How this Program in Data Science With Generative AI Helped This CEO Strengthen AI Decision Making Skills
Myrthle Kay Lorenzana Guimbatan is a CEO. She enrolled in the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin Post Graduate Program in Data Science with Generative AI not to earn a certificate, but to stop depending on her technical team for answers she should be able to give herself.
Program Details
- Texas McCombs
- Post Graduate Program in Data Science with Generative AI: Applications to Business
- Live online classes, self-paced modules & mentor-led sessions
- 10+ industry projects and a business capstone
Key Topics
- Python programming & statistics
- Machine learning & deep learning
- Generative AI for business decision-making
- Predictive modeling, classification & clustering
Learner Outcomes
- Designs AI solutions independently without relying on technical teams
- Rebranded institution as a high-caliber AI organization
- Integrates analytics directly into strategic planning
Best Suited For
- Executives and senior leaders
- Entrepreneurs and business owners
- Managers driving AI adoption in their organizations
- Professionals who need technical depth, not just awareness
What You Walk Away With
This program is built for leaders who need to do more than understand AI from a distance. You come out able to build with it, not just talk about it.
Technical Authority in the Room
Stop deferring to your team on AI decisions. Gain the Python, ML, and generative AI skills to lead technical conversations and design solutions yourself.
Real Projects on Real Business Problems
Ten-plus industry projects cover predictive modeling, text analysis, and generative AI applications. Nothing abstract. Everything connects to decisions you actually face.
A Roadmap for Transforming Your Organization
The capstone project applies what you have learned to your own business context, so you leave with a plan you can act on, not just ideas to think about later.
Myrthle Kay Lorenzana Guimbatan, CEO of Informatics, completed the Texas McCombs Post Graduate Program in Data Science with Generative AI: Applications to Business while running a technology institution. She came in as an executive with strategic vision and left with the hands-on technical skills to match it, independently designing AI solutions, integrating data analytics into institutional planning, and repositioning her organization in the market.
A CEO Who Decided That Leading a Tech Revolution Meant Mastering the Craft Herself
Guimbatan runs a technology institution. When she joined the program, she was managing academics, operations, and business growth while also working to revitalize technical training for a rapidly changing market. She realized that steering an organization through technological change required more than strategic oversight. She needed to understand the tools herself.
When I joined the program, I was at the helm of a tech school as Campus Director, balancing the intricate machinery of academics, operations, and business growth. My mission was ambitious: to revive our technical training and saturate the market.
She Did Not Want a Certificate. She Wanted Technical Authority.
Guimbatan has always held herself to a high standard. Saying "I don't know" was never going to be enough. Running a technology institution while the world was changing around her made that standard even harder to meet.
My competitive nature has never allowed 'I don't know' to be an acceptable answer. I realized that to lead a tech revolution, I could not just manage from the top. I had to master the craft from within.
The Texas McCombs program offered what she was looking for. A global reputation for applied learning, a curriculum that connected technical skills directly to business outcomes, and a structure that working executives could actually follow through on.
Great Learning provided the gold standard of confidence I required. Their global reputation for academic excellence and applied learning mirrored my own standards for achievement.
I did not just need a certificate; I needed a partner that would challenge my limits and provide the technical prestige necessary to lead a tech revolution with absolute authority.
What She Could Do After That She Could Not Do Before
Before the program, Guimbatan led from the top of conversations about AI. She understood the strategy. She directed the teams. But the technical decisions still ran through other people. The program changed that.
Working through predictive modeling, classification, clustering, and text analysis using generative AI gave her more than knowledge. It gave her the confidence to contribute directly, not manage from the side.
This experience allowed me to move beyond managing discussions to actually designing solutions. I could contribute directly to AI-driven projects instead of relying solely on my technical teams.
By bridging executive vision with practitioner-level execution, I have rebranded our academy into a high-caliber AI powerhouse.
Seven Projects That Force Theory Into Action
The program includes seven hands-on projects. Not case studies to read. Problems to actually solve, using the same tools and workflows data scientists use in the field: Python-based analysis, machine learning model development, AI-driven data interpretation.
Mentor support was available throughout. When something did not click in the lectures, Guimbatan had structured access to people who could work through it with her. That combination of project work and mentorship is what made the material move from abstract to usable.
