Vidya Setlur is the Head of Research at Tableau Software. Prior to joining Tableau, she worked as a principal research scientist at the Nokia Research Center for seven years. She earned her doctorate in 2005 at Northwestern University. Her area of expertise is in natural language processing and computer graphics. The goal of her work is to develop new computer algorithms and user interfaces that enhance visual communication and understanding of the semantics of the underlying data. Since joining Tableau Research in 2012, Vidya has worked on various projects and prototypes ranging from semantic icon encodings to chatbot interfaces. She has also explored analytical conversation using principles of language pragmatics that led to Tableau's first natural language feature, Ask Data.

Bridget Cogley is the Chief Visualization Officer at Versalytix and long-time consultant in the data visualization space. As an interpreter turned analyst, she brings an interdisciplinary approach to data analytics. Her dynamic, engaging presentation style is paired with thought-provoking content, including ethics and data visualization linguistics. She has a deep interest in the nuances of communication, having been an American Sign Language interpreter for nine years. She is a Hall of Fame Tableau Visionary. Her work incorporates human-centric dashboard design, an anthropological take on design, ethics, and language. She extensively covers speech analytics and open text. Prior to consulting, Bridget managed an analytics department.