Business Analytics and AI: From Action to Insights

Rachel McLawhon

Analytical Training Consultant
SAS
Rachel_McLawhon@LinkedIn

• Bio: Rachel McLawhon holds a BS in mathematics and both a BS and MEd in mathematics education from North Carolina State University. She has been with SAS since 2016, and in her current role with the SAS Global Academic Program, she assists in the creation of diverse learning materials engaging academics and industry professionals with SAS software and is an analytical trainer, specializing in Base SAS programming, SAS Visual Analytics and open source integration
  
  

• Session Details: Ready to turn raw data into real business intelligence? In this interactive workshop, you’ll explore how SAS Viya brings analytics and AI together in one powerful platform. You’ll visualize patterns, discover key insights, and build predictive models—all without leaving the Viya environment. Along the way, you’ll learn how modern analytics supports evidence‑based decisions and fuels the next generation of AI‑driven business strategies. Come prepared to click, explore, and create.
  
  Bring your laptop to get the maximum benefit from this session.

Brian Simmons

CoFounder and CEO
Converge AI
Brian_Simmons@LinkedIn

• Bio: Brian Simmons is a product and technology leader focused on applying AI to real operational work. He is currently the CEO of Converge AI, where he is building AI assistants that replace manual insurance workflows and help agencies scale capacity without adding headcount. Previously, Brian served as Chief Product and Technology Officer at Fondo, where he led product, engineering, and AI-driven automation across bookkeeping and tax operations. Across multiple companies, Brian has built and scaled workflow software by deeply embedding with teams, mapping real processes, and turning them into durable systems. His work centers on AI as an operating layer for modern businesses, not just software tools.
  
  
• Session Details:

Bill Stuart

Senior Manager - Data Science
nCino
Bill_Stuart@LinkedIn

• Bio: Bill leads data science and analytics at nCino, a SaaS company serving financial institutions. His team is part of the product organization, focused on building capabilities that help customers get smarter about numbers, drive efficiency, and strengthen relationships.
  
  A proud UNCW Seahawk with a graduate degree from UNC Charlotte, Bill has spent his career across multiple industries helping organizations make better decisions with data and AI.
  
  

• Session Details: Organizations now have access to an unprecedented AI toolkit—traditional analytics delivers precision and auditability, machine learning excels at pattern recognition and prediction, and generative AI offers natural language interfaces for unstructured challenges. The opportunity lies in thoughtful integration.
  
  This session provides a practical framework for combining these technologies based on risk tolerance and explainability needs, data structure and availability, team skills across different tools, and speed-to-value versus long-term scalability.
  
  You'll learn how structured data and retrieval systems give generative AI the context it needs for accurate, business-relevant answers; when predictive models outperform generative approaches and how to combine them effectively; how existing data investments become more accessible through conversational interfaces; and design patterns where different AI approaches hand off seamlessly.
  
  Through a practical demonstration, we'll show generative AI working in isolation versus supported by a solid data foundation—and why the fundamentals of data management aren't just still relevant, they're what unlock AI's full potential.

Sayaka Tanaka

Internal Audit Data Scientist
NC Temporary Solutions - Assignment at North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Sayaka_Tanaka@LinkedIn

• Bio: Sayaka Tanaka is a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, earning her M.S. in Business Analytics in July 2025. She previously served as a contractor supporting the Office of Internal Audit at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
  
  Sayaka focused on automating workflows, exploring business analytic applications, and leveraging tools such as Power Automate and Microsoft Copilot to enhance efficiency and generate actionable insights. She is passionate about applying data-driven solutions to improve public-sector operations and promote supportive internal audit practices.
  
  

• Session Details: This session shares an early-career perspective on how business analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) can support internal audit in the public sector, based on the presenter’s prior experience. Small scale automation was implemented using Power Automate, and the use of Microsoft Copilot for analytics was explored in the planning and exploratory stage.
  
  The presentation focuses on how analytics and AI could help generate actionable insights, improve workflow efficiency, and support a consultative approach to internal audit- sharing insights from the presenter’s experience rather than formal agency practices.