The IDSC Industry Advisory Board is committed to making South Florida a hub for the integration of data science into the decision-making processes for all industries. Its mission is to support the education of the next generation of data scientists and promote the adoption of data practices by industry and business executives in the Western hemisphere.

 

O F F I C E R S

Chairman
Pete Martinez
CEO, Sivotech Analytics

Pete Martinez serves as Chairman and CEO of SIVOTEC Analytics; high innovation enterprises at the intersection of Sports, Health, Technology, and Big Data Analytics. An international entrepreneur, he has led numerous high-impact initiatives in the areas of high technology, business consulting, healthcare, and education. During his 32-year tenure with IBM as Vice President of Global Business Services and the Senior Location Executive for IBM South Florida, he led a 1,700-person organization composed of consultants, hardware and software developers, industry specialists, and sales leaders on projects in the areas of advanced research, supercomputing, and information-based medicine. In 2003, Martinez led the formation of IBM’s largest Business Transformation Multi-Client Center, which opened a multi-billion-dollar outsourcing business.

Mr. Martinez is a Research Affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and is a visiting professor at Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. Additionally, he is Chair of the University of Miami School of Engineering Advisory Board and Chair of the Florida International University School of Computer Science Advisory Board

Mr. Martinez has over 30 patents and technical publications in the areas of healthcare, computer architecture, robotics, optical disks, and display technology. Martinez is a frequent keynote at international conferences and has been featured by the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, ABC News, The Economist, Univision, and CNN, and has presented at the United Nations.

 

Vice Chairman
Eddy Vadia
Investor
Co-Founder Access Physicians

Dr. Eduardo Vadia graduated from the University of Miami School of Medicine in 2006. He completed his Internal Residency Residency, Chief Medical Residency, and Pulmonary & Critical Care Fellowship at UT Southwestern in Dallas, TX. Dr. Vadia was tenured as a faculty physician at UT Southwestern through April 2019, where he focused his efforts on medical education in the Parkland Hospital ICU.

He is currently boarded in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine. During his fellowship, Dr Vadia co-founded Access Physicians, a multi-specialty telemedicine physician group focused on “scaling clinical excellence” in its effort to deliver care to high-acuity, high-complexity patients in the inpatient setting. Dr Vadia grew the company from inception to the second-largest inpatient telemedicine group in the country. Access Physicians had over 200 hospital deployments across 30 states, managed over 600 physicians, and secured enterprise agreements with many of the largest health and hospital systems in the country. Access Physicians was acquired in March, 2021 by SOC Telemed.

Dr Vadia has returned home to Miami and is still focused on high-impact innovation as an investor and as a founder.

 

 

M E M B E R S

 

Diego Berta
Vice President, Strategic Partnerships
MagicLeap, Inc.

Coming from a family of engineers and craftsmen in Argentina’s wine country, Diego was born with an appreciation for raw materials and the artisans who turn rough elements into amazing works of mechanical or fine arts. For him, the startup world is no different. He prides himself on having an innate ability to find rare visionaries and entrepreneurs, and then help them turn rough ideas into unique and highly valuable companies.

Diego is a well-versed deal maker in the realm of advanced technology. As the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Magic Leap (considered one of the world’s most innovative technology startups) Diego is responsible for curating Magic Leap’s strategic partnerships and next-generation technologies. Prior to Magic Leap, Diego served as Sr. Manager of Business Development of MAKO Surgical where he was responsible for qualifying and securing intellectual and financial capital for core technology projects. After a successful 9 year run of innovation in surgical robotics and numerous awards, the company was acquired for $1.7B. Diego started his career in the technology world at ThinkEquity, a boutique investment bank that specialized in the medical robotics space.

Diego’s greatest accomplishment in life is having found his wife of 17 years and being the father of two brilliant and loving children.

 

Nicolai Bezsonoff
Vice President
GoDaddy Registry

Nicolai is the Vice President of GoDaddy Registry, a world-leading provider of domain name registry services powering more than 250 of the world’s most recognized top-level domains for countries, brands, and generic domains for 15 million consumers globally. Prior to that, Nicolai was the SVP and GM of the Registry and Cybersecurity divisions for Neustar. At Neustar, he provided cloud-based security solutions to accelerate, secure, and defend thousands of global enterprises through the largest scale DNS, DDoS, and WAF solutions available. Nicolai was also an entrepreneur as the Co-Founder and COO of .CO Internet, a successful Internet company based in both Miami and Colombia that was sold to Neustar. Under his tenure, .CO saw incredible growth and became one of the most successful domain extensions in history, with more than 1.6 million domain names registered by people in 200 countries. At GoDaddy, Neustar, and .CO, Nicolai has led the strategy and implementation of aggressive organic growth plans while also completing 7 M&A transactions along the way, including the sale of .CO to Neustar.

