Swoop, the Cambridge-based search marketplace focused on driving actionable traffic for automotive and health advertisers, today announced the addition of IBM's Inderpal Bhandari to their Board of Directors. Dr. Bhandari, IBM's Global Chief Data Officer, brings a wealth of experience in the utilization of deep learning, data science, AI and cognitive computing to drive new business insights.

"We are extremely pleased to have Inderpal join our board and look forward to his contributions," said Ron Elwell, Swoop CEO and co-founder. "We are certain that our mission of transforming the huge amounts of online engagement data generated by our systems into real patient outcomes for our healthcare partners and sales for our automotive brand partners, will benefit significantly from the advice of such a globally-respected expert in data analytics."

Dr. Bhandari has been IBM's Golbal Chief Data Officer since 2015. Previously, he held similar positions with Cambia Health Solutions, Express Scripts and Medco. Dr. Bhandari was also recently named the U.S. Chief Data Officer of the Year for 2017 by the CDO Club.

"My mission at IBM is to exploit analytics, AI and data science to allow businesses to make informed, strategic decisions based on the massive amounts of data now available," says Dr. Bhandari. "When I was introduced to Swoop, I immediately recognized a company, business model and leadership team that was embarking on the same mission."

Founded in 2011 by Elwell and CTO Simeon Simeonov, Swoop has built a closed advertising environment where health and automotive advertisers' messages are promoted via Swoop's network of endemic web properties. By utilizing search advertising techniques and dynamic ad slots on high-quality sites, Swoop is able to provide a uniquely valuable advertising experience that converts for advertisers, earns for publishers and provides a more seamless experience for users.