Business Information and Analytics Department hosts Amazon’s advertising and analytics team for inside look at data management
A team of advertising and business analytics professionals from online retailing giant Amazon shared a behind-the-scenes view of real-world analytics with more than 50 students, professors and alumni on the University of Denver campus Feb. 11.
The group explained how it manages large-scale data, transforms data into usable insights, and implements world-class data privacy and security solutions at the in-person event hosted by the Daniels’ Department of Business Information and Analytics (BIA) in the Joy Burns Center.
“It’s the first event we’ve held in-person since the pandemic hit,” said Kellie Keeling, associate professor and chair of BIA. “Our last event was 2019, so it was nice to have people gathered together and it went very well.”
The guest speakers included: Natalie Casey, (BSBA 2015) manager of data engineering; Dave Mozealous, senior manager of software development and data engineering; Amit Gupta, (MS 2006), a specialist solutions architect; and Victoria Potruch, a business intelligence engineer.
Mozealous gave an overview of how Amazon, which has roughly 1,000 employees in Colorado, approaches customer service, explaining that the company’s mission is “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company” and that Amazon “obsesses over” its customers.
“We always start with the customer and work backwards,” Mozealous said. “And we always say that every day [at Amazon] is day one. What we mean by that is our approach is the same as it was the on the first day the company began with [Jeff] Bezos’s obsession with the customer.”
Casey, who also serves on the BIA advisory board, added that that obsession in advertising not only means with the customers who are shopping, but also advertisers who advertise on Amazon.
“We have over one million advertisers on Amazon and we process over 47 million events per day—events meaning what customers are doing on their phones or laptops while on Amazon.com,” Casey said. “What it boils down to in advertising is matching the right message from right advertiser to the right customers at the right time in the right medium.”
Gupta shared how Amazon uses artificial intelligence and machine learning in improving customer service while Potruch covered how she works to interpret, analyze, and visualize data that drives some of Amazon’s advertising decisions.
Keeling said she was pleased with the event and the panel of speakers.
“I think the presenters did a really nice job of showing the skills and applications of what students will be doing on the job,” Keeling said. “It was a great overview of how some of these analytic techniques can be applied to business.”
The event also included time for students to talk with Amazon employees about openings with the company.
Kevin Persky, a senior in BIA and marketing who attended the event, took advantage of that opportunity and said he enjoyed seeing from the presenters how they use the technical tools and how they apply those tools to real-life applications.
“Seeing the specific positions that they’re hiring for is something that we’re already trained in, so that really stood out for me and it helps validate my education,” Persky said.
He was also impressed by the amount of data Amazon processes daily.
“It was fascinating to see how they use all that data and build the models they do,” he said. “It’s a unique approach to analyzing data that I think really stands out.”
Jed Summerton, a Daniels adjunct faculty member and chair of the BIA advisory board, said he appreciated the panel sharing “their personal journeys and showing how fulfilling” jobs in the analytics industry can be.
“I hope they inspired you to do what they’re doing,” Summerton told the crowd.
Discover More About Business Information & Analytics
The one-year MS in Business Analytics gives you a competitive edge by balancing the three pillars of business analytics: information management, statistical and analytic modeling, and evidence-based decision making. We teach you not only how to interpret data, but how to use your analysis to drive change. Learn More >