Apart from .CO, Nicolai has more than 25 years of experience in technology, banking, and strategy. Originally from Colombia, Nicolai was previously a Director at Citigroup’s Investment Bank in New York overseeing a large team in New York, London, São Paulo, and Mumbai. Prior to that Nicolai worked in various consulting firms providing advisory services to global firms in the US and Latin-America.

Nicolai holds a degree in Industrial Engineering (honors) from the University of Miami, as well as an MBA from Columbia University and London Business School. Additionally, he sponsors a scholarship at UM School of Engineering, is a mentor at Endeavor, and is an active Angel investor.

 

Matthew Denesuk, PhD
Senior Vice President, Data Analytics and AI
Royal Caribbean Group

Matthew Denesuk is the SVP of Data Analytics & AI at Royal Caribbean Cruises in Miami, FL. He oversees the inception, development, and deployment of data-driven and AI-based capabilities across the company. Mr. Denesuk previously worked as Chief Data Science Officer, and a founder, of Noodle.ai, which provides AI-as-a-Service to enterprises and industrial firms. Prior to that, he was the Chief Data Science Officer and GM of the Data Science of Excellence at General Electric. He also led Smarter Planet Modeling & Analytics at IBM Research and was a Partner in IBM’s Venture Capital Group.

Mr. Denesuk has BS, MS, and PhD degrees from MIT and the University of Arizona. He considers himself a technologist, scientist, and sometimes-business guy with a great desire to apply data, business theory, physics, and math to make the world work better. He loves to develop and deploy new technology, and to grow organizational capability that can do it at scale.

 

Brian Freed, CFA
Chief Executive Officer
Illuminex AI

Brian Freed, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), has a career path that reflects a unique blend of experience in business analysis as well as successful operational execution in the establishment and growth of new businesses focused on data-centric applications.

As the CEO of Illuminex AI, Brian is committed to democratizing the implementation of Computer Vision and AI with a focus on bespoke applications where challenges such as data scarcity and technical integration hinder the development of precise and cost-effective solutions. He has a proven track record of driving growth in both startup and globally established environments. His extensive financial background and broad technical knowledge make him a proven leader in solution development, strategic alliances, go-to-market strategies, and sales.

Before joining Illuminex AI, Brian held the position of Chief Operating Officer at Eagle Aerospace, a company specializing in Airfield Technology solutions. He also served as the COO for Phizzle, a developer of IoT software that facilitated remote monitoring and control of quality and compliance solutions used in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Prior to these roles, Brian was the General Manager of the High-Performance Data Analytics (HPDA) business unit at SGI. He established this unit from scratch and successfully grew it to a $50M annual run rate.

In addition to his experience in the tech industry, Brian spent 13 years on Wall Street as a Chartered Financial Analyst. During this time, he focused exclusively on research, financial modeling, and stock recommendations for companies specializing in High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Data Lifecycle technologies.

 

Laura Gabrysiak
Senior Manager, Global Data Science
Visa Consulting & Analytics
+ Founder, R-Ladies Miami

Laura Gabrysiak is a Data Scientist at Visa Consulting & Analytics, where she develops statistical models and decision analytics tools, enabling Visa clients to leverage massive amounts of data into actionable Machine Learning (ML) models and implement Artificial Intelligence (AI). Last year, she developed a dashboard-creation framework cutting the development process by 60% and significantly increasing client engagement. Ms. Gabrysiak is also an active member of the Visa Women’s Network.

Outside of work, Ms. Gabrysiak is building the local data science community in Miami. She is a Founder of R-Ladies Miami, to promote diversity in the R community with currently ~700 members, and she collaborates with Code Art as a mentor. Ms. Gabrysiak has strong expertise in Statistical Modeling, Data Visualization, and User Research in both academia and industry. She worked several years at the German Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Berlin (DFKI) and company’s e.g., SAP creating innovative, impactful data products.

Ms. Gabrysiak relocated a couple of years ago to Miami from Berlin, and she speaks five languages fluently. She is an avid and enthusiastic rock climber, and in her spare time, she is traveling or on her road bike.

