INFORMS Practice Conference - You've Got to be Here!

Dear fellow INFORMS member,

As general chair of the 2010 INFORMS Conference on O.R. Practice organizing committee, I would like to cordially invite you to attend this year’s conference, April 18 – 20, 2010, in Orlando, Florida. We are quite proud of the program we have put together. It is the event for those engaged in putting our techniques to use.

For the most up-to-the-minute program information, please go to http://meetings2.informs.org/Practice2010/.

The INFORMS Conference on O.R. Practice is a three-day event designed for those who practice or teach operations research, management science and other techniques of analytical decision making. It provides real-world information about how analytics is being used in the business community and in policy decision making. The sessions are first-rate and the speakers have been hand-picked.

The conference features over 80 talks given by recognized leaders in their fields from world-class organizations like UPS, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Proctor & Gamble, Chevron, Intel, Kroger, IBM and more. These talks span the breadth of OR/MS and analytics practice including decision analysis, forecasting, marketing, optimization, risk management, simulation, supply chain management, and issues in energy, health care, and service science. As well as leading edge technical talks, there will be valuable tutorials and pre-conference workshops on Sunday. One of the biggest complaints we get is that there are just too many great talks from which to choose.

You may not be aware that the sessions are 50 minutes for each speaker. This format supports our goals of having conference participants going home with enough information to implement the best practices they’ve seen and also provides a great opportunity for a non-technical person to see the power and value of using OR/MS – so, bring your boss. We think this format works well for these purposes. This conference has been rated as the best benefit of INFORMS membership.

We have arranged for two visionary and thought-provoking business and policy leaders to deliver our keynote addresses. Mark Shafer, Senior Vice President of Revenue Management and Analytics at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, will describe how Disney thinks about analytical-based decision making. Richard O’Neill, Chief Economic Advisor at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, will discuss how better optimization software can save billions.

Specific events have been arranged for you to meet and network with some of the best professionals in the industry including a high-level panel on supply chain and logistics, “birds-of-a-feather” facilitated discussion groups, a great general reception, a first-time poster session, and intimate workshops and special programs for students and young practitioners.

And then there is the Edelman Competition. Awesome!

It truly is the highlight of the conference. It’s like attending the Oscars. It’s where the best of the best describe how they’ve used O.R. to make dramatic change in their organizations. Everyone sits quietly in anticipation as the envelope is read and the winner announced. It will leave you excited and proud of the profession. It is an event you really have to see in person. I highly recommend you experience the Edelman Competition at least once during your time with INFORMS.

I guarantee that if you attend INFORMS Conference on O.R. Practice once, you will want to attend over and over again. That’s true for me. Since I attended the conference in Miami I have attended every one. I look forward to seeing you there.

Thank you.

Bill Klimack
Senior Consultant, Kromite, LLC, and 2010 General Chair, INFORMS Conference on O.R. Practice