Top Questions: BattleFin Discovery Day Chicago
Heading down the stretch of autumn data conference season, BattleFin hosts Discovery Day Chicago, Alt Data for Financial Services and Corporate users on October 15-16th, 2024.
Welcome to the Data Score newsletter, composed by DataChorus LLC. The newsletter is your go-to source for insights into the world of data-driven decision-making. Whether you're an insight seeker, a unique data company, a software-as-a-service provider, or an investor, this newsletter is for you. I'm Jason DeRise, a seasoned expert in the field of data-driven insights. As one of the first 10 members of UBS Evidence Lab, I was at the forefront of pioneering new ways to generate actionable insights from alternative data. Before that, I successfully built a sell-side equity research franchise based on proprietary data and non-consensus insights. After moving on from UBS Evidence Lab, I’ve remained active in the intersection of data, technology, and financial insights. Through my extensive experience as a purchaser and creator of data, I have gained a unique perspective, which I am sharing through the newsletter.
BattleFin hosts its Discovery Day in Chicago on October 15th and 16th, with an agenda focused on both financial services and corporate users of alternative data.
To help attendees and speakers prepare for the conference, I offer my top questions for each panel below.
Sponsored Advertisement
Connect with Flywheel Alternative Data at Battlefin's Discovery Day in Chicago. Flywheel will be sharing deep fundamental research and modelling using the eCommerce Insights dataset.
A recent example of such analysis is on StockX, showing the sales and units sold in the footwear category. Resale and 3P marketplaces have become a growing focus for Flywheel, not only because of the growing importance in the eCommerce landscape, but because what these marketplaces can reveal about product mix, buyer trends and brand momentum.
Three themes from my questions for BattleFin Discovery Day Chicago
Cross-Industry Application of Alternative Data and AI
Challenges and Solutions in Data Integration
Predictive Analytics for Market Adaptation
The conference agenda can be found here: https://www.battlefin.com/events/chicago-2024-alt-data
Day 1 Corporate & Financial Services Content
9:00AM Data Slipstreaming: How Retailers & Brands can be fast followers of Hedge Funds & Private Equity firms to maximize ROI by using AI and External Data
Financial firms use the data to generate higher returns, can Retailers and Brands use the same playbook to drive revenue? From centralized data teams, efficient data testing to tracking ROI of external data. Can Retailers and Brands experience faster ROI then financial firms experienced with the advent of AI?
Tim Harrington - Moderator, CEO, BattleFin
Uriel Knorovich, Co-Founder & CEO, Nimble Way
Bryan Smith, Global Industry Solutions Director, Retail & CPG, Databricks
Question: How can retailers and brands capitalize on their unique customer interactions and operational data by integrating AI and external data sources to create innovative business models or revenue streams that not only enhance ROI but also potentially disrupt traditional industry practices—moving beyond simply emulating financial firms to redefining what's possible in their own sectors?
9:45AM Uber Eats Keynote: Pricing Strategies—the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
From ideation to execution. Price elasticity and the goal of real-time pricing
Jaime Grau, Global Sr Strategy & Planning Associate, Uber Eats
Question: How can dynamic pricing in the food delivery industry be optimized to boost both revenue and customer loyalty, ensuring sustainable models that benefit customers and the company? Which industries or companies offer best practices for effective pricing models?"
10:20AM The Challenges and Triumphs of Data Integration; Finance vs Corporate Data Lessons
A multi-disciplinary panel featuring engineers, data scientists, business leaders, and agency representatives will discuss the key obstacles that make data integration challenging. From fragmented systems to inconsistent data quality, hear firsthand what issues persist in the field and what solutions are emerging.
Nir Kalish Head of CS, Nimble,
Michelle Tisdale, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Omnicom Commerce
Brig Brednich Engineering Manager, Home Depot (Black Locus)
Travis Bordovsky Software Engineer, Home Depot (Black Locus)
Stewart Stimson Head of Data Strategy, Jump Trading
Question: "What technologies or collaborative approaches can resolve fragmentation in data systems across organizations? How can leaders create a culture that transforms data integration from a bottleneck into an innovation driver?"
10:50AM Coca-Cola: Real World Data and AI Use Case
Question: Coca-Cola’s ability to understand its end customers is much more similar to the challenges that the investment world has seen, compared to a retailer because Coca-Cola rarely sells directly to its end customer (it sells through franchise bottlers, distributors, retailers, restaurants, and vending machine companies). This means Coca-Cola has always needed to leverage third party data to understand its business (similar to financial markets). The question is: What challenges arise when merging third-party and internal data to create reliable analytics that support quick, accurate decision-making?
11:05AM Rapid Data Deployment: Seamless Data Integration with Databricks Cloud
Explore how platforms like Databricks are revolutionizing data integration in the cloud. Key technologies that enable organizations to build powerful data pipelines and analytics infrastructure. Case study on Car ID (Technology and Business sides)
Bryan Smith Global Industry Solutions Director, Retail & CPG, Databricks
Eugene Kovshilovsky Chief Technology Officer, CARiD
Matin Naeini Chief Data Scientist, CARiD
Question: As organizations strive for agility, how does the partnership between CARiD and Databricks exemplify the transformation of data infrastructure to enable rapid innovation?
