20 Emerging Influencers in 2020 for Big Data, Data Science, & Analytics
You might have not heard most of these names yet, but you surely will soon.
This list is designed to recognize emerging talent in the fields of data and analytics – mostly entrepreneurs and up-and-coming talent who are informing, educating and inspiring others through data. They come from different sectors and backgrounds – from data architecture to visualization. The one thing that unites them is their passion for data.
This list is a tribute to their efforts to help individuals and organizations become more data-driven. Most of them are regular speakers on these topics, and often share invaluable gems of knowledge across their social channels.
So follow them to keep a close eye on their respective journeys. The list below is not a ranking, but a resource for data enthusiasts and professionals to connect with emerging talent and influencers in the data space.
1. Jordan Morrow, Global Head of Data Literacy at Qlik
Jordan is on a mission to close the data literacy skills gap and establish a data-centric culture, dispelling the myth that only data scientists are qualified to work on data analytics.
As the Global Head of Data Literacy at Qlik, he helps individuals and organizations realize their data and analytical potential by strengthening their data literacy. In addition, Jordan is co-host of the Transformation Nation Podcast, where you will find inspiring stories, lessons, strategies, and tactics to maximize your potential.
2. Kimberly M Herrington, Data Journalist & Creator of WifiWarriors
Kimberly believes that anyone can work with data & analytics if they have passion, limitless curiosity, and are not afraid to fail. She is a data journalist for BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York, a division of HealthNow New York Inc., one of New York’s leading health care companies.
During this recent healthcare crisis, Kimberly created WifiWarriors, an NGO connecting people and resources to increase internet access. Their goal is to help facilitate free, no-strings-attached access to WiFi during this public health crisis.
3. Kate Stachnyi, Data Visualization Specialist & Founder of DATAcated
Kate is a true data visualization leader and an active voice in the community. She founded the DATAcated Academy, a product agnostic resource focused on delivering training on data visualization best practices. In addition, she is currently building over a dozen Data to Dashboard courses that can take you from looking at ‘data’ to designing a ‘dashboard’ using several tools.
4. Mico Yuk, CEO of BI Brainz Group and Host of Analytics on Fire Podcast
Mico is a BI powerhouse. Her BI & Analytics consulting company, BI Brainz makes it easier for CIO, CDOs, and Business Intelligence leaders to work with their users to create data visualizations that are story driven, have high user adoption and use SMART KPIs.
She’s on a mission to make BI applications more visually appealing and easier to use. In addition, she is the host of Analytics on Fire Podcast, a forum to learn all about analytics, design, data visualization, mobility, cloud, internet of things and much more.
5. Kristen Kehrer, Data Science Instructor, UC Berkley & Founder, Data Moves Me
Kristen is not only a Data Science academic but also created Data Moves Me, a company to help data science teams interpret their machine learning models and fully communicate the caveats, influential variables, and paint a vivid picture of the model in a way that their stakeholders will understand.
Her expertise in machine learning helps businesses that need to build trust and excitement around predictive modeling work across the organization.
6. Sam Newman, Independent Technology Consultant, author of Building Microservices
Sam is an independent consultant working worldwide, specializing in the area of microservices, cloud, and continuous delivery. His most famous book, Building Microservices, is already about to drop its 2nd edition.
The book is aimed at data practitioners and architects to help them understand what microservices are, including the advantages and disadvantages, and contains lots of practical advice to help implement microservices in your own organisation.
7. Edward Beaurain, Director of Sales Operations and Programs at Tableau
Edward understands like no other the intersection between sales and data. He has worked for over five years in multiple commercial roles for data visualization leader Tableau, where he is currently Director of Sales Operations and Programs.
If you are a data-driven sales professional, you should definitely check out Edward’s podcast in which he showcases ways how data can be leveraged as the most powerful sales ally.
8. Hilary Mason, Data Scientist at Accel Partners & Co-founder Hack NY
Hilary Mason is working on something new, so watch this space! We’re looking forward to seeing what she’s building. Her expertise in data as Accel Partners Data Scientist as well as her past experience leading machine learning at Cloudera makes us think whatever she does next will be worth following.
In addition, Hilary co-founded hackNY, a non-profit organization that mentors the next generation of engineering talent for New York’s creative technology community.
9. Jason Krantz, CEO & Founder of Strategy Titan
Jason has been successful in translating data and analytical insights into actionable business strategies and activities that drive higher revenues, greater margins, and market/wallet share growth.
With like-minded data scientists and strategists, Jason formed Strategy Titan, a data analytics company that helps organizations grow their top lines, bottom lines, and valuations by “weaponizing” data and transforming it into a competitive advantage.
Jason is also Co-host of the podcast Transformation Nation, where he explores alongside Jason Morrow (also on this list!) key tools and strategy for personal and professional transformation.
