’t need the ability to shoot fire from your fists in order to achieve your professional goals. Please join Beth Ritchie (Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis, Disney Parks, Experiences & Products), Rachel Epstein (Sr Director, Emerging Properties & Brands, espnW), and Cindy Tyeskey-Gage (Senior Director, Executive Programs, Salesforce) as they talk with moderator Karin Kricorian (Director, Disney Decision Science and Integration) about how they have successfully piloted their careers, no Tesseract required!
Finance and accounting teams are responsible for far more than reporting and compliance: they must provide greater strategic insight to build a future-ready enterprise. And, to enable the shift from cost to value, they are evolving their skillsets and culture to deliver results and stay relevant.
As the role for finance changes, how can you build an agile function? Learn how digital technologies and analytics bring faster, more accurate insights to the business and how teams are embedding hybrid workforces of man and machine to become strategic partners to the business.
Organizations recognize that data fuels long-term change, and are looking for new ways to accelerate their journey to AI. That's why 80% of companies view AI as a strategic opportunity, however only 19% of organizations understand the data required for AI, and only 5% have actually adopted AI in a meaningful way. Successful teams apply a prescriptive approach to climbing the ladder to AI, based on a unified architecture that delivers everything they need for enterprise AI. In this session, get a behind-the-scenes look at how large organizations approach managing the full lifecycle of AI, and the essential lessons learned on the journey to driving smarter decisions with AI.
Learn about what @NatGeo has done to reach more than 110 million followers (and counting) on Instagram.
The Insights and Analytics team at National Geographic Partners will share some key insights on how they use data to drive strategic and tactical decisions to increase engagement on the platform.
In this presentation, you will gain a better understanding of how to:
* Use insights and analytics to connect with fans on the platform
* Cut through the clutter of vanity social metrics to focus on what matters
* Champion collaboration between analytics and social media teams to increase engagement and monetization on the platform.
Organizations value insight. They build teams with "insight" in their title. They invest in technology that promises to deliver insight. They hire and promote people who think insightfully. But it's more than just a synonym for analytics. So what is exactly is insight? More importantly, what brings about insightfulness? This talk will provide a perspective on what it means to be insightful, what insightfulness means in the context of a data-driven organization, and how you can stimulate insight in your own work and in your partner engagements.
In recent decades, there has been grumbling within the realm of analytic practitioners. These practitioners have been forced to make a choice--a choice of which programming language they should use for their analytic solutions. This has caused analysts to choose sides and draw lines on which language is THE right language to use for their solution. Welcome to the war of Python versus "R". In this session, we will present a moderated debate giving both sides a chance to debate their function, their truth, their reason for being the choice for analytics.
With stakes this high, the representatives of Python and R will have to use all their senses, skill, and creativity, as they prepare artistic answers to questions never asked before. The winner will gain the people's ovation and fame forever. In this final battle, the reputation of both the software and the contestants is on the line.
As more applications rely on machine learning for automated decisions, concerns have emerged about potential vulnerabilities introduced by machine learning algorithms. Sophisticated attackers could target those vulnerabilities and manipulate machine learning algorithms to their advantage. This presentation will explore attacks against machine learning, how to think about the risks, and what should be done to mitigate them. Using real-world scenarios, and a healthy dose of python, this presentation walks the audience through this emerging cyber security risk. Should we be concerned or is this just another doom and gloom story; you decide!
In this talk, I will be presenting the latest technologies in the field of Artificial Intelligence that we have been developing at Disney Research. The talk covers two main areas: Dialog Systems and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) systems.
The first part of the talk is about our latest research in the area of dialog systems. Human conversations are not just driven by the content of the language but are also influenced by the emotions of the conversers. I will present Emoticon, which is an affect driven end to end dialog system. Emoticon is based on deep learning architecture and takes into account the emotion of the user while generating the response.
In the later part of the talk, I will show how one can develop NLU systems in absence of sufficient training data. I will showcase how the use of linguistic patterns can help to extract relevant information from text.
