Database Reference
In-Depth Information
10
Anna Smith
Rent the Runway
Anna Smith
is an
analytics engineer
at Rent the Runway, an online and offline
fashion company that rents designer dresses and accessories. The company partners
with famous designers to ensure every woman can have her Cinderella moment. Rent
the Runway rents everything from party dresses, wedding dresses, prom dresses, and
designer dresses for special occasions including Halloween, to the handbags and jew-
elry to accompany the outfit. Analytics is a huge part of Rent the Runway's success,
which is predicated on tracking more than 50,000 unique inventory items on the
website, in the mail, in cleaning, and warehouse storage, and on recommending to its
customers the dress sizes and cuts that will best fit their individual profiles.
Smith previously worked as a
data scientist
at Bitly, where she provided data insights
to consumers and brands. Bitly lured her from the University of Oregon physics
doctorate program, where her field was quantum computing. Her writing appears in
publications as diverse as
Forbes
and
Publications of the Astronomical Society
of Australia
. She speaks regularly at data conferences.
Smith stands out as a spirited example of how a data scientist can contribute to
analytics, recommendation, experimentation, and machine learning systems while at
the same time caring deeply about the people at her work and in her community.
Her
social commitment
comes through as she talks about the lessons she's learned
in being mentored and mentoring others, her advice regarding community building,
and her goal of making data science less of an ego-driven field. Smith's passion for
the ever-growing data science community and her thoughts about the principles that
should guide its development are bright threads running through her interview.
