Andreas S. Weigend, Ph.D.

My clients are customer-centric firms that want to leverage the consumer data revolution. Together, we create actionable insights from their existing data, and develop specific ideas for new information sources leading to additional business opportunities. Among my ongoing clients are MySpace, Nokia, and Lufthansa.

Passionate about innovation, I also enjoy working with great startups. My expertise has had substantial impact on products and business models. I help my clients discover the right questions, and provide a quantitative framework for subsequent success.

: consulting :

My short-term consulting projects focus on a specific problem, initially proposed by the client. Examples include understanding aspects of consumer behavior, and measuring and improving the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Incentives that get users to contribute data, well-designed experiments, appropriately chosen metrics, and the ability to leverage the principles of human decision making are the keys to project success.

I coached Alibaba, the world's leading B2B e-commerce company towards becoming a data-focused organization, and consulted for MySpace on monetizing the social graph. In 2008, Lufthansa brought me on board for the redesign of their loyalty program, and Nokia called me for a series of workshops across the organization.

: workshops :

A workshop is a two- to three-day event for a client in search of new ideas to solve a specific problem. It combines the questions and expertise of the executives and decision makers of the client firm with my knowledge and additional privileged inputs. My methodology of co-creation ensures active engagement and the embracing of new perspectives, leading to the commitments needed for success.

I have recently conducted workshops for a major international retailer (where we focused on multichannel opportunities, recommendation systems, and social commerce), and a large company in the travel space (where we addressed data strategy, customer loyalty, and conversational marketing).

: boards and advisorships :

When I feel a strong alignment in beliefs and passion about creating value for their customers, I have joined companies as board member or advisor. I then actively work with the team on product and strategy, and am available for business development, for recruiting top talent, and as a mentor.

I am a limited partner in the San Francisco-based Founders Fund II, helping this venture capital firm with deal flow and investment decisions. I am also a business angel with an excellent track record of successful exits, including the acquisition of Agoda by Priceline in 2007, and of Cleverset by ATG in 2008.

I also was the lead investor in Xiaonei.com (校内网), China's most popular campus social networking site, acquired by Mop.com in 2006. I am now working with China’s Yobo (友播) on refining their music discovery engine, and with Singapore’s Hitchoo on creating an auction-based dating site.

I am fortunate to have worked with some of the most successful companies in China, including Alibaba, Baidu, Sina, Sohu, and Ctrip. In his speech at the company's fifth anniversary, the CEO of Alibaba declared: “Don't call me Jack Ma any more, call me Data Ma!”

My work with clients both in the US and abroad has contributed to insights and vision that I enjoy sharing at my speaking engagements.

: clients :

If there are any mistakes in this list, please let me know. Thanks!