Guests Brooke Casazza and Michael Dairyko give an honest and interesting take on AI, data, and tech in sports.

Brooke Casazza’s quick bio:

• LinkedIn Profile.
• Leads the Bucks’ revenue-generating tech stack, everything that drives ticket sales, marketing, and fan engagement, plus shapes the organization’s enterprise AI strategy from governance to real-world application.
• Came up through AT&T and Samsung with a gift for making tech easily understandable, which landed her in the Bucks’ IT team as the bridge between business problems and technology solutions.

Michael Dairyko’s quick bio:

• LinkedIn profile.

• Oversees a three-pronged analytics operation covering data science, business intelligence, and market research, all focused on the fan experience and the business of basketball.

• Holds a PhD in applied mathematics from Iowa State, got recruited into sports via our Milwaukee Brewers, and landed at the Bucks after being handed a business card mid-conversation at a networking event.

Summary:

• Brooke and Mike share how the Bucks think about AI as a productivity and revenue driver that touches everything from ticket sales and concessions to fan engagement.

• The majority of Bucks fans will never set foot in the Fiserv Forum so the team is building a connected digital ecosystem to engage, personalize, and delight fans wherever they are.

• From a PhD in applied mathematics (Mike) to a career in cell phone sales (Brooke), their career paths into sports tech were anything but linear and their advice for the next generation is refreshingly practical.

• Both see Milwaukee at an inflection point where investing in data, technology, and local talent could flip the script on brain drain and make the city a serious tech destination.