Background: Dr. Will Hakes is a seasoned entrepreneur, advanced analytics expert and public speaker.  Across a 20+-year career, Will has worked inside large firms and built several analytics startups. Most recently, he was co-founder and CEO at Link Analytics, which he sold to KPMG in 2014.  After a successful integration, Will served as Managing Director in the KPMG Global Analytics practice.  He left KPMG in 2017 to get back to his entrepreneurial roots.  Will is currently a Board member of several privately held firms, advising on paths to ensure stable yet rapid growth.  He also consults with these and other companies to help inject Advanced Analytics into the core of each business.

 

Expertise: Will has served as a guest lecturer at prestigious institutions such as Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, and Georgetown University.  He is a frequently sought after public speaker on topics like Entrepreneurship, Data Privacy, and Artificial Intelligence.  He was also recently named as Distinguished Fellow to the Kennesaw State University Analytics & Data Science Institute.