Valuable content, dynamic analytics speakers destined for Denver

Editor's note: The 2020 INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics and Operations Research was canceled on March 13, 2020 due to the outbreak and expansion of COVID-19. Click here to read the full cancellation statement from INFORMS.

The 2020 INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics and Operations Research will be held April 26-28 in Denver. The conference will bring together more than a thousand leading analytics and industry professionals to share ideas, network and learn about the possibilities that can be generated by analytics. Attendees from more than 400 companies and virtually all industries (plus some from academia and government) will convene to hear 150 carefully selected talks from leading analytics practitioners.

Regardless of where your organization is on its analytics journey, or how you classify yourself (analyst, operations researcher, data scientist, etc.), you will find valuable content and a great opportunity to network and advance your career. Professionals with tried and true experience will tell you how analytics has worked for them, the impact on the success of their businesses and how you can apply analytics more effectively.

Diverse, Dynamic Speakers

The INFORMS staff, Invited Track Committee and Selected Track Committee (consisting of analytics experts from industry, academia and consortia) hand-picked industry giants and diverse, dynamic speakers for nine tracks each day created to give attendees useful techniques, new approaches and practical information regarding all aspects of business analytics. Topic tracks include: Analytics Leadership, Analytics in the Public Sector, Emerging Analytics, Marketing Analytics, Revenue Management and Pricing, and Supply Chain. Additionally, there are tracks featuring the finalists in the 2020 Franz Edelman Competition, and recipients of other institute-wide prizes (Wagner Prize, INFORMS Prize, UPS George D. Smith Prize).

This year, owing to the importance of analytics related to people in the workforce and conference location, conference organizers have included tracks on People Analytics. Due to the conference location, there will also be a track on Analytics in Recreation and Tourism.

Kate Darling, a leading expert in social robotics and a research specialist at the MIT Media Lab, will give the opening plenary address on “The Future of Human-Robot Interaction.” She will explore the emotional connection between people and life-like machines, and seek to influence technology design and policy direction by anticipating difficult questions that lawmakers, engineers and the wider public will need to address as human-robot relationships evolve in the coming decades.

The second day’s plenary speaker, Bill Franks, is the chief analytics officer at the International Association for Analytics (IIA). His talk, “The Ethics of Analytics,” will cover a range of ethical, privacy and legal issues that surround analytics and artificial intelligence today. In his role with IIA, Franks provides perspective on trends in the analytics space and translating complex analytics into terms that business users can understand.

Both of these thought leaders will share their expertise regarding ethical issues in analytics and artificial intelligence. If you have followed these speakers on LinkedIn or other social media, you would concur that their provocative, interesting and impactful ideas coupled with their experience will provide the right start to kick off each day of this event.

Denver, “The Mile High City” and the capital of Colorado, is near the mountains, but not in them. The city receives 300 days of sunshine each year, is a cultural city with the second highest educated population in America, and is home to seven professional sports teams. With a history that dates back to the tumultuous American Wild West, when it served as a cornerstone for the gold rush in the surrounding Rocky Mountains, Denver marries its reputation as a popular outdoor adventure spot with a booming food and music scene, and is also home to the core industries of healthcare and financial services.

The Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora, Colo., is located four miles from the Denver International Airport and will serve as the conference venue. Conference attendees are sure to enjoy the hospitality of the Gaylord and the beauty of Colorado.

Key Areas of Interest

As the general chair for this year’s conference, I am extremely honored to be working with experienced, successful and respected analytics professionals to help select key areas of interest and exciting speakers. Our knowledgeable volunteer members come from: Concurrent Technologies, DataPrime, Disney, Dell, DoD Joint AI Center, FICO, Guidehouse, Intel, Innovative Decisions, Kennesaw State University, MITRE, Princeton Consultants, Salesforce, University of Notre Dame, University of South Carolina and Wikalytics. 

To give you an idea of the level of our speakers’ analytics ability combined with excellent communications, a few of the speakers we have confirmed include: Felipe Caro, UCLA; Swami Chandrasekaran, KPMG; Robin Dillon-Merrill, Georgetown University; Laureano Gomez, Epsilon; Mary Lou Hall, DoD Joint AI Center; Jack Jones, RiskLens; Brad Powley, Salesforce; Steve Roemerman, Lone Star Analytics; Kevin Roth, National Recreation & Park Association; and Jeremy TerBush, Simon Property Group.

In addition, we offer an Analytics Career Fair that brings dozens of top employers to Denver, all looking for top-notch analytics and data science professionals. Starting on April 26 from 1-6 p.m., bring your resume and meet these companies. They will be interviewing during the entire three days – good luck!

One of the annual highlights of the conference, the 2020 Edelman Gala and presentation of the Franz Edelman Award for achievement in analytics and operations research, will take place the evening of April 27. This international award has been presented since 1972 and has celebrated and honored outstanding applied work in business and government from around the world. This year’s finalists include: Amazon, Carnival Corporation, Deutsche Bahn, IMB, Intel and Walmart Labs. 

Collaborative, Comprehensive Approach

Nowhere else will you find such a collaborative, comprehensive approach to analytics, data science and operations research practice than the INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics and Operations Research. From talks involving real-world case studies to networking with industry giants, attendees will gain the necessary insights to solve the pressing business problems in every sector. Join us April 26-28 at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center. The early registration rate of $1,175 for INFORMS members and $1,470 for nonmembers ends March 30. If you’re a newcomer, we encourage you to check us out and enjoy a further discounted rate of $1,070.

This is an exciting time for those of us in the analytics and operations research profession. Nearly every company and government organization are considering how to improve its use of data, analytics and operations research. The Edelman competition plainly shows how people and the environment are being helped throughout the world through better use of resources, more effective distribution of medicine and food, and overall better decision-making.

For more details and information or to register for the conference, visit: www.analytics2020.com.

We hope to see you in Colorado!