People
Team
DIRECTOR
CENTRE FOR BUSINESS ANALYTICS
PROFESSOR OF OPERATIONS
Responsible for academic oversight of our Master of Business Analytics degree. Professor Akçay’s focus is to lead and execute the Centre’s research strategy and build on its existing reputation.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
CENTRE FOR BUSINESS ANALYTICS
Ms Arbogast is responsible for the Centre’s strategy and industry partnerships and has over 20 years of experience in leadership roles in the US, including at GE Capital and MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
DIRECTOR
MASTER OF BUSINESS ANALYTICS
Dr Holcombe has over 10 years' experience in industry, utilising analytics in the design and administration of infrastructure within the financial services sector. He spent over 20 years teaching and has expertise in mathematical physics.
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW
Young-San Lin is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Business Analytics at the Melbourne Business School. He finished his Ph.D. at the Department of Computer Science at Purdue University. His research interest lies in the interdisciplinary field of theoretical computer science, economics, and operations research, focusing on market design, resource allocation, and online algorithms.
CENTRE INDUSTRY LIAISON LEAD
With nearly 20-years’ experience managing events at ANZ and marketing and communications at RACV subsidiary, Intelematics, Ms Economou is currently responsible for implementing the strategic plan for the Centre for Business Analytics.
Industry Advisory Board
Our Advisory Board is comprised of some of Australia’s finest analytics professionals and business leaders that drive the use and influence of business analytics in industry and government.
The Board brings diversity and depth of experience to developing and guiding the Centre’s strategy.
CHAIR
After 32-plus years as an Accenture information technology and management consultant, Ms Stops now serves as Deputy Chancellor, University of Melbourne and Non-executive Director for Coles Group and Fitted for Work.
BOARD MEMBER
Mr Ugoni is an experienced Data and Analytics Executive. He has previously served at go1 and Bupa as the Chief Data Officer, the Director of Global Matching and Analytics at Seek and led NAB projects and teams, including the Credit Card Fraud Analytics Group and Customer Analytics team.
BOARD MEMBER
Dr Hill is currently a Director at Taylor Fry. He previously served as the Data & Analytics Lead across the Business and Commercial banking portfolio at ANZ. Mr Hill’s previous roles include Brightstar's Global Head of Analytics.
BOARD MEMBER
Over 20 years, managing partner Ken Roberts has built Forethought into Australia's most commercially effective and innovative marketing growth consultancy. A recognised innovator of advanced analytics methods, he holds patents in the US and Australia.
BOARD MEMBER
Michael manages the Pricing and Analytics Team insurance products for all Suncorp brands, including AAMI, Suncorp, GIO, and APIA and has been responsible for introducing several innovative firsts in personal-lines pricing in Australia.
BOARD MEMBER
With 25-years’ experience in customer analytics, including 17 years at Foxtel, Coles and Flybuys, Ms Eastgate is currently working with Bunnings where she is charged with introducing leading analytics capability.
BOARD MEMBER
The Chief Data & Analytics Officer at L’Oréal South Asia Pacific, Middle East & North Africa, Ms Young has also worked in management consulting within the data analytics team at Kearney and as Toll Group's General Manager for Transformation & Analytics.
BOARD MEMBER
Janice joined Coles in 2023 and partners with C-suite leaders to help organisations work smarter and innovate in our fast-moving world. Janice has held a number of senior roles across Data Strategy, Data Science, Digital, Systems Integration, Outsourcing and Consulting at Bupa, Monash University and IBM.
BOARD MEMBER
Over 25 years experience in a range of industries, creating new growth markets, and segments for large enterprises Vodafone, Deloitte, MYOB, and for the last 5 years taking this capability into the tech scale-up environments of myprosperity and LivePreso. Jodie more recently joined PEXA in a new growth function as the GM of Financial Institution Solutions.
BOARD MEMBER
Simon's career spans 18 years in the Energy sector with bp across Data & Insights, Digital Solutions, Commercial Operations and Supply Economics. He currently leads Customer Operations for Castrol in Asia, focusing on regional growth in the lubricants industry.
Academic Fellows
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF OPERATIONS
Gerardo Berbeglia is currently an associate professor at Melbourne Business School. After completing his PhD at the Université de Montréal, Gerardo was a Senior Scientist at ExPretio Technologies Inc and, later, a Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ECONOMETRICS & STATISTICS
Jamie completed his PhD at the Australian National University (ANU) in 2017 and has since held positions at the ANU, BI Norwegian Business School, and The University of Queensland (UQ). Jamie’s research primarily focuses on the application and development of econometric models to understand and predict macroeconomic phenomena such as business cycles, inflation, and policy effectiveness.
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW
Young-San Lin is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Business Analytics at the Melbourne Business School. He finished his Ph.D. at the Department of Computer Science at Purdue University. His research interest lies in the interdisciplinary field of theoretical computer science, economics, and operations research, focusing on market design, resource allocation, and online algorithms.
PROFESSOR OF STATISTICS
Chris Lloyd joined Melbourne Business School in 2003 as a Professor of Statistics. Upon completing his PhD at the University of Melbourne, Chris held Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer positions at the Australian Graduate School of Management and the University of Hong Kong.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, ECONOMETRICS & BUSINESS STATISTICS, MONASH UNIVERSITY
Ole Maneesoonthorn is an Associate Professor of Econometrics & Business Statistics at Monash University. Ole's teaching specialty includes Data Analysis for the Master of Business Administration; and Statistics Accelerator, Statistics Learning, Predictive Analytics and Finance Analytics.
