Srujana Kaddevarmuth's guest appearances

Srujana Kaddevarmuth

The Irish Tech News Podcast

Women in Data Science

Data Science Leaders

OwlTail

Srujana Kaddevarmuth began her career near Bangalore, India after completing her master’s degree in engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University. She has had a successful career in the tech industry and currently holds the position of senior director at Walmart's Data and Machine Learning Center of Excellence.In her role as senior director at Walmart, Srujana leads the AI portfolio for various aspects of the company's retail business, including omni retail, new and emerging businesses in the consumer and tech space, data monetization, and membership. Her primary responsibility is to drive innovation and promote the democratization of data and AI, aiming to create value for consumers, associates, and the business as a whole.Despite coming from an academic family, Srujana chose to pursue a career in the corporate sector rather than academia. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in engineering, she gained real-world exposure to data science and AI while working at the Energy and Resources Institute. This experience fascinated her, leading her to pursue a master’s degree in engineering with an emphasis on operational research and data science.She then started her career as a data scientist at Hewlett-Packard, where she worked on market mix models in the consumer and marketing domain. Later, she led the big data analytics center of excellence at Hewlett-Packard and went on to work at Accenture, where she led a partnership with Google, developing various models for consumer hardware products before joining Walmart.Entering the corporate world after graduation, Srujana was surprised by the importance of collaboration in data science. She realized that building excellent algorithms alone is not enough; teamwork and collaboration are essential, particularly in applied data science.As a leader, Srujana prioritizes assigning projects to data scientists and AI experts based on their individual interests to keep them intellectually stimulated. She also empowers her team to make informed decisions based on available data. Her team is trained to use AI responsibly, with a focus on explainability, transparency, fairness, and bias elimination.With the increasing delegation of decision-making to algorithms, from trivial choices to significant ones in immigration systems, legal sentencing, and healthcare, it becomes crucial to protect consumer privacy and eliminate unintended consequences. Srujana explains that responsible generation and consumption of algorithms and data are paramount.One of Srujana's major challenges lies in creating proofs-of-concept that effectively translate into tech products and developing unbiased algorithms. “When we deploy these machine learning algorithms, many people fail to understand that these algorithms are the statistical representation of the world that we live in, and they may not necessarily be perfect and interpretable at times, as we have seen certain racist comments unleash on social media sites.” Addressing these issues, according to Srujana, requires eliminating signals of bias through careful data curation and training algorithms to avoid institutionalizing bias associated with certain data sets.Srujana is excited about the diverse advancements in data science, particularly in space exploration, healthcare, and agriculture. In addition to her work with Walmart, Srujana serves on the board of the United Nations Association, San Francisco chapter, where she utilizes data science to drive meaningful decision-making for the protection of our ecosystem.When asked what advice she would give her 18-year-old self, she responds that she would encourage herself to be open to the emerging field of data science and embrace its opportunities. Her advice for other data science enthusiasts is similar: “We have just started to open some new realms in the domain of data science and AI with generative algorithms as well as quantum computing, so I would just urge data science enthusiasts to be open to where this domain takes them.” RELATED LINKSConnect with Srujana Kaddevarmuth on LinkedInFind out more aboutWalmartLearn more about the United Nations Association San Francisco ChapterConnect with Margot Gerritsen on Twitter (@margootjeg) and LinkedInFollow WiDS on Twitter (@WiDS_Worldwide), Facebook (WiDSWorldwide), and Instagram (wids_worldwide)​Listen and Subscribe to the WiDS Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher

Srujana Kaddevarmuth began her career near Bangalore, India after completing her master’s degree in engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University. She has had a successful career in the tech industry and currently holds the position of senior director at Walmart's Data and Machine Learning Center of Excellence.In her role as senior director at Walmart, Srujana leads the AI portfolio for various aspects of the company's retail business, including omni retail, new and emerging businesses in the consumer and tech space, data monetization, and membership. Her primary responsibility is to drive innovation and promote the democratization of data and AI, aiming to create value for consumers, associates, and the business as a whole.Despite coming from an academic family, Srujana chose to pursue a career in the corporate sector rather than academia. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in engineering, she gained real-world exposure to data science and AI while working at the Energy and Resources Institute. This experience fascinated her, leading her to pursue a master’s degree in engineering with an emphasis on operational research and data science.She then started her career as a data scientist at Hewlett-Packard, where she worked on market mix models in the consumer and marketing domain. Later, she led the big data analytics center of excellence at Hewlett-Packard and went on to work at Accenture, where she led a partnership with Google, developing various models for consumer hardware products before joining Walmart.Entering the corporate world after graduation, Srujana was surprised by the importance of collaboration in data science. She realized that building excellent algorithms alone is not enough; teamwork and collaboration are essential, particularly in applied data science.As a leader, Srujana prioritizes assigning projects to data scientists and AI experts based on their individual interests to keep them intellectually stimulated. She also empowers her team to make informed decisions based on available data. Her team is trained to use AI responsibly, with a focus on explainability, transparency, fairness, and bias elimination.With the increasing delegation of decision-making to algorithms, from trivial choices to significant ones in immigration systems, legal sentencing, and healthcare, it becomes crucial to protect consumer privacy and eliminate unintended consequences. Srujana explains that responsible generation and consumption of algorithms and data are paramount.One of Srujana's major challenges lies in creating proofs-of-concept that effectively translate into tech products and developing unbiased algorithms. “When we deploy these machine learning algorithms, many people fail to understand that these algorithms are the statistical representation of the world that we live in, and they may not necessarily be perfect and interpretable at times, as we have seen certain racist comments unleash on social media sites.” Addressing these issues, according to Srujana, requires eliminating signals of bias through careful data curation and training algorithms to avoid institutionalizing bias associated with certain data sets.Srujana is excited about the diverse advancements in data science, particularly in space exploration, healthcare, and agriculture. In addition to her work with Walmart, Srujana serves on the board of the United Nations Association, San Francisco chapter, where she utilizes data science to drive meaningful decision-making for the protection of our ecosystem.When asked what advice she would give her 18-year-old self, she responds that she would encourage herself to be open to the emerging field of data science and embrace its opportunities. Her advice for other data science enthusiasts is similar: “We have just started to open some new realms in the domain of data science and AI with generative algorithms as well as quantum computing, so I would just urge data science enthusiasts to be open to where this domain takes them.” RELATED LINKSConnect with Srujana Kaddevarmuth on<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/srujana-kaddevarmuth-37a32b18/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> LinkedIn</a>Find out more about<a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Walmart</a>Learn more about the <a href="https://www.una-sf.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">United Nations Association San Francisco Chapter</a>Connect with Margot Gerritsen on <a href="https://twitter.com/margootjeg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter (@margootjeg)</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/margot-gerritsen-2b01084/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> Follow WiDS on Twitter (@WiDS_Worldwide), Facebook (WiDSWorldwide), and Instagram (wids_worldwide) ​Listen and Subscribe to the WiDS Podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/women-in-data-science/id1440076586?mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3Muc2ltcGxlY2FzdC5jb20vcG9kY2FzdHMvODEyNC9yc3M%3D" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0eaFZXUh8qys3c0Wr3vrA3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/women-in-data-science-wids" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>

