Top 33 Influencers In Big Data & Analytics In 2019-20

Big data analytics plays a significant role in the decision-making process of an organization. It has to do with examining a large number of data sets to find out and identify the hidden patterns that are behind their existence. No doubt, there are people and brands behind the analysis of data, and thus responsible for the positive strides the process has birthed; this group of individuals and establishments are the ones who are referred to as “big data and analytics influencers”.

The analytics of big data has made it easier for the influencers in the field to study the market trends, the customers’ preferences, and the hidden relationships between them, thus helping organizations to take meaningful decisions regarding their businesses. The big data and analytics influencers group are made up of highly skilled experts in various fields who have helped several organizations with their expert advice based on their analysis of big data.

Below is a list of top 33 Big Data and Analytics influencers:

1. Gary MarcusGregory Piatetsky: He is a renowned name in the field of Data Mining, Data Science, Business Analytics, and Big Data. He is the president of KDnuggets and co-founder of SIGKDD. Piatetsky has over 60 publications to his name and has edited several books and collections on knowledge discovery as well as on Big Data.
2. Carlie Idoine: She is not only a Big Data and Analytics influencer; she is also an expert in Business Analytics &Data science toolsets. Idoine provides advisory and research services which are purposed for using analytics to solve real-time problems. She is presently the Research Director for Business Analytics & Data Science at Gartner.
3. Kirk Borne: He is the leading data scientist and executive advisor at the Booz Allen Hamilton, a position he took up since 2015. He was appointed to analyze the Big Data, by the former President of the US following the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, to prevent further attacks. He is one of the foremost data science and big data influencers.
4. Andrew Ng :He is the co-founder of Coursera and an adjunct professor at Stanford University. Andrew was formerly the head of the Artificial Intelligence unit in Baidu. He is also a passionate researcher and has authored as well as co-authored up to 100 research papers on Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and many other relevant fields.
5. Lillian Pierson: She is a prominent name among the outstanding Big Data and Analytics influencers. Pierson is the founder of Data-Mania, which offers both online and offline training courses and workshops on Big Data, analytics, and data science. Her area of focus is mainly with the technical domain, where she works with big companies such as Intel and Dell, among others. She also blogs for her company’s website and has authored two books.
6. Craig Brown: He is a big date expert and also a technology consultant, and has garnered industrial experience and technical expertise in the IT sector for more than two decades. He has also written one of the most renowned books-Untapped Potential: The Supreme Partnership of Self, where he talks discusses the path to achieving success and the tools to be used.
7. Bernard Marr: He is a strategic performance consultant, speaker and author. He has authored several notable books like Data Strategy. Also, his big data and analytics articles are published on Forbes regularly. Bernard is a firm believer of the notion that big data and analytics is the answer to every problem the world has.
8. Carla Gentry: She is a self-professed data scientist. She has her own data analytics centre, called the Analytical Solution. As a former analyst, using her big data analytics skills, she has helped big brands like Firestone, Hershey, Kellogg’s and others, to make better business decisions.
9. Ben Lorica: He is the Chief Data Scientist at O’Reilly Media. He is an expert in machine learning, business intelligence, and other relevant areas of marketing and market research. He is also a blogger and has written several blogs on data and technology at The Gradient Flow.
10. Merv Adrian: He is the Vice President and analyst at Gartner in the last seven years. He is a specialist in Big Data, NoSQL, DBMS, and Apache Hadoop. He established and headed IT Market Strategy to provide professional services that will help customers to apply the right technology and practices to ensure that their money and time are well spent.
11. Tamara Dull: She is one of the prominent thought leaders in the big data field. Dull is the director of Emerging Technologies at SAS. She has a vast knowledge in areas of big data and Internet of Things, following their inception in the global market.She is equally a writer, and her writings have been published on websites such as DataFlow, Brand Quarterly, and KDnuggets.
12. Jen Stirrup: She is the founder of Data Relish. Jen is one of the top influencers of big data and business intelligence. She has over two decades of expertise in the IT sector and is one of the thought leaders in big data, as well as a data strategist and technologist. She is an advocate for theSQLFamily and community, a speaker, and an active blogger at jenstirrup.
13. Vincent Granville:He is one of the founders of Data Science Central, which is an online resource for the professionals and those who are passionate about big data analysis and data science; where he currently works as an Executive Data Scientist and Managing Partner. Granville has helped a number of companies across various industries to grow from startups to fortune 100 with his knowledge and skills.
14. Judith Hurwitz: She is the CEO of Hurwitz and Associates. She is an advisory to the developing as well as established companies to implement and benefit from the potentials of big data and in their businesses. Hurwitz is also a writer and has written many books; her book ‘For Dummies’ which focuses on big data, cloud, and cognitive computing, has gained significant popularity.
15. Cindi Howson: She is the Vice President of the research department of Gartner. She is a big data expert and advises her clients on selecting BI tools and appropriate strategies. Howson is also a writer and has written so much on business intelligence, big data, and analytics.
16.  Marcus Borba: He is a data science consultant and advisor, and also an expert in machine learning, business intelligence, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital transformation. He founded Borba Consulting in 2000, where he is the principal consultant. Borba has been recognized as a top big data expert as well as the influencer several times.
