Tony Ojeda
Professional Summary
Accomplished data and AI executive with over 20 years of experience in data science and analytics, including over a decade leading teams and initiatives across industries. Creative thought leader with deep expertise in generative AI, machine learning, and process automation. Author of two data science books and a frequent speaker at industry conferences, known for translating complex AI concepts into impactful business outcomes.
Experience
Gierd – Post Falls, ID
Principal AI & Data Scientist: March 2025 – Present
Leveraged AI agents to build a data integration pipeline that automatically cleans, standardizes, and transforms marketplace feed data into a unified schema, drastically reducing manual integration time.
Developed an AI-powered listing generation app that automates the creation of marketplace-compliant product listings from product attribute spreadsheets.
Built a catalog enrichment tool that searches the web for missing specs and fills out structured records, enabling full listing automation even with sparse data.
Developed a self-service analytics app that allows nontechnical employees to query data in natural language, eliminating ad hoc bottlenecks and accelerating team-wide insights.
Defined Gierd’s data science and AI roadmap, aligning technical initiatives with company goals.
Actively building a high-performance data and AI team.
Fulcrum Analytics – New York, NY
Chief Data Scientist, EVP of Analytics & AI: November 2021 – March 2025
Lead and mentor a dynamic team of data scientists in developing and executing data science, analytics, and generative AI projects to deliver tailored solutions for clients.
Drive innovation and strategic direction for client projects in the healthcare, financial services, insurance, marketing, sales, and customer service industries.
Prototype advanced generative AI solutions for information extraction, complex decision-making, and automated data analysis.
Spearhead the company's internal generative AI research initiatives, identifying and developing practical applications to enhance client operations and service quality.
Serve as the primary point of contact for clients, building strong relationships and ensuring project deliverables meet strategic business needs.
Develop and demonstrate technical expertise in generative AI, prompt engineering, Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), and agentic workflows through various impactful projects.
District Data Labs – Washington, DC
Founder & Chief Data Scientist: January 2014 – December 2021
Provided data science and analytics services to clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies, generating over $1 million in revenue.
Helped clients solidify their vision for analytics and develop strategic roadmaps for data-driven operations and decision-making.
Partnered with executives, senior management, and cross-functional teams to develop KPIs that accurately reflected performance and identified the most impactful opportunities.
Performed in-depth analysis to provide visibility into performance, identify opportunities, improve decision-making, and influence strategy.
Developed standardized operational reporting, scorecards, and dashboards to inform senior leadership and cross-functional teams about various aspects of performance.
Designed experiments and developed machine learning models to improve customer experience, inform marketing strategies, and optimize key business processes.
Hired, managed, developed, and mentored diverse team of highly skilled analysts, data scientists, and data engineers.
Follett Higher Education Group – Westchester, IL
Senior Data Scientist: August 2011 – April 2018
Provided senior management with analytical expertise on the company’s highest-priority strategic initiatives.
Used predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms to forecast unit sales and inventory, improving forecast accuracy by 20%.
Developed optimization logic for transferring inventory from low-probability sales environments to higher-probability sales environments, saving the company over $3 million.
Compiled data, analyzed results, and developed reports that communicated the company’s performance in sales, inventory, market share, and other performance metrics to key stakeholders.
Manager, Merchandise Analysis & Control: June 2009 – August 2011
Led and managed a team of 6 analysts providing reporting, systems, and administrative support for the company’s $1.8 billion course materials business.
Ensured data accuracy and integrity for over 1 million titles in course materials management systems.
Automated analytical and back-office processes, improving efficiency by 25% and reducing labor costs by over $50,000 per year.
Supervisor, Inventory Control: May 2008 – June 2009
Developed and implemented systems that increased inventory accuracy by over 20% and streamlined department processes, resulting in labor savings of over 30 hours per week.
Used in-depth systems and accounting knowledge to design processes that reduced inventory shrink by over $12 million and promoted greater confidence in financial statements.
Served as a trusted point of contact for senior-level management in various departments, providing them with answers, insights, and guidance on inventory-related issues.
Education
DePaul University – Chicago, IL
Master of Business Administration: 2007 – 2010
Double Concentration – Strategy Execution & Valuation (SEV) and Entrepreneurship
Florida International University – Miami, FL
Master of Science in Finance: 2002 – 2003
Bachelor of Business Administration: 1998 – 2002
Double Major – Management Information Systems (MIS) and Marketing
Technical Skills
Data Science, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Graph/Network Analysis.
Generative AI, Large Language Models, Prompt Engineering, Retrieval Augmented Generation, AI Agents.
Programming Languages: Python, R, SQL, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
Databases: SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, BigQuery, Amazon S3, Redshift, MySQL, SQLite.
Data Visualization: Plotly, Streamlit, Seaborn, Matplotlib, ggplot, Tableau.
Recent Projects
AI-powered data analysis system that produces comprehensive analyses, delivers insights based on user questions, and enhances clients' decision-making processes.
Generative AI-powered evaluation platform that optimizes sales rep performance reviews, provides actionable feedback, and improves training outcomes.
Customer service rep assistant chatbot that leverages Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and LLMs to enable timely access to information about complex financial products and improves customer interactions and service efficiency.
Information extraction solution for call transcripts that identifies key details from calls, structures the data for analysis, and provides clients with unprecedented visibility into their call center operations.
An agentic application in which AI agents form a virtual think tank, collaborate on potential solutions to challenging problems, and develop structured approaches for solving them.
Publications
Applied Text Analysis with Python – Published July 2018 by O’Reilly Media.
Practical Data Science Cookbook – Published September 2014 by Packt Publishing.