Groundbreaking Analytics

Kolhatkar came to the US from India after marrying Santosh Kolhatkar ‘81 COE. In a matter of months, she had graduated from college, gotten married and moved to the US, and had no work experience. “I was lucky enough to get a position as a marketing research assistant in the MBS program,” she explains. “That opportunity to set up the foundational elements for my career. It was the first time I was putting what I was learning into practice.”

After completing her degree, Kolhatkar went to work for an insurance company in a predictive analytics position, “I had no idea what predictive analytics was,” she recalls. “My employer assured me that the market research analytical skills I had acquired in the MBA program could be applied to predictive analytics. And he was right. “Predictive analytics- using historical data to predict future outcomes-was an area that was just starting to be used by many different industries, with the insurance field leading the way. After a few years, she took a new job at a bank using analytics in the area of credit risk. “I was struck by how I could take what I had learned and translate it to solving problems in a different domain,” she says.

Kolhatkar’s career then took her to Amazon, PayPal, and eBay, where she worked in various analytical roles as the internet economy was in its infancy. Post eBay, she co founded a predictive analytics firm, Inkiru, whose highly scalable platform was designed to use predictive intelligence and data to help companies with strategic decision making. Inkiru was later acquired by WalmartLabs. She eventually became senior vice president, Global Data at Walmart Inc.

In 2018, Kolhatkar joined Hulu as chief data officer, where she was tasked with “making Hulu great at data.” She is responsible for elevating customer intelligence, implementing strong data governance and driving a culture of data driven decision making. Currently, she manages a team across strategic analytics, data engineering, data product, data science, and business intelligence. Her charter has changed recently to include all Disney Streaming properties, namely Disney+, ESPN+, Star+ and Hulu.

Kolhatkar credits the Villanova MBA program with laying the foundation for her future success.

“I cannot understate how much of an impact Villanova had on my career, if I had not gotten the research assistant position, and if my professors had not pushed me to learn things I was not very comfortable with learning at that point in time, I would not have had the career that I have had. I think of these professors often and of the groundwork they laid for my career.”

Originally published in the Winter 2021 Issue of Villanova Business magazine.