10. Justin Butlion, Analytics Specialist and Founder of Project BI
Justin isn’t only an expert in analytics but also a true entrepreneur. He has founded a number of businesses including Feedio (distribution tool for content creators) and ProjectBI, an amazing resource to help analysts provide massive value to their businesses, with videos and articles on a wide range of topics including product analytics, data visualization, career development, and much more. Justin is on a mission to help companies tackle their biggest data-related challenges.
11. Ilan Zaitoun, CTO & Co-Founder of Vision.bi
Ilan is a data mastermind. He Co-founded Vision.bi, a leading data company that delivers high-scale data platforms and analytics for both enterprises and startups – and recently developed Snowly, a tool for Snowflake users to keep track of their cloud platform costs.
Ilan has helped over 200 companies change the way their businesses organize and treat data. His in-depth expertise in data architecture and data pipelines includes establishing data processing infrastructures in most of the databases in the market.
As a leading force in cloud data management, Ilan recently received the Person of The Year Award by Snowflake in 2019.
12. Eric Weber, GM Experimentation at Yelp
Eric is the GM of experimentation and a data science leader at Yelp. He has an impressive resume, having worked in leadership and individual contributor roles at Yelp, LinkedIn, and CoreLogic after an academic career as an assistant professor.
Eric loves working with data, educating others about data’s value and helping people excel in technical roles.
13. Bruno Aziza, Group Vice President, AI & Data Analytics Cloud at Oracle
Bruno specializes in scaling businesses & turning them into global leaders. He helped launch Alpine Data Labs (bought by Tibco), AppStream (bought by Symantec), SiSense (bought Periscope Data) & AtScale.
He specializes in high-growth SaaS, enterprise software, everything data, analytics, data science and artificial intelligence. In addition, Bruno has written two books on Data Analytics and Enterprise Performance Management.
14. Andreas Kretz, CEO & Founder, Team Data Science
Andreas has been recognized by LinkedIn as a Top Voice in Data Science & Analytics in 2018 and 2019. His company Team Data Science has courses and tools to help people get into data engineering.
His goal is to provide all the resources needed to learn data engineering and also provide a platform for collaboration. In addition, you should check out Andrea’s Data Engineering Cookbook and his YouTube channel.
15. Ken Jee, Content Creator and Head of Data Science at Scouts Consulting Group
Ken is a master in sports analytics. For the past five years, he has been analyzing sports and business problems, working with three major sports organizations and amassing an arsenal of analytic techniques.
His fast-growing YouTube Channel explores multiple aspects of data science, from tips on how to kickstart a career in data science, to videos with step-by-step guides to build a data science project from scratch.
16. Matt Dancho, Founder & CEO, Business Science
In Matt’s own words, “There’s nothing better than extracting insights and making better decisions with data.” Matt is the Founder & CEO of Business Science, where he teaches data science. In addition, he designs and teaches custom workshops for businesses, with past clients including S&P Global Market Intelligence & MRM McCann.
If you want to get involved, every two weeks Matt hosts a FREE & LIVE webinar on advanced, intermediate, or cutting-edge topics in data science, app development, or machine learning.
17. Rob Silva, Sales Engineer Manager, Snowflake Computing
Rob has worked with some of the leading data management companies in the world, including Microsoft, IBM, and currently Snowflake. He is an experienced pre-sales leader that understands the importance of focusing on value.
His efforts and success were recently awarded as he was named Sales Engineer Manager of The Year in 2019 by Snowflake.
18. Sarah Nooravi, Snr Financial Analyst, Snap Inc.
Sarah is a data junkie. In her own words “Question Everything. Answer with data.” You should definitely follow Sarah on LinkedIn, where she frequently posts insightful tips and advice on data science, productivity, and business excellence.
Prior to Snap, Sarah has worked as a data scientist across multiple industries and companies including Fox, Operam, and MobilityWire. Her advice and insight is always refreshing and smart.
19. Sebastian Elkan, Data Scientist and Founder of Innovadomains
Sebastian is an interdisciplinary engineer, experienced in data analytics, business intelligence, project management, process improvement, and teaching. In addition, he is the founder of Innovadomains (new site launching soon!).
He is passionate about data science and helping people build their domain portfolio – understanding domains as strategic digital assets to manage online reputation and positioning. In addition, Sebastian is a seasoned speaker and trainer in data science and analytics.
20. Favio Vazquez, Professor in Data Science & CEO of Closter
Favio is one of Mexico’s finest data advocates and a leader, with over 100k followers on LinkedIn, where he consistently shares knowledge and ideas. In addition to providing marketing and business consulting, Favio recently founded Closter, an e-learning platform for Data Science. His live sessions on LinkedIn are a great way to learn how to discover valuable insights from data through Data Science.
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