 

Maurice Jenkins, IAP CM
Chief Innovation Officer
Miami-Dade County, Aviation Department

With more than thirty years of experience committed to achieving strategic growth and technology objectives for MIA, Maurice Jenkins has been a keen adopter to self-service technologies and has encouraged airlines serving the airport to embrace innovation also. Prior to his role as a CIO, Mr. Jenkins was responsible for defining and managing IT capital assets and IT management processes to ensure their successful implementation and project integration. In addition, he served as the Aviation Department’s Chief Information Officer/Director of Information Systems, responsible for the development and implementation of standards‐based policies and procedures that support business operations which improved the overall quality of service of enterprise IT systems. His strategic vision has successfully culminated in the integration of new technology in the opening of the new South and North Terminals at Miami International Airport. In addition, the success of these new system implementations such as Biometrics, Virtual Queuing and new innovating technologies show his technical acumen and dedication to serve the residents of Miami‐Dade County.

Mr. Jenkins has implemented an area wide marketing information service to both hotels and conventions centers using current flight information data from Miami International Airport. AAAE and ACI best in practice initiatives are strictly adhered to that display his commitment to providing the highest level of service governed by industry standards. He graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Computer Information Systems. He also earned certifications in Strategic Management from Florida International University and Human Resources Management from Nova Southeastern University.

Mr. Jenkins served as the Chairman of the Business Information Technology Committee (BIT), which was established by Airports Council International (ACI) to set strategic objectives future technology direction for airports. He was also served as Chairman of the Florida Airports Council’s Information Technology Committee from February 2019 until December 2021. Mr. Jenkins has given presentations on implementation solutions to key IT leaders and airport IT conferences in the U.S. and internationally sharing his proven successful practices with his peer group.

 

Kevin Levy, PhD
Shareholder + Chair, Technology Transactions | Gray Robinson

Kevin is a shareholder in the Miami office and chair of the firm’s technology transactions practice. For 25 years, Kevin has advised innovative companies on business, corporate and technology matters at all stages of growth, including U.S. and foreign-based global corporations, technology enterprises and entrepreneurial ventures. Kevin is known for his personalized approach to strategic counseling and providing savvy advice on mergers and acquisitions of technology companies, software licensing, Cloud-based services, and data privacy and security. He also
advises clients on practical, real-world approaches to corporate structuring and restructuring, complex IT development, intellectual property and technology licensing, e-commerce and commercial transactions, product marketing and distribution, outsourcing transactions and service agreements.

Kevin was named “Lawyer of the Year” for Technology Law by Best Lawyers in America® for 2016, 2019, and 2021, and in 2017 was presented with the “Salute to Miami’s Leaders” Award by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. He has also received recognition from numerous other industry publications, including Super Lawyers, Florida Trend, South Florida Business Journal and Business Leader Media. Kevin is frequently interviewed by the media on current business and technology law issues and trends. In addition to practicing law, Kevin has devoted substantial time, energy and mentorship to developing the Florida technology community, including serving as the chair of the Computer and Technology Law Committee of The Florida Bar, chair of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Technology and Bioscience Committee, and as co-chair of the Beacon Council’s Information and Technology Committee, as well as serving as a mentor for a number of accelerator and incubator programs.

 

Roy Lowrance, PhD
Founder + CEO | Applied Data Science, LLC

Dr. Lowrance’s career has been in three areas, IT, management consulting, and education. In IT, Dr. Lowrance started as a software engineer, then became CIO or CTO at multiple organizations including Capital One and Reuters. In management consulting, he focused on helping companies like McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group leverage IT in their business strategies. In education, Dr. Lowrance worked with faculty to co-design NYU’s Center for Data Science and their Master of Science in Data Science degree, which was the first on-campus master’s degree in data science. He subsequently helped design a series of executive education courses for NYU.

Dr. Lowrance is the founder of Applied Data Science, LLC, and the co-founder of 7 Chord (AI for Bond Traders). He earned his PhD in Computer Science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU. He graduated with honors as a Baker Scholar with an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and was awarded a BA in Mathematics cum laude at Vanderbilt.

 

Kevin McKenzie, PhD
VP, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
Dollar Tree, Inc.

Dr. McKenzie is a seasoned senior executive with extensive experience in information technology/systems and a peer/industry-recognized leader in information security. Currently Vice-President for Information Technology and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Dollar Tree Inc., a Fortune 135 company. He has prior experiences encompassing multiple industries including higher education, medical/health care, federal information systems, and print media. Well-versed with regulated environments such as HIPAA, FISMA, SOX, and PCI-DSS and security frameworks such as CSF, NIST 800-53, CIS/CSC 20, PCI-DSS, and ITIL. Dr. McKenzie has held previous positions as CISO in higher education at Clemson University and in health care as CISO with Health Sciences of South Carolina.

