Meet Lee Lazarow, an IBM Champion since 2022 and the IBM Planning Analytics Practice Leader at Revelwood. With over two decades of experience implementing Planning Analytics (and TM1) solutions, Lee has a deep understanding of the tool and its capabilities; “I have been implementing Planning Analytics (and TM1) solutions since 2003 -- and I cannot say enough great things about it! Every aspect of my career has entailed a combination of business and technology, and PA fits perfectly into that mix. In 20+ years, I have yet to find an FP&A challenge that can't be solved with the tool”. Specializing in IBM Planning Analytics / TM1, FP&A, business process optimization, and systems design, he has been with Revelwood for over 17 years. He also contributes frequently to Revelwood's Knowledge Center, writing blog posts and creating videos for the IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks.
His passion for the product led him to become an IBM Champion, where he shares his expertise and insights to help others maximize the potential of Planning Analytics. Lee's favourite type of advocacy includes speaking and writing about Planning Analytics. He thoroughly enjoys sharing his knowledge and experiences with the community, whether in person or through his popular weekly "Tips and Tricks" blogs. These blogs have evolved into a team effort at Revelwood, with over 200 published articles in the past five years.
One of Lee's most significant accomplishments is working with a customer who faced slow performance issues; “We recently worked with a customer that expressed a simple concern of "our system is slow". While many companies may look at this as a technical issue, we expanded our approach to also look into the customer's business process. Once we learned what the customer was trying to analyze, we found that the customer was performing millions of unnecessary calculations. After modifying the model to match their business goals, we were able to shrink their model by more than 99%!!!”. This success story underscores Lee's dedication to assisting customers in overcoming challenges and achieving their desired outcomes.
Read the full case study here.
When it comes to IBM's AI capabilities, Lee sees immense potential in the technology. He recently led a webinar exploring AI as a big trend that is impacting PA. Some of the points that he covered included Gartner's assessment that financial planning software (like Planning Analytics/TM1) is at the forefront of finance modernization efforts, how to write code with the help of AI tools, and how to use PA's Forecasting feature that allows customers to use time series modelling to discover trends, seasonality, and time dependence in their data.
Watch the replay of the webinar here
If he weren’t a part of the technology world, he would have been a teacher; “I completely believe in the Whitney Houston lyrics of "I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way". This is why most of my non-work activities entail coaching or leading various activities for kids”. Lee is actively planning to participate in numerous events and conferences throughout the year, where he will enthusiastically advocate for Planning Analytics and share his expertise with the community.
Lightning round:
- What would be your superpower and why? Batman has shown me that anything can be done with planning and preparation, even without powers. With that said, it would be nice to have super speed so I can get my kids to their activities without getting stuck in traffic.
- Ice cream or cake? Cake with lots and lots of frosting!
- Cats or dogs? Dogs, of course. They are not afraid of a squirt gun.
- Summer or winter? Winter. The polar bear swim isn't as challenging in the summer.
- Morning or evening? Morning. It's nice to be ahead of the day before 8am
- eBook or paper book? Paper so I can hear the sound of the pages turning.
- TV shows or movies? Movies. Once I start something it's hard for me to not finish it, and a good TV series can go on for many seasons.
- A night out or a night in? A night in, although I might change my answer if I ended up getting the super speed!
- Cannonball into the pool or dip a toe in first? Cannonball. Why delay?
- Go-to karaoke song? I'm more of a shower singer, so only a few people have heard me sing. However, I was in a 5th grade select chorus ... but it's been downhill since then.
- Drive or fly? Fly, even though my 6'1" 225 pound frame doesn't always fit so well.
Connect with Lee in LinkedIn and Community page.
#IBMChampions
#IBMChampion-Spotlight
#ibmchampions-featured-blog-home
#ibmchampions-featured-blog
#IBMPlanningAnalytics
#PlanningAnalytics
#AI