Tom Nolle is the President, founder, and principle consultant/analyst of CIMI Corp. He started his career as a programmer and moved through various programming and programmer/analyst positions to manage software project teams and entire software projects. His background as a software programmer and architect makes him a hands-on kind of expert, a blend of strategic insight and in-the-trenches practical knowledge. Nolle founded CIMI in 1982 and at the same time began writing regularly for the technology press. He has written for virtually every major tech publication in the networking and IT space, from ComputerWorld, BCR, and Information Week to CIO Magazine, Network World, and Telecommunications Magazine. He's spoken regularly at tradeshows and participated in multiple international standards groups on topics ranging from network management to electronic data interchange. You can read his views in popular industry online forums like Internet Evolution, TechWeb's No Jitter, and Tech Target's publications, especially SearchTelecom. He also produces video blogs for Internet Evolution and Enterprise Efficiency on a regular basis. Nolle is the author of CIMI's technical journal, Netwatcher, a monthly technology strategy publication that's been continuously published since 1982.

Mark Pitts is a data scientist and healthcare executive with more than 25 years of experience solving business problems with technology and analytics. He started programming at the age of 13 – writing his first program on paper because he didn't yet have a computer – and hasn't stopped since. Over the years, he's garnered advanced education and expertise in computing science and business domains, and has applied his multidisciplinary skillset in leading real-world implementations of enterprise resource planning, financial and business intelligence systems, and multimillion-dollar, greenfield development projects to solve enterprise-scale business challenges.

He ultimately progressed from the IT shop to the business, driving the financial performance of healthcare organizations in areas including managed care contracting, provider compensation, payment integrity, forecasting, clinical quality, medical billing, receivables management, and analytics. His innovative work has been recognized with a variety of awards, and his creations support benefits measured in billions of dollars.

In May 2013, Pitts will complete an additional graduate program at Texas A&M University, receiving a Master of Science in statistics with a dual emphasis in applied statistics and biostatistics. He undertook these studies with the recognition that advances in computing technology, the explosion of the electronically interconnected world, and advances in machine learning would combine to change the game, especially in healthcare. He has a passion for writing and public speaking, with a track record of highly rated appearances in a variety of venues, from business and executive conferences to technical and analytics conferences. He has been interviewed, quoted, and featured in a variety of print and online publications, and is currently developing a course designed to introduce business people to the power of data visualization and analytics to solve everyday business problems.

He is also developing a Website for advanced analytics and is incubating a book project that will gain more momentum post-graduation. Pitts is currently employed by a Fortune 25 company, and he lives in Minneapolis with his lovely (and patient) wife, their two teenagers, and four remarkably spoiled dogs. He is also still glowing – and is somewhat harder to live with – after Harvard Business Review declared that data scientist is the sexiest job of the 21st century. You can follow Pitts on Twitter @DatalyticSci.

Meta S. Brown is a consultant, speaker, and writer who promotes the use of business analytics. A hands-on analyst who has tackled projects with up to $900 million at stake, she is a recognized expert in cutting-edge business analytics. She has conducted more than 4,000 hours of presentations about business analytics, and written guides on neural networks, quality improvement, statistical process control, and many other statistical methods. Meta's seminars have attracted thousands of attendees from across the US and Canada, from novices to professors.

Andy Kirk is a UK-based freelance data visualization architect, consultant, training provider, author, and editor of visualisingdata.com, a popular data visualization blog. After graduating from Lancaster University in 1999 with a Bachelor's (honors) in operational research, he held a number of business analysis and information management positions at some of the largest organizations in the UK. Late 2006 provided a career-changing "Eureka!" moment when he discovered the subject of data visualization. He has subsequently pursued a passion in this subject, completing a research Master's (with distinction) at the University of Leeds in 2009. In February 2010, he launched visualisingdata.com with the mission of providing readers with inspiring insights into the contemporary techniques, resources, applications, and best-practices in this exciting subject. His consultancy work and training courses extend this ambition, helping organizations of all shapes, sizes, and domains master the analysis and communication of their data. Some of his most recent clients include Microsoft, Disney, Intel, and McKinsey. Andy's firstbook, Data Visualization: a successful design process, is a handy strategy guide for anyone facing the challenges of designing a data visualization and wanting to accomplish an effective solution in the most efficient way.

Frank Cotignola focuses on three key areas as part of the Consumer Insight and Strategy Group at Mondelez International (formerly Kraft Foods): global analytics, social media listening and measurement, and community management and knowledge sharing. He also authors the company's "Randomness" blog, which focuses on digital and analytic topics. His efforts to develop both free and paid listening platforms and insights have led to the integration and usage of such research into traditional "asking" research and shopper insights at the company. Cotignola has significant analytic research experience across a number of well known suppliers and manufacturers and has spoken at a number of conferences on the research benefits of social media listening.

Frank J. Ohlhorst is an award-winning technology journalist, author, professional speaker, and IT business consultant with more than 25 years of experience in the technology arena. He has held several editorial positions at technology publications, including CRN, eWeek, Channel Insider, and TechTarget. He is a regular contributor to leading technology publications, including InformationWeek, NetworkComputing, The BrainYard, eWeek, Enterprise Networking Planet, Desktop Engineering Magazine, Tom's IT Pro, and TechTarget. Frank has also contributed to such business publications as Entrepreneur, WSJ, and BNET, and is an active contributor to multiple technology books. He is the author of Big Data Analytics, a book focusing on the value of big-data for businesses large and small. He also writes whitepapers, case studies, reviewer's guides, and channel guides for leading technology vendors and holds several industry certifications, including MCNE, MCSE, A+, N+, L+, and Security+.

Balaji Prasad has 30 years of experience in IT leadership, centered around architecture, innovation, and business-technology alignment. After his most recent role as leader of the Enterprise Architecture Practice within Cognizant's Global Banking and Financial Services Practice, he is now President of his strategic technology advisory company, Eminnode LLC. He has been a CTO and chief architect supporting large enterprises such as EDS (now HP Enterprise Services), General Motors, OnStar, and The Hartford Financial Services. Prasad has led multimillion-dollar enterprise architecture and IT strategy programs, devised complex technical solutions in fast-changing and rapid-growth businesses, facilitated CEO-level innovation dialogues, and led globally dispersed teams in a matrixed onsite/offshore model. In addition, he is a published author, has patents in process, and speaks frequently at major industry conferences on many topics, including service-oriented architecture, the semantic web, nanotechnology, wireless/mobile, and speech recognition. He served on the advisory committee of the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) where he drove web standards, and he is a TOGAF9-certified architecture practitioner.