Colin Shearer studied Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Aberdeen, and since 1984 has been involved in applying advanced software solutions to business problems.

Colin co-founded Integral Solutions Ltd. (ISL) in 1989. A pioneer of data mining in the early 1990s, he was the creator and architect of ISL's award-winning Clementine system (now IBM SPSS Modeler) and led a team which tackled numerous successful predictive analytics projects across a wide range of industries and application areas. In 1996 he jointly initiated and led an international cross-industry project to create CRISP-DM, which quickly became established as the de facto standard methodology for predictive analytics.

In 1998 SPSS acquired ISL. Colin led the worldwide development of SPSS’s data mining business, as well as leading a worldwide team of data mining consultants and SPSS’s Advanced Data Mining Group. He subsequently held various positions at SPSS including global head of Product Marketing and Senior Vice President for Market Strategy. He was responsible for the introduction of the first enterprise-level analytics technology platform, adding rich automation and deployment capabilities to SPSS’s predictive modeling suite.

SPSS was acquired by IBM in October 2009. At IBM, Colin led the development of industry-specific offerings utilizing predictive analytics, created and launched IBM’s first cloud-hosted analytics services, and helped design and develop advanced analytic solutions for Next Best Action and Predictive Maintenance & Quality.

Throughout his career, Colin has been in demand as a speaker at events around the world, and has met with numerous clients to share his experience and knowledge of the use of advanced analytics and advise them on how best to leverage this technology in their business. In July 2016 he left his corporate role to spend time on other interests, but continues to have a strong involvement in the analytics industry. He set up Decisions from Data to provide advice, assistance and guidance in Advanced Analytics to all types of organisations.