INFORMS Analytics Conference

Sandy Carter, VP of Social Business Evangelism and Sales at IBM, will deliver the keynote presentation at the 2013 INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics and O.R., April 7-9, in San Antonio, Texas. Carter¹s thought-provoking talk will highlight three days of intensive, real-world education on descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics. Both will deliver thought-provoking talks, highlighting three days of intensive, real-world education on descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics.

The program will feature presentations by more than 100 speakers representing a broad range of industries and applications areas (see sidebar story on page 64). Two expanded, 10-session tracks will focus on marketing analytics and the analytics process. The marketing track includes talks by executives from Target, Nielsen, Mars, USAA, Emory University and other leading organizations, covering everything from marketing mix optimization to stochastic models for customer analytics. The analytics process track offers sessions on topics such as distribution processing and hospital business analytics, presented by speakers from Stanford, GE, Schneider National, SAS and Strata Decision Technology.

New this year are focused talks on big data, as well as a track on analytics for human resources management. Speakers from Ford, Teradata, IBM and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service will discuss both the technological and business aspects of big data. The HR track features speakers from Google, PepsiCo, IBM and Abbott Consulting. Other tracks will cover supply chain management, forecasting, decision analysis and soft skills for analysts.

The Franz Edelman Competition, showcasing the best in high-impact analytics and O.R., will feature presentations by six finalists: Baosteel, Chevron, Dell, Delta Commissioner of Holland, Kroger and McKesson. A new track for 2013 will highlight applied work that has received recognition in other competitions, including finalists for the Innovative Applications in Analytics Award and winners of the Wagner Prize, INFORMS Prize, UPS George D. Smith Prize and Spreadsheet Guru Prize.

For conference information: http://meetings2.informs.org/Analytics2013

Focused Tracks: Inside Look at Analytics Best Practices

Marketing Analytics

• Target: Maher Lahmar, Manager R&D, Merchandising Business Intelligence, and Rob Parkin, Manager-Group Lead, IBM, on assortment planning
  
  
• Nielsen Marketing Analytics: Nathan Brixius, Sr. VP of Analytics Development, on marketing ROI analytics – from data to insight
  
  
• Emory University: David Schweidel, Associate Professor, Co-Director, Emory Marketing Analytics Center, on stochastic models for customer analytics
  
  
• USAA: Allen S. Crane, Executive Director, Applied Analytics, on cross-channel insights – seeing the big picture to create ultimate member experiences
  
  
• Mars: Sorin Patilinet, Marketing Services Manager, on analytics to measure the direct impact of TV advertising on sales
  
  
• PROS: Neil Biehn, VP of Science and Research, on the new “V” in big data – how viability is driving better outcomes
  
  
• Baylor University: John Tanner Jr., Professor of Marketing, Associate Dean, on illuminating the path to purchase
  
  
• ThinkVine: Damon Ragusa, Chairman & Chief Strategy Officer, on using agent-based modeling to power marketing mix optimization

Big Data

• U.S. Internal Revenue Service: Jeff Butler, Director, Research Databases, on performance strategies for analyzing big data
  
  
• Ford: Michael Cavaretta, Technical Leader, Predictive Analytics, on where will big data and data science take O.R.?
  
  
• IBM Research: Amol N. Ghoting, Research Staff Member, on implementing big data analytics
  
  
• Teradata: Priyank Patel, Director of Product Management, on multi-genre discovery analytics on big data

Analytics Process

• General Electric-Power & Water: Sameer Vittal, Manager of Advanced Analytics, on analytics in wind energy
  
  
• SAS: Kathy Lange, Senior Director, Americas Business Analytics Practice, on the effective use of business analytics
  
  
• Breeden Ideas: Jake Breeden, Principal, on stopping sacred cows before they stop analytics
  
  
• Schneider National: Ted L. Gifford, Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, on integrated analytics in transportation and logistics
  
  
• Stanford University: Sam L. Savage, Consulting Professor, Management Science & Engineering, on distribution processing, a cure for the flaw of averages
  
  
• Booz Allen Hamilton: Juergen A. Klenk, Principal, on generating value from data
  
  
• Strata DecisionTechnology: Don N. Kleinmuntz, Executive VP and Chief Analytics Officer, on analytics opportunities and challenges in healthcare
  
  
• Princeton Consultants: Steve Sashihara, President & CEO, on optimizing as if people matter
  
  
• Ghent University” Dirk Van den Poel, Professor of Marketing Analytics, on training analysts for business

Supply Chain Management

• Gartner: Stan Aronow, Supply Chain Research Director, on maximizing profitability by integrating cost-to-serve and supply chain optimization
  
  
• MIT: Chris Caplice, Executive Director, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, on optimal allocation of for-hire and private fleets
  
  
• Supply Chain Insights: Lora Cecere, CEO, on supply chain technology: Where are we headed?
  
