John Coles, Ph.D. is the Senior Director of Data Science and Analytics at ACV, the leading digital automotive marketplace and data services partner for dealers and commercial partners, where he leads data infrastructure, machine learning and data analytics strategy. He has been with ACV since 2019 and has helped the company define success metrics to guide product, sales and operations growth.  Prior to joining ACV, Dr. Coles held many leadership roles, including Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product Officer of Bronze Trident Inc., a startup in Buffalo, New York, where he designed the business model and product plan for an automated tax challenge software. He has also worked as a Program Manager and Senior Research Scientist at CUBRC Inc. and served as a faculty member at the University at Buffalo and Buffalo State College. 

Throughout his career, Dr. Coles’ work in disaster relief, emergency management and counterterrorism has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Department of Homeland Security. He has also served on the board of Global Biotechnology and Cancer Therapeutics (GBCT) for Roswell Cancer Institute. 

Dr. Coles was recently recognized as an Auto Remarketing ‘40 Under 40’ Honoree (2021) and was awarded the Koopman Prize from the Military Appreciations Society of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) for “Introducing Terrorist Archetypes: Using Terrorist Objectives and Behavior to Predict New, Complex, and Changing Threats” (2017)—among other accolades. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University at Buffalo, a Masters of Engineering from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from the University at Buffalo.