Srujana Kaddevarmuth | Opening New Realms of Data Science and AI

Brian Solis

This week Brian Solis joins Brett in the hosting chair as Srujana Kaddevarmuth from Walmart labs joins the Futurists to delve into the future of in store and online interactions for the retail giant. From future store design, warehouse robotics through to data science and AI, we cover the gamut of possibilities of 21st century commerceBrett KingBestselling Author, Founder, Radio Host Subscribe and listen  to the Futurists Podcast where hosts Brett King and Robert Tercek interview the worlds foremost super-forecasters, thought leaders, technologists, entrepreneurs and futurists building the world of tomorrow. Together we will explore how our world will radically change as AI, bioscience, energy, food and agriculture, computing, the metaverse, the space industry, crypto, resource management, supply chain and climate will reshape our world over the next 100 years. Join us on The Futurists and we will see you in the future! Brett King is a world-renowned entrepreneur, futurist, speaker, international bestselling author, and media personality. China’s President Xi Jinping cited his book Augmented: Life in the Smart Lane on the topic of Artificial Intelligence in his 2018 national address; the same book that was listed as a Top 10 non-fiction book in North America. In 2019 his book Bank 4.0 was awarded the Top Book by a Foreign Author in Russia for that year. Robert Tercek is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and educator focused on the process of dematerialization and innovation. In his professional capacity, Mr. Tercek is a seasoned business executive with deep expertise in digital media and internet services. He is a prolific creator of interactive programs and products. He has designed and launched successful consumer experiences on every digital platform, including digital television, game consoles, broadband Internet, and mobile networks. In 2021, Mr. Tercek was recognized as the Humanitarian of the Year by the Media Excellence Awards for his leadership in designing and launching COVID SMART™, an interactive training program designed to keep workers safe on the job during the pandemic.

This week Brian Solis joins Brett in the hosting chair as Srujana Kaddevarmuth from Walmart labs joins the Futurists to delve into the future of in store and online interactions for the retail giant. From future store design, warehouse robotics through to data science and AI, we cover the gamut of possibilities of 21st century commerceBrett KingBestselling Author, Founder, Radio Host Subscribe and listen  to the Futurists Podcast where hosts Brett King and Robert Tercek interview the worlds foremost super-forecasters, thought leaders, technologists, entrepreneurs and futurists building the world of tomorrow. Together we will explore how our world will radically change as AI, bioscience, energy, food and agriculture, computing, the metaverse, the space industry, crypto, resource management, supply chain and climate will reshape our world over the next 100 years. Join us on The Futurists and we will see you in the future! Brett King is a world-renowned entrepreneur, futurist, speaker, international bestselling author, and media personality. China’s President Xi Jinping cited his book <a href="https://amzn.to/3D1tkxO" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Augmented: Life in the Smart Lane</a> on the topic of Artificial Intelligence in his 2018 national address; the same book that was listed as a Top 10 non-fiction book in North America. In 2019 his <a href="https://amzn.to/3yZeYvs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">book Bank 4.0</a> was awarded the Top Book by a Foreign Author in Russia for that year. Robert Tercek is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and educator focused on the process of dematerialization and innovation. In his professional capacity, Mr. Tercek is a seasoned business executive with deep expertise in digital media and internet services. He is a prolific creator of interactive programs and products. He has designed and launched successful consumer experiences on every digital platform, including digital television, game consoles, broadband Internet, and mobile networks. In 2021, Mr. Tercek was recognized as the Humanitarian of the Year by the Media Excellence Awards for his leadership in designing and launching COVID SMART™, an interactive training program designed to keep workers safe on the job during the pandemic.