Former Ford Executive and Data Scientist, Alan Jacobson, Joins Company to Help Data Workers and Business Leaders Foster a Culture of Analytics
Irvine, Calif.—May 8, 2019—Alteryx, Inc. (NYSE: AYX), revolutionizing business through data science and analytics, today announced that Alan Jacobson, former director of global analytics at Ford Motor Company and longtime Alteryx user, has joined the company as Chief Data and Analytics Officer (CDAO). As CDAO, Jacobson will lead the company’s data initiatives and help customers around the globe implement and execute successful digital transformation strategies.
CDOs are proving to be linchpins of digital business transformation as the role continues to evolve—once focused on making data assets usable for the business and now focused on driving business transformation—manifesting in varying titles, including CDO, CDAO and “Transformation Officer.” Companies struggle to anoint different versions of this role, but regardless of what it is called, there are foundational challenges to overcome and as the half-life of companies continues to shrink, CDOs are increasingly charged with maintaining competitive advantage and owning digital transformation as a critical business imperative.
As data science is democratized, digital business transformation initiatives are accelerating across every geography, industry and domain—and data is the lifeblood. Driving successful digital transformation requires the right technology, people and culture in place. Jacobson understands these principles and joins Alteryx in this role to help its customers expand their use of analytics and deepen their investments in digital transformation strategies.
“As an analytics company, we recognize both the immense opportunity and the immense challenge in driving digital transformation. Bringing Alan on board is indicative of our investment in creating a best-in-class team so we can serve our customers in their own digital transformation journeys,” said Dean Stoecker, co-founder and CEO of Alteryx. “As an Alteryx evangelist at Ford, Alan witnessed first-hand the impact a culture of analytics can have on the bottom line and what it takes to succeed as a data-driven enterprise. He brings invaluable experience that I am confident our global customer and partner base will benefit from.”
Prior to joining Alteryx, Alan held a variety of leadership roles at Ford Motor Company across engineering, marketing, sales and new business development; most recently leading a team of data scientists to drive digital transformation across the enterprise. As an Alteryx customer at Ford, Alan spent many years leveraging the Alteryx Platform across the company, delivering analytics to the manufacturing plant floor, optimizing shipping and logistics, driving HR business intelligence and launching new forecasting tools within the finance organization.
“Organizations can no longer rely on a select number of data scientists to uncover the insights that drive imperative business decisions. Now, with tens of millions of data workers around the world and an endless supply of data, the role of the CDO is becoming a necessity for organizations looking to stay competitive and develop a true data-driven culture,” said Jacobson. “After more than two decades at Ford, I am ecstatic to join the Alteryx family and spread the knowledge, both internally and externally, from my many years deploying the platform across a global organization.”
To learn more about how to drive digital business transformation, succeed in a CDAO role or create a culture of analytics, keep up with Alan Jacobson via the Analytics Blog on Alteryx Community and read his first blog: Creating an Analytic Culture for Digital Transformation.
About Alteryx, Inc.
Revolutionizing business through data science and analytics, Alteryx offers an end-to-end analytics platform that empowers data analysts and scientists alike to break data barriers, deliver insights, and experience the thrill of getting to the answer faster. Organizations all over the world rely on Alteryx daily to deliver actionable insights. For more information visit www.alteryx.com.
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