ENTREPRENEURIAL AWARD
Victor B. Szczerba, Eng ’89
Atherton, Calif.
As CEO and co-founder of Yeti Data, a start-up that enables companies dealing with large amounts of complex data to understand what is driving results in their marketing campaigns, Victor Szczerba, is leaving his mark on Silicon Valley and quite possibly each of our lives as well.
Victor launched Yeti Data in 2013, after holding senior positions with Microsoft, SAP and Sun Microsystems. A self-proclaimed data geek, Victor says the thing he likes most about his work is that it feeds his curiosity and allows him to build, learn and problem solve.
Along with running Yeti, Victor is also heavily involved with the Human Longevity Institute which uses advanced analytics to create personalized care plans that increase our lifespans. “The short-term goal is to add 5-10 years of healthy life by intervening early with cancer, cerebral, and cardiovascular diseases. Eventually we hope we can democratize the technology and make the impact available to everyone,” he says.
Victor credits Marquette with helping him keep up in the fast-moving analytics field. “Computer programming has changed immensely since my graduation, but Marquette gave me a framework to keep building my lifelong knowledge of software that now includes AI and ML.”
A pragmatic man by nature, when asked about his short-term plans, he says that, “hopefully, by the time anyone reads this, mine will have changed.” As for the long term, his main goal is to “help address problems that can be solved by analytics and AI and make a meaningful difference in people's lives.”
What is one of your favorite Marquette memories?
Graduation. Marquette somehow forgot to put Szczerba’s name in the graduation program. “As a quick fix, there was a special page inserted into the booklet with only one name, mine. The staff gave me the extra pages, and I used those as my special stationary for years.”
Leave a congratulatory message for Victor!