KENNETH A JENSEN
DRIVINGÂ THE WIDESPREAD USE OF DATA IN DECISION-MAKING
A data science practitioner who will deliver results at every stage of the analytics lifecycle and can bridge the gap between advanced analytics and business realities to help organizations accelerate their application of data science and machine learning
ABOUT ME
I have spent my career helping organizations leverage advanced analytics to improve decision-making in measurable ways. As a data science professional with over 25 years of practical experience, I deliver results at every stage of the analytic lifecycle – from data acquisition and preparation to the deployment of analytical results into decision-making.
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I have hands‑on experience with advanced techniques such as classification algorithms, ensemble models, clustering, regression analysis, advanced forecasting, market basket analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and more. I have worked with multiple data, programming and analytical environments on premises or on cloud as well as hybrid models.
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Beyond my technical abilities, I can bridge advanced analytics and business realities by working closely with business stakeholders, including executives. These characteristics make me uniquely qualified to help organizations accelerate and expand their application of analytics.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
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Proficient in the use of different data science tools including KNIME Analytics Platform, Alteryx, IBM SPSS Modeler, Python and Jupyter Notebooks, R and RStudio, Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, and Microsoft Azure ML.
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Extensive use of a large variety of statistical and machine learning algorithms. These include, but are not limited to, regression analysis, propensity modelling, decision trees such as XGBoost, Random Forest, CHAID, C&RT and C5.0, advanced time series forecasting using exponential smoothing and ARIMA models, neural and Bayesian network models, segmentation and classification models, clustering with two-step and Kohonen networks as well as different techniques used for data reduction and anomaly detection.
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Vast experience with the utilization of advanced techniques including ensembling of models, boosting to enhance model accuracy, and bagging and k-fold cross-validation to enhance model stability. Also an expert in the use of balancing data set to create models that are designed to better address a particular business problem.
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Experienced in the use of several enterprise data sources including Microsoft Azure, IBM DB2, IBM PureData Systems (formerly Netezza), Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle Database, and PostgreSQL as well as streaming data and data‑in‑motion.
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Worked extensively with programming languages such as R, SQL, and Python, have working knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and VBA, and some familiarity with SAS programming language.
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Have a proven track record of identifying the right analytical approach for a given business problem and the ability to combine and integrate different techniques and technologies to form a cohesive solution that provides immediate, actionable, and measurable results.
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
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Received the Customer Success Innovation award in August 2023 for the development of a machine learning model that estimates each customer's risk of churn and allowed for a target effort by the account teams to mitigate the risk factors that the model identified.
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Awarded the EY Bravo! award in June 2020 for "Courage to Lead" and helping finish the fiscal year strong.
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Given the IBM Eminence & Excellence Award for an article on how to use data balancing to create predictive models that are better aligned to the business objectives.
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Featured in the promotional video seen above by IBM on business transformation with predictive analytics.
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Presented with the IBM Outstanding Contributor Award.
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Received the IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award for my pioneering work on the Keys to the Match for the four major tennis tournaments (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open). The solution is used by ESPN as the “IBM Insights” in their broadcasts and by IBM online alongside the real‑time match scores.
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Awarded the IBM Services Excellence Award.
SENIOR MANAGER, DATA & ANALYTICS
ARCTERA (formerly Veritas Technologies)
September 2022 - Present | Chicago, IL
Drive the companywide view of customer engagement, product adoption, and leading indicators of customer defection to shape the customer strategy.
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Focused the churn risk mitigation effort through the development and of a machine learning model that both estimated the churn risk and identified the most impact drivers of that churn risk.
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Increased the cross-sell opportunities for a business-critical services offering by identifying the most likely prospects for the offering using a machine learning model to describe the describe the profile of the current customers.
SOLUTIONS CONSULTANT
ALTERYX
November 2021 - September 2022 | Chicago, IL
Data science specialist in the Center of Competence responsible for working with and enabling Sales Engineers to talk about data science and machine learning using the suite of Alteryx tools and products.
SENIOR DATA SCIENCE MANAGER
BRAVIANT HOLDINGS
November 2020 - November 2021 | Chicago, IL
Responsible for developing and deploying predictive models for use in direct marketing campaigns. Working directly with executive stakeholders to craft and implement campaign strategies that balance response rates and customer lifetime values.
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Leading an effort to implement a data science methodology that increases the speed at which new predictive models are developed and allows for more frequent retraining of existing models.
