Phil Beaver
Analytics professor Phil Beaver widens ‘street cred’ as exec in the industry
In the academic world it’s called street cred—the past experiences a professor brings to class. For Phil Beaver, it’s more like eight-lane superhighway cred.
Beaver, a professor of the practice and program director for the Business Information and Analytics Program at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, has a truckload of past impressive experiences including high-level posts with the U.S. government (he was in the Pentagon on 9/11) and years of consulting executives in the business world in several areas including personnel management, data systems design, supply chain, product demand forecasting, commercial and residential real estate, medical products and medical data.
And there appears to be no stop sign on his street. Today, he continues to pile up credibility—he’s currently connected to nine companies in various capacities, including executive, advisory, board and owner roles, plus he’s the founder of The Phirejets, a rock band he formed just before the pandemic hit.
“As a professor of practice, Daniels expects me to have practical experience in my field and to be closely connected with the business community,” Beaver said.
Mission accomplished. Since joining the Daniels faculty in 2010, he’s met with over 550 organizations via the master’s in business analytics capstone program where students perform analytic consulting for corporate, nonprofit and governmental partners.
In 2015, Beaver became the chief data officer and board member for DocBuddy, which streamlines workflow for medical records, and in 2020, he took on the senior data scientist post at Candidate Tools, which offers web-based recruiting software.
At DocBuddy, Beaver is working to eventually offer medical informatics across multiple providers and systems along with creating strategies to expand market share. And at Candidate Tools, he’s developing ways to help clients (employers) with diversity and inclusive excellence in their hiring processes.
CEOs at both companies praise Beaver’s dedication and skills.
Leavett Biles, CEO of Candidate Tools, called Beaver’s input invaluable to his business.
“Phil is adept at both the theory and the practical application of data science, typically that’s a combination of skills that’s impossible to find,” Biles said. “Working with Phil is like working with Einstein if Einstein could coach you on past, present and future technology market conditions while writing algorithms. He can deconstruct, analyze and solve our complex technology and business challenges faster than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Biles said recently the company became stuck on how to aggregate disparate user data input to create complex data sets. “Phil wrote an algorithm in his head, on the spot that reduced two days of code development time down to a single algorithmic and easy design solution. I’ve never met anyone who can do that in real time. That’s how valuable he is to our business.”
Andy D’Agostino, CEO of DocBuddy, has similar kudos.
“Phil has been an incredible asset to our team from the day he joined our board in the beginning stages of DocBuddy,” D’Agostino said. “Phil was instrumental in helping us think through our long-term data plan, but also maximizing our data security. Because of Phil’s data expertise and business knowledge, we are now working with large strategic organizations that include clinics, surgery centers and even hospitals.”
D’Agostino also appreciates that Beaver is staying connected to the business world in his role as a professor.
“I think it’s paramount that he’s seasoned in data analytics within education,” D’Agostino said. “Phil’s expertise in data analytics and software in the changing business world will only bolster his ability to prepare the next generation of business leaders.”
Beaver said he believes all of his business activities have had “a significant impact” on his teaching.
“There is very little that we teach that I can’t connect immediately to my own personal business experiences and I think the students appreciate learning about their field from a practitioner,” Beaver said. “Since I have significant diversity in my business experiences, I’m able to introduce the subject of data analytics through a very broad set of perspectives.”
And Beaver said the road ahead for those interested in working in data science looks wide open.
“While virtually all organizations are collecting and maintaining data, and there is no shortage of data across the environment, many organizations still have very little idea of how to best leverage their data to their competitive advantage,” he said. “This has been my experience across many of my business engagements and I see that as great news for our alumni—there is still a significant demand for their skills across the business landscape.”