The program also runs on a schedule built for executives. Live online classes combined with self-paced modules meant she could hold her commitments at work and still make real progress.
High-Stakes Decisions by Day. Technical Coursework by Night.
There was nothing easy about this. Guimbatan was running an institution while working through a program that demands real cognitive effort. The stretch from making leadership decisions during the day to learning machine learning by night is not a small one.
The primary challenge was the friction of focus, the demanding cognitive shift from making high-stakes institutional decisions as CEO by day to mastering granular technical labor by night.
What carried her through was not motivation. It was framing. Every technical concept she mastered felt like a strategic win, not an academic exercise. The work had a purpose she could see clearly every time she sat back down at her desk the next morning.
I was not just pursuing a credential. I was architecting a new pillar of authority. Every technical breakthrough felt like a strategic win.
She Has Two Things to Say to Anyone Still Waiting
Guimbatan does not hedge. She has watched too many professionals sit on the sidelines of the AI conversation, waiting for a safer moment to get involved. Her view on that is clear.
Stop waiting for a permission slip that is not coming. In the world of AI and tech, playing it safe is the riskiest move you can make.
You are not just adding a line to a resume. You are claiming a seat where the rules are written. The future is being built right now. Make sure it has your fingerprints all over it.
What the Program Covers
The curriculum builds from Python and statistics through to advanced generative AI, with business applications running throughout every stage. The capstone puts everything together on a real organizational problem.
- 01Python Programming for Data Science
- 02Statistics and Probability for Business Decisions
- 03Data Analysis and Visualization
- 04Machine Learning Techniques and Model Development
- 05Deep Learning Foundations
- 06Predictive Modeling, Classification and Clustering
- 07Generative AI Applications for Business
- 08Text Analysis and AI-Driven Data Interpretation
- 09Capstone Project: Applying AI to a Real Business Challenge
Technical and Professional Capabilities Gained
Guimbatan came in as a strategic leader and left as someone who could design AI solutions from the ground up. These are the capabilities the program built.
Strengths and Considerations
✓ WHAT WORKS WELL
- Built for working professionals who cannot pause their careers
- Technical skills taught through real business use cases
- 10+ projects that connect directly to workplace decisions
- Mentor support available throughout the program
- Flexible format: live classes plus self-paced modules
- Curriculum covers the full stack from Python to generative AI
· KEEP IN MIND
- Demands real cognitive effort alongside a full-time role
- Requires genuine commitment, not passive enrollment
- The shift from executive to learner takes adjustment
Who This Program Is Designed For
If you are leading teams, making strategic calls on AI, or running an organization that needs to move faster on data and technology, this program was designed for you.
- Executives and senior leaders who need technical depth to go alongside their strategic vision
- Entrepreneurs and business owners building or transforming AI-driven organizations
- Senior managers responsible for AI adoption who can no longer afford to lead without hands-on knowledge
- Professionals in any function who want to move from approving AI work to actually contributing to it
- Leaders in technology, education, healthcare, or financial services where AI is reshaping operations
This is not a program for people who want a light introduction. It covers real technical ground, and it expects you to do real work. If that is what you are looking for, it delivers.
Common Questions About the Program
The program is built for working professionals, senior managers, entrepreneurs, and executives who want to gain a real understanding of AI and data-driven decision-making without pausing their careers.
Participants gain hands-on skills in Python programming, statistics, machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI applications for business decision-making.
The program includes over 10 industry-relevant projects and case studies covering predictive modeling, classification, clustering, text analysis, and real-world AI applications, culminating in a business capstone project.
It combines live online classes, self-paced modules, and mentor-led sessions, giving working professionals the flexibility to build skills without stepping away from their roles.
By building both technical proficiency and strategic application skills, the program allows leaders to make informed, AI-driven decisions and contribute directly to technical initiatives rather than managing them from the outside.
Prior technical experience is not required. The program is designed for professionals at different levels and provides hands-on guidance to build skills step by step, including for those starting from scratch.
Graduates gain technical credibility, sharper decision-making capabilities, and the confidence to drive AI adoption and innovation within their organizations. The skills stay relevant because they are grounded in real tools and real applications.
The Future Is Being Built Right Now.
Make sure it has your fingerprints all over it. Join executives and senior leaders building the technical authority to match their vision.
Explore the Program →