40 Under 40 Data Scientists 2023 – Who are they?
Following two action-packed days of workshops, conferences, paper presentations, and tech talks, Machine Learning Developers Summit 2023 concluded by awarding 40 dynamic data scientists with the 40 Under 40 Data Scientists award. The award recognises innovators and their achievements in the machine learning and analytics industry. Here is the list of winners of the 40 Under 40 Data Scientists (in alphabetical order): Aakash Kathuria, General Manager/Head – Business Growth, Lenskart Solutions Private Limited Aakash is a seasoned analytics leader with 15+ years experience and has been instrumental in driving data and insight-led transformations. Over his career, he has worked closely with biz functions to drive revenue and achieve aggressive market growth by leveraging more than 50 analytical approaches. He also has experience in launching AI and tech-based solutions like Omni Channel Attribution, Customer Segmentation, Customer-360, Supply Chain Efficiency, Workforce Management and more at telecom, media, FMCG, retail, and ecommerce industries. Abhilash Surendran, Assistant Vice President, Insights and Analytics – Merkle Abhilash Surendran is assistant vice president, analytics, and data science at Merkle, leading the analytics practise for their high-tech portfolio. He comes with 15+ years of experience in advanced analytics, data science, data visualisation and consulting. He was previously part of Mu Sigma where, over the course of ten years, he went on to deliver analytics solutions for a portfolio of accounts across pharma, retail, CPG, and energy verticals. Abhishek Mishra, Vice President – Senior Manager of Analytics, MarshMclennan With over 13 years of expertise in the information technology services and product business as a data science professional, Abhishek Mishra is committed to using his data science knowledge and engineering talents to access, comprehend, and express insights from sizable data sets to aid in growth plans, product development, and crucial business decisions. He has technical credentials such as Analytics Core from Harvard Business School, Data Science Associate from EMC, and Edge AI developer from Intel. He is also a Six Sigma Black and Scrum Alliance Certified Product Owner. Aditya Durai, Delivery Unit Head at Math Company A seasoned data science expert, Aditya Durai currently spearheads multiple enterprise-wide initiatives and delivers successful business outcomes for leading Fortune100 enterprises. His in-depth knowledge of algorithm design, statistics, and machine learning has enabled him to build over 100 solutions as well as act in an advisory capacity to Fortune500 enterprises for data science solutions across merchandising, pricing, and trade promotion optimization. Aditya also plays a significant role in building the data science talent at MathCo by designing the organisation’s learning and development strategy and being deeply involved in their training. Aditya Kumar Pal, Associate Director – Head of Artificial Intelligence, Lendingkart Aditya has a rich experience of more than ten years in the domain of data sciences and AI. He has worked with more than 50 stakeholders over the past decade to solve their problems using data and algorithms across multiple functions such as customer analytics, pricing analytics, assortment analytics and marketing analytics. Recently, Aditya won the “AI Impact changemaker award” from one of the largest Analytics federations of India. Anurodh Kumar Gupta, Head Data Science Compliance – Societe Generale Global Solution Centre Anurodh is a data and AI leader with 14 years of experience in strategy and consulting and business process improvement across multiple domains like banking, telecom, healthcare, retail and more. He is an alumnus of IIT-Madras and has good experience of establishing data science teams from scratch for US & European MNCs. As consultant, he has supported C-Suite of his client organisations in achieving their digital agenda. Anurodh is also a President Awardee in Bharat Scouts and Guides. He loves to give back to the community and is passionate about teaching. Dr Anusuya Kirubakaran, Lead Assistant Vice President – HSBC Dr Anusuya Kirubakaran is driving innovations in the banking sector’s analytical domain especially discovering business insights from challenging unstructured free text data. She has completed Doctorate in computer science by solving analytical problems and published papers in leading Scopus-indexed journals. She developed a generic, reusable, extensible text analytics tool using NLP, AI/ML-based hybrid techniques which speeds up the text analytics phases and is part of NLP-as-a-Service. Arvind