Presented By
O’Reilly + Cloudera
Make Data Work
29 April–2 May 2019
London, UK
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Executive Briefing: Analytics for executives

Brandy Freitas (Pitney Bowes)
11:1511:55 Thursday, 2 May 2019
Average rating: ****.
(4.71, 7 ratings)

Level

Beginner

What you'll learn

  • Gain a solid background in current data science topics, with examples of where and how data science it being used, what the value is, and how to effectively communicate about the field

Description

To bring data science into the forefront of our business strategies effectively, we all need to be speaking the same language. Because there must be participation and input from all sources, from the C-suite to the analyst, we cannot continue to obfuscate through complicated tech talk, nor should we boil down elegant solutions so that they barely resemble what they actually are. Finding a common ground is critical in moving data science forward in all industries.

Brandy Freitas walks you through developing an approachable vocabulary for managers and executives to confidently and informatively speak with their data scientists and analysts and, equally importantly, for data scientists to speak with their less technical colleagues.

Topics include:

  • Developing language around data science and analytics from a nontechnical standpoint
  • Supervised and unsupervised learning techniques
  • How to ask questions in an analytical way
  • Demystifying the vocabulary around tools that data scientists use in analysis
  • Big data: What is it, and how do I know if I have it? What can it do for my industry? How can I explain its value to my colleagues and company leadership?
  • Hiring: Where do I find data scientists, and what kinds of skills are really important in growing my group? What kind of language should I use in seeking applicants?
  • Deep learning: When is it appropriate to use, and what are its practical advantages? What kind of questions can I solve using deep learning, and how would I communicate this to my staff or my stakeholders?
Photo of Brandy Freitas

Brandy Freitas

Pitney Bowes

Brandy Freitas is a principal data scientist at Pitney Bowes, where she works with clients in a wide variety of industries to develop analytical solutions for their business needs. Brandy is a research-physicist-turned-data-scientist based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her academic research focused primarily on protein structure determination, applying machine learning techniques to single-particle cryoelectron microscopy data. Brandy is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and a James Mills Pierce Fellow. She holds an undergraduate degree in physics and chemistry from the Rochester Institute of Technology and did her graduate work in biophysics at Harvard University.