Alfred Essa has led pioneering AI and advanced analytics teams across academia and industry. As Simon Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, VP of Analytics and R&D at McGraw Hill Education, and CIO at MIT's Sloan School of Management, he has consistently bridged the gap between theoretical innovation and practical implementation. His most recent book is Practical AI for Business Leaders, Product Managers, and Entrepreneurs. Essa has published more than 25 research papers spanning adaptive learning systems, risk analytics, and innovative approaches to data visualization using predictive model ensembles. He holds degrees from Haverford College and Yale University.