Jayakumar, Director of Technology, Artificial Intelligence – Springer Nature Group Arvind Jayakumar is an alumnus of BITS Pilani, Osmania University, and the University of Oxford, he has nearly one-and-a-half decade worth of experience in data engineering, data science, and AI/ML. In his current role, he is building SN Group’s AI CoE and is working to industrialise the usage of AI/ML and its associated best practices across the firm. Ashwini Chandrashekharaiah, Senior Manager – Walmart Global Tech India Along with Walmart, Ashwini Chandrashekharaiah is also leading Data Science products for Data Ventures, a data commercialization initiative. She has over 12 years of experience in the retail industry spanning across domains of Pricing, Assortment, Customer, Security and Data Insights leading to multi-million-dollar impact products, as well as helping the business teams in their strategic activities. She is also an active member of the Women in Data Science (WiDS) initiative and is a passionate mentor for budding AI enthusiasts. Balaji Jagan, Associate Manager – Data Science (NLP), Allstate India Data scientist with specialisation in NLP, Balaji Jagan has 15+ years of research and industry experience, working on diverse machine learning problems. He has been working in Allstate Solutions Pvt. Ltd for more than four years as an Associate Manager – Data Science (NLP), leading the Business Solutions team. He has filed 8 patents out of which 7 have been granted. Balaji has published more than 20 research articles in International conferences and International Journals. Deekshant Saxena, Global Director – Software Engineering, AI & ML, research, HERE Technologies A global director of Software Engineering and Research at HERE Technologies, Deekshant Saxena spans a team of more than 200 data scientists, researchers, senior engineers globally. He joined HERE Technologies in 2017 and over the last five years, he has been instrumental in driving research and innovation thereby driving new business opportunities focusing customer centricity on various domains, markets and geographies. Deepak Singh, Principal – Analytics, Dr. Reddy’s Deepak Singh is an analytics leader with over 13 years of experience and expertise in delivering top-line business impact through innovative use of data and productising analytical solutions across the business value chain. He is currently heading the Data and Analytics practice for Dr. Reddy’s PSAI Business and is instrumental in unlocking business value through various Analytics products and solutions. One of the products, JARVIS (AI/ML-powered Data Intelligence and Analytics Platform), was recently awarded ‘Top Domestic Firms using AI/ML’ in Cypher 2022. Deepika Kaushal, Deputy Vice President – Piramal Finance With 15 years of experience in data science and business analytics, Deepika Kaushal is currently working as a Deputy Vice President at Piramal Finance leading everyday AI and digital practices. She works in the areas of process improvement and works with stakeholders from sales planning, marketing, HR, customer service and operations and audit. She has also worked with firms like Fractal analytics, Zebra technologies, Cognizant, WNS, Sapient and others. Deepika has also worked for many fortune 500 clients like Coca Cola, Pepsico, TE connectivity, Mahindra Automotive, Tommy Hilfiger, Philips, Unilever, Telstra, and Insurance Australia Group. Divyan Kavdia, Assistant Vice President – Max Life Insurance Company Ltd With an experience of more than 12 years, Divyan Kavdia has been associated with MaxLife since the last 5 years. He has a rich diversified professional experience across industries like BFSI, FMCG, CPG, banking, insurance, & taxation. As an AI leader at Max Life, Divyan has been instrumental in carving the AI-Works team as a unit to provide MLI Launchpad on embedding intelligence in traditional processes thereby transforming processes with AI/ML at core. Dr Santosh Karthikeyan, Associate Director, Clinical Programming – AstraZeneca A certified data management professional, Dr Santosh Karthikeyan is involved in providing strategic, technical, and operational leadership for the data and analytics platform in R&D. He has led data science projects on predicting adverse drug reactions in Life Sciences and managed teams in digital and analytics practice. His research papers are published in various national and international journals. Dr Santosh Karthikeyan has also participated in National and International conferences. Hirdesh Khanna, Asst. Vice President and Lead Data Scientist – HDFC Bank Ltd. With over 13 years of experience in applied analytics, ranging from ML to stochastic processes like Markov’s chain and many