Ritesh Kumar

Work Experience

Sutherland Global Services - Director Data Science Jan-2022 to Present

Led the data science initiatives within the Customer Experience Team at Sutherland, implementing machine learning solutions to enhance predictive analytics and drive data-driven decision-making for clients including Amazon, Netflix, McAfee and GoDaddy.

  • As the Product Owner, spearheaded the development of over 80 automated Power BI dashboards for Amazon and Netflix, integrating SQL for real-time insights. Streamlined manual reporting processes, reallocating the workload equivalent to 8 full-time employees.

  • Optimized sales forecasting for McAfee's team at Sutherland by analyzing over 800,000 CRM tickets using a Weighted Ensemble model. Identified key revenue drivers such as discounts and customer satisfaction.

  • Increased revenue for Sutherland's GoDaddy team by approximately 15% through k-means clustering segmentation of sales teams and Market Basket Analysis on ~200,000 transactions. Uncovered 35 frequent product combinations, leading to effective bundling and cross-selling strategies.

  • Enhanced user experience for Netflix's team within Sutherland by analyzing performance metrics to identify operational issues. Proposed process improvements that improved weekend customer satisfaction scores by 25%.

  • Investigated Sony PlayStation's refund processes for Sutherland, discovering that competitors offering larger refunds achieved a 5% higher satisfaction rate.

  • Engineered LLM-powered text summarization and topic extraction in Power BI for Amazon's Agent Feedback dashboard using Gemini and GPT, including a text-to-image workaround for dynamic summaries.

Dentsu Advertising and Media Services - Partner Data Science Apr-2021 to Dec-2021

Guided a 10-member Data Science team to develop media mix models for 11 Maruti Suzuki car models, analyzing over 50 factors—including seasonality, COVID-19 impact, and marketing expenditures—to forecast sales outcomes.

  • Sourced data from 7 third-party vendors. Conducted exploratory data analysis, identifying key sales drivers. Selected linear regression with Box-Cox transformation as the final model for eight car models, achieving the lowest RMSE.

  • Secured project success and client satisfaction through regular reviews and feedback, deploying the solution securely on AWS for Maruti Suzuki's internal use.

Nokia Solutions and Networks - Sales (Analytics) Process Manager Feb-2020 to Oct-2020

Directed process improvement initiatives for Nokia's €5 billion sales order management system, optimized productivity, and decision-making on a global scale.

  • Implemented new key performance indicators (KPIs) that streamlined the sales order management process, effectively eliminating inefficiencies and reducing wasted bidding efforts by 25%.

  • Created a Power BI sales dashboard accessed in 130 countries, providing real-time insights and increasing decision-making across international teams.

Cognizant Technology and Solutions - Deputy General Manager PEX. Mar-2017 to Jan-2020

Oversaw process excellence initiatives for a $120 million Google-Cognizant engagement, driving significant operational improvements.

  • Created a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to forecast key metrics and optimize service levels for a critical process, achieving 90% accuracy.

  • Transitioned the training program from Minitab to Excel, designing a new curriculum and training 25 associates in Lean Six Sigma methodologies.

Genpact India - Senior Manager Quality Aug-2015 to Apr-2017

Guided Six Sigma initiatives for UCB, Mondelez, and TD Bank, driving operational excellence and substantial financial impact.

  • Mentored15 Green Belt projects that collectively delivered a $2.6 million business impact through process improvements and cost savings.

  • Assessed the potential for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) across 45 processes, enhancing automation integration and increasing operational efficiency.

Wipro Technologies - Manager Process Excellence Dec-2006 to Jul-2015

Spearheaded global process excellence initiatives across multiple countries, delivering significant operational improvements and cost savings for high-profile clients by implementing Six Sigma, Lean, and ITIL methodologies.

  • British Telecom: Directed operations of a 90-member team and implemented Six Sigma methodologies, achieving annual cost savings of $100,000.

  • Process Excellence Proposals: Spearheaded the development of over 15 high-impact proposals, securing projects worth approximately $3 million.

  • Telenor: Developed and implemented comprehensive tri-party governance frameworks to optimize Uninor's vendor management processes, enhancing accountability and operational efficiency for Telenor's Indian venture.

  • Southern Water: Established and managed the Project Management Office for a £2 million SAP implementation, coordinating third-party vendors to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery while enhancing the client's operational capabilities.

  • Citibank (New York): Directed a Lean project that redesigned virtual server configuration processes, reducing cycle time by 30%. Standardized physical server setups, cutting cycle time by 10%.

  • Saudi Aramco: Directed ITIL implementation in Al Khobar by overseeing the execution of ITIL process recommendations, improving service level and configuration processes.

  • Harman International: Revamped service desk operations, reducing headcount from 100 to 35 and achieving annual savings of $3.2 million. Improved end-user satisfaction from 68% to 96% within four weeks.

  • Wipro-Aircel Engagement: Drove continuous improvement initiatives across 40 domains in a $600 million engagement, implementing 150 service improvement plans and realizing cost savings of approximately $5 million in one quarter.

Max New York Life Insurance - Agent Jan-2004 to Nov-2006

  • Secured over 180 individual life-insurance policies, placing in the top 2% of 15,000 agents and earning recognition on the "Executive Council 2006."

The Magic Prints - Founder Jul-1994 to Dec-2006

  • Established a pioneering screen printing and embossing business, introducing reflective film welding technology in India’s footwear industry.