Jeffrey Spyropoulos: Making Analytics Count at JCP

Jeffrey is one of those rare people who knew exactly what he wanted to do from an early age: Use mathematics to solve business problems. After earning his Masters Degree in Statistics from the University of Chicago, he went on to do high-impact analytics work in banking, retail and telco, holding senior leadership positions at top companies like Sally Beauty, HSN, AT&T and Bloomin' Brands. Currently, he leads Digital Analytics at JCPenney. In this episode, Jeffrey shares a detailed and very insightful analysis of all the factors and trade-offs involved in making a build vs buy decision for analytics or AI solutions in business. He also names what he sees as the best applications for leveraging AI and machine learning in retail – including a few especially promising ones that he has his eye on right now. The show concludes with great career advice for any students who are currently enrolled in college-level data science or AI programs.