more, Hirdesh Khanna is a key team member at HDFC Bank for driving digital business that has helped transform the marketing department as a revenue function for the bank. He was also recently conferred as the “Data Science Professional of the Year – 2022” at the Future of Data and AI Summit 2022 organised by UBS Forum Pvt. Ltd. Hitesh Nahata, Senior Manager, Capabilities – MiQ Hitesh Nahata has over 12 years of experience delivering analytical solutions to business problems across functions for Fortune 500 companies in CPG and Retail. At MIQ, he leads the global advanced analytics capabilities team from their Centre of Excellence in Bangalore. Hitesh has a PGDM from MICA specialising in Market Research and Analytics and an undergraduate degree in Engineering from Mumbai University specialising in information technology. Jitendra Gupta, Data Science Leader – Baker Hughes Data science leader with 14 years of experience in solving critical problems in finance, oil and gas, and retail organisations, Jitendra Gupta, has worked across companies and geographies, helping design, develop and deploy data and analytics solutions. He has substantial experience with machine learning, deep learning, NLP, and computer vision. In addition to his role as Baker Hughes’ data science leader, he has worked with a range of other clients including General Motors, General Electric, Best Buy, and HSBC. Kumar Abhishek, Senior Machine Learning Engineer – Expedia Group As a senior ML engineer for Expedia, Kumar is leading efforts on fraud detection and prevention. He uses NLP for risk analysis and fraud detection for various Expedia brands. Additionally, Kumar is personally responsible for designing and implementing several highly effective efficiency measures, including record low latency and heavily optimising the machine learning pipeline. Previously, he worked for Microsoft on Cortana and has an M.S. in CS from the University of Florida. Nakul Laad, Head of Analytics – Dunzo Nakul Laad has been working in the field of data analytics for the last 13+ years. He has built world-class analytics capabilities across professional services and product companies. Currently, he is heading the analytics team at Dunzo where they work on solving some complex hyperlocal logistics problems using advanced analytics. Nakul previously held a leadership role at Swiggy where he led strategy and analytics. Parimesh Panda, Senior Manager – Genpact In his current capacity at Genpact, Parimesh Panda is a senior consulting leader in AI and ML with superlative expertise in blueprinting, strategy and business development, go-to-market pipeline creation and solution execution of digital transformation programmes. He leads AI and ML maturity assessments and drives growth in customer engagements by creating and sharing whitepaper articles on state-of-the-art AI/ML technologies and practices. Pramod R, Director, Data Science – Falabella Pramod R comes with a wide range of AI/ML expertise ranging from recommendation systems, NLP, reinforcement learning, deep neural networks, big data processing technologies, massive parallel computing, web development, and more, using numerous open source technologies. He holds a patent on reinforcement learning, has presented papers in international conferences, given talks at various meetups and is featured in notable international journals. Pramod brings in 16+ years of rich experience in building high end AI solutions. Praveen Jesudhas, Associate Director – Data Science, Tiger Analytics Praveen Jesudhas has 13+ years of experience in utilising data science aligned with technology to add client value both across services and product organisations. Currently, he focuses on enhancing capabilities to better execute computer vision-based projects at Tiger Analytics. For the past seven years at Tiger Analytics, Praveen has played a key role in solving several client problems across domains such as insurance, manufacturing, sports analytics, and social media using his expertise. Preetam Biswas, Head Analytics – Aditya Birla Health Insurance Preetam is an MDI Gurgaon MBA graduate with 15 years of experience, currently heading the analytics department in Aditya Birla Health Insurance and driving the overall Analytics initiatives across the organisation involving all stakeholders. He has a rich experience in BFSI and telecom industry and has worked for organisations like Kotak Life, Axis Bank, Vodafone Idea, Kantar, and Capgemini. Preity Yadav, Manager (Strategic Information Systems) – Indian Oil Corporation Limited Preity Yadav has expertise in core business domains and core technical skills such as advanced analytics, systems integration, data management, hardware