  
• Intel: Thomas Rucker, Director of Technology Development, on concurrent multi-phase development to ensure a vibrant supply chain
  
  
• Sedlak Management Consultants: George Swartz, Jr., Practice Director, on distribution network analysis & design, helping Nigerians gain access to HIV/AIDS treatment

Decision Analysis

• Decision Strategies: William Haskett, Senior Principal, on strategy arenas, a path to objective objectives and superior strategies
  
  
• Lumina Decision Systems: Max Henrion, CEO, on generating real business value from data
  
  
• Innovative Decisions: Freeman Marvin, Vice President, on the VII soft O.R. methods every analyst must know
  
  
• U.S. Army: Col. Brian K. Sperling, Senior Military Advisor/Military Deputy Director, Center for Army Analysis, on ORSA … embedded in Army operations

Forecasting

• SAS: Michael Gilliland, Product Marketing Manager, on process control approaches in business forecasting
  
  
• Arizona State University: Dieter Armbruster, Professor, Mathematical & Statistical Sciences, on characterizing and forecasting the market influence of OEMs
  
  
• Planalytics: Scott A. Bernhardt, President, on measuring and managing the weather’s impact on business
  
  
• SCM Focus: Shaun Snapp, Consultant, Founder & Editor, on supply-planning friendly demand planning

Soft Skills for Analysts

• Chevron: William K. Klimack, Decision Analysis Consultant, Chevron USA, Inc., on soft skills in your organization – the INFORMS perspective
  
  
• InfoNewt: Randy Krum, President, on effective infographics and data visualizations
  
  
• Carrie Beam Consulting: Carrie Beam, Principal, on soft skills to communicate predictive analytics to the business community
  
  
• Analytics-Based Performance Management: Gary Cokins, Founder & CEO, on analytics for decision-making
  
  
• CREATE: Stephen Hora, Director, on “two is a party and three is a crowd; how many experts should be allowed?”

Human Resources Analytics

• Google: Mark Rivera, People Analyst, on HR by the numbers
  
  
• Abbott Analytics: Dean Abbott, President, on hiring and selecting key personnel using predictive analytics
  
  
• IBM Research: Aleksandra Mojsilovic, Manager, Predictive Modeling & Optimization, on changing the landscape of workforce management
  
  
• PepsiCo: Christopher Shryock, Senior Director, Workforce Planning & Analytics, on building an HR analytics function with rigor and pragmatism

INFORMS Prizes

Franz Edelman Competition & Award

• Boasteel (with Logistics Institute of Northeastern University; RH Smith School of Business-University of Maryland; and School of Business and Economics-Loughborough University, U.K.), “Operations Research Transforms Boasteel’s Operations”
  
  
• Chevron Corporation, “Optimizing Chevron’s Refineries”
  
  
• Dell Inc. (with Dell Global Analytics), Dell’s Retail Transformation through Analytics”
  
  
• Delta Commissioner of Holland (with CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis; Delft University of Technology; Deltares; HKV Consultants; Ministry of Infrastructure & the Environment, The Hague; and Tilburg University), “Economically Efficient Floor Standard to Protect the Netherlands against Flooding”
  
  
• The Kroger Co. (with Wright State University), “Simulation and Optimization Improves Pharmacy Inventory Management at The Kroger Company”
  
  
• McKesson Corporation (with IBM T.J. Watson Research Center), “A Holistic Supply Chain Sustainability Management Solution”

INFORMS Prize
For effective integration of analytics into organizational decision making
2012 Winner: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Daniel H. Wagner Prize 
For excellence in operations research practice
2012 Winner: University of Southern California and United States Coast Guard

Innovative Applications in Analytics Award
For creative developments, applications and combinations of analytical techniques
Finalists:

• ConEdison, Columbia University and MIT

• General Electric Global Research

• IBM

UPS George D. Smith Prize
For effective and innovative preparation of students in O.R. practice
Finalists: Lehigh University, MIT and Naval Postgraduate School

Spreadsheet Guru Competition & Award
Recognizing the best in spreadsheet analysis