Ben Martin, chief data analytics officer for HanesBrands, has been appointed president of the advisory board for the Department of Business Analytics & Statistics in the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Martin has served as a board member since 2017.
Michael Galbreth, head of the department, says Martin’s history and ties to industry make him a meaningful fit.
“With Ben’s leadership of the advisory board, we are well-positioned to continue to offer our students a world-class analytical skill set combined with an emphasis on communication and soft skills,” Galbreth says.
Martin brings proficiency in many advanced analytics functions, a background leading the development of the analytics team at HanesBrands and an early involvement with the Masters of Science in Business Analytics program to the board.
Martin says the field of business analytics is evolving rapidly, so the challenge for the board will be providing the department pertinent and current information from industry.
“The board’s role is to establish a connection between the university and industry, so that the MSBA materials, curriculum and subject matter that are part of the education process will be relevant when students join the workforce,” he says.
Among its contributions to the college, HanesBrands has sponsored the annual Hanes Analytics Case Competition for Haslam students since 2016. In April, that event will expand to accept teams from schools around the country. The company also was one of the first to partner with the department to provide capstone projects for students in the MSBA program, having done so since 2013. However, Martin’s connection to the department extends to the beginning of the MSBA program a decade ago.
As the leader of the HanesBrands analytics team, he was trying to establish talent pipelines with universities. Martin learned that Haslam had a business analytics program and contacted the college. HanesBrands hired a student from the Haslam MSBA program’s first graduating cohort and has continued to hire Haslam graduates since then.
CONTACT:
Scott McNutt, business writer/publicist (865-974-3589, rmcnutt4@utk.edu)
