Dr. Usama Fayyad is Yahoo!'s chief data officer and executive vice president of Research & Strategic Data Solutions. Fayyad is responsible for Yahoo!'s overall data strategy, architecting Yahoo!'s data policies and systems, prioritizing data investments, and managing the Company's data analytics and data processing infrastructure.  He also founded and currently oversees the Yahoo! Research organization globally. Fayyad founded Yahoo! Research and hired its key management with the aim of building the premier scientific research organization to develop the new sciences of the Internet, on-line marketing, and innovative interactive applications.

Dr. Usama Fayyad founded Oasis 500 to invest in great new business ideas that need this early-stage capital and to provide them with enough supplies, know-how, tools, and training to make the desert crossing successfully. As our entrepreneurs succeed and grow their businesses and secure future capital, we share in the success as their business partners, mentors, and helpers. 
The “500” part of the “Oasis 500” name refers to our aspirational, ambitious, and we believe achievable goal: 500 companies funded and incubated at Oasis 500 in the next 5 years, starting with the year 2011.

Fayyad earned his Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1991), and also holds BSE's in both electrical and computer engineering (1984); MSE in computer science and engineering (1986); and M.Sc. in mathematics (1989).