Forecasting Impact

Most forecasting goals focus solely on accuracy, but Harrison Katz reveals why understanding the true purpose of forecasts can transform how organizations make decisions. From leading Airbnb’s demand predictions to academic research, he uncovers the nuanced role forecasts play beyond numbers—and why misaligned goals and governance can distort the entire process. In this episode, Harrison shares hi...

In this episode of Forecasting Impact, hosts Mariana Menchero and Laila Akhlaghi speak with Alex McCullough about his research on prediction markets, probabilistic forecasting, and the crypto ecosystem. He is best known for his work analyzing the accuracy of Polymarket, where he has built widely referenced dashboards to evaluate market calibration and performance. Through his analysis, Alex helps...

In this episode of Forecasting Impact , hosts Mahdi Abolghasemi and Mariana Menchero speak with Marco Peixeiro, applied data scientist at Nixtla, about the growing importance of explainability in time series forecasting. Marco shares how his work bridges research and practice, from developing deep learning models in NeuralForecast to writing educational resources that make complex forecasting conc...

In this episode of Forecasting Impact , host George Boretos speaks with Dr. Theodore Modis, acclaimed forecasting expert, strategist, and founder of Growth Dynamics, about the science behind forecasting and the natural laws that govern technological and societal change. From particle physics at CERN to pioneering the use of S-curves in business and technology forecasting, Dr. Modis reveals how pri...

This episode of Forecasting Impact features Professor Lauren B. Davis discussing her research on applying stochastic modeling and forecasting to food bank operations. Lauren shares how she began forecasting with a local food bank, which led her to focus on forecasting the highly uncertain supply of food donations. She details the food banks' donation sourcing process, the management of their...

In this episode, we sit down with Rami Krispin, a data scientist at Apple and active producer in forecasting, to explore his journey into forecasting and data science. He shares what first sparked his interest in the field and how that passion led him to develop key contributions, including the Hands-On Time Series Analysis with R book and the TSstudio package. We discuss his motivation for writin...

In this episode, Dr. Laila Akhlaghi and Professor Bahman Rostami-Tabar host a discussion on healthcare product forecasting in Eastern Africa with Harrison Mariki from Tanzania and Danielson Kennedy Onyango from Kenya. Harrison, founder of Afya Intelligence, discusses leveraging AI to improve forecasting for 7,000 primary healthcare facilities in Tanzania, addressing data quality and supply chain c...

In this episode of Forecasting Impact , we had the privilege of hosting Professor Jan Kleissl, a leading expert in solar power forecasting. Professor Kleissl began by sharing his journey into solar forecasting, emphasizing the growing importance of renewable energy in addressing climate change. He explained the critical role solar forecasting plays in balancing energy grids, ensuring reliability,...

In this episode, hosts Arian Sultan and Laila Akhlaghi discuss financial tools that enable healthcare markets to function more efficiently and how forecasting plays an important role in their execution with Hema Srinivasan of MedAccess. Hema Srinivasan is a senior advisor to MedAccess, supporting work to identify and execute opportunities for financial tools to help lower prices and increase the a...

In this episode, hosts Mariana Menchero and Faranak Golestaneh explore the cutting-edge world of foundation models for time series forecasting with guests Azul Garza Ramírez, cofounder of Nixtla, and Mononito Goswami, one of the developers of MOMENT, a family of open-source foundation models for general-purpose time series analysis. The conversation delves into the backgrounds of these innovators...

In this episode, hosts Mariana Menchero and Faranak Golestaneh explore the cutting-edge world of foundation models for time series forecasting with guests Azul Garza Ramírez, cofounder of Nixtla, and Mononito Goswami, one of the developers of MOMENT, a family of open-source foundation models for general-purpose time series analysis.  In this episode, we discuss the guests' transition into wor...

In this episode, guest hosts George Boretos and Arian Sultan Khan explore the intersection of Neuroscience with Forecasting & AI with guest Kai Markus Mueller, acclaimed neuroscientist and a pioneer in Neuropricing. Kai, who began his journey in psychology with aspirations of becoming a child psychotherapist, eventually shifted his focus to cognitive psychology and neuroscience. His transition...

