This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John welcome Edward Chenard, a seasoned data leader with experience in both large enterprises and startups. During the conversation, the group discusses Edward’s career in data analytics, emphasizing the importance of P&L ownership for data leaders. The conversation explores the complexities of building effective data teams, the distinctions between data analytics and software engineering, and the transformative impact of AI. Edward also shares insights on personalization in business, drawing from his experiences at companies like Best Buy, and highlights the need for deep thinking and customer engagement in data initiatives. Don’t miss this great conversation!

This week on The Data Stack Show, John and guest host Matthew Kelliher-Gibson welcome Nicolay Gerold, CEO and Founder, of Aisbach, and host of How AI is Built podcast. The group delves into the evolution, strengths, and challenges of language models (LLMs) and AI. Nicolay shares insights on data-centric AI approaches, practical applications like data extraction and content generation, and the importance of aligning LLMs with user preferences. The conversation also explores the current AI startup landscape, the hype around generative AI, the necessity of thorough testing and monitoring in AI applications, and so much more. 

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John welcome back Benn Stancil, Founder and CTO of Mode, a data analytics company acquired by ThoughtSpot. During the episode, the group delves into Benn’s decade-long journey in the startup world, discussing the challenges of strategy, vision, and decision-making. Benn highlights the pressures of adhering to conventional startup playbooks, the importance of confidence in decision-making, and the complexities of navigating uncertainties. The discussion also explores the role of data in understanding business dynamics, the unique challenges faced by data-centric companies, and so much more. 

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John welcome Spencer Burke, Senior Vice President of Growth at Braze. Spencer shares his 13-year journey at Braze, discussing the company’s evolution and the critical intersection of marketing and data. The conversation highlights the challenges marketers face in leveraging data effectively, the necessity of clean data for successful campaigns, and the often-fractured collaboration between marketing and data teams. Emphasizing the importance of improved integration and communication, the episode underscores how these elements drive successful customer engagement and marketing strategies. You won’t want to miss it. 

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John welcome Evan Wimpey, Director of Analytics Strategy at Elder Research. During the episode, Evan shares his diverse background, including his Marine Corps experience, and delves into the concept of synthetic controls in data science. Evan explains how synthetic controls create theoretical models to measure the impact of new competitors on existing businesses. The conversation also covers the importance of qualitative context in data analysis, challenges in communicating data insights, and Evan’s unique venture into data-related comedy, highlighting his book “Predictable Jokes.” Trust us, you won’t want to miss this episode! 

This week on The Data Stack Show, it’s a RudderStack round table as Eric and John are joined by Matthew Kelliher-Gibson. Together they delve into the current state and future potential of large language models (LLMs) and artificial intelligence (AI). The group discusses the hype versus reality of LLMs, their practical applications, and the challenges of implementing them in production environments. Drawing parallels to the early days of the iPhone, they explore the transformative potential of LLMs while acknowledging their limitations. The episode provides insights into AI’s evolving landscape, emphasizing the importance of understanding token limits, practical use cases, the integration of LLMs with customer data, and more. 

This week on The Data Stack Show, it’s the next rendition of the Cynical Data Guy. Eric and John are joined by Matthew Kelliher-Gibson, the Cynical Data Guy, for their monthly discussion. They engage in a lightning round, analyzing various LinkedIn posts related to data and data science. Topics include data teams’ transparency with stakeholders, simplifying complex data, generative AI’s role in cultural adoption, and the impact of the “sexiest job of the 21st century” article on data science careers. The group also discusses the influence of “Moneyball” on data science perceptions, the importance of understanding data models, and more.

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John chat with Cameron Jagoe, Co-Founder and CEO of ProcureVue. Cameron discusses his journey from running a bakery, where he used data analytics to tackle profitability issues, to co-founding ProcureVue. He shares insights on optimizing business operations through strategic sourcing and data-driven decision-making. Cameron also highlights his work at Newell Rubbermaid, where he improved profitability through cost-cutting and value engineering. The conversation delves into the technical aspects of ProcureVue, emphasizing its role in driving cost savings and improving procurement processes for businesses, and so much more. 

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John chat with Jesse Clark, the Co-Founder & CTO of Marqo.ai. During the episode, Jesse discusses the evolution of AI and machine learning in enhancing search capabilities, particularly in e-commerce. The group explores the concept of vector search and its advantages over traditional keyword-based methods. The conversation also touches on the challenges of searching for specific items, like car parts for Land Cruisers in Australia, due to the complexity of part numbers and interchangeability. They delve into the difficulties of dealing with unstructured data, such as information locked in PDFs and manuals, and how Marqo is developing AI to search and incorporate this data into relevant results. The episode covers the technical aspects of customizing embedding and language models for better search outcomes and the potential of language models to connect different data modalities for advanced search experiences, the future of interfaces, the role of new technology in search experiences, and more.

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John chat with Barry McCardel from Hex. They delve into the technical, business, and human challenges of data work, emphasizing AI and data collaboration. The discussion also covers Hex’s product updates, the complexities of building AI features, and AI’s impact on data teams. The group explores the unpredictability of AI, the need for extensive evaluation, and the iterative process of refining AI models. The conversation wraps up by touching on industry consolidation, vendor competition, the dynamics of cloud platforms and open source technology, and more.