Duru Ahanotu, PhD
Founder and Sole Proprietor, Ahan Analytics, LLC
Designing and Implementing Systems That Turn Data into Insight
Organizations want to make better decisions with data, but the information available to them can be scattered across systems, inconsistently defined, or difficult to interpret. Transforming data into actionable insight requires thoughtful design of how data is organized, analyzed, and connected to decisions.
I work as a data analytics consultant, helping teams apply data science, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to answer practical operational and strategic questions.
I have spent more than 30 years working in data analytics. My career spanned a variety of analytical roles and multiple industries. I later spent more than ten years in analytics leadership, building and leading analytics and data engineering teams that supported product strategy, marketing performance, and executive decision-making at organizations including Yahoo and Dictionary.com.
More than three years ago I decided to focus on Ahan Analytics, my independent consultancy.
Today much of my work focuses on small and mid-sized organizations, including nonprofits, where leaders are trying to solve practical problems such as:
- understanding customer or member behavior
- identifying the metrics that should guide decisions
- organizing reporting and analytics more effectively
- improving operations using data science and AI
Current projects/clients include:
- Data Strategist for IT infrastructure consultancy (helping to build out a data analytics practice).
- Developed a 360-view of membership engagement across multiple 3rd party systems using a modular and expandable data model. Used for enhancing member experiences and increasing organizational engagement. (Looker and Civis Analytics)
- Created data strategy to improve the data architecture of a large membership-based organization, and conducted a qualitative analysis of a knowledge discovery and knowledge management project.
- Developed a secure method for using generative AI to implement qualitative analysis.
- Created Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) for a Looker implementation (with warehousing on Civis Analytics) used to upgrade a suite of dashboards and reports
- Facilitated the creation of a RFP (Request for Proposal) for a major transformation of an on-premise data architecture to the cloud.
- Product analytics advisor for AI software startup
- Analytics consultant for Ikenga Wines.
Past projects include:
- Customer retention and churn modeling for video streaming platform (Domo)
- Optimized scheduling of doctors at an OBGYN practice
- Improved municipal web services
- Financial modeling for a solar panel venture.
A concept that guides my work is the Insights Supply Chain, a framework I developed to describe how organizations move from raw data to usable insight. The framework focuses on connecting data collection, analysis, and decision-making so that insights reach the right people at the right time. The framework also covers how AI can augment analytical workflows.
Recent consulting projects include developing an enterprise data strategy and governance framework for a nonprofit organization serving more than one million members and building predictive models that identified drivers of customer retention.
In addition to consulting, I publish analysis on financial markets and data-driven decision-making through my blogs One-Twenty Two and Inflation Watch. I also conduct fundamental analysis of publicly traded companies on Seeking Alpha.
If your organization is working through complex questions about data, analytics, or AI, I welcome the opportunity to connect.
Dr. Duru earned a Master’s and PhD in Engineering-Economic Systems (now called Management Science and Engineering), a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and Honors in Values, Technology, Science, and Society (now called STS) – all at Stanford University. He earned STS Alumnus of the Year for supporting student and alumni networking programs.
