Faculty and Staff

Steven Keith Platt

About

Steven Keith Platt’s teaching and research focuses on analytics and artificial intelligence. He is also responsible for infusing into the curriculum advanced technologies and supporting faculty research. Before joining the Quinlan School of Business, Steven served as Research Director at the Retail Analytics Council, Northwestern University, where he ran the AI Lab and Retail Robotics Initiative. At Northwestern he also taught AI courses to graduate students in the Department of Integrated Marketing Communications, Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence, and Master of Science in Machine Learning and Data Science.

Steven has consulted with companies including AT&T, Kroger, McDonald’s, and Microsoft, among many others. He recently published "Adopting a Dynamic AI Price Optimization Model to Impact Retail Customer Engagement" in the Journal of AI, Robotics and Workplace Automation. He has also published articles in the ABA Banking Journal, American Marketing Association, Computing Technology Industry Association, Global Retail Management, Hospital Information Technology Europe, Mergers & Acquisitions Journal, Retail Executive Magazine, and Retail Information Systems News. He has been quoted in publications including Bloomberg, Business Week, Chain Store Age, the Chicago Tribune, CNN Business, Inc. Magazine, MIT Technology Review, RFID Journal, Stores Magazine, the San Jose Mercury News, Time Magazine, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. As well, he has served as a guest analyst on the CBS Evening News and Early Show, and ABC World News, and lectured at conferences around the globe. He engages with his community as a founding partner of Black Kids Predict, an outreach program targeting inner-city middle and high school students for careers in data science.

Degrees

• Boston University, Boston, MA, 1986, LL.M., Tax
• Boston Univeristy, Boston, MA, 1983, J.D.
• Boston University, Boston, MA, 1979, B.S.B.A., Finance and Marketing

Research Interests

• Analytics and AI

Professional & Community Affiliations

• Member of Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts Bars
• Founding Partner, Black Kids Predict

Courses Taught

• Introduction to Applied Artificial Intelligence (Graduate and Undergraduate)
• Statistics (Undergraduate)

Selected Publications

Steven Keith Platt, Loyola University Chicago and Martin Block, Northwestern University, ‘Adopting a dynamic AI price optimization model to impact retail customer engagement,’ Journal of AI, Robotics & Workplace Automation, Vol.2, No. 2, 2022 - 2023.

Martin Block, Northwestern University and Steven Keith Platt, Northwestern University, “Assessing the Impact of Supply Chain Shock: A Model for Retailers to Estimate Sales,” RAC Research Article, March 2021.

Steven Keith Platt, Northwestern University, “Emerging Trends in Retail Robotics,” RAC Research Article, May 2020.

Steven Keith Platt, Northwestern University, “Quantifiable Benefits and Analytical Application of RFID Data,” RAC Working Paper, January 2016.

Steven Keith Platt, PRI, “Customer and Inventory Insights Generated by Location-Based Analytics and the Introduction of an On-line – In-Store Behavioral Bonding Model,” PRI Research Article, June 2015.