Analytics India Magazine brings the annual list of the 10 Most Influential Analytics Leaders who have done exceptional work in the field of analytics and data science in the last year. The list includes business leaders who have delivered value to the business, championed analytics and insight-driven decision in the organisation. Given the pace at which the analytics industry is growing, it needs leaders who can not only strategize and work on developing solutions but also work on getting the right talent to ensure the rapid growth of the business.
This year’s list includes a few leaders from our previous years’ list apart from new leaders who have taken analytics functionality in their organisations by storm and assisted in driving innovation and team growth.
The list is in alphabetical order.
Read our last year’s list here.
1. Arvind Nagpal
Founder & CEO at TEG Analytics
With 25+ years of management experience in building business units from the ground up, Arvind Nagpal predicted the future scale and relevance of the data sciences industry about a decade ago. He took that bet and moved back lock, stock and barrel to India to eventually setup TEG Analytics in 2009 with nothing more than a dream to drive business decisions using insights derived from data. A published author and frequent speaker with astute management abilities, he steered TEG Analytics from a largely unknown boot-strapped startup to a company that now proudly holds on its walls the logos of Fortune 500 clients like Clorox, Nike, Amway, FedEx, Kelloggs, Levis and many more.
Today Nagpal is driving the vision of TEG Analytics to become an impact player in the evolving amalgamation of data, technology and AI-driven advanced analytics. Just the last 24 months, his vision has steered TEG Analytics towards success in the Healthcare analytics space with a product-first strategy. Healthworks, the chief product in its arsenal, already boasts of a growing list of loyal clients that includes Blue Cross Blue Shield, John Hopkins, Priority Health…
A devoted family man, when he is not busy building value for clients and stakeholders, Nagpal can be found playing tennis and actively networking in the business community.
Read interview of Arvind Nagpal
2. Kaushik Ghate
SVP & Head, Consumer Analytics & Data Sciences at HDFC Bank
With more than 17 years of experience as an analytics and research professional, Ghate has core expertise in developing business cases, formulating relevant analytical solutions and predictive modelling across the customer life cycle. He has worked extensively in the areas of data-driven strategy formulation and implementation for customer acquisition, cross-sell, up-sell, retention and value build up.
He is currently the SVP and head of consumer analytics and data sciences at HDFC bank and has participated as a speaker at various national and international forums on analytics. Under his leadership, the Data Science team at HDFC Bank has won several professional awards such as Great Learning Award for ‘Best Data Sciences Project’ and Great Learning Award for ‘Best Big Data Implementation’ at Cypher 2017, among many others.
He has an MBA from Goa Institute of Management and is being featured in the list for the first time.
3. Noshin Kagalwalla
Vice President & Managing Director at SAS Institute (India) Pvt. Ltd.
A veteran in the analytics industry with over 24 years of experience, Noshin Kagalwalla has worked across many business functions. He is currently the vice president and managing director of SAS Institute (India) Pvt. Ltd., the Indian subsidiary of SAS Institute Inc – a leader in analytics software solutions.
In his current role, he is responsible for architecting the long-term vision, driving sales and customer strategies and maintaining SAS’ leadership position in the AI, big data analytics and business intelligence market in India. He joined SAS in December 2004 as part of the executive leadership team and took on the responsibility of MD in October 2013. He has significantly contributed to SAS India’s growth and established it as a strong brand synonymous with analytics, commanding over 50% of market share in the advanced analytics market in India.
Prior to SAS, he has held executive positions in multinationals such as Microsoft and TCS. Kagalwalla has an MBA from UCLA, an MS in Computer Engineering from Wright State University and a Bachelor’s in Engineering from V.J.T.I., Mumbai. Noshin is featured for second time on the list.
4. Prashant Rao
Head of Application Engineering at MathWorks India
MathWorks is the leading developer of mathematical computing software. Engineers and scientists worldwide rely on MathWorks products to accelerate the pace of discovery, innovation, and development. As Head of Application Engineering at MathWorks, Rao and his team focus on helping customers across industry verticals adopt relevant solutions for their application areas.
