On 22nd August 2018, the Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur hosted Mr. Anthony Kilili, Country Head and Global Head of Customer Engagement Science, Dunnhumby. Mr. Kilili is an alumnus of the esteemed Louisiana State University in the U.S. and has more than 18 years of experience in Analytics. His core expertise lies in Data Analytics, Predictive Analytics and Data mining to name a few. He is currently associated with Dunnhumby. 
He went on to discuss the changes in the retail industry. He talked about how Big Data analytics plays a key role in predicting customer trends and demand forecasting. Some other applications of it include prize optimization, product recommendations, 360° understanding of customer DNA among many others. An example shared by him was about mobiles encouraging “grocer grazing.” He then channeled the discussion on how analytics is capturing people’s mind by collecting past data history of the customers. He also emphasized the fact that only 3-12% of Big Data is harnessed to provide actionable insights.
Delving further into the lecture Mr. Kilili talked about increasing digitization. It is increasing by about 20% every year and is all about increasing customer connect. Personalization is growing by leaps and bounds. It is moving from 'no personalization' to 'extreme personalization.'
Towards the end of the session, Mr. Kilili engaged with the audience present by answering their questions. He thereafter concluded the session with the quote, “Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of 21st Century.” He insisted on embracing change and as everyone has something unique to contribute. We look forward to having more sessions like these.
He went on to discuss the changes in the retail industry. He talked about how Big Data analytics plays a key role in predicting customer trends and demand forecasting. Some other applications of it include prize optimization, product recommendations, 360° understanding of customer DNA among many others. An example shared by him was about mobiles encouraging “grocer grazing.” He then channeled the discussion on how analytics is capturing people’s mind by collecting past data history of the customers. He also emphasized the fact that only 3-12% of Big Data is harnessed to provide actionable insights.
Delving further into the lecture Mr. Kilili talked about increasing digitization. It is increasing by about 20% every year and is all about increasing customer connect. Personalization is growing by leaps and bounds. It is moving from 'no personalization' to 'extreme personalization.'
Towards the end of the session, Mr. Kilili engaged with the audience present by answering their questions. He thereafter concluded the session with the quote, “Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of 21st Century.” He insisted on embracing change and as everyone has something unique to contribute. We look forward to having more sessions like these.