Aamer Charania
Head of AI - Best Buy | Chief AI Officer - Dallas AI | Board Member - SMU, UNT & Gartner CDAO Community
SMU Big Data Advisory•Dallas, TX
View LinkedIn ProfileExecutive Overview
I am passionate about building and scaling enterprise AI organizations that deliver measurable business value and drive responsible innovation. I have enabled AI-powered transformations spanning Retail, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Technology, delivering billions in revenue growth and operational savings annually. While a technologist at heart, I enjoy bridging the gap between technology and business, making complex AI concepts accessible to diverse audiences, whether providing intuitive analogies to the C-suite and board, or leading hands-on design reviews with engineers and scientists. Beyond my corporate work, I remain deeply engaged with the larger AI community. I founded Dallas AI, the largest nonprofit AI forum in Texas with 10,000+ practitioners and enthusiasts, establishing a premier hub for AI talent and continuous learning. I also serve as Governing Body Co-Chair for the Gartner Dallas CDAO Community and advise university boards on AI strategy and industry needs. Speaker Bio: https://dallas-ai.org/aamer
Career Timeline
- University of North TexasCurrent2025–Present· 1 yr 8 mos
- Member, Board of DirectorsCurrent2025–Present
- Best BuyCurrent2022–Present· 4 yrs 8 mos
- Global Head, Artificial IntelligenceCurrent2022–Present
- Head, Applied Artificial Intelligence2022–Dec 2025
- SMU Big Data AdvisoryCurrent2018–Present· 8 yrs 8 mos
- Member, Board of DirectorsCurrent2018–Present
- Evanta, a Gartner CompanyCurrent2018–Present· 8 yrs 8 mos
- Governing Body Co-Chair - Dallas Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO) CommunityCurrent2023–Present
- Governing Body Member - Dallas Chief Data & Analytics Officer Community2018–2023
- Dallas AICurrent2017–Present· 9 yrs 8 mos
- Founding President & Chief AI Officer Current2017–Present
- President & Founder2017–Present
- 2018–2022· 4 yrs
- Director, Machine Learning2018–2022
- 2014–2018· 4 yrs
- Director, Big Data & Machine Learning2014–2018
- 1998–2014· 16 yrs
- Distinguished MTS (Technical Manager)2012–2014
- Software Engineer (SE), Senior SE & Senior MTS (Principal)1998–2012
- 1996–1998· 2 yrs
- Research Assistant1996–1998
Education
Master of Science (MS)
Computer Science
University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignMBA
Finance & Information Technology
SMU Cox School of BusinessMaster of Science (MS)
Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology