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    About Us

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    Pre-Conference Workshop

Reserve Your Space Without Obligation

This event was very informative and there were great ideas presented that I will be using to improve our forecasting process.
Barbara Thomas, Demand Planning Manager, Ecolab, Inc.

IBF’s 7th Annual Predictive Business Analytics, Forecasting & Planning Conference is a comprehensive program covering everything about predicting the future using new sources of data, methods, tools, talent management approaches, and more to become confident with our decision making and business plans.

Why YOU should Attend:

  • Understand how to create a data driven culture in your organization and win
  • Learn how to turn Big Data into valuable insights for better operations planning
  • Learn how to apply predictive analytics to the S&OP process for maximum impact
  • Learn how to use social media, point-of-sale (POS), syndicated data, and other attributes to predict sales
  • Gain knowledge on emerging technology tools for predictive analytics & business forecasting that are making organizations more profitable
  • Learn how to optimize inventory and customer service through improved business analytics
  • See the significant financial benefits that can result from improving the analytics capabilities within your organization
  • Learn how to mitigate risk through predictive analytics
  • And much more
Event Speakers
Scott Pavel
Scott Pavel
Tecumseh Poultry
Vice President of Technical Services and Continuous Improvement

Scott was part of the investment group that bought Tecumseh Poultry out of bankruptcy in June of 2000 and has been a full-time employee of the company since 2002. He has been involved in all facets of the company including sales, operations, IT and business planning. In his current role as Vice President of Technical Services and Continuous Improvement, he is responsible for all demand planning, forecasting, analytics and IoT initiatives across the business enterprise. His background includes experience in IT sales and services as well as venture capital and investment banking. He holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Danny Stout
Danny Stout
Takeda
Global Head of Forecasting, Pricing and Analytics
Danny W. Stout, Ph.D., Head of Global Forecasting, Pricing and Analytics for BioLife, is responsible for building, recommending, and driving strategic goals in relation to long-range organization planning as well as structural creation and oversight of forecasting, pricing and analytics models that support and maximize long-term growth plans for BioLife at Takeda. Danny received his doctoral degree from Oklahoma State University in the Research, Evaluation, Measurement and Statistics program in Educational Psychology. Prior to Takeda he worked in data scientist and enterprise sales engineer roles at StatSoft, Dell, Quest and TIBCO.
Sowmya Kumar
Sowmya Kumar
Microsoft
Sr. Data and Applied Scientist - Azure Supply Chain

Sowmya is a passionate data science leader with industry experience developing machine learning models at scale in production from inception to business impact. She was the founding member of data science team at Microsoft Devices, building strategic data science roadmaps and successfully executing them for multiple years with strong business impact and now part of Data science at Azure Supply Chain. She developed deep learning and machine learning modules for solving the demand-supply inventory forecast, customer level forecasting, labor optimization problems that handles seasonality, transition/ new products, marketing-promotions etc. She has experience brining applied science into different aspects of Marketing, Supply Chain & Retail. Prior to Microsoft, she was at Starbucks and was part of data science team in marketing where she was part of building customer segmentation for targeting offers to drive revenue, A/B experimentation to drive revenue and customer engagement.

Rym Khelil
Rym Khelil
SLB
Division Sales and Operations Planning Manager
Rym has extensive expertise in planning and supply chain with an industrial engineering background. She currently manages Schlumberger’s Well Construction Division S&OP process at a global scope covering $9bn in revenue and 28,000 employees. Rym has 15 years’ experience within Schlumberger, having worked in various roles in planning and supply chain and across multiple segments and location including France, the UK and currently the US. Prior to her current role, she was supply chain manager for the Schlumberger Drilling Bits business. Rym has an advanced knowledge in strategic planning, Sales and Operations Planning, resource management, inventory management, distribution, logistics, category strategy, demand management, sourcing, supplier quality, and supplier management. She holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the National Polytechnic School in Algiers and a masters’ degree from Ecole Central de Paris.
Farhat Habib
Farhat Habib
Ikigai
Senior Director, ML
Dr. Farhat is an AI100 awardee, among the top 100 most influential leaders of AI in India and currently working as a Sr. Director of AI at Ikigailabs. He previously served as Director AI at Glance, which is an Indian unicorn. He was the CEO and co-founder at Aegle Health. Dr. Farhat‘s is interested in developing algorithms for extracting meaningful information from large scale data.
Katherine Sanborn
Katherine Sanborn
Land O’Lakes Inc.
Senior Data Scientist

