Javier Leon

Javier Leon is likely one of the few people in the world that discusses the Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception as they relate to placement of children’s breakfast cereal in the grocery store. He’s also followed a relatively rare career path that has taken him from work as an engineer in a Venezuelan brewery to becoming a successful entrepreneur and professor in the United States.

Leon currently works as a project manager for Amazon Produce Network. He also teaches the Essentials of Data Visualization course 100% online for Villanova University. His road to these positions started in Venezuela.

Leon started his academic career at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, one of the largest universities in Venezuela. He graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering in 2009.

At work, he also began to develop an interest in technology and its uses in all phases of an operation. After graduation, he went to work with one of the largest breweries in Venezuela. While there, he was put in charge of the team that implemented Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing (SAP).

But Leon also reached a point where he wanted to learn more, so he decided to come to the United States and earn an MBA. He did that, with a concentration in marketing, at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia where he graduated in 2015.

While working on his MBA, Leon worked with the Cochran Fellowship Program, which brings people from developing countries into the U.S. and teaches them best practices for retail, marketing, sales, and promotions, among other areas. All of it is based on the food and beverage industry, where Leon had years of experience.

Leon then took a job with Amazon Produce Network as a project manager, a position he still holds. He works with special projects, including the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), data visualization, databases and forecasting.

He also continued with his education and went on to earn a Master of Science in Business Intelligence and Analytics in 2017 and a Master of Science in Food Marketing in 2018.

As if multiple master’s degrees wasn’t enough, he then became a certified project management professional (PMP®) and has taught as an adjunct professor in business intelligence and business analytics classes at the advanced and intermediate level. For beginners, he’s taught statistics, data visualization and data-based programming.

Education

• Northcentral University - Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Data Science May 2021 - May 2024
• Saint Joseph's University - Master of Science - MS , Food Marketing 2017 - 2018
• Saint Joseph's University - Master’s Degree, Business Intelligence and Analytics 2015 - 2017
• Saint Joseph's University - Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Marketing 2013 - 2015
• North Carolina State University - Summer Practicum, Manufacturing Engineering 2009 - 2009
• UCAB - Universidad Católica Andrés Bello - Engineer’s Degree, Industrial Engineering 2002 - 2009
• Pontificia Universidad Javeriana - Engineering 2008 - 2008