Warren Hearnes
Vice President, Head of Data Science
Best Buy
Biographical Profile
Education
- PhD, Industrial Engineering – Georgia Institute of Technology – 1999
- MS, Operations Research – Georgia Institute of Technology – 1999
- BS, Mathematics – United States Military Academy – 1989
Professional Experience
- Best Buy – VP, Head of Data Science – 2022-Present: Lead a team of data scientists that elevate the use of AI, ML, and optimization within Best Buy.
- Cardlytics – SVP, Analytics & Data Science – 2011-2021: Head of analytics, optimization, & data science. Set and executed analytics/data science strategy that helped propel CDLX from start-up to multi-billion-dollar public company.
- The Home Depot – Manager, Marketing Sciences – 2011: Recruited to build and lead the in-house analytics team for direct mail and email marketing.
- UPS – Manager, Data Mining & Advanced Analytics – 2003-2011: Developed custom fraud detection, pricing optimization, asset balancing, and suspicious order monitoring solutions.
- Lucent Technologies – Member of Technical Staff – 1998-2003: Optimized the use of fiber inventory in daily orders in the world’s largest fiber-optic cable factory.
- US Army – Field Artillery Officer – 1989-1992: Served in numerous leadership roles.
INFORMS Activities
- Co-Chair, Practice Curated Sessions – 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting
- Chair, Career Center Committee – 2016-2021
- Member, Georgia Tech MS in Analytics Advisory Board – 2015-Present
Professional Honors and Awards
- INFORMS Volunteer Service Award – 2020
- Co-inventor on two patents for UPS: Systems and Methods for Improved Calculation of Coefficient for Price Sensitivity (2011) & Systems and Methods for Identifying Suspicious Orders (2010)
- IEEE Systems, Man, & Cybernetics Society Best Transactions Paper Award – 1999
- US Army Ranger Tab – 1990
- US Army Parachutist Badge – 1989
- Field Artillery Officer Basic Course Honor Graduate & Master Gunner – 1989
Publications and Presentations
Organizer and moderator of dozens of INFORMS Industry & Academic Job Search panels, author of OR/MS Today article, co-author of two book chapters, four academic journal articles, and numerous conference presentations and/or podcasts.
Vision Statement
I am honored to be nominated for the position of VP, Technology Strategy for INFORMS. I have gained much from this organization, and it would be a privilege to serve in this role to help it continue to thrive.
Technology is an integral part of how we as teachers, researchers, practitioners, students – and as a community – communicate, learn, and connect. During the past two years, we have seen significant changes in how we do all three. INFORMS has adapted quickly in this changing environment where virtual learning, video conferencing, and communication media have all been evolving.
INFORMS is stronger when we can connect, collaborate, and share research and experiences easily and effortlessly. The next VP, Technology Strategy will play an integral part by listening to members and ensuring that we have a flexible approach that serves the organization well into the future, whether it be print, online documents, searchable video, speech-to-text transcriptions, or other methods. I pledge to continue to review and adapt our technology strategy so that INFORMS has a strong foundation for innovation and growth.
If elected, I work diligently to gather ideas and feedback from our members on how well our technology is working and how we can use technology to better support students, professors, practitioners, and INFORMS staff to elevate our community and develop the next generation.
I look forward to serving each of you in this capacity.