Katherine Sanborn is a senior data scientist in the Dairy Foods IT team at Land O’Lakes Inc. In her current role, Katherine provides analytics solutions to answer business questions with a data driven approach. Prior to Land O’Lakes, Katherine worked for the Kellogg Company. She earned her Master’s degree in Economics from Western Michigan University and Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Saint Mary’s College in Indiana.

Tim Mangan
Tim Mangan
Ashley Furniture
Forecast Analyst
Tim is a supply chain professional currently working at Ashley Furniture in the Demand Planning department. He has 7 years' experience working in various supply chain functions across diverse industries including the casket industry’s supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling unprecedented challenges to keep warehouses stocked. In his current role at Ashley, he uses a wide range of tools, including SQL, Excel, and Power BI, to generate accurate forecasts for hundreds of SKU’s. Tim holds a Bachelor’s degree from Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business.
Lindsie Herzog
Lindsie Herzog
CHS Inc.
Manager, S&OP Supply Planning, Domestic Commodities

Lindsie Herzog is a Supply Chain Planning and Strategy professional and leads the supply planning function for the grain and fertilizer business of CHS Inc corporation, a $48B company with operations in energy, chemicals, food production and commodity trading. Lindsie has held progressive leadership roles in finance, strategic planning, and financial planning and analysis throughout her career. She is ASCM Certified in Planning and Inventory Management (CPIM), Lean Systems Certified, holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Augsburg University and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Management Information Systems.

Siddanth Srivastava
Siddanth Srivastava
Mars Wrigley
Head of US Omnichannel Analytics & Responsible AI
Siddanth is a digital transformation and analytics professional currently leading a team of product leads, data scientists and data engineers for the Omnichannel data and analytics team at Mars Snacking. He also leads the Responsible AI pillar for Mars Snacking to ensure AI is being leveraged responsibly to drive mutual benefit to the ecosystem. Prior to Mars, Siddanth worked for Boston Consulting Group (GAMMA) and Mu Sigma. He holds a degree in Computer Science from NIT Jaipur.
Miwa Hattori
Miwa Hattori
Microsoft
Principal Data Scientist Manager
Miwa Hattori is a Principal Data Scientist Manager at Microsoft - Cloud & AI Division, Cloud Supply Chain and Provisioning organization. A computational economist turned data scientist, she brings together 18 years of experience in applied research, quantitative modeling, business intelligence, IT financial management, data centers, and cloud supply chain, 10 years of which are with Microsoft. She delivers forecasting, optimization, and digital twinning solutions to drive digital transformation within demand planning and supply chain. She holds an MS in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Vishal Bahl
Vishal Bahl
CHS Inc.
Senior Director of Supply Chain, Global Planning

Vishal Bahl is a Supply Chain and Operations executive and leads the Global Planning organization for the Agriculture sector of CHS corporation, a $48B company with operations in energy, chemicals, food production and commodity trading. He leads a team of demand, supply, inventory and network optimization professionals who are laser focused on driving profitable growth for the company. Prior to CHS, Vishal held progressive leadership roles in Strategic Planning, M&A, Integrated Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing Operations at Ecolab and Eaton corporation. He is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

Charles Chase, CPF
Charles Chase, CPF
SAS Institute
Executive Industry Consultant

Mr. Chase is an author, thought leader and trusted advisor delivering demand planning and forecasting solutions to improve consumer packaged goods companies supply chain efficiencies. Prior to that, he worked for various companies, including the Mennen Company, Johnson & Johnson, Consumer Products Inc., Reckitt Benckiser PLC, Polaroid Corporation, Coca Cola, Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals, and Heineken USA. He has more than 20 years of experience in the consumer packaged goods industry, and is an expert in sales forecasting, market response modeling, econometrics, and supply chain management. He is the author of several books, including Next Generation Demand Management: People, Process, Analytics, and Technology and Demand-Driven Forecasting: A Structured Approach to Forecasting. In addition, he is co-author of Bricks Matter: The Role of Supply Chains in Building Market-Driven Differentiation. He is also the second recipient of the IBF Lifetime Achievement Award.

