About Us
We are an AI & analytics firm fueling Industry 4.0 transformations through strategic consulting and custom technology.
The Astral Story
Astral Insights is an end-to-end AI & analytics solutions firm headquartered in Raleigh, NC. We provide comprehensive solutions to transform data into sustainable business value and a healthier bottom line, primarily focusing on manufacturing and the supply chain. Our innovative methodology allows our clients to make faster, more profitable decisions while fostering long-term sustainability.
Astral was born out of the Covid-19 pandemic, at the dawn of a new age of global uncertainty. Seeing firsthand the limitations of traditional BI and analytics practices in gaining mass adoption and providing a rapid return on investment, our founders left leading consulting practices to begin a new chapter.
Leadership Team
Chris Andrassy is an entrepreneur and managing partner at Astral Insights, focused on transforming data into sustainable business value on a global scale. He began his career at PwC in New York City, supporting the digital transformation of mature organizations struggling to innovate in a hyper-competitive world. After experiencing the shortcomings of traditional analytics practices, he decided to begin a new chapter alongside colleagues and industry veterans. His departure from New York marked the inception of Astral Insights, a Raleigh-based decision intelligence firm helping mid-market and enterprise clients transform data into profit. Chris is also an investor focused on innovative technologies including synthetic biology, sustainable energy, and artificial intelligence. Outside of work, he is an avid musician, skier, traveler, and fitness enthusiast.
Alfonso leverages his unique technical skillset and passion for enabling technology education to build impactful solutions for our clients. He studied mechanical engineering and finance at Lehigh University as part of the Integrated Business & Engineering Honors Program. He has experience working at Air Products as a hydrogen systems engineer, and at Ernst & Young in capital equipment valuations. Alfonso is also a devout soccer enthusiast, education advocate, and animal lover.
Steve joined Astral Insights to build solutions and teams that enable successful client and customer outcomes with technical strategies that allow scientists, engineers, and developers to innovate and deliver confidently.
As an engineering leader who brings a strong and consistent track record in delivering scalable, maintainable, and enhanceable application and data cloud solutions, his work reflects his experience that software quality depends on the building of teams who are enabled and empowered to deliver best-in-class solutions.
On the other side of his work/life balance, you can find Steve playing ice hockey at one of our area rinks, watching the Carolina Hurricanes or Pittsburgh Steelers, or catching up on the latest Horror and Science Fiction.
Jocer, a dedicated tech lead with over 15 years of experience, is deeply enthusiastic about technology and innovation. His expertise lies in seamlessly integrating cutting-edge Machine Learning and Data solutions across diverse sectors such as Telecom, Banking, Insurance, Logistics, and Retail. His passion for leveraging technology to drive meaningful change is evident in his multifaceted contributions across various industries.
Jocer is a firm believer in the power of enabling individuals to express ideas through code and data. This conviction has led him to work with Generative AI and Large Language Models, to elevate product capabilities and enhance customer engagement.
Outside work, Jocer finds joy in reading coding, and swimming on the beach.
Jerrod is a driven creative director with a 20+ year track record of spearheading compelling, cost-effective brand strategy, design direction, creative communications, and product development. He brings a holistic design approach to oversee the creative cycle from innovation through development and actualization.
As a leader and mentor, Jerrods excels at creating cultures where ideas are born. His industry experience includes footwear, apparel, telecommunications, technology, and nonprofits.
As a creative leader, he envisions and implements design systems for internal teams and client-facing products, and ensures marketing, communications, advertising, and product-development initiatives maintain design standards. He leverages his accumulated leadership skills by building and guiding design teams and taking pride in mentoring future design leaders.
Board of Advisors
Araceli Guenther has over 20 years executive management experience and a proven ability to oversee and direct high visibility and complex management consulting projects. Araceli has directed numerous strategic projects for companies in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. In addition to being an Executive Principal for Victrix Global, Araceli has worked with IT software firms globally, focusing on the use of emergent web, mobile and cloud technologies and digital transformation.
Araceli is responsible for producing and implementing cost savings strategies related to financial & operational performance, supply chain, and cold chain logistics in a global environment. She has worked extensively to support companies faced with opportunities for growth. Through extensive business knowledge along with access to the Victrix network, develops and executes Go to Market Strategies that support clients in their efforts to grow internationally.
For the past 10 years, Araceli had been involved with Temple University Fox School of Business, where she is involved with the Temple University Management Consulting Program. She teaches three courses; International Business – LatAm, Global Business Policies, and the MBA course Management Consulting Principles & Practices.
Dr. Prashanth Southekal is a Consultant, Author, and Professor. He has consulted for over 80 organizations including P&G, GE, Shell, Apple, and SAP. Dr. Southekal is the author of two books — “Data for Business Performance” and “Analytics Best Practices” — and writes regularly on data, analytics, and machine learning in Forbes.com, FP&A Trends, and CFO. University. His second book, ANALYTICS BEST PRACTICES was ranked the #1 analytics books of all time in May 2022 by BookAuthority. Apart from his consulting pursuits, he has trained over 3,000 professionals worldwide in Data and Analytics. Dr. Southekal is also an Adjunct Professor of Data and Analytics at IE Business School (Madrid, Spain) and CDO Magazine included him in the top 75 global academic data leaders of 2022. He holds a PhD. from ESC Lille (FR), an MBA from Kellogg School of Management (US). He lives in Calgary, Canada with his wife, two children, and a high-energy Goldendoodle dog. Outside work, he loves juggling and cricket.
Lorien Pratt is an American computer scientist known for inventing two disciplines: machine learning transfer and decision intelligence. She is chief scientist and founder of Quantellia. Since 1988, she has conducted research on the use of machine learning as an academic, professor, industry analyst, and practicing data scientist. Pratt received her AB degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College and her Masters and Doctorate degrees in Computer Science from Rutgers University.
Allan brings 45 years of entrepreneurial and executive experience to support the growth of our firm. His background includes Chief Digital Officer for The Hackett Group, President, CTO, & Co-founder of Answerthink, CTO for the City of Philadelphia, CTO for Capgemini Invent, and CTO for KPMG Peat Marwick. Allan focuses on the application of transformational technologies, in particular, the disruptive role of artificial intelligence in the re-imagined enterprise. He is also a recognized expert in the areas of information delivery, decision support, and knowledge management. He has been recognized for his contributions to the IT Industry by several technology publications including Philadelphia Tech, where he was selected as one of the top 10 Technology Leaders in the region and InformationWeek, where he was selected as one of the top 10 Technology Innovators in the United States. Mr. Frank received the Computerworld Premier 100 Award which identified him as one of the top 100 people in the U.S. having an exceptional ability to lead their organizations through the effective use of technology.
Our Partners
Microsoft
Amazon Web Services
Tableau
Snowflake
Alteryx
TDWI
Gartner
Forrester
Our End-to-End Delivery Methodology
Delivery Capabilities
Accelerate Time to Value
Our unique tools and methods enable rapid value creation.
Data Discovery Platform
Advanced Analytics Library
Astral Analytics Lab
Automated data discovery and profiling platform
Proprietary algorithms for forward-looking insights
Cloud-based environment for rapid prototyping
Join Our Team
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