Simply stated, Stephen is obsessed with data! At the age of 12, he was analyzing data on his Commodore 64 for a fashion photography studio. His career experience is expansive and covers forecasting, data science, analytics software development leadership, data warehousing, business intelligence, biostatistics and marketing analytics.
Stephen has built advanced solutions to forecast complex product acquisitions, the impact and efficient allocation of sales force expansion and optimizing growth through intelligent marketing investment and real-time measurement.
Stephen has worked on and led teams to build mixed marketing spend plans, worked with complex data sources to build accurate models predicting customer lifetime value in real-time and built successful models to effectively segment and target at leading subscription companies.
Stephen has been Faculty at The American Marketing Association, The Data Warehouse Institute (TDWI) and INFORMS. He has been an invited instructor at multiple Tableau Worldwide and European Conferences. He has given numerous talks at SAS Global Forum and keynote talks at Qlik and Alteryx conferences. Past data science leadership roles include Netflix, Oracle, SAS, Navy CyberDefense Operational Command, HP (Loudcloud), Glaxo SmithKline, Duke University, NCSU, Auburn and others.
Stephen has authored multiple books and courses in data science, data visualization, data warehousing, dashboard design and effective business analysis and communication methods.
Eileen McDaniel, PhD
Project Leader
Inspired by her years of experience as a scientific researcher and educator, Eileen has a passion for helping people interpret complex information for all types of audiences. Her experience includes winning competitive federal, state and private research grants and receiving a Congressional award for scientific excellence.
Both as a scientist and an entrepreneur, Eileen has planned, organized and implemented complex analytical projects. She keeps YakData projects on the right track and works on key analyses and executive presentations.
Eileen has been Faculty at The American Marketing Association, The Data Warehouse Institute (TDWI) and INFORMS.
Eileen has authored multiple books and courses in data visualization, dashboard design, and effective business analysis and communication methods.
What we do
YakData is an agile forecasting firm delivering critical-path forecasts for new products, product acquisition, ad growth and sales force expansion to scale and grow your business.
OUR WORK
Who we are
We’re seasoned data-driven business advisors, tech enthusiasts and battle-hardened data scientists focused on maximizing your ROI, above all else.
The YakData team listens and works collaboratively to help you achieve your project goals. We drive projects forward to enable you to confidently make strategic decisions, building trust for the next critical investment opportunity.
Organizations we have consulted with,
trained teams at,
been invited speakers or
have been faculty
Stephen is invaluable for improving ROI and driving quick wins from the investment. We worked with him to win over the executive team. I heartily recommend him for any data science role at your organization.
— Senior Director of Business Intelligence & Data
Stephen is a master at understanding the business, identifying what key actionable insights are critical, and then building the analytical and technical systems to support that. Stephen looks at what the business needs and works back to the technology. This insight is invaluable for improving ROI and driving quick wins from the analytical investment.
We worked with him to win over the executive team designing a compelling executive dashboard for daily updates. It was so compelling that the executive team asked for it to be on a flat-screen TV for the executive floor as they exited the elevator.
I heartily recommend him for any data science or data warehouse role that you may consider him for at your organization.
— John Lodmell, Senior Director of Business Intelligence & Data at Nordstrom
This endorsement refers to work at a prior employer of John's.
See more endorsements on LinkedIn
CORE Technology Platforms used on Client Projects
Technology Platforms for Client Projects
as needed or as requested by Clients
with PowerBI
Based on the priorities of your organization, we custom design a modern data stack to deliver optimal results for your project and team. We are independent of all technology providers to provide neutral advice on the best path to success.
Helping Clients since 2009
YakData, LLC is a strategic data forecasting consultancy based in Orlando, Florida, USA. We have collaborated with clients in the US, the UK, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Australia, Holland, New Zealand, Mexico, the Middle East and Asia.
We build strategic forecasts for your business based on modern, advanced analytic languages and modular data stacks that are quick to develop and share with key stakeholders in your business.
Successful projects have included forecasting new customer revenue by marketing channel at a leading subscription business, planning a 9-figure acquisition and investment decision at a leading biotech company, optimizing online ad-spend at a leading billion-dollar retailer, building mix-model multi-channel marketing forecasts at a multi-billion dollar video platform and estimating customer lifetime value in real-time at a leading online streaming business.
When you hire YakData, our principals perform the majority of your high-value project work. Our primary mission is to be your trusted confidante as you make critical business investments and decisions. We deliver results that are presentation-ready for executive teams, boards of directors and key investors.
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