The Alldus Podcast - AI in Action

Today's guest is Shahmeer Mirza, Director of R&D and IT Strategy at 7-Eleven in Irving, Texas. Founded in 1927 as the world’s first convenience store, 7‑Eleven now operates, franchises and licenses more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Their top priority has always been to give customers the most convenient experience possible to consistently meet their needs. 7‑Eleven aims to be a one-stop shop for consumers, a place people can always rely on to deliver what they want, when, where and how they want it. Shahmeer joined 7-Eleven as their Director of R&D in December 2020 where he focuses on digital innovations that transform the future of convenience. He has a history of delivering customer-facing applied machine learning and computer vision solutions, and is experienced in growing large teams with deep subject matter expertise across a variety of engineering domains. Shahmeer is also a public speaker and inventor with a strong passion for shaping strategic roadmaps and delivering innovative products. In the episode, Shahmeer will talk about: An insight into the broader data organization at 7Eleven, Day-to-day life of the R&D team, How the team is structured for success, Upcoming projects in ML and Computer Vision, Why 7-Eleven is a great place to work, & Career opportunities within the team

Today's guest is Cindi Howson, Chief Data Strategy Officer at Thoughtspot & host of The Data Chief podcast. Founded in 2012, ThoughtSpot is an AI-Powered Analytics company with the mission to create a more fact-driven world with the easiest to use analytics platform. ThoughtSpot enables everyone within an organization to limitlessly engage with live data in any popular cloud data platform, making it easy to create and interact with granular, hyper-personalized and actionable insights. Cindi is an analytics and BI thought leader and expert with a flair for bridging business needs with technology. Cindi advises top clients on data strategy and best practices to becoming data- driven, and influences ThoughtSpot’s product strategy. She was previously a Gartner research Vice President, as the lead author for the data and analytics maturity model and analytics, and BI Magic Quadrant. She introduced new research in data and AI for good, NLP/BI Search and augmented analytics, and brought both the BI bake offs and innovation panels to Gartner globally. In the episode, Cindi will talk about: How Thoughtspot are driving a fact-driven world, Four aspects to her role as Chief Data Strategy Officer, How they help organizations embrace data, The working culture at Thoughtspot, What excites her for the future at Thoughtspot, and The mission of her Data Chief podcast

Today's guest is Sachin Namjoshi, ServiceNow MVP 2018-2023 & ServiceNow SME at GoDaddy. Founded in 1997, GoDaddy is the world’s largest services platform for entrepreneurs around the globe.  GoDaddy is the place folks come to name their idea, create a compelling brand and a great looking website, attract customers with digital and social marketing, and manage their work. They are on a mission to empower their worldwide community of over 20 million customers and entrepreneurs by giving them all the help and tools they need to grow online. Sachin is a Senior Consultant with more than 15 years of experience in BSM for implementation, integration, customization and upgrade projects on ServiceNow and bmc remedy platforms across life sciences, BFSI, Manufacturing, Retail and banking customers. He joined GoDaddy in 2020 and has developed a Service Portal for HR application using Angular JS, Bootstrap for the company, as well as implementing HR Service Delivery across the enterprise, implementing Employee Document Management and more. In the episode, Sachin talks about: Adding value in the ServiceNow community, Day-to-day role with GoDaddy implementing ServiceNow, How he sees the ServiceNow platform evolving, Managing his time between work and community, Advice to people for getting involved in the ServiceNow community

Today's guest is Hossein Zahed, Director of Data Science at Capital One. Capital One are one of the largest retail banks in the United States, serving more than 100 million customers across a diverse set of businesses. The company was founded on the belief that no one should be locked out of the financial system. Today, their deep commitment to financial inclusion is reflected in their business, community partnerships, philanthropy and most importantly, support for their customers. They are on a mission to change banking for good. Hossein leads a team of amazing data scientists, engineers, and analysts in Dallas, Texas who design and build AI products that provide more people with financial choices and possibilities. He is leading the AppIntel team who are responsible for building and managing COAF's underwriting risk models used for approve/decline of customers across the business. Hossein also has extensive experience with learning algorithms, statistical modeling, data mining, cloud computing, data strategy, credit risk, and pricing. In the episode, Hossein will talk about: His role and responsibilities at Capital One, How they are using Data and AI within the organization, The importance of working with cross-functional teams, Why Capital One is a great place to work, Their dedication to investing in talent, and What the near future looks like for his team at Capital One

Today's guest is Brandon Nutting, VP of Product Strategy and Data Science at MVPindex in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2012, MVPindex's mission is to build a transparent, modern system of measurement that transforms the business of sports & entertainment. The company's software solutions accurately measure the value of your partnerships and activations, allowing you to compare and contextualize your investments with the most precise and transparent data in the industry. Brandon is a former academic with a non-traditional background at the intersection of computer science, data science, sports, media and communication. He enjoys using non-traditional means for measuring complex tangible and intangible things, and spends a lot of time thinking about how data can be used to identify patterns and insights in a scalable and automated way. Brandon is passionate about the endurance sports community and enjoys training, racing and cheering on his fellow athletes. In the episode, Brandon will talk about: An overview of the work they do at MVPindex, Developments they have made within AI & ML in sports advertizing, How these advancements bring new benefits to customers, Upcoming projects and goals for the near future, Plans for growing the team, What makes MVPindex a great place to work

