S. Ali Tajdar

About S. Ali Tajdar

I’m an executive leader in AI and Analytics with 20+ years of experience helping organizations unlock growth through data. I build and scale high-impact teams and insights functions across industries - from finance and e-commerce to digital media - with a focus on driving smarter decisions, faster velocity, and measurable business outcomes. I specialize in scaling lean teams through modern tooling and AI-driven workflows to deliver more with less.Most recently, I lead the Insights & Analytics function at The Baltimore Banner, a Pulitzer Prize–winning nonprofit digital news startup. I launched the organization’s first AI-powered article classification system using AWS Bedrock, redesigned editorial tagging with LLM workflows, and introduced Amazon Q and Microsoft Copilot into Power BI to scale reporting capabilities. This work is featured in NewsMachines and was submitted to AWS re:Invent 2025.Before that, I led digital marketing analytics at Albertsons/Safeway and supported product, trading, and strategy teams at T. Rowe Price and Priceline/Booking.com. I bridge AI with business, mentor cross-functional teams, and deliver insights that drive performance.Core Focus Areas:LLM Prompt Engineering • Editorial & Product Strategy • Content Optimization • KPI Development • AI-Powered Dashboards • Customer & Revenue Analytics • Cross-Functional Leadership

Experience

1. Head of Insights & Analytics

   Baltimore Banner

   Jul 2024 — Present · Baltimore, MD, US

   Built and led the organization’s first analytics & insights function, supporting editorial, product, and executive leadership.• Launched an AI-powered article classification system using AWS Bedrock and LLMs, reducing tagging time by 95% across the full article inventory• Designed an editorial taxonomy and engineered prompt workflows; featured in NewsMachines, a trade journal covering AI and editorial transformation; presented at industry events and submitted to AWS re:Invent 2025• Introduced AI-powered reporting workflows using Amazon Q and Microsoft Copilot in Power BI to scale self-serve dashboards, increase dashboard usage, and reduce manual reporting• Uncovered high-performing content clusters responsible for over 60% of conversions• Drove $1.1M+ in lifetime value and $420K in annual revenue through improved audience targeting and smarter acquisition strategies• Established team intake, prioritization, and stakeholder workflows to streamline project delivery and increase executive visibility

Education

• Rutgers University–New Brunswick

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Mathematics, Economics

• Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management

  Advanced Analytics for Marketing

• Northwestern University

  Master of Science - MS, Data Science / Predictive Analytics

• Columbia University

  Operations Research

Skills

• Financial Modeling
• Analysis
• Financial Analysis
• Asset Management
• Investments