PROFESSOR OF FINANCE
Nadia is an internationally acclaimed Professor of Finance known for her research, teaching and expertise especially on financial intermediaries, Blockchain and Digital Currency.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MARKETING
Nico Neumann joined Melbourne Business School in 2017 as an Assistant Professor and Fellow for the Centre for Business Analytics. Nico's research and work expertise revolves around marketing automation, business analytics and marketing measurement.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF OPERATIONS
Dr. Lusheng Shao is an Associate Professor of Operations Management. He has held visiting positions at John M. Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis and Warwick Business School, University of Warwick.
PROFESSOR OF STATISTICS AND ECONOMETRICS
Michael Smith has held the Chair of Management in Econometrics at MBS since 2007. He is a leading researcher in Bayesian statistics and business analytics. Prior to joining MBS, he held positions at Monash University and the University of Sydney.
ENTERPRISE PROFESSOR
Hugh Williams is the Melbourne Business School's first Melbourne Enterprise Professor. Hugh joined MBS from Google, where he was a Vice President and led Google Maps' worldwide product and engineering teams.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MARKETING
Dr. Ping Xiao holds a Ph.D. from Washington University in Saint Louis and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Science and Technology of China. Her main research interests are strategic interactions in business (E-commerce) expansion, big data analytics and policy evaluation, social network/media and consumer analytics, crowdsourcing and crowdfunding, and the social impact of corporate social responsibility.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ECONOMETRICS AND BUSINESS STATISTICS
Wenying Yao joined Melbourne Business School in 2022. After completing her PhD at Monash University in 2013, Wenying has worked at Deakin University, Monash University, and the University of Tasmania. Wenying’s research covers time series econometrics in general, with a particular focus on the applications of innovative econometric tools to financial and macroeconomic data.
Student Fellows
Student Fellows of the Centre of Business Analytics are students striving to achieve recognition for their contributions to knowledge and practice of business analytics.
Student
Francis is a Computer Engineering graduate in business analytics, currently employed as a Student Fellow for the Centre for Business Analytics. Previously, he worked as a data analyst in the oil retail industry. He is keen on improving decision-making systems and processes through data analytics and reverse engineering.
Student
Winston Peng Gao is a trilingual expert in business analytics, accounting, and finance, holding dual master's degrees and a bachelor's degree. His diverse work experience ranges from real estate development and sales consulting to treasury and financial analysis roles, underlining his commitment to driving stakeholder value using technology and mathematical insights.
Student
Niveditha graduated with a Bachelor of Computer Science and Commerce specialist. Her previous experiences include working as a Technology Risk Associate and as a Data Analytics Consultant. Her passion for solving complex business problems using data has led her to pursue a Masters in Business Analytics, where she hopes to develop advanced data analytics skills to address challenges in various industries.
Student
Nico brings his love of analytics and decision making into day-to-day business problems. With his economics and finance background, as well as experience as a product manager, he is excited on getting exposed to exploring and harnessing data supported solutions.
Student
Rachel is currently pursuing a Master of Business Analytics at MBS. Her educational foundation is rooted in both Computer Science and Finance, earning her an undergraduate degree that combines technical prowess with financial acumen. Her passion lies in leveraging data-driven insights to make impactful decisions in the business world.
Student
Armed with a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Economics and Finance, Jack harbors a profound passion for tackling business challenges. Fueled by a love for analytics, he is keen to deploy a blend of technical and analytical skills to develop data-driven solutions for complex business issues. Eager and ready, Jack is poised to transform business strategies with smart analytics.
Student
Kelly graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, double majoring in Accounting and Finance. She gained valuable experience working in auditing and consulting. Eager to build upon her strong foundation, Lixian is currently expanding her skill set to include advanced analytical capabilities. Her goal is to address complex challenges in various industries, blending her financial expertise with a fresh analytical approach to drive practical solutions.
Student
Jerry is an actuarial science graduate pursuing a master’s in business analytics who values data-driven decision-making grounded in empirical truth. With diverse experience in insurance, finance, policy-making, and alternative investments, he leverages rigorous analytical thinking to address cross-industrial challenges and opportunities.
Student
Tim is a graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Actuarial Science. His curiosity for numbers and analytics guides his interest in addressing real-world business challenges. With an appreciation for data-driven decision-making, he is on a journey to explore how data can contribute to practical solutions in the world of business.
Student
Tom graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering from UNSW Sydney. His diverse experience ranges from petroleum engineering to hospitality management around Australia. He is keen to use problem-solving skills from his professional career to accomplish business success. Tom had experience using programming languages to solve analytical problems in his area of expertise. He is passionate about predictive analytics, determining insights, creating business strategies, and bridging the technical and business skill gap in helping companies make data-driven decisions.
Academic Steering Group
The academic steering group provides overall direction to the Centre for Business Analytics.
PROFESSOR OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
James Bailey is a Professor in the Melbourne School of Engineering at the University of Melbourne and Program Lead for Artificial Intelligence. He was previously an Australian Research Council Future Fellow.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Dr Murray leads cyber security research, teaching and engagement in the School of Computing and Information Systems at the University of Melbourne. He holds a D.Phil. in Computer Science from the University of Oxford and previously worked for National ICT Australia (now Data61) and DST Group.
