Projects
These are some of my project highlights
Letian "William" Ma
I am passionate about problem-solving through an analytical lens and using data to communicate actionable insights and drive business value.
I am a firm believer in self-improvements; a self-starter who is driven, curious, and proficient in collaborating in a diverse and multicultural environment.
About Me
Learn a bit more about me
Letian has recently graduated 1st in class from the UC Davis MSBA. During the MSBA, Letian served as the Project Manager and Business Analyst for the Mondavi Center for his practicum project, where he built models in Python to predict high-performing shows and used Excel VBA to automate sales and revenue prediction. Additionally, he also used Python to web scrape job portals to support career development for the MSBA program as a Graduate Student Analyst.
Prior to MSBA, Letian finished his bachelor's degree in Economics from the National University of Singapore in 2018. He has worked as a Junior Data Scientist for Merck, where he reduced global freight transportation planning rules by 94% and built a staffing management optimization app that received 10+ department requests for similar tools.
As a self-starter, Letian is driven and self-motivated. During off-hours at Merck, Letian completed over 250 hours of learning on Data Science. He also took various certifications over the recent years to learn new skills relevant to the field of data analytics.
Professional Experience
Mondavi Performing Arts Center | San Francisco, CA
Project Manager & Business Analyst, Practicum Project | 10/2020 - 06/2021
Utilized data analytics to help this performing arts center adjust business strategy to COVID-19
• Led a team of 3 in ensuring high-caliber delivery against targets, business strategies and goals
• Automated sales and revenue prediction, reduced show pricing decision time by 50% using Excel VBA
• Built predictive models identifying high performing shows, with potential to exceed sales goals by 16%
• Increased 8% seating capacity by reengineering a scaling map leveraging historical sales data
• Identified customers’ demands using sentiment analysis and topic modeling in Python
Merck & Co., INC. | Singapore, SGP
Junior Data Scientist | 01/2019 – 01/2020
As a data scientist, supported various business domains worldwide for this Fortune 100
• Built a staffing management optimization app that received 10+ department requests for similar tools
• Streamlined and reduced extraneous global freight transportation planning rules by 94% via market basket analysis and anomaly detection in R
• Enhanced patient engagements by visualizing patients’ feedback insights derived from text mining
• Optimized business webcasts viewing experience, improved overall performances by over 10%
• Hosted 3 data science training workshops in Thailand and Singapore across business functions
Merck & Co., INC. | Singapore, SGP
Delivery & Logistics Data Analyst Intern | 05/2018 – 08/2018
• Improved annual profit forecast accuracy by 4% for transportation of 100MM units in the Asia-Pacific
Prudential Assurance Company Singapore | Singapore, SGP
Financial Consultant (Part-Time) | 12/2016 – 01/2018
Wholly owned by Prudential PLC, a Fortune 100 company that specializes in financial advisory• Advised saving, investment, and insurance products to clients by analyzing clients’ financial situation
Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) | Singapore, SGP
Security Trooper, Singapore Infantry Regiment | 01/2013 – 01/2015
• Responsible for the protection of SAF camps, bases and military installations
Education
University of California, Davis | San Francisco, CA
Master of Science, Business Analytics | 06/2021
MSBA Academic Excellence Award (1st in Class) | MSBA Fellowship | Beta Gamma Sigma
National University of Singapore | Singapore, SGP
Bachelor of Social Sciences, Economics | 01/2019
Webscraping Monster.com
This project web scrapped the job listings data from Monster.com and used various ways to compare the nature of job listings
Job Postings from LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Indeed from March 2021
The Monster.com Webscraping project was recognized by the MSBA and was further extended into a work project for the graduate student analysts
Prediction of Pre-owned Car Prices
Use Machine Learning to find out the critical factors that affect car prices
Best Restaurants near the UC Hastings College of the Law
In this project I seek to find out the best restaurant that is within 1000m of the UC Hastings College of the Law. I am interested to find out the good restaurants in the vincinity because I will be studying at the UC Davis MSBA, which is hosted at the UC Hastings College of the Law.
Penny for Your Thoughts
These are some of my blogs
Two ways to becoming a better Analytics Translator
Have you pondered what are the required skills for your career?
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How Analytics could shine the lights forward for the Performing Arts Organizations
‘Analytics is not a technology issue, it’s a strategy and operational issue.’
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Two unconventional strengths in leading a team as an introvert
‘Wow, what a ride!’
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Project Uncertainties: A Blessing than a Curse
“When nothing is sure, everything is possible.”
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5 New Year's Resolutions to Enhance My Grad School Experience
Setting goals for better health and better results in the classroom
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