D. Anthony Miles, Chief Executive Officer

My career path has been colorful, to say the least, and my life has been an interesting irony. I played in a rock-and-roll/heavy metal band while I was in college. My band and I tried to get a record deal and thought we’d become famous, appearing on MTV, Solid Gold, American Bandstand, and so on. Well, we did not get the record deal. Life happens. But, as an accomplished musician, I have recorded eight albums of original avant-garde jazz.

After earning my undergraduate degree, I got into the retail, banking, and financial services industries, where I spent 30 years of my career. I worked as a loan officer doing consumer finance, and then became a marketing analyst with Wells Fargo Bank, which is where I gained an interest in statistics. As time passed, I found it was my calling to become a statistician and eventually left the banking industry to start my consulting practice.

I became enthusiastic about statistics while I was in my doctoral program at the University of the Incarnate Word. I first learned about the American Statistical Association from my uncle and mentor, the late Ralph E. Miles. He was a biostatistician with the US federal civil service and an ASA member. Honestly, it was my uncle who nurtured my love of the practice of statistics, and I credit all my accomplishments to him.

During my doctoral program, I won a fellowship from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Doctoral Consortium for my research on entrepreneurial risk patterns and predictive analytics that cause business failure. I was selected as one of 17 distinguished doctoral researchers nationwide in the field of entrepreneurship, and it was an honor to be recognized in my field.

I feel fortunate to be part of an organization that promotes the practice and profession of statistics.

I joined the ASA in 2020, after receiving an invitation to become a member in my mailbox. I was so delighted—I felt like I had been welcomed into the world of statistics. But it was a major milestone in my career that led me to become more involved within the ASA. I recently became a 21-time winner of the Academy of Business Research Conference’s Award for Best Paper in Marketing and Economics, setting a record for the most conference awards for my research. I had the opportunity to share this milestone with fellow ASA members via Amstat News, becoming part of the history and legacy of the association.

The opportunity to become involved with ASA-affiliated conferences has been the most rewarding part of membership. My participation has already opened doors. I’ve made priceless connections, and reading the stories by other ASA members has been inspiring. I hope to share my statistics research in business by presenting at a future ASA Conference on Statistical Practice.

If a fortune teller had looked into a crystal ball when I was a struggling musician and told me I would one day be a statistician and member of the same organization as my late uncle, I would have laughed!

My passion for statistics has grown through my membership, and the experience has been meaningful and fulfilling. I feel fortunate to be part of an organization that promotes the practice and profession of statistics. I am truly blessed.