From left to right: Vincent Karpf's (MAnalytics '25) team celebrates their 1st place win in the MAnalytics x Google Case Competition. On the right, attendees gather for a group photo at BADSS alongside Wells Fargo representatives.
From left to right: Vincent Karpf’s (MAnalytics ’25) team celebrates their 1st place win in the MAnalytics x Google Case Competition. On the right, attendees gather for a group photo at BADSS alongside Wells Fargo representatives.

On March 1, 2025, UC Berkeley’s Department of Industrial Engineering & Operations Research (IEOR) hosted two flagship events—the Bay Area Decision Science Summit (BADSS) and the MAnalytics x Google Case Competition—bringing together top students and industry experts to tackle real-world analytics challenges.

Now in its fourth year, BADSS welcomed student teams from UC Berkeley, Stanford, and Santa Clara University to compete in a financial markets case designed by Wells Fargo. Participants developed trading strategies for stock options in volatile market conditions, applying financial modeling, data analytics, and risk assessment to optimize exposure while minimizing costs. Wells Fargo professionals Nancy Wang (BS IEOR ’00), Harry Yeh (BS ME ’00), Sander Chu (BS Haas ’17), Andy He (BA Physics/Economics ’24), Jesse Weiner and Janaye Cofield mentored students throughout the competition and served as judges, providing valuable industry insights and feedback during the competition.

Running in parallel, the MAnalytics x Google Case Competition challenged Master of Analytics (MAnalytics) students to develop AI-driven models for optimizing staffing for new advertisers across global regions—an unpredictable and complex process. Participants leveraged techniques such as time-series forecasting, Monte Carlo simulation, queuing theory, and optimization algorithms to balance service efficiency with cost-effectiveness.

The winning team impressed judges with a scalable, data-driven global staffing optimizer, integrating multiple methodologies into a practical industry solution. A panel of analytics professionals—including Jiaxi Zhu from Google (BS IEOR ‘14), Apurva Arni (BS IEOR ‘23) from Tesla, Wesley Jackson (BS ORMS ‘12) from AirBnB, Nagui Yassa (MS IEOR ’09) from Meta, and Khasimul Asif Mohammad (MEng IEOR ’21) from Twitch—evaluated the solutions and provided expert feedback.

“This has been a fantastic event! I really enjoyed seeing the student presentations—it closely mirrors how things work in the real world and in industry, where there’s often minimal time to prepare and present to executives. It’s exciting to see students so engaged and immersed in their projects,” said Nagui Yassa, Berkeley IEOR alum and Global Product Marketing Lead at Meta.

Both BADSS and MAnalytics x Google Case competitions underscore UC Berkeley IEOR’s commitment to hands-on, industry-engaged learning. For student participants, events like these serve as stepping stones into the professional world, offering networking opportunities, exposure to real-world challenges, and practical experience in analytical decision-making.

A heartfelt thank you to the Berkeley alumni who generously shared their expertise and provided invaluable guidance to students. Engaging with alumni who have successfully navigated their careers is instrumental in shaping the next generation of leaders. Your support strengthens our community!