About me

About me

I study the ways companies use the power of data and analytics to drive value. I believe that the key to doing this successfully is including all stakeholders in the process - from the most to the least technical. My work focuses on bridging that gap, and helping those working with data understand what they are doing and why.

My time is spent

  • Designing and teaching a broad range of classes at Columbia. I teach classes in our MBA, Executive MBA, Masters of Engineering, and MBAxMS program at Columbia, as well as executive education seminars (at Columbia and privately). I am the co faculty director of the MBAxMS program - Columbia's dual degree program in business and engineering.

    In addition to on-campus classes, I teach Columbia Business School's online class Python for MBAs, and Columbia Engineering's EdX class on Demand and Supply Analytics. I am the author of XLKitLearn, a tool designed to bridge Excel and Python in the context of data science, and I co-authored Python for MBAs.

  • Researching case studies on the many ways data and analytics can drive value. I write case studies with companies around applications of analytics and data science to specific business problems, and more broadly around the helping non-technical leaders understand how to succeed in an increasingly technical world.
  • Consulting with companies to help them get the most out of their data and achieve their goals. I have had the privilege to work with startups, larger companies, and government agencies.

(Short) Background

I was born in France and moved to England when I was 9. My undergraduate degree was in Physics and Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and MIT through the (now defunct and much missed) Cambridge MIT Exchange program which allowed me to spend a third of my degree at MIT. I then completed Part III of the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge, followed by a PhD in Operations Research at Columbia (with a research internship at Amazon.com) under the supervision of Profs Awi Federgruen and Garud Iyengar (with whom I still work). I worked as a Deployed Computational Engineer (translation: Data Scientist and Engagement Manager) at Palantir Technologies where I worked on the commercial side of the business in industries ranging from pharmaceuticals, to finance, to legal services. I rejoined Columbia in the Spring of 2018.

My first name is Charles. My middle name is Raphael. My second middle name - which I go by - is Daniel. Go figure...