The first time I realized Cliff’s value and impact was during the inaugural data science collaborative meeting that brought resources from all over the company together. Seemingly effortlessly, Cliff identified resources across lines of businesses, people that were interested in solving business problems with data, developed hours of useful content – content that the participants could immediately use in their day-to-day work and held a crowd of 50 spellbound for 4 hours – without a break! Cliff shows his passion for data science and machine learning to everyone he meets. He is a lifetime learner and is always eager to develop and mentor others and share his passion for business problem solving. If you need someone the lead your data science team – or develop a new one – Cliff has proven he can build talented and passionate data scientists.

Geethika Tummala | Manager Data Governance at LendingTree

Cliff gently pushed but strongly supported me to challenge my technical skills as a data scientist. Also, he encouraged me to step out in front to engage with other technologists and lead project calls with business sponsors. Both my hard and soft skills dramatically improved under Cliff’ tutelage. He provided the environment where I could balance project work by experimenting with new tools and coding challenges. This provided me the opportunity to truly understand how to become a business-focused data scientist. Cliff is a talented data scientists but more importantly, he builds effective teams effortlessly demonstrating care and support along the way.

Anjali Khushalani | Manager Data & Analytics at EY

It is a rare opportunity to encounter someone like Cliff, whose depth of knowledge, vision for the future, and passion for discovery combine to create an extremely dynamic individual. I had the chance to report to Cliff while he managed the Data Science team at Valorem. The amount I learned from him during this time is unquantifiable, covering a wide variety of technical, soft, and business skills. He is a patient and humble teacher always willing to take the time and effort to help others improve. I was constantly impressed with Cliff’s ability to solve unique problems and deliver results. His knowledge and experience are undeniable, and he goes to great lengths to stay up-to-date on new industry technologies. Most importantly, he has the ability to apply these technologies to a wide range of business challenges. Cliff is an excellent technologist and data scientist who I would feel fortunate to work with again.

Trevor Bishop | Tech Lead, Customer Success at Databricks

Cliff is one of those amazing individuals that understands data, people, and process. He has enough experience to know how to solve almost any problem and the internal drive to stay up to date with emerging technology. He brings out the best in those around him through his positive attitude, encouragement, tutelage or passion. Cliff excels at solving problems quickly and efficiently with a focus on results. Few people have the depth and breadth of experience to do this well. Fewer still have the business acumen to communicate and implement within the bounds of the business requirements. Topping all of this is the fact that he is humble and a pleasure to work with.

Scott Davis | Manager Data Science & Data Analytics

I am writing to recommend Cliff as a top notch data scientist and mathematician who works tirelessly and with great passion to figure out how to win with data. I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Cliff over the past year as we have been colleagues at LendingTree since last summer. From the first introduction it was clear Cliff knew how to solve business problems and over the past year I have had the chance to work with Cliff on several projects were he was leading the way for us to capitalize on insights gained through data. He is legendary in our company for discovering significant revenue previously left on the floor. He is always willing to help and explain what he is trying to do and has been a terrific mentor to many of us. I am disappointed Cliff is leaving LT but know he will be successful in his future endeavors.

Patrick Seegers | Senior Data Engineer

I’ve worked with Cliff on a daily basis for almost two years and it’s been a blast. During that time his team produced two complex systems and delivered 110% of promised functionality on time, each time. Cliff’s vast experience across many industries give him the product and design perspective that has been invaluable to the team here at LendingTree. Always easy to approach, exceedingly interesting to talk to, and a consistent thought-leader, Cliff is always ready to contribute to the task at hand. In addition, Cliff is still learning at a pace that, to me, is outrageous (ask him about machine learning). In many respects, Cliff is absolutely the guy you want contributing to important technology initiatives at your company.

Kerry Famularo | Director - Lead Software Engineer

I was honored to work with Cliff for seven years. We worked in different but complementary departments so I had reason to interact with him. Often, I would ask Cliff for explanations on a wide variety of technical subjects, e.g., Microsoft, server technology, storage area networks, communications and security. He was always very informative, courteous and above all, extremely knowledgeable. He took time to explain concepts and processes in easy to understand terms. Many times, he had presentations or documentation already prepared to facilitate the learning process. Cliff is an well organized, intelligent self starter who is always ready to help others succeed. He’s a team player who is always responsive. I hope I get the opportunity to work with him again.

Randy Boyd | Retired

Cliff proved over many years if a Paragon customer had any challenging problem, you could ask Cliff for support and he would find an answer or solution. Cliff is quick to understand the problem and appreciate the customer’s urgency. Cliff often provided his time, energy and technical expertise to develop solutions even when the problem was not within his domain. He is a calculated risk taker, pragmatic leader and realist who grasps ideas holistically while still taking note to the more acute details. I recommend Cliff as a proactive and tireless contributor that would make a great addition to any team.

John Sebastian | Senior Systems Engineer