Media6Degrees Expands Research Department with Hiring of Chief Scientist Claudia Perlich

NEW YORK, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Media6Degrees Inc. (http://www.media6degrees.com), the leader in delivering scalable customized audiences to marketers based on online social connections, today announced that it has enlisted data analysis and machine-learning veteran Claudia Perlich as Chief Scientist.  The hiring enhances the company's already world class research team, which is responsible for developing the data analysis and science that powers the company's proprietary social targeting technology.

"Claudia is a landmark hire for Media6Degrees.  Bringing on such a prominent talent in the data science field speaks volumes about the company's technology and research vision," said CEO Tom Phillips.  "New York has become the nation's media technology capital, and having Claudia as our chief scientist is a huge step for our Research team, and highlights our commitment to innovating and expanding the role of social targeting in the digital advertising industry."

"Media6Degrees has developed a technology that drives performance better than any of the traditional forms of ad targeting," Perlich said.  "My experience across various data analysis and machine learning fields should help advance the work that is currently being done."

The Research team was originally formed by Professor Foster Provost, of NYU's Stern School of Business.  Provost is a member of Media6Degrees's advisory board and a pre-eminent thought leader in the fields of machine learning and data mining.  He has published more than 100 technical papers and tutorials on data science, and is a world expert in applications to digital marketing and social media.  He recently led a team of engineers and scientists -- including Media6Degrees CTO Rod Hook and Director of Data Science Brian Dalessandro -- to win the Design Science Award from the INFORMS Information System Society for their project Social Network-Based Marketing Systems. Learn more about Provost at http://www.media6degrees.com/management/advisors.html#provost.

Perlich joins Media6Degrees following a five-year stint at IBM Research, where she was a member of the data analytics research group.  During that time, she won the KDD Cup Competition 3 consecutive times, for excellence in bridging data science research and application.  Over her career, Perlich has published more than 30 scientific articles and holds multiple patents in the area of machine learning.  She received her Ph.D. in Information Systems from Stern School of Business at New York University and holds a Master of Computer Science from Colorado University. Learn more about Perlich at http://sites.google.com/site/claudiaperlich/home.

About Media6Degrees

Media6Degrees has pioneered a revolutionary approach to social targeting, delivering scalable custom audiences that perform for brand marketers.  It uses proprietary algorithms to build audiences that are connected to a brand's existing customers, resulting in compelling new prospects and industry-leading ROI.  The company is based in New York and is funded by U.S. Venture Partners, Venrock, Contour Venture Partners and Coriolis Ventures. To learn more, visit us at www.media6degrees.com.

SOURCE Media6Degrees