11:25AM Force Majeure: Weather Data and Prevent Supply Chain Disruptions and Impacts on Oil & Gas Supplies
Learn how leveraging weather data can improve supply chain forecasting and prevent costly out-of-stock scenarios. This session will provide an overview of how weather data can be used across various industries to make better decisions.
Karl Critz Chief Technology Officer, Salient
Question: What data strategies can organizations employ to not only react to weather events but to anticipate and adapt their operations in ways that enhance resilience and sustainability?
11:45AM Microsoft Keynote: Retail and CPG trends for 2025
How businesses across sectors are driving innovation and growth. Spotlight on new start ups in the CPG and Retail space that are gaining traction.
ShiSh Shridhar Global Director Retail & CPG Startups, Microsoft
Question: What emerging trends might incumbents overlook, and how can these trends reshape business models to align with future consumer expectations and market demands?
Day 2: Financial Services Content
9:00AM Buyside Panel: The evolution of the data sourcing role in the AI and LLM-focused world
Sourcing the right kind of data that can feed into LLM's. What to watch out for. Quality vs quantity; Have data catalogs helped with sourcing, or are they still messy, lack detail and muddy the waters. What data categories are still the hardest to find?
Tim Harrington - Moderator CEO, BattleFin
Andrea Hagerman Head of Data Sourcing, Chicago Trading Company
Stewart Stimson Head of Data Strategy, Jump Trading
Question: What innovative approaches are ensuring data quality and relevance? How do data sourcing professionals balance vast data availability with the specificity needed for AI-driven investment insights?
9:40AM Crossing the Streams. What it takes to create multi product datasets and what it means for Hedge Funds and PE firms
Testing for the best dataset matches and what it looks like. Infrastructure, Mapping and Entitlement Solutions. Understanding the upside of new potential markets of combined data.
Shaheen Kanda - Moderator Global Head Financial Services & Insurance Partnerships, AWS
Matt Nagle Senior Vice President of Sales & Development, Datos
Andreas Aglen CEO, Exabel
Jeremy Scott Director of Product & Research, Flywheel
Question: Can you share an example of how Datos and Flywheel data combined could reveal a more accurate insight than if the data were analyzed independently? What are the key challenges and opportunities in integrating diverse data sources to uncover actionable intelligence?
10:25AM Understanding what Effects the US Election Outcome will have on the Energy Sector
What will happen with new limits on new oil and gas expansion? Incentives for consumers to switch to electric vehicles. What are the implications on clean tech? Where does the data show the price of oil going based on which candidate wins?
Tim Harrington - Moderator CEO,BattleFin
Deepti Koikara Partner, Rystad Energy
Reid I'Anson Senior Economist, Kpler
Question: What do current data trends suggest for strategic decisions, and how could different election outcomes reshape the energy landscape in the short and long term?
10:45AM Supply Chain Deep Dive
What data products are available? Data map presentation.
Question: In today's complex global economy, how can the latest advancements in supply chain data analytics transform the way businesses anticipate disruptions and optimize operations? What does the current data map reveal about opportunities for innovation in supply chain management, and how can companies leverage these insights to build more resilient and efficient supply networks?
11:00AM Supply Chain: Analyzing the Christmas Selling Season from a Supply Chain Perspective
Forecasting market trends, tracking new export markets and mitigating risk
Nicole McQueen - Moderator Head of Global Technology Partnerships, Capital Markets, AWS
John Miller Chief Economic Analyst, Trade Data Monitor
Question: How can investors use supply chain and demand data to evaluate if companies have effectively aligned supply with demand during the high-stakes holiday season?
11:20AM Category Showcase: The New Data & Insights from Transaction and Weather Data
Weather Data: How hard is it to work with? What can it predict or help you react quicker to?
Transaction Data: Hear how this new start up is taking a different approach to gathering consumer spending data
Real Estate Data: Leveraging real estate trends to derive macro insights
Samantha Mait Manager, Equity Data Management, Balyasny Asset Management
Karl Critz Chief Technology Officer, Salient
Junior Anin Commercial & Sales Lead - Alternative Data Solutions, Global Blue
Jonas Bordo Co-Founder & CEO, Dwellsy
Question: How are you leveraging the integration of complex datasets—transaction, weather, and real estate data—to transform challenges into strategic advantages that unlock deeper macroeconomic insights and elevate predictive analytics within your industries?
11:55 AM The Evolution of Alternative Data and AI in the Investment Process
What areas, sectors or categories have investment firms been the most successful with. Understanding how LLM's and AI will affect the future of research and investing
Tim Harrington - Moderator CEO, BattleFin
Uriel Knorovich Co-Founder & CEO, Nimble Way
Joe Tenpenny Vice President of Operations, Blackthorne Capital Management
Question: How can investment firms leverage alternative data and AI, such as large language models, to transform research processes and convert integration challenges into strategic advantages across sectors?
What questions would you ask? Leave a comment below.
If you think this is useful for someone attending the conference, please feel free to forward it on.
Like this content and want to get the newsletter straight to your email?
- Jason DeRise, CFA