In addition to his corporate officer responsibilities, Dr. McKenzie still holds an appointment as a Research Professor and lecturer at Clemson University instructing courses on information technology, advanced statistics, and advanced data analytics. Dr. McKenzie serves on the board of directors for two tech start-ups, Pirangi Networks, and Hook Security, Inc. He is a member of the board of directors for the National Technology Security Coalition (NTSC), and a strategic advisory board member of the International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP), which promotes and supports the increase of interest and inclusion of all minorities within the domain of cybersecurity.

Dr. McKenzie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Clemson University, a Master’s of Science in Industrial Management from Clemson University, and a Doctorate in Career and Technology Education from Clemson University. He also holds current security industry certifications of Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and an Internal Security Assessor (ISA) for PCI-DSS. He is a graduate of multiple national leadership programs such as Domestic Security Executive Academy by the FBI at Quantico, Educause Leadership Institute, and MOR Leadership Program.

 

Robert Moniz, PEng
President | GlassHouse Systems US

 As President of GlassHouse Systems US, Mr. Moniz leads a dynamic team of sales and technical professionals focused on delivering exceptional client experiences.

Joining GlassHouse in 2007 as VP Sales for Canada, Mr. Moniz helped diversify the company’s product offerings and recruit key personnel enabling GlassHouse Canada to become one of Canada’s leading enterprise IT solution providers.

Having led GlassHouse as President and General Manager since 2016, Mr. Moniz is now focused on developing the US line of business. Mr. Moniz holds Bachelors degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering and Sociology.

 

 

José Ignacio Rasco
Managing Director | STRAAT Investments

 Jose I. Rasco is a Miami-born and raised entrepreneur and currently Managing Director of STRAAT Investments, a Miami-based holding company that builds innovative companies. Among those current companies is Classic.com, the trusted online platform for classic and exotic cars. He has been a founder, investor and advisor in Miami’s technology sector for nearly 20 years. Most recently, Jose co-founded, built and sold Dot Health, the owner of the .health top level domain. Prior to that, he was a co-founder of Building.co and .CO Internet. Jose is a CPA by training and instructs entrepreneurs in accounting at Miami Dade College’s Scale Up Program.

In addition to his work as a founder, Jose serves on the board of trustees at Roots of Hope, an organization focused on empowering and connecting Cuban youth to become authors of their own futures. Specifically, Mr. Rasco is responsible for overseeing the organizations financial reporting in addition to advice and mentoring on StartUp Cuba. Jose lives in Miami with his wife Jacqueline and their four children.

 

Fabio Ribeiro
General Partner, Tuz Ventures (Singapore)
Director, Aura Minerals, Inc.
Managing General Partner, Neptuno Fund Ltd.

Fabio has led diverse teams at the dawn of the internet, helping pioneer Brazil’s iconic ISP, iG, founded and exited a successful business in the aviation industry, SOL, and went on to start Neptuno in 2003, a multi-strategy fund focused on technology and forward-thinking investing. In the last few years, Fabio led Neptuno into the VC space with a clear vision of empowering entrepreneurs working at the convergence of exponential technologies.

Fabio holds a BA degree from FAAP, São Paulo, a Master in Economics from Bocconi, Milan, and an Interactive Media and Game Design MFA from the University of Miami. He serves on the boards of Aura Minerals (a publicly traded innovative mining company), the Novo Foundation (which supports the disruptive political party Novo in Brazil on policymaking, and on the Advisory Board of the School of Communications of the University of Miami. Fun fact: Fabio is a certified helicopter and airplane pilot.

 

Yuda Saydun
President
Cyvent

As the founder and president of CyVent, Yuda oversees the delivery of cutting-edge, AI-driven cybersecurity solutions that protect some of the world’s most sensitive operations. Throughout his career as an executive at American Express, Tech Data, ClimeCo, and Xerox, Yuda started and scaled multiple business units, launched dozens of new products, and oversaw data center, storage, backup, and other outsourced IT service offerings. As a mentor, founder, director, and investor in tech start-ups and early-stage companies, he has been instrumental in seed, growth-stage, and follow-on rounds of funding. He is currently the Chair of the Miami-Dade Beacon Council’s Technology Committee, an adviser at Bioverse Labs, and an Ambassador for ExO Lever.

Whether it’s deciphering data sets, evaluating new technologies, or applying deep learning to cybersecurity, Yuda always strives to be on the leading edge of technology’s latest challenges deploying meaningful solutions to complex problems. Yuda holds certificates in data science and cybersecurity from Johns Hopkins and Harvard, and an MBA in Marketing/Finance and a Corporate Director’s Certification from UCLA, where he was recognized as one of UCLA Anderson’s “Top 100 Inspirational Alumni”.

