Alison Cozad

Alison Cozad holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, where she applied mixed-integer and semi-infinite optimization methods to enhance machine learning algorithms. She began her career at ExxonMobil, working as a Real-time Optimization Engineer and later as a Senior Data Science Lead. Seeking to deepen her focus on optimization, she transitioned from the oil and gas industry to a smaller software company, joining Gurobi Optimization. There, she has grown into both technical and leadership roles and now manages the Americas Gurobi Expert Team.  Having navigated multiple career transitions—across industries, company sizes, and job functions—Alison brings firsthand experiences of the challenges and opportunities of career pivot