In this episode, we had the privilege of hosting Mitchell O'Hara-Wild, data scientist and lead developer of the widely used and highly acclaimed forecasting packages, Fable and Feasts .  Mitchell is a PhD candidate at Monash University, Australia. He shared insights on a wide range of topics, including his journey into data science and forecasting, the reasons behind the development of the po...

In this episode, we spoke to Joannes Vermorel, founder and CEO at Lokad, a quantitative supply chain software company.  Joannes discussed how supply chain theory is broken down, and that we need to think in terms of paradigms and modules rather than models for solving supply chain problems. He talked about issues in time series forecasting and judgmental forecasting. He emphasized how critical it...

In this episode, we spoke to Laurent Ferrara, Professor of International Economics at SKEMA Business School. Laurent discussed the role of nowcasting, particularly in the realm of macroeconomic nowcasting. He delved into the details of the models and methods that have been proven effective in this domain. Laurent also talked about GDP nowcasting using Google data and shared some intriguing results...

In this episode of our podcast, we delve into the intricate world of machine learning (ML) deployment with Dr. Eric Siegel, author of the book AI Playbook, Mastering the Rare Art of Machine Learning Deployment .  Dr. Siegel, once an avid advocate of ML, now approaches the field with a disciplined yet optimistic perspective. He shares invaluable insights on how businesses can effectively implement...

Our guests are Michele Trovero, leader of the Forecasting R&D group at SAS, and Spiros Potamitis, Data Scientist and Product Marketing Manager at SAS. We delved into the intriguing intersection of Language Model-based AI (LLMs) and forecasting software. We explored the openness of forecasting software providers to embrace LLMs and discussed the profound impact these models could have on the in...

Martie-Louise Verreynne is a Professor in Innovation and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, at the University of Queensland. Prof. Martie-Louise Verreynne joined us to discuss the evolving partnership between academia and industry. While not a new concept, it has significantly transformed over the years, with over 40% of global patents now stemming from this c...

In this episode, we delved into the dynamic realm of transportation forecasting, exploring a wide array of ideas and questions.  Our discussion with David began by examining the primary data sources and methodologies that drive modern transportation forecasting. We continued by highlighting the pivotal role of real-time data, GPS technology, and advanced algorithms in providing accurate insights i...

In this episode, we host three scientists, Dr. Stephan Kolassa, Dr. Bahman Rostami-Tabar, and Prof. Enno Siemsen. They are the authors of "Demand Forecasting for Executives and Professionals." In this episode, we delve into discussions about their book. We discuss their motivations for writing this unique guide for professionals and the need for such a book. We explore the pivotal role o...

In this episode, we delve into the inspiring academic journey of two sisters from the heart of Sri Lanka. Dr Priyanga Dilini Talagala and Dr Thiyanga Talagala. Dr Priyanga is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Moratuwa, specialising in statistical machine learning and data mining, with a fervent commitment to open-source software for reproducible research. Dr Thiyanga is a Senior Lecturer at t...

In this episode, we hosted Professor George Athanasopoulos, President of the International Institute of Forecasters (IIF) and Head of the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University.  George gave an overview of the IIF's current plans and new initiatives, including the Practitioners chapter, publishing papers in the International Journal of Applied Forecasting, the...

In this episode, we had the honour of having three guests on our panel: Prof Rob Hyndman, Professor of Statistics from Monash University, Federico Garaz, CTO and co-founder of Nixtla, and Eric Stellwagen, CEO and Co-founder of Business Forecast Systems.   We discussed a range of topics on the role of software in forecasting, the latest status, and future trends in forecasting software. The panel s...

Eric Siegel is a leading consultant and former Columbia University professor. He is the founder of the popular Predictive Analytics World and Deep Learning World conference series.   In this episode, Eric shares his decades of experience in predictive analytics. He discusses why ML is useful, and how predictive analytics have been used in business. Eric shares his view on prescriptive analytics, A...

Scott Cunningham is Professor of Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde and is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Technological Forecasting & Social Change .  In this episode, we talked about technological forecasting and social change. Prof. Cunningham gave an overview of how technological forecasting, policy, and business are interwoven, and how a systematic view is important in pre...