management, architecture design and networking which helps in the identification, conceptualisation, development, and evaluation of initiatives Indian Oil envisages under its digital transformation journey. She is responsible for delivering high-impact advanced analytics machine learning solutions such as predictive maintenance, yield optimisation, revenue maximisation and more. Pritam Banerjee, AVP – Advanced Analytics, Chubb Pritam has worked extensively in areas of advanced analytics, optimisation, and strategy. He has been instrumental in setting up and scaling analytics centres of excellence delivering AI-enabled solutions. He has led cross-functional diverse teams across APAC, EMEA and NA and has been highly recommended by clients and stakeholders alike. In his current role as AVP Advanced Analytics at Chubb, Pritam leads the Claims and Unstructured Center of Excellence, working with cross-border teams to develop large scale AI solutions. Rahul Pandey, Associate Vice President – Advanced Analytics & Applied AI, Course5 Intelligence Rahul Pandey has 14 years of experience leading end-to-end design and development of analytics and solutions across diverse industry segments—beyond automotive, retail and CPG, supply chain, and manufacturing. He has built and led a multi-disciplinary team of domain SMEs, data architects, data engineers, data scientists, and technology experts in India and the US. Currently, he drives a global practice cohort of Industry 5.0, Media, and Telecom for Course5 Intelligence in Advanced Analytics & Applied AI. Rai Rajani Vinodkumar, Global Director Data Science – AB InBev Rai Rajani is a highly accomplished AI professional and a digital transformation lead and has a career spanning 12 years. She leads the team of data scientists assigned to multiple analytics products supporting marketing, sales, and operations business units across the globe. She has designed and implemented data science methodology, and best practices to productise scalable initiatives across functions. Rai Rajani has contributed to many talent building activities by conceptualising data science career paths and designing skill assessments for building and retaining best data science talent. Sachin Chaudhari, Manager – Charge Management Data Science, Maersk Sachin Chaudhari is an experienced data scientist with a demonstrated history of solving critical business problems using AI/ML. He specialises in AI and operations research techniques at Maersk. His strong belief in data driven decision making and research focused mindset has helped Maersk develop innovative solutions for pricing and revenue optimization. Sachin is an integral part of ‘Innovation, Data Science and Automation’ (IDA) CoE at Maersk which has been recognized globally through various awards by organisations such as NASSCOM, Zinnov, 3AI, Analytics India Magazine, etc. Sateesh Gottumukkala, Head of AI Engineering Centre of Excellence (Associate Director, Data Science) – LTIMindtree Sateesh has nearly 13 years of experience in working with data science, AI/ML, MLOps, and real-world business problems across different domains. He leads the AI Engineering Centre of Excellence at LTIMindtree. He has previously worked as a Senior Data Scientist at Sogeti (Capgemini Group) where he implemented Data Science and ML solutions for Banking, Insurance, Mining and Telecom customers. Prior to that, he worked as Research Associate at National Aerospace Laboratories where he worked on mathematical models on wind tunnel data for designing delta wing configurations. Seema Nagar, Staff Research Scientist – IBM Research, India For the past fifteen years, Seema Nagar has been researching in the field of computer science and has over 45 publications in eminent conferences and journals along with more than 150 patents filed. She has been named a master inventor for two consecutive terms. She has also been part of the reviewer committee of many eminent conferences, such as IJCAI, NAACL, IEEE Cloud and ACL. Seema has earned several research awards in IBM Research India, including three Outstanding Technical Achievement Awards for her work on social network analysis and trustworthy AI. Shuaib Ahmed S, Technical Manager – Mercedes Benz R&D India Dr Shuaib Ahmed is responsible for algorithm research, design, and development for interior cameras in Mercedes Benz cars. His research work has been published in conferences and workshops like CVPR, ECCV and NeurIPS. He has filed 20 patent applications. His area of interests are active learning, continuous learning, explainable AI, and learning from multiple domains. He holds a PhD from Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research. Dr Ahmed has delivered lectures