SPU 2018 SACC_SPU_2018 | Page 17

MEMBER IN SPOTLIGHT Jennifer Lendler J ennifer Lendler joined SACC-Philadelphia’s board in January 2018. She holds the position of Head of the Activity Committee and supports the creation of SACC’s events. She was one of the panelists at SACC-Philadelphia’s business seminar on GDPR (read more on page 20). Jennifer has been living in Philadelphia since 1997 and enjoys the city’s interesting and di- verse culture. She is excited to be on the board and look forward to be connected to the other SACC Chapters. Could you please tell us about your- self and your business? How did you get involved with SACC- Philadelphia? Alea Advisors provides data strategy advisory services to firms and startups interested in leveraging Big Data, Analytics and AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Machine Learning, IoT (Internet of Things) and blockchain to make better business decisions, improve product development, improve operations, disrupt markets and enhance customer service. There is a lot of hype and misinformation about these topics and Alea Advisors tries to de-mystify them and build strategies that make sense for companies to harness the value of their data in an efficient and effective manner. I first heard about SACC through conversations I had at the Santa Lucia Festival that we have at our church (Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion). I got on the mailing list and became more involved by going to a few events in 2017. What are some similarities between Sweden and the U.S in your opinion? What are your advice to someone who is moving to Philadelphia? Philadelphia and only being exposed to Stockholm, I saw a lot of similarities—an urban environment with cosmopolitan educated people, history, water and good food. I do think that Sweden is more progressive on many social issues. And of course economically there are differences as I understand the tax rates are higher in Sweden but the safety net for citizens is larger too. In the US of course we have a lot of diverse countries represented which leads to lively debates and discourse, which I’m quite proud of. Don’t listen to the nay-sayers. We are often portrayed as a city full of thugs. But Philadelphia is full of warm, educated, helpful and proud people who are open to new visitors. We are more than cheesesteaks and Rocky (though those are both great!). We have the history of Jefferson and Franklin and the innovation of start-ups and universities. And you can walk everywhere! I feel a strong personal affinity to the Swedish values and as someone in the technology and innovation space, Sweden has taken the lead on many advances so it was a natural for me and for my business to want to be connected with SACC. “SACC brings together a community who have common interests and goals to achieve them together.” page 17