17. Monica Rogati: She is an independent AI and data science, advisor. She works with several companies and organizations to address their AI needs and problems on business strategies. Monica is an expert in machine learning, recommender systems, and text mining. She is also an equity partner at DCVC – Data Collective, and Advisor and Guest lecturer at Stanford University.
18. Evan Sinar: Evan is the Vice President and the chief data scientist at Development Dimensions International (DDI). He is also the head of the Centre for Analytics and Behavioral Research (CABER), a team of individuals who specialize in data analytics, research and customer intelligence. He is a thought leader in big data as well as talent management analytics, IoT, data visualization and leadership development.
19. Alex Champandard: He is an Artificial Intelligence expert, and has actively worked from both the design and technical sides of the field for almost 20 years. He was a co-founder and managing director at Creative.ai, a startup dedicated to providing AI and ML powered tools for artists and designers around the world. He has recently delved into applied research in deep learning and computer vision.
20. Antonio Grasso: He is the founder and CEO of Digital Business Innovation. Grasso is an advisor, enterprise and public sector consultant and mentor to several startups. He is currently in collaborations with Intel, Siemens, Cisco, Ericsson and the European Commission as a content advisor, software innovator and B2B influencer.
21. Nathan Yau: He is a statistician and writer for Flowing Data. His subjects of focus are Data for non-professionals, Self- surveillance and Information Design. His drive is to make data available and useful to those who are not necessarily data experts.
22. Peter Skomoroch: He is a data scientist and entrepreneur. He built the LinkedIn “skills” feature during his Four years as Principal Data Scientist there. He co-founded and is the CEO of SkipFlag; a venture-backed deep learning startup that is funded by top investors like Greylock and Accel Partners.
23. Manish Bhatt: He is a cloud and data architect, software engineer, Java developer and a team leader with vast knowledge about a wide range of software tools and technologies. Bhatt is presently a big data Architect for Flipp, where he is responsible for building Big Data Analytics platforms to create new business opportunities.
24. Nathan Benaich: He is a venture partner at Point Nine Capital and an advisor at TwentyBN. Benaich is the founder of Air Street Capital, a venture capital partnership that is focused on Intelligent System and Deep technology. He also writes an analytical newsletter on AI technology, research and startups. He is currently the third venture partner at Point Nine.
25. Josh Bersin: He is a researcher, industry and technology analyst, extending to every aspect of HR, talent management, recruiting, training, leadership and workplace technology. He was the founder of Bersin Associates, now part of Deloitte and known as Bersin by Deloitte. Josh’s goal is to make work life better for the individual worker, for organizations and stakeholders and communities.
26. Naval Ravikant: He is the co-founder and CEO at AngelList. Ravikant is an entrepreneur and angel investor who has invested heavily in companies like Twitter, Uber, and Stack Overflow. This year, TechCrunch named him as the Angel investor after their analysis revealed that he has invested in more than 88 companies over the decade.
27. Hilary Mason: She is the founder and CEO of Fast Forward Labs, a machine learning Research Company. Mason is also the Vice President of Research at Cloudera and a data scientist at Accel. She advises companies on data analysis and business intelligence. She is also a writer, speaker, and influencer.
28. Ronald van Loon: He is a specialist in big data, data science, machine learning, IoT, analytics, and AI. Ronald analyzes the big data for companies as a means to make them successful. Apart from helping the businesses flourish, He is also an efficient writer and has been writing on big data trends, and other related topics which have been published in data Science Central, DataFlow, and many other platforms.
29. Bob Hayes: He is passionate about the big data and is always looking at how to use it to solve real-world problems; and also the best way to implement it such that the maximum number of people can benefit from it. Hayes has a PhD in Industrial Psychology and is presently the President at Business over Broadway.
30. Gary Marcus: He is a scientist, author, entrepreneur and a professor in the Psychology Department of the New York University. Gary’s research centres on natural and artificial intelligence. His books include; Guitar Zero, which featured on the New York Times Bestseller list, and Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of Human Mind, a New York Times Editor’s Choice.
31. John Ching: He is an entrepreneurial and result-oriented Big Data and Analytics technology leader. John has successfully delivered data-driven marketing solutions for several leading North American based companies like Acquire Web, Digital First Media and a host of others. He is presently the President and Chief Data Scientist at Zettalytics.
32. Dhanurjay Patil: He is a mathematician and computer scientist. Patil was appointed by former President Obama to serve as the first US Chief Data Scientist under the United States Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2015 to 2017. His efforts in office led to the establishment of nearly 40 Chief Data Officer roles across the Federal Government. He is currently the Head of Technology for Devoted Health.
33. John Akred: 
34. He was the founder of Silicon Valley Data Science; a consulting firm that specialized in business transformation through data science and engineering before closing down in 2017. John is passionate about helping organizations to become more data-driven in their operations and management. He is a frequent speaker at the O’Reilly Strata conferences and host of the popular perennial workshop “Building A Data Platform.

The above list depicts how vast the field of big data and data science is; with so many influencers who are experts and specialists in specific areas, and others covering wide areas of research in the field, yet each being an influencer in their domain.

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