Data Science Perspectives

Hosted by Bill Franks

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Latest episode

Apr 2025

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EN-US

About the show

In Bill’s roles as Chief Analytics Officer for both Teradata and The Int'l Institute For Analytics, he was lucky enough to meet with analytics executives in hundreds of large companies around the world. Now with Kennesaw State U's School of Data Science and Analytics, he interviews executives he’s met to learn about how their careers unfolded, what skills they look for when hiring, what trends they think are coming next, and more! If you want an inside view into what some of today’s top data science names are thinking about, this series is for you!

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60 recent

April 17, 2025Episode 630 min

Season 10, Episode 6 - Chris Miller, VP, Biometrics - Respiratory & Immunology & Stat. Innovation, AstraZeneca

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

April 3, 2025Episode 525 min

Season 10, Episode 5 - Hatem Sellami, Founder & CEO Cognira and RetSci

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

March 20, 2025Episode 429 min

Season 10, Episode 4 - Divyes Patel, Director, Innovation, Research, & Development at a large Healthcare company based in TN

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

March 6, 2025Episode 329 min

Season 10, Episode 3 - Kira Barclay, CEO and founder of Black Antler Advisory & Consulting

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

February 20, 2025Episode 229 min

Season 10, Episode 2 - Doug Hague, Executive Director, Corporate Engagement, UNC Charlotte

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

February 6, 2025Episode 126 min

Season 10, Episode 1 - Sasha Verbitsky - SVP, Data, Analytics, & Digital, Simon Property Group

A discussion with Sasha Verbitsky, SVP - Data, Analytics, Digital at @Simon Property Group. Some people have gotten to work at a number of well-known companies throughout their career, and today’s guest is one of them! Sasha recently joined Simon after past roles at Nike, Panera Bread, Marriott, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lands’ End, and Victoria’s Secret Direct. Sasha discusses how his first job luckily – and unplanned! – put him in an analytics role and why he stuck with it from that point forward. He provides a nice overview of the evolution of direct marketing from classic mail pieces to full scale digital models. He also talks through the consistencies and differences he’s seen as he has worked across various companies and industries. The chat concludes with his views on why it is so important for people in data science to learn to define and solve problems early in their schooling and careers. #analytics #datascience #ai #artificialintelligence #generativeAI #retail #hospitality #directmarketing

November 14, 2024Episode 629 min

Season 9, Episode 6 - Steve Butler, North America Leader - Analytics, Insights, and Automation, Philips

A discussion with Steve Butler, North America Leader - Analytics, Insights, and Automation at global healthcare technology company Philips. Steve has had a balance of consulting and client roles over his career, which enables him to provide unique insights into the field of data science and analytics. Steve talks about the pros and cons of client versus consulting roles. He also discusses why he believes the challenge in the data science space isn’t finding a job (there are plenty) but staying relevant and not becoming an antique in today’s fast-changing market. He takes a dive into how working for a company focused on healthcare is different from his past employers. Then, he finishes with a discussion of the importance of being in person in an office to facilitate collaboration and his views on the future of customized large language models. #analytics #datascience #ai #artificialintelligence #generativeAI #philips #consulting #healthcare #technology

October 31, 2024Episode 530 min

Season 9, Episode 5 - Mabby Amouie, Assistant Vice President, Enterprise Data & Analytics, Norfolk Southern

A discussion with Mabby Amouie, Assistant Vice President, Enterprise Data & Analytics, Norfolk Southern. He has advanced from his initial data scientist role to a senior leadership role in just over a decade. Mabby talks about how his industrial engineering background influences his approach to analytics. He then dives into how he always wants to know what’s happening under the hood and has to fight his desire to make solutions over-optimized and too perfect. He also discusses the importance of building a professional network and establishing trust with business partners. He finishes with a few predictions related to autonomous vehicles, productivity, and data management. #analytics #datascience #ai #artificialintelligence #generativeAI #rail #transportation

October 17, 2024Episode 431 min

Season 9, Episode 4 - Patrick Moore, AVP, Human Health Data Strategy & Governance, Merck

A discussion with Patrick Moore, AVP, Human Health Data Strategy & Governance at Merck. Not many people spend their whole career at the same company these days, but those who do are often happy to have done it. Patrick has spent 30 years at Merck rising through the ranks and seeing analytics evolve in breadth and impact. Patrick talks about how analytics has gone from “prove it works” to “I need it”. He outlines the importance of building trust with business partners and giving them what they need rather than exactly what they ask for. He also gives his views about staying focused on business value, being open to change, and collaborating heavily. He finishes with an awesome example of where future augmented and automated analytics processes are heading. Be sure to listen to the three minutes! #analytics #datascience #ai #artificialintelligence #generativeAI #pharma #pharmaceuticals

October 3, 2024Episode 329 min

Season 9, Episode 3 - Carole Piovesan, Founder INQ Law and INQ IQ Consulting

A discussion with Carole Piovesan, Founder of INQ Law and INQ IQ Consulting. She has held past roles with Global Affairs Canada and McCarthy Tétrault. Carole talks about how she got focused on the legal issues surrounding AI and data, as well as the complexity of the landscape with countries, states, and even cities passing their own laws. She discusses some of the most common issues her clients are raising today, as well as areas she thinks we need laws to catch up the most. She finishes by explaining what led her to found her own firm, how her persistence has been a key to her success, and why she sees decision documentation becoming a huge area for AI laws and governance. #analytics #datascience #ai #artificialintelligence #generativeAI #laws #governance #risk