Imane Sabeh, CPF
Imane Sabeh, CPF
KBI Biopharma (a JSR Company)
Director of Global S&OP

Imane "Amy" Sabeh is a supply chain executive with extensive planning experience across many industries, including moving and storage, CPG, and biotech. She has worked with high-profile companies such as PODS, Clorox, Sunbrella, and Teleflex, and is currently the Director of Global S&OP at KBI Biopharma. She is a strategist and leader with multimillion-dollar business administration experience, specializing in designing and implementing strategic planning solutions and processes. Imane was recognized in 2024 as a Rising Star by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. She holds an MBA in Supply Chain Management and Marketing Strategy from the University of South Florida (USF), as well as a Bachelor degree with a double major in Finance and Marketing, and a minor in Communication, from Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI), Morocco. Imane is an active member of the Institute of Business Forecasting & Planning (IBF) and is a Certified Professional Forecaster (CPF). She is a published author with multiple articles in the Journal of Business Forecasting and is an exceptional speaker, delivering keynotes at forums such as the Global S&OP Best Practices Conference.

Rick Davis
Rick Davis
Demand Chain AI
Founder & CEO
With over 30 years in the CPG industry, Rick has spent most of his career at the Kellogg Company and served in numerous Vice President level roles leading multiple functions both regionally and globally. He formed the Global Data Office and implemented enterprise data governance while serving on the Executive Leadership Committee for GS1 – US. Across these roles Rick has been responsible for leading numerous functions including Distribution & Logistics, Planning (Trade, Sales, Demand, Supply), Integrated Business Planning, Analytics, Sales Technology, Enterprise Data Strategy including MDM and Data Governance, and Reverse Logistics. Since retiring from Kellogg, he has worked with multiple large CPG organizations as an independent consultant focusing primarily in the areas of End-to-End Planning, Enterprise Data Strategy and Governance, Advanced Analytics, and Digital Transformation.
Gerald Verno
Gerald Verno
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
Director of Supply Chain Planning and Analytics (SCPA)
Gerald is the Director of Supply Chain Planning & Analytics at WMATA. His team is responsible for ensuring sufficient levels of materials for the WMATA maintenance groups, using best practices in forecasting, S&OP, and inventory management. The team also manages data governance and analytics for the entire supply chain, working with the procurement department to source materials globally to support the 8th largest transit agency in the United States. Gerald holds a degree in Business from Queens College, NY, and several supply chain certifications from ASCM and is also the President of the DC Metro ASCM Chapter.
Wes Womer
Wes Womer
KSM
Transaction Advisory Services Manager
Wes started his career as a Finance Analyst at Johnson & Johnson and Body Shop of America before moving into a Financial Planning role at Stanley Black and Decker. After being exposed to the S&OP process, his introduction to demand panning had begun and he would spend the next 5 years as Stanley Black and Decker’s S&OP/Sales Forecasting Manager. Wes is now Senior Finance Manager, Pricing Market and Analytics, at Wabash National, where he employs cutting edge machine learning and predictive analytics to drive forecasts and business insight. He holds a Law Degree from Indiana University, an Accounting degree from Butler University, a Master’s in law from The University of Alabama, and a Master of Science, Data Science, from India University.
Rob Stevens
Rob Stevens
First Analytics
Vice President

As part of the leadership team at First Analytics, Rob helps companies develop and execute programs to cultivate their analytics competency. He brings experience to bear stemming more than thirty years as an analytics professional. His career has consisted of consulting, product development, client service, technical, and sales roles within software, consulting and market research firms. His experience includes senior roles at SAS, IRI, Accenture, Ernst & Young, and Marketing Analytics (now part of AC Nielsen). Rob has helped clients gain the benefit of analytics in the consumer products, manufacturing, retail, railroad, automotive, utilities and energy, and health and life sciences industries.

