Jose Plehn Dujowich is the CEO, Chief Data Officer, and Founder of BrightQuery (BQ) and BQ AI. He has dedicated over a decade to academic work, collaborating with several U.S. statistical agencies such as the IRS, Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Small Business Administration (SBA). His expertise includes economics, finance, data analytics, employment, payroll, financial ratings, credit ratings, industrial organization, and artificial intelligence (AI).

In 2019, Jose Plehn established BrightQuery to provide detailed insights into firmographics, financials, corporate family structures, and legal data concerning the U.S. economy. The database encompasses over 100 million legal entities, 70 million organizations, 150 million employees and business owners, and 250 million locations. The information is sourced from regulatory, tax, and legal filings across numerous agencies, including the IRS, Department of Labor, SBA, SEC, and over 80,000 governmental jurisdictions. BrightQuery is preparing to celebrate its fifth anniversary in December 2024, marking a milestone in its contributions to data accessibility and transparency.

BQ AI, formed in 2023, represents an ambitious initiative to construct a comprehensive intelligence model of the global economy, starting with the U.S. It builds upon BrightQuery’s proprietary data, aiming to map the economy as a dynamic system of interacting entities such as companies, consumers, households, governments, and events. This effort links individual companies and people’s detailed “micro view” to the broader “macro view” encompassing regions, industries, governments, and environmental factors.

Jose’s research has been backed by funding from the National Science Fund (NSF), reflecting his focus on artificial intelligence and data analytics. As the project director of three NSF-funded initiatives, he leads efforts like “AI-Ready Data Products to Facilitate Discovery and Use.” This project explores the potential of a National Secure Data Service (NSDS) to provide tools and information that make statistical data more accessible for AI technologies. Such innovations aim to support federal agencies and their partners in responsibly utilizing generative AI to enhance their statistical output while addressing associated risks.

Before launching BrightQuery, he co-founded Powerlytics, contributing intellectual property to its development. Powerlytics provides aggregated, anonymized IRS tax data on U.S. companies and households. These experiences bridged his academic expertise with entrepreneurial ventures, allowing him to apply his skills in real-world business environments.

Jose Plehn held various esteemed positions in academia. He served as Faculty and Executive Director of the Fink Center at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he published in numerous respected journals, including The Accounting Review, Small Business Economics, International Journal of Industrial Organization, and Review of Economic Dynamics. His contributions to research extended to institutions like the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, where he was an Adjunct Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Financial Reporting & Management. At UC Berkeley, he founded the Berkeley Charter of Professional Accountancy (BCPA), a program that has become a leader in the accounting field. In 2015, his work “Demand Uncertainty and Cost Behavior” earned him the Notable Contribution to the Accounting Literature Award, granted by the American Accounting Association (AAA) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).

Jose Plehn’s earlier roles included positions at the Fox School of Business at Temple University and SUNY Buffalo, where he contributed to founding the Journal of Human Capital, published by the University of Chicago Press. Beyond teaching and research, he has also served on advisory boards such as the Business, Technology, and Engineering Division at Berkeley Extension and as a member of the Society of Chief Data Officers at MIT.

Jose Plehn’s academic journey began at the University of Chicago, where he earned a Ph.D. in Economics. He also holds a dual Bachelor of Science in Management Science (specializing in Information Systems) and Economics (with a minor in Mathematics) from MIT.

Born in New York to Mexican parents, he spent his early years in Mexico City and grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, where his parents worked for the United Nations. His father, a senior diplomat with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), played a crucial role in helping poorer nations negotiate trade deals with wealthier countries.

These experiences shaped his understanding of global economics, inequality, and environmental sustainability. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and French and brings an international perspective to his work. For two years, Jose Plehn and BrightQuery have partnered with organizations like the NFIB to provide free reports on small businesses to policymakers and the public. Additionally, BrightQuery has collaborated with BAI to offer insights into the state of small businesses to banks.

Jose Plehn Dujowich continues to lead efforts in leveraging data and technology to provide actionable insights, demonstrating his commitment to innovation and economic understanding. His work remains at the intersection of academia, entrepreneurship, and public service, contributing significantly to data analytics and financial modeling.

Portfolio: https://joseplehndujowich.com/