In this decade-long role, he has worked with customers ranging from startups to large enterprises enabling them to successfully drive towards data-driven AI modelling and analytics techniques. He is a strong believer of the fact that accessibility to large amounts of data, high computing power at a low cost and data-driven algorithms such as ML, deep learning and Reinforcement Learning have increasingly enabled researchers to develop scalable systems that are capable of high levels of autonomy.
Rao joined MathWorks in Germany in 2005 and has worked with customers in the area of signal processing, communications, and semiconductor domains before moving to India in 2009 to lead the MathWorks India Application Engineering team. Prior to joining MathWorks, Prashant worked at two semiconductor IP startup companies.
He has a masters equivalent degree (Dipl.-Ing.) in Microelectronics from the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg (TUHH), Germany. A regular speaker at industry events, Rao also works closely with the academic community to help develop analytical and AI related skills.
Read interview of Prashant Rao
5. Prithvijit Roy
CEO & Founder at BRIDGEi2i Analytics Solutions
Roy is the CEO and co-founder of BRIDGEi2i, a leading AI & analytics solutions company and a trusted partner to enterprises for driving digital transformation outcomes. With over two decades of experience in setting up and growing analytics businesses, Roy is one of the most respected leaders in the industry today. Like many reputed analytics leaders, he is a product of the Indian Statistical Institute and holds a Master’s Degree (MS) in Quantitative Economics.
A frequent speaker at international industry forums, he has authored several journals in elite publications. He is also a member of several industry councils and works with other leaders to drive change and bring about a revolution using disruptive technologies. Roy is also instrumental in conceptualising and bringing together analytics professionals with the community: Humans of Analytics.
At BRIDGEi2i, Roy and his team are busy building the next generation of AI solutions and products that are changing the way enterprises consume analytics insights. Passionate about delivering value to clients, the team at BRIDGEi2i brings together proprietary AI accelerators, domain consulting expertise and best-in-class analytics capabilities to build contextual solutions that help enterprises drive digital transformation outcomes. He is being featured in the list for the fourth time.
Read interview of Prithvijit. Prithvijit is featured for Fourth time on the list.
6. Ravi Vijayaraghavan
Vice President & Head- Analytics and Decision Sciences at Flipkart
Dr. Ravi Vijayaraghavan is a Vice President at Flipkart where he leads the Analytics and Decision Sciences organization. This team is responsible for leveraging data, analytics and science to drive decision-making and business impact across all areas of Flipkart including Marketing, Business, Supply Chain, Marketplace, Product, Pricing and Customer Experience.
Prior to joining Flipkart, Vijayaraghavan was the chief data scientist and global head of the analytics and data sciences organisation [24]7 inc. It is a Silicon Valley-based company that builds software products for customer service and sales. At [24]7 he was responsible for invention, development, implementation and optimisation of analytics and the machine learning-driven solutions that form the core of [24]7’s product offerings.
Before joining [24]7, he held a slew of leadership roles at Ford Motor Company and has been a recipient of the Henry Ford Technology Award – the highest technical recognition at Ford. He has also been the Vice President and part of the executive leadership team of Mu Sigma Inc.
With over 20 patent filings and refereed publications, and has also given keynotes at several international conferences. Vijayaraghavan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras, a PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an MBA from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. He currently lives in Bangalore with his wife and son. Ravi is featured for Fourth time on the list.
7. Ravinder Sharma
Global Sr. Director- Analytics, Insights & New Capabilities at AB InBev
Sharma is responsible for shaping growth-oriented analytics agenda at AB-InBev, the world’s largest brewer. In his words, “AB-InBev has a dream to transform itself from an investment bank that sells beer to a technology company that sells beer”. He has helped in scaling up the AB-InBev’s analytics COE.