Kendell Churchwell, ACPF
Kendell Churchwell, ACPF
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
Senior Marketing Data Analyst
Kendell Churchwell is a senior analyst with Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance where she is responsible for the implementation of marketing predictive analytics projects. Her career started at IBM as an IT specialist before moving on to business analysis and analytics roles at C Spire where she spent 10 years. She is a Certified Analytics Professional (CAP®, INFORMS), a certified IBM SPSS Modeler Professional, and Project Management Professional (PMP). Kendell has BS in Mathematics and Computer Science and an MBA from Mississippi State University.
Andrew D. Schneider, ACPF
Andrew D. Schneider, ACPF
Viega LLC
Head of Demand Planning & Analytics

Andrew Schneider is a veteran supply chain and business science professional, with a 20 year career spanning journalism, sales, demand planning, analytics, emerging data sciences, strategy, and enterprise risk management. He is a thought leader for the IBF and a member of the esteemed advisory board, an ASCM award-winning fellow & certification holder, and an always-hungry learner of & contributor to the business planning field. He has vast experience across leadership & practitioner roles in CPG, Footwear & Apparel, Food & Beverage, and Medical Device sectors, along with systems implementation, COE deployment, and full supply chain transformation experience. Andrew is presently employed in a supply chain management role with Viega LLC, but also maintains his consultancy practice and is always available to network, consult, and serve. He is an IBF Advanced Certified Professional Forecaster (ACPF).

Eric Wilson, ACPF
Eric Wilson, ACPF
Institute of Business Forecasting & Planning
Director – Thought Leadership

Prior Roles

  • Escalade Sports: Director of Demand Planning
  • Berry Plastics: Director of Demand Planning
  • Tempura Sealy International: Director of Demand Planning & S&OP

Industry Involvement

  • Frequent speaker and panelist for many executive forums and professional conferences
  • Written numerous articles in publications including The Journal of Business Forecasting and APICS Magazine
  • Author of the books Cultural Cycles and Predictive Analytics for Business Forecasting & Planning

Award

  • IBF Excellence in Business Forecasting & Planning

Certification

  • IBF Advanced Certified Professional Forecaster (ACPF)
Event Speakers
Scott Pavel
Scott Pavel
Tecumseh Poultry
Vice President of Technical Services and Continuous Improvement
Sowmya Kumar
Sowmya Kumar
Microsoft
Sr. Data and Applied Scientist - Azure Supply Chain
Danny Stout
Danny Stout
Takeda
Global Head of Forecasting, Pricing and Analytics
Conference Schedule
Download Schedule
(PDF, ~2mb)
  • Pre-Conference Workshop
    Apr 25, 2023
  • Conference Day 1
    Apr 26, 2023
  • Conference Day 2
    Apr 27, 2023
April 25, IBF Members Only
1:15 PM - 4:30 PM
Hands-On Data Science & Predictive Analytics Workshop (Gold Package/IBF Members Only)

1:15pm-4:30pm EDT

DATA SCIENCE WORKSHOP

This workshop will provide tips to incorporate time series analysis into your own organization, where you’ll learn to leverage the cutting-edge of analytics especially in forecasting and how it can be used to predict future customer demand. Time series analysis can be used to identify seasonality and other trends in demand, as well as to identify correlations between different variables. In this hands-on session on Times Series Analysis, we will cover data imputation and forecasting, episodic time series analysis (imputation and forecasting), and time series classification using a no-code AI platform.

I. INTRODUCTION

• No code AI

II. Introduction to Time Series Analysis

• Time Series Datasets

• Missing Data Imputation

• Data Forecasting

• Hands on project on data imputation and forecasting with retail data

III. Episodic Time Series Analysis

• What is episodic time series analysis

• Missing data imputation with episodic time series

  • Forecasting with episodic time series
  • Artificial Neural Networks
  • Using ANNs for Time Series Classification

• Hands on project on data imputation and forecasting with sports data

IV. Time Series Classification

• Classification in the context of Time Series

• Hands on human activity classification project on time series

Speaker photo
Farhat Habib
IkigaiSenior Director, ML
Pricing
Onsite Rate
(Expires in 0 days 0 hours)
SILVER PACKAGE
$2,099

