Gill Eapen, Founder & CEO
Decision Options

Gill has more than 30 years of experience in strategy, finance, machine learning, artificial intelligence, engineering and general management. Over the past two decades, his company Decision Options pioneered analytical techniques to inform and guide decisions to enhance shareholder value in companies of all sizes, in industries including life sciences, healthcare, energy, aerospace, high technology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, manufacturing, consumer goods, and financial services. Gill has been involved in the area of computer-aided decision-making starting with his graduate thesis in 1986 at Northwestern University. Later in the 90s, his team created and implemented one of the largest predictive models to forecast and manage all resources needed to conduct worldwide R&D at Pfizer. Decision Options incorporates most of the known machine and deep learning techniques to rapidly create predictive and pattern finding models from any kind of data – structured or unstructured.

Gill has also authored two textbooks, Decision Options: The Art and Science of Making Decisions, and Flexibility: Flexible Companies for the Uncertain World.

Anurag Shah, Co-Founder & CEO
Aureus Analytics

With more than 17 years of experience in application development, operations, and new markets, Anurag has managed global teams and helped large organizations drive revenue growth. He was the founding member and CEO for EdVenture prior to joining the leadership team at Omnitech, where he served as the COO and Head of Global Operations. Aureus Analytics is Anurag's second startup venture. Aureus Analytics is a provider of predictive analytics for the insurance industry through an artificial intelligence platform that combines both explicit and implicit data to measure the customer experience in real time. Aureus was selected as an early winner of VentureClash and is the first company to receive an investment from the VentureClash 2018 competition. In addition to VentureClash, Aureus also was selected as a finalist for the first class of the Hartford InsurTech Hub accelerator program powered by Startupbootcamp.

Anurag is a Business Management graduate from Narsee Monji Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai and Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.

Sedarius Perrotta, Co-Founder & Head of Innovation
Shelf

Sedarius is a knowledge management expert, software veteran, artificial intelligence pioneer, thought leader and author who has worked on knowledge management projects for The World Bank, AmFam, and Harvard Business School. He has worked in AI and software development for over 10 years and has managed more than 100 projects where he has seen everything throw at him, including the kitchen sink. He is currently the Head of Innovation at Shelf.

Sedarius graduated from Georgetown University and was part of the New Enterprise Program at MIT for two semesters. He is a former US Peace Corps volunteer, mentor at the Founder Institute and a guest writer for Fast Company, Forbes and eContent Magazine.

MODERATOR

Cheryl Rice, Manager of Membership & Public Policy
Connecticut Technology Council

Cheryl is a communication strategist, media executive, project manager, and entrepreneur with three decades of experience expanding brands, creating alliances, and leading projects and teams to success. She currently works with the Connecticut Technology Council, charged with building their membership base and increasing their impact in the state's tech ecosystem. Previously, Cheryl founded Rice Communications, a public relations and strategic communications consulting firm that specialized in working with family-owned manufacturers and tech startups. She is a frequent guest speaker and presenter on a range of topics in the areas of communication strategy, persuasion, and digital marketing integration.

Cheryl is an active volunteer with Connecticut non-profit organizations. She serves on the advisory board of the MIT Enterprise Forum, and she has worked on planning and publicity committees for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, JDRF, APICS, American Mensa, and Toastmasters International.