Top 10 Active Big Data, Data Science, Machine Learning Influencers on LinkedIn, Updated

We collected a list of the top influencers on LinkedIn, ranked by their number of followers, and limited to those who were active for the past three months. Those who did not publish anything, or anything relevant to Big Data, Data Science or Machine Learning on LinkedIn since June 2017, were not included. We note that one can create a totally different ranking by looking at the number of followers on other social media, e.g., Twitter. I hope you enjoy reading through each of the profiles. All percent changes in the number of followers is relative to a similar post Top 16 Active Big Data, Data Science Leaders on LinkedIn from September 2016.

1. Bernard Marr, (1,121k), 41% increase. As a best-selling author, strategy consultant and CEO he has become one of the most recognized and respected leaders in the world of data. He’s published numerous reports and books on Big Data and has advised several well-recognized firms. He has figured among the top five LinkedIn business influencers. Also @BernardMarr on Twitter, 91k followers.

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2. Josh Bersin, (610k), 43% increase. Principal and Founder of Bersin by Deloitte, a leading firm in strategic and research consulting for talent management, leadership development, recruiting and training. Also @Josh_Bersin on Twitter, 44k followers.

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3. DJ Patil, (551k), 83% increase. Former US Chief Data Scientist under President Barack Obama, responsible for creating and establishing major data-driven initiatives in healthcare, criminal justice and national security among others. He was also Head of Data Products and Chief Scientist at LinkedIn. Also @dpatil on Twitter, 46k followers.

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4. Dennis Mortensen, (315k), 145% increase. CEO and Founder of x.ai, an AI personal assistant to schedule your meetings. Also @DennisMortensen on Twitter, 9.8k followers.

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5. Carla Gentry, (227k), 355% increase. For the last 18 years, Carla has worked with Fortune 100 and 500 companies and is highly experienced tackling complicated databases and deciphering complex business needs to provide insight into key performance metrics. Her areas of expertise are Customer Satisfaction and Retention Analysis, Brand Research & Competitive Analysis, Employee Retention, Survey Creation & Analysis, Database creation and mining, Incentive Promotions and Project Management. Also @data_nerd on Twitter, 42.7k followers.

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6. Tom Davenport, (209k), 145% increase. Recognized leader and author of several books and articles; senior adviser to Deloitte Analytics; Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College and MIT Fellow at the Center for Digital Business. Also @tdav on Twitter, 9.5k followers.

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7. Gregory Piatetsky-Shapiro, (208k), 274% increase. Data Science, Business Intelligence and Data Mining expert; President of KDnuggets, voted Best Twitter and Top Influencer in Big Data and Data Science. Co-founder of Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD) Conferences and its professional organization SIGKDD. He has also contributed to over 60 publications and edited several books on Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery. Also @kdnuggets on Twitter, 95k followers.

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8. Ronald van Loon, (32.7k). Recognized in the field of digital transformation by publications and organizations as Onalytica, Dataconomy, and Klout. In addition to these recognitions, Ronald is also an author for a number of leading big data websites, including The Guardian, The Datafloq, and Data Science Central. Also @Ronald_vanLoon on Twitter, 103k followers.

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9. Kirk Borne, (23.7k), 149% increase. Kirk is a major and well-recognized Big Data and Data Science advisor, TedX speaker, consultant, researcher, blogger, Data Literacy advocate. Kirk is also a Public Speaker, Consultant, Astrophysicist and a Space Scientist. Worldwide top influencer since 2013. KirkDBorne on Twitter, 170k followers.

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10. Vin Vashishta, (14k). Vin has 8 years of experience using modern data science/machine learning tools and methodologies in both startups and Fortune 10 companies. He is a published business strategy expert and is followed by Walmart, Accenture, Microsoft, IBM, and recognized by Agilience, Klout, Dataconomy, and Onalytica as a thought leader in data science and machine learning. Influencer for IBM, Intel, and many other amazing brands. v_vashishta
on Twitter, 37.5k followers.

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Related:

• Top Influencers for Data Science
• Big Data 2017: Top Influencers and Brands
• Top 16 Active Big Data, Data Science Leaders on LinkedIn