Today's guest is Karen Warren, Associate Vice President for Information Technology at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. Founded in 1831, Wesleyan University is a diverse, energetic liberal arts community where critical thinking and practical idealism go hand in hand. With their distinctive scholar-teacher culture, creative programming, and commitment to interdisciplinary learning, Wesleyan challenges students to explore new ideas and change the world. Karen is a highly motivated and experienced business leader with expert proficiency in defining and guiding information systems vision, strategy, and execution for major organizations. She leads the vision, strategy, and execution for all facets of information technology and systems at Wesleyan University, along with accountability for long-range capital planning and the oversight of the Infrastructure and Academic Technology teams. In the episode, Karen discusses: Her role and responsibilities with Wesleyan University, How they are utilizing the ServiceNow platform, The journey of implementing ServiceNow within the university, Challenges she had to overcome during implementation, Building a winning team, The future of ServiceNow at Wesleyan University and Her advice when implementing ServiceNow

Today's guest is Ramesh Durvasula, SVP R&D IT at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis. Eli Lilly was founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly, a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that met real needs in an era of unreliable elixirs peddled by questionable characters. His charge to the generations of employees who have followed was this: "Take what you find here and make it better and better." More than 145 years later, the company remains committed to this vision through every aspect of its business and the people they serve starting with those who take its medicines and extending to healthcare professionals, employees and the communities in which they live. Eli Lilly pursues pharmaceutical innovation, provides high-quality products and strives to deliver superior business results. In the episode, Ramesh will talk about: His role and an overview of the R&D function at Eli Lilly, An insight into how they work with data, tech and analytics,  Their focus on computational science and data modelling, The make-up of the team and how they attract talent, Upcoming project in model-driven drug discovery , and What makes Eli Lilly a great place to work 

Today's guest is Jason Crites, Founder, CEO and Chief Data Officer at Assurance Health Data in Chicago, IL. Founded in 2019, The Assurance Health Data (AHD) platform is a trusted clinical data ecosystem, enabling data sharing at scale amongst researchers, healthcare providers, patients, & diagnostic and life sciences companies to solve the biggest data problems in healthcare together. They are the industry's go-to partner for high quality, difficult-to-find and source Real-World Data. Jason has 20 years’ experience in data analytics and virtualization. He is a commercialization and data visualization expert with competencies in engineering, management and acquisition integration. As an ex-IBM sales executive, he generated a billion in revenue and led the development of the Federated Data Model and the Global Storage Solution. Jason is a citizen scientist, public speaker, and an early advocate of models for large-scale data sharing and analytics. In the episode, Jason will discuss: The motivation for founding Assurance Health Data, The journey of building the company from the ground up, How they use data within the platform, Use cases of the impact they bring to the industry, What the future holds for the healthcare data sector, and Career opportunities with Assurance Health Data

Today's guest is Steven Borgman, Director of Application Strategy and Development, Retail at Brookfield Properties. Founded in 1924, Brookfield Properties develops and operates real estate investments on behalf of Brookfield Asset Management, one of the largest alternative asset managers in the world. From office to retail, logistics to multifamily, and hospitality to development, they work across sectors to bring high-quality, sustainable real estate to life around the globe every day. Steven is an accomplished, results oriented leader with several years of experience in providing technology and business solutions. He has a successful track record of designing, implementing, automating, improving and supporting enterprise software applications, as well as experience with Data Center/Project Management, and System Design & Architecture. Making life easier by streamlining processes is what he strives to do as it frees people up to do more important, meaningful work. In the episode, Steven discusses: His role and current work with Brookfield Properties, Why ServiceNow is the platform of choice, Examples of the value ServiceNow is bringing to the company, Advice to C-Suite execs embarking on their Digital Transformation journey, Building a winning team, The opportunity to step into the development world, and Advice he would offer to his younger self

Today's guest is Ivan Galea, VP, Head of Data Science at Atlassian. Founded in 2002, Atlassian build tools like Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, and Trello to help teams across the world become more nimble, creative and aligned. From medicine and space travel, to disaster response and pizza deliveries, Atlassian's products help teams all over the planet advance humanity through the power of software. With a team of 7000+ Atlassians supporting an international group of 250,000+ customers, it is their mission is to help unleash the potential of every team. Ivan is passionate about the power of data to create innovations, change lives and drive business forward. He has over 15 years of leadership experience working with engineering and business applications of new technologies, including at a startup technology firm. Ivan has a proven track record of building and mentoring high-performance teams, and has strong business development experience gained in the technology and financial services industries. In the episode, Ivan will discuss: Their mission at Atlassian, The day-to-day life of the Data Science team, Impact that their technology brings to customers, What excites him for the near future at Atlassian and Why Atlassian is a great place to work