Avengers: Endgame opened to unprecedented excitement and shattered box office records across the world. Nick Lewerke from Walt Disney Studios will share an insider’s view of the movie industry and describe how his team uses analytics to drive the theatrical launch success of blockbuster movies. He will discuss how he advances the adoption of analytics with creative partners and will provide a look forward on the continued expansion of analytics in the rapidly changing world of entertainment.
Smart Speakers are the most rapidly growing technology in the US, especially in Households with Kids, where ownership has increased 5x in two years! Voice Technology is integrated into kids' everyday media consumption through TV/TV connected devices and mobile. There is a growing need to understand this expanding category, all the opportunities and challenges it presents, and how to make compelling content.
This presentation will cover the following:
1. The Role of Voice Technology in the household - how "voice" provides "hands-free infotainment" and serves as a navigational tool
2. Usage and Discoverability - how families discover skills and the most common use cases
3. Breaking through Barriers - identifying the frustrations and pitfalls that families encounter
4. Superstar skills - guidelines for making engaging skills for kids
This presentation is a must-see for content creators who are experimenting in the voice category and anyone in Marketing, Strategy, Insights and Technology.
In 2003, Lucia de Berk, a nurse in the Netherlands, was convicted of four murders and three attempted murders. De Berk became a suspect when an unusually large number of deaths occurred during her hospital shifts. A statistician for the prosecution calculated a 1 in 342 million chance that de Berk would have been on hospital shifts where so many deaths had occurred just by chance. The prosecution's analysis was later shown to be flawed, but only after de Berk spent several years in prison.
As data scientists, we like to pride ourselves on making recommendations that are grounded in the data --- in the truth! Unfortunately, we can make decisions in our analyses that produce faulty conclusions. In essence, we fool ourselves with statistics. I'll discuss how our data analyses can go wrong and how this can help us be more honest with ourselves about our data and models.
Understanding audiences is key to a film's success. Movies that capture the imaginations of moviegoers rarely fail at the box office. Yet, intuiting audience preferences is hardly straight forward: moviegoers are a diverse group and their interests vary.
Historically, studios relied on subject matter expertise to predict who a film would appeal to, often leaning on the perennial "it's X meets Y" method. More recently, studios have augmented expertise-based predictions with customer segmentation, panel-based tracking, and other data driven methodologies. However, granular, customer-level predictions have remained elusive, largely due to technological constraints and limited access to quality data. Pairing advanced machine learning techniques with an ever-increasing pool of customer data offers an opportunity to change that.
In this presentation, Matt Nickens and Mitkumar Pandya will discuss the machine learning platform developed by the 20th Century Fox theatrical data science team to enhance our understanding of audiences.
Would we care about Simba's journey to reclaim the throne if his father didn't die so tragically at the beginning of Lion King? Or would Snow White be such an iconic tale without that final magical kiss from a prince? Disney knows better than anyone that the key to great storytelling is a compelling beginning, middle, and end, and we can apply the same approach to our research/analytics. The journey starts with the end in mind, by aligning with stakeholders on the purpose of the project, examining outcomes, and understanding any obstacles/biases. The middle is a deliberate execution of customized research and data analysis that can withstand challenges. The end of your journey is a powerful solution that you can present to stakeholders with clear takeaways and recommendations. In this session, you'll learn essential tips from internal experts so that you, too, can shape your projects into outstanding data-driven stories.
Product Demos.
Join us for this Live Demo to discover the story your data is telling you so you can make the right decision with every interaction using AI + analytics that go beyond business intelligence. #EinsteinForAnyApp
The customer journey is as complex as it's ever been. People jump from one channel to another, often multiple times before they convert. But the heart of this customer journey dilemma isn't data itself. It's that your data is scattered, and you may not have the tools to act on cross-channel insights. In this session we'll discuss how to:
- Understand each customer's journey to create an experience that feels like one interaction, even if it's through multiple channels.
- Increase engagement and build loyalty that will pay off.
- Know which data is important and how to let the insights improve the way you engage with your customers.