Using AI to Solve Complex Challenges
Lincoln Holt turned his MBAi capstone experience into a full-time job with John Deere. Now he's applying lessons learned in the program to make a difference for farmers across the country.
When Lincoln Holt (MBAi '23) thought about his professional goals, he hoped to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to solve complex challenges at scale.
He's doing just that.
Holt is an AI product manager with John Deere, where he helped take the company's innovative SmartClean product from pilot stage to full production.
SmartClean incorporates AI and machine learning (ML) into the harvesters that traverse fields to extract as much sugarcane as possible from each harvest. SmartClean uses sensors that detect the makeup of what is passing through a harvester’s elevator in real time to adjust the speed of the fan that separates useful product from the waste to optimize yield.
Global consumption of sugar amounted to about 176 million metric tons in 2022-23, according to a report by Statista.
SmartClean helped increase efficiency and profitability for sugarcane farmers, with a projected increase of $64,000 in profit for each farmer, Holt said.
Holt was first introduced to SmartClean as a student in Northwestern's MBAi Program, a joint-degree program offered between Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and McCormick School of Engineering. Through the program's unique capstone project — which allows MBAi students to collaborate with students from Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI) program — Holt helped John Deere optimize its SmartClean technology to maximize harvested sugarcane.
"Collaborating with MSAI students was crucial for gaining diverse perspectives and expertise in AI, which is vital in the field," he said. "It mirrors my real-life corporate experience, as the skillset from the MBAi program is most effectively employed in technical roles with engineering teams."
Holt didn't come to MBAi expecting to join a company like Deere. What initially appealed to him about the program was its unique blend of business acumen and AI expertise. Ultimately the MBAi program helped broaden his horizons to include a wider range of technology companies like John Deere — one of the largest robotics companies in the world.
As an AI product manager, Holt focuses on customer data and analytics. He leads initiatives to enhance the company's marketing strategies using AI.
"This involves audience segmentation to improve engagement and building technical solutions to bring personalization to life," he said. “I play a critical role on my team because of my ability to translate business goals into instructions and intelligent conversations with engineering groups. It’s truly an invaluable skill set.”
That skill set was strengthened in MBAi. Courses that focused on integrating AI with business strategies impacted Holt the most. He said Business Analytics and Applied AI for Business provided the skills needed to apply AI in practical business contexts.
“MBAi prepares you with a concrete skill set to go with the degree,” he said. “This is something I feel sets it apart from a traditional two-year MBA program.”
Holt also benefited from the mentorship and friendships he developed with MBAi faculty.
"Some of my favorite relationships from my time in MBAi were born from time with faculty," he said. "They played a bigger role in my overall school experience than I ever thought they would."