Varun Poddar

Varun Poddar has 20 years of tech industry experience ranging from Accenture to early stage start-ups. He has led digital strategy, technology transformation, machine learning, and SaaS implementations in a variety of settings. He has worked with teams across industries including retail, oil & gas, food service, consumer goods, telecommunications, and manufacturing – helping them drive value using technology and data. As the head of digital transformation and product innovation at a top-20 trade-show, Varun streamlined legacy technology and data fragmentation, implemented modern cloud platforms and launched new artificial intelligence / machine learning enabled pilots.Varun brought together his varied experiences and subject matter expertise in a unique partnership with Professor Mohanbir Sawhney from the Kellogg School of Management. Together, Varun and Prof. Sawhney created a cutting-edge Executive Education program - Artificial Intelligence: Strategies for Leading Business Transformation. Since then, Varun has continued to collaborate with Prof. Sawhney to evolve their AI/ML specific strategic frameworks and case studies and to consult with over 50 companies.Varun holds a BS in Industrial Management from Purdue University, an MBA in Marketing and Analytics from the Kellogg School of Management, and a Masters in Engineering Management from the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. He has also completed advanced certifications in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Agile.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Co-Creator & Faculty Member, Artificial Intelligence Strategies for Leading Business Transformation at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management
• Vice President, Digital Transformation & Product Innovation at Winsight, LLC
• Vice President Client Services at Punchh, Inc.
• Digital / Technology Strategy Senior Manager at Accenture
• Digital Transformation Product Manager at The Associated Press
• Client Manager at Kalibrate
• Lean Process Analyst at Ingersoll Rand