 

 

Man Chon “Kevin” U, PhD
Vice President, Head of Enterprise DataTech and AI
American Express

Dr. U offers proven success in driving innovation and strategic business growth through data technology and AI/ML, informed by robust customer experience (CX) strategic roadmap. His career spans over Technology, Travel/Hospitality, and Financial industries, with experience in building and scaling high-performing global Data Science teams and Engineering teams in CMO/CDO/CIO/CTO office to drive Omnichannel CX, AI+Human-driven decision making, and Data Management Strategy spans large corporations and startups.

Currently, Dr. U is a Vice President (Unit CIO), Head of Enterprise DataTech & AI at American Express, leading a cross-functional unit of 1000+ team members to drive global Data Technology and Augmented Intelligence across the Enterprise. He is also serving on multiple advisory boards such as Google Cloud AI Technical Advisory Council (TAC), University of Miami Institute for Data Science & Computing (IDSC) Advisory Board, and University of Georgia Computer Science Department Advisory Board, etc. Prior to Amex, Dr. U was leading Global Data Science practice in the Travel & Hospitality industry (e.g. Las Vegas Sands Corp., Carnival Cruise Line, etc.), built global data science teams from scratch with Statisticians, Machine Learning Experts, and Economists solving very interesting business problems across multiple markets to drive innovation and to ensure their global business stays ahead of the highly complex digital and market trends. Prior to his journey in the Travel & Hospitality space, he held multiple roles in different industries with focus on leveraging data and machine learning for optimization.

Dr. U is a thought leader believes in the value of data-driven business, with in-depth knowledge of leveraging technology to transform business culture, build value, drive growth, and create environment of continuous improvement. He grew up in Macau, attended college at Shanghai University in China and obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science (specialized in Machine Learning) from The University of Georgia in USA, with international experience living and working in Europe, Asia, and North America. Dr. U enjoys leveraging the unique combination of his deep understanding in technology and extensive business experience to solve interesting problems that impact more lives and create greater business outcomes.

If you are seeking advice or a collaboration, please feel free to connect with Dr. U through LinkedIn.

 

Ingrid Vasiliu-Feltes, MD
CEO, Softhread
Director, World Business Angels Investment Forum, USA

Dr. Ingrid Vasiliu-Feltes is a healthcare executive, futurist, and globalist who is highly dedicated to digital and ethics advocacy. She is a passionate educator and entrepreneurship ecosystem builder, known as an expert speaker, board adviser, and consultant. Throughout her career she has received several awards for excellence in research, teaching, or leadership. This past year she has been named one of the Top 100 Global Healthcare Leaders, Top 100 Global Finance Leaders, and Top 100 Women in Crypto.

Dr. Vasiliu-Feltes is currently serving as a Country Director for WBAF USA, Senator of WBAF, Faculty Member of the WBAF Business School- Division of Entrepreneurship, and teaching the Executive MBA Business Technology Course at the UM Business School. She is also acting as the Chief Ethics Officer for GBA Global, Senator, and as the Chief Quality and Innovation Officer at Pediatrix. In this capacity, she provides oversight for all quality and innovation initiatives across the enterprise, such as Telehealth, Blockchain, AI, Genomics, Precision Medicine, Population Health, Medical Simulation, and Value-Based Care. Additionally, she provides leadership to the MEDNAX Center for Research, Education, Quality, and Safety.

Throughout her career, Dr. Vasiliu-Feltes held several leadership positions and is a member of numerous prestigious professional organizations. She holds several certifications, such as Bioethics from Harvard, Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy from MIT Sloan, Blockchain Technology and Business Innovation from MIT Sloan, Finance from Harvard Business School, Negotiation from Harvard Law School, Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Stanford Graduate School of Business, Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management, Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Patient Safety Officer by the International Board Federation of Safety Managers, Master Black Belt in Lean and Six Sigma Management, Professional in Healthcare Quality by the National Association of Healthcare Quality, Manager for Quality and Organizational Excellence, by the American Society for Quality, and Certified Risk Management Professional by the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management.

Additionally, Dr. Vasiliu-Feltes is an Honorary Advisory Board Member of IOGA, Amicus, as well as an Editorial Board Member for Frontiers in Blockchain, a Member of the Fintech Xpertsleague, as well as the Ambassador for several international not for profit organizations, most notably Blockchain in Healthcare Today, Inspired Minds and Women in AI.