Swift is pleased to announce the appointment of Stewart Pratt as Vice President of Data Science. The new position, and other recent hires to the team, signals the agency’s deep investment in the discipline and vision for its critical role within the creative process.
Pratt brings diverse experience leading large, high-impact data science teams at agencies and financial institutions, and providing insights that deliver business results for global clients. At Swift, Pratt will help expand the data science skill set to work in tandem with Swift’s Strategic Planning team and inform creative ideation and execution.
“Data science is at the heart of modern agencies. Swift has always used data to drive results and studied those results to carry forward insights to future work. Now we see an opportunity to more fully integrate data gathering and analysis in everything we do,” says President and Chief Performance Officer Paul Wille.
Pratt adds: “Data science is at a turning point; it’s not just about the ability to describe audiences and measure outcomes anymore. Some of the most impressive work in advertising is a combination of data and creative. As you increase your technological capabilities, you test the limits of what is possible and begin to use real-time, behavioral signals in unexpected ways. That’s the space we’re moving into.”
Pratt holds advanced technical and management degrees from the University of Iowa and Northwestern University, teaches Account Planning at Miami Ad School, and serves on the I-COM Data Creativity Board. Pratt is looking forward to exploring the Pacific Northwest with his wife and baby.