He and a team of 150+ data scientists design E2E analytical solutions by integrating data, technology and advanced mathematical/statistical methods in the areas of forecasting, media & advertising, pricing, retail assortment, B2B, HR & investment optimization. With a full-service in-house analytics operation, he has been instrumental in internalising many foundational capabilities with breadth and depth reducing dependency on out-sourcing.
Prior to joining AB-InBev in its Global HQ in New York, Sharma worked for nine years in the San Francisco Bay area at The Clorox Co. where he learnt hands-on how to monetise analytics in a dynamic business environment and credits development of his personal tech DNA.
He is being featured for the first time on this list. Active on the speaker circuit, you will find him talking about his analytics journey and how he is nurturing data science talent with his 4Cs – Curiosity, Communication, Collaboration, Continuity – essentials of individual success curated over 14 years being in the industry.
Sharma has an M.B.A from the University of Connecticut, Storrs and an undergraduate degree in Engineering from BITS, Pilani, India.
8. Rohini Srivathsa
National Technology Officer at Microsoft India
As National Technology Officer at Microsoft India, Srivathsa is responsible for leading strategic initiatives to accelerate digital transformation across industries and the government. Over the past year, she has been instrumental in steering programs that leverage AI and other emerging exponential technologies to drive innovation for inclusive socio-economic growth. She is being featured on the list for the first time.
Srivathsa began her career in R&D at AT&T Bell Laboratories in the US. Prior to joining Microsoft, she has been in strategy consulting at Boston Consulting Group and IBM Global Business Services, working with clients across India and emerging markets. In her 25 years in the industry, she has held various roles in the areas of cloud, artificial intelligence, analytics and mobility, spanning across diverse sectors including financial services, telecom, consumer and technology.
She has over 20 technical publications to her credit in ACM/IEEE and other international journals. Srivathsa is also associated with the MIT Sloan School of Management as an expert for their program on Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy.
She earned her PhD in Computer Engineering from UT Austin and holds an MBA from Wharton. She is a voracious reader and loves Hindustani classical music and photography. She lives in Bangalore with her husband and two children.
9. Sandeep Mittal
Managing Director at Cartesian Consulting
Mittal is the founder and MD of Cartesian Consulting, a firm that has grown to be a leading light in the domestic analytics industry. With Cartesian, Mittal has developed a practice that has served over 200 clients across the globe and has more recently branched out into a Solutions division with some pathbreaking products that help marketers leverage analytics.
A frequent speaker in industry forums and academia, he is known for his storytelling and ability to add a creative spark to the way data is consumed. While Cartesian is now a full-fledged analytics firm, his favourite themes are still centred around customer analytics and how to build and leverage a Segment of One strategy.
His current focus is on expanding the product portfolio and the sales organization at Cartesian, whilst working closely on the roadmap of KYTE and SOLUS the two product offerings of Cartesian. He is being featured on the list for the fourth time.
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Mittal stays connected with music – writing and recording songs in a home studio from which he’s recorded three albums. He also runs a webcomic of his cartoons, many of which are around humour in data analytics.Sandeep is featured for Fourth time on the list.
10. Shub Bhowmick
CEO & Principal at Tredence
Bhowmick brings 21 years of consulting experience with an emphasis on technology strategy,
M&A integration and operations improvement. He has been instrumental in establishing and running high impact projects in a wide range of industries. Bhowmick’s key asset is his ability to breakdown complex problems, identify risks, assess business value and then provide recommendations on remediation/value attainment.
He is the CEO and founder of Tredence which provides actionable and quantifiable analytics solutions to marketing, sales and operational issues with a wide industry focus. Prior to founding Tredence, Bhowmick held senior executive positions in DiamondConsultants (now PwC), Mu Sigma, Liberty Advisor Group and Infosys Technologies.
He holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Technology with honours in Chemical Engineering from IIT-BHU in India. He is being featured on the list for the first time.