Member’s discount: -$100

GOLD PACKAGE
$2,349
4th FREE - GOLD GROUP
Best Value (Group) (4 persons for price of 3)
$7,047
GOLD CPF CERTIFICATION PACKAGE
Best Value (+CPF Certification)
$3,599
GOLD GROUP PACKAGE
(2 PERSONS)
$4,598
SILVER GROUP PACKAGE
(2 PERSONS)
$4,098
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP: Data Science & Use of Big Data
(IBF MEMBERS ONLY)
PREDICTIVE BUSINESS ANALYTICS CONFERENCE
APRIL 26-27, 2023
EVENING COCKTAIL RECEPTION
APRIL 26, 2023
DATA SCIENCE & USE OF BIG DATA WORKSHOP
APRIL 25, 2023 (ACTIVE IBF MEMBERS ONLY)
BREAKFAST & LUNCH
IBF MEMBERSHIP (1 YEAR)
CPF CERTIFICATION EXAMS
BOOK: FUNDAMENTALS OF DEMAND PLANNING & FORECASTING
(FREE SHIPPING)
Sponsors
Exhibitors
Pomerol/Qlik
Put the IBF to Work for You!

Become an IBF Member and Start Improving Your Forecasting & Planning Performance Today.

The IBF Advantage:

IBF members include well-known company professionals that span a broad array of business sectors. By joining our organization, you can make certain that your company sets up the right forecasting & planning process and uses the best techniques available. Moreover, you can be sure that your forecasting and demand planning staff has the proper knowledge and skill set for success.

As an IBF member you receive:

  • A subscription to the Journal of Business Forecasting, which is primarily written by and geared toward practitioners.
  • Our Research Reports which include valuable benchmarking information and provide you with eye opening information on various topics in Business Forecasting and Planning.
  • Special discounts on our Conferences, Workshops, Training Seminars, Certification Program, as well as on any new products and services we will offer in the future.
  • Access to Journal of Business Forecasting Past Articles (FREE)Access to our growing online Knowledge section & Action Templates
  • Complimentary 1-day Tutorials at select Global events ($1000 USD Value)
Upcoming Events & Trainings
OCTOBER 22 - 25, 2024
Orlando, Florida USA
w/ Leadership Forum & Fundamentals of Forecasting and Planning Tutorial...
October 23, 2024
Orlando, Florida USA
Business Planning, Forecasting & S&OP/ IBP...
Event Location
Harrah's New Orleans
+1-877-466-7847
228 Poydras Street
New Orleans, Louisiana
70130 USA
Hotel Room Rate: $229/ night + tax
If you have issues with date availability through the link or by phone, please email support@ibf.org and we will assist with your request within 24 hours.
Book My Accomodation

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

  • PAYMENT: Payment in full is required prior to the scheduled date of IBF event. Unless payment is received before the start of the scheduled event, your registration will be canceled.
  • CANCELLATION POLICY: All cancellations must be received in writing a minimum of 15 days prior to the scheduled IBF event. Cancellations received less than 15 days prior to the event are subject to a $195 (USD) service charge. However, the fee is waived if a credit is selected. For cancellations made on the event date or thereafter, a credit will be applied, no refunds. If you have received training material for the event, then regardless of time before the event, only a credit will be given, no refunds. Furthermore, if your package includes IBF Membership, membership is non-refundable. Therefore any approved refunds that include IBF Membership will be returned minus IBF Membership at the advertised price.
  • MATERIALS: Any materials delivered by IBF in reference to this program are for personal use only.
  • SPEAKERS: The Institute of Business Forecasting & Planning - IBF, reserves the right to substitute, eliminate, and/or reschedule sessions and speakers if necessary.
  • Plus, as a registrant or speaker, you agree that you may be included in group pictures or videos taken at the event that could be used for IBF services, including marketing in the future.
  • For event packages that include IBF membership, registrants will be billed annually for each member. Membership can be cancelled at any time by unselecting membership renewal on your IBF profile.