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Made a series of process improvements that allowed for increasingly targeted campaign selection without additional resource requirements.
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Improved the accuracy of campaign performance projections by making the process more data-driven.
SENIOR DATA & AI SCIENTIST
ERNST & YOUNG
May 2017 - September 2020 | Chicago, IL, USA
EY Consulting | Technology | Data & Analytics
Direct consultants in project coordination and execution with a focus on data, analytics, and machine learning. Oversee project economics, recruit and hire staff for projects, and ensure timely project delivery. Communicate with leadership and project stakeholders to identify requirements and analyze various forms of data.
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Led a team of data science specialist tasked with adding a machine learning framework to EY’s PX360 solution, which combines operational and experience data, to provide real‑time insights otherwise not easily available
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Developed an internal forecasting solution to improve the management of chargeable hours and resource assignments
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Improved accounts receivable forecasting accuracy for a major retailer by more than 90%
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Managing multiple direct reports including their regular performance reviews, career guidance, and promotions
ADVANCED ANALYTICS SPECIALIST
IBM CORP.
September 2014 - May 2017 | Chicago, IL, USA
IBM Corporate Marketing | Digital Business Group
Created, managed, and optimized data science solutions. Managed projects and collaborated with other data scientists to create solutions and verify sustainability, repeatability, and scalability.
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Increased revenue by more than $600MM through a unique and highly scalable cross‑sell solution that provided recommendations to sellers around the world and across IBM’s 1,000s of products
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Created analytical models to identify at‑risk customers for IBM Cloud offering, which dramatically increased the understanding of the issue and supported a significant reduction in customer defection
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Led a team that developed a solution using machine learning to identify webpage traffic generated by bots and spiders as opposed to humans to ensure that sales and marketing only reported and acted on traffic from real prospects
SENIOR MANAGING CONSULTANT
IBM CORP.
November 2009 - August 2014 | Chicago, IL, USA
IBM Global Business Services | Advanced Analytics & Optimization
Served as the analytical lead for various integration and innovation projects. Acted as an internal expert for analytical solutions, developed training guidelines, and established predictive analytics best practices. Identified, mentored, and trained new talent. Hired experienced data scientists to enhance functions and operations.
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Responsible for the development of the “Keys to the Match” for the four major tennis tournaments and used by ESPN in their live broadcasts.
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Identified hundreds of millions of dollars in potential savings for multinational oil and gas company with a series of proof‑of‑concept implementations based on the utilization of big data, data science, and MPP technology
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Achieved a 403% ROI for a client in auto insurance through the deployment of a solution that allowed for early detection of fraudulent claims and subrogation opportunities
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Served as a leader in helping to identify and foster new talent and in hiring experienced data scientists
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Functioned as an internal expert to develop training on the deployment of analytical solutions and best practices in predictive analytics
SENIOR CONSULTANT
SPSS, INC.
March 2009 - October 2009 | Chicago, IL, USA
Professional Services | Predictive Analytics
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Relocated from SPSS Denmark to work at the SPSS, Inc. headquarters in Chicago, IL, in early 2009 as an intra-company transfer.
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Served as a principal data science consultant with a deep expertise in deployment of real-time scoring solutions before SPSS, Inc. was acquired by IBM Corp. in October 2009.
CONSULTANT, SALES ENGINEER, AND TRAINING INSTRUCTOR
SPSS DENMARK
March 1999 - February 2009 | Copenhagen, DK
Primarily served as a statistical and predictive analytics consultant, but also frequently participated in sales calls and delivered end-user training in both statistics, data mining, survey methodology, and how to use the SPSS software.
EDUCATION
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
COPENHAGEN BUSINESS SCHOOL
September 1996 - August 1998 | Copenhagen, DK
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The graduates are given a high level of competence in identifying and solving quantitative and economic problems in businesses.
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The graduates have the ability to solve complex problems of both economic and mathematical nature – from a general point of view.
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Graduate thesis on a newly introduced continuously refinanced mortgage and the expected pattern of payments and interest under the assumption of the Vasicek Term Structure Model.
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Focused on financial theory and statistical courses with a high level of mathematics.
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
COPENHAGEN BUSINESS SCHOOL
September 1993 - August 1996 | Copenhagen, DK
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The graduates are qualified to complete mathematical and statistical analysis involving economic problems, and has knowledge on how to utilize software to aid the problem solving process.
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Thesis on the pricing of financial derivatives.