in many tier-2 and tier-3 colleges to create awareness among students and faculties for AI and data science. Siddhant Verma, Department Manager – Usha International Ltd. With over nine years of experience in data science and AI, Siddhant Verma has expertise in designing and developing high impact solutions that help companies across various verticals such as sales planning, supply chain, recommendation engines for B2B customers, demand planning and forecasting, and others. Along with the love for writing ML/AI code and churning data, he thrives on solving business problems with data and communicating the solution clearly, concisely and in actionable stories. Sudalai Rajkumar – 4x Kaggle Grandmaster Sudalai Rajkumar (SRK) is a Kaggle Quadruple Grandmaster and is currently the head of AI and ML at Growfin.ai. He has more than 12 years of experience in the data science field and has built scalable AI/ML products. SRK has also done data science consulting for enterprises as part of his career at H2O.ai, Freshworks, Tiger analytics and Global Analytics. He is an alumnus of PSG College of Technology and IIM-Bangalore. Sunil Kumar Singh, Sr Director, Artificial Intelligence (AI Engineering) – IQVIA Sunil is a graduate from IIT-Roorkee and has 15+ years of professional experience across industry verticals. He currently heads the AI and Machine Learning Center of Excellence at IQVIA. Sunil has an extensive experience of 12+ years in healthcare analytics—leading advanced data science projects, developing innovative AI ML solutions and creating next gen data science assets for various large and emerging pharma companies. Suresh Sethuramaswamy, Engineering Lead – Data and AI for FSI, Microsoft Suresh Sethuramaswamy is a data and analytics leader with over 15 years of extensive international experience, ranging from heading data platforms to leading the Analytics Center of Excellence for Banking and capital markets. Suresh built many award-winning predictive analytics and alternative data platforms. In his most recent role at Microsoft, Suresh leads product development efforts for the financial services industry-specific differential data and analytics products. He is an advisory member of Forbes Technology Council and a senior member of IEEE Princeton. Suvajit Mukhopadhyay, Principal Solution Architect and Data Scientist – Uno Bank With 16 years of industry experience, Suvajit Mukhopadhyay has designed large scale enterprise digital transformation programmes in banking and financial services domain. He has built complex AI Models for use cases around KYC, customer analytics, bank statement analysis, risk analysis and fraud detection. He is also a trainer, mentor and researcher having trained more than 1,000 learners in data science and AI in diploma and postgraduate programmes. Syed Mohammad Imran Hashmi, co-founder and Chief Analytics Officer – Loyalytics Consulting LLP Imran is a data science and analytics leader with more than 13 years of experience in setting up and leading high performing data science teams. He has developed and deployed solutions across industries and markets by leveraging the power of data, machine learning and engineering. In 2015, Imran, along with two other co-founders, started ‘Loyalytics Consulting’, a boutique data science and analytics company with the vision to help businesses scale and systematise data-driven decision-making through the power of machine learning and AI. Varsha Singh, Chief Manager – Data Scientist, Reliance Securities Ltd. Varsha is a seasoned data scientist with a total of seven years of experience in the finance domain. She is also a visiting Professor in NMIMS university. Previously, she has worked with organisations like SBI-MF, Kotak Securities, Reliance Capital and Cognizant. She has developed several machine learning models in the organisation to solve business problems and improve customer experience. Her expertise lies in fraud detection, churn analysis, next-based product recommendation model and competition analysis.
40 Under 40 Data Scientists award recognises innovators and their achievements in the machine learning and analytics industry.
Following two action-packed days of workshops, conferences, paper presentations, and tech talks, Machine Learning Developers Summit 2023 concluded by awarding 40 dynamic data scientists with the 40 Under 40 Data Scientists award. The award recognises innovators and their achievements in the machine learning and analytics industry.
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Mohit writes about AI in simple, explainable, and often funny words. He's especially passionate about chatting with those building AI for Bharat, with the occasional detour into AGI.