UNH Today

When Cody Shea, co-founder of Incline Analytics in Rye, needed to grow his data analytics firm, he didn't have to look far. What began with hiring one University of New Hampshire graduate has turned into an office of Wildcats.  

"We just started naturally, organically hiring UNH grads and said, 'Okay, that seems to be our feeder pipeline; let's figure out a way to build momentum on that initiative,'" Shea says.  

That momentum continued with two interns — Jake MacInnis ’24, ’25G and Emmanuel Fagbenle ’25G — from UNH’s Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program during spring 2025. 

Gaining A Deeper Understanding of Business Analytics  

MacInnis, who completed his undergraduate degree in information systems and business analytics at UNH Paul College, started an accelerated path as an undergrad, allowing him to take graduate courses during his senior year. 

 “I wanted to sharpen my skills and gain deeper expertise in the tech and analytics space,” MacInnis says   

Fagbenle, who studied civil engineering in Nigeria, discovered his passion for data science through an online course during his undergraduate studies. After working two years at a major insurance company in Nigeria, Fagbenle decided to make a change. 

"I needed the academic know-how, not just me going around YouTube and getting boot camps," Fagbenle says. “I have a friend studying civil engineering at UNH, and he recommended the school to me. I checked out the business analytics curriculum, and it made so much sense to me.”  

Learning Beyond the Classroom  

Incline Analytics helps multi-site retail health businesses — especially those backed by private equity — turn data into a strategic asset. MacInnis and Fagbenle work at the firm two days a week and are making a positive impact, according to Shea.  

"Emanuel's main focus has been working with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology to automate report downloads from client systems, making those processes more defensible with lower failure rates," Shea says. "Jake has focused on front-end reporting using Microsoft Power BI, updating report data patterns to work seamlessly with our new standards."  

Additionally, the firm allows the students to explore their interests and includes them in other projects.  

"I jump from each lily pad to help out in any sector that I can," MacInnis says. "It really helps me grasp the full circle of what we're doing here, from helping with presentations to updating and creating reports.”  

Fagbenle adds, “I love researching and finding new ways to get things done. With the rapid advancements in AI, I'm constantly inspired to explore what others in the industry are doing and see how we can apply that to our work." 

Preparing for a Career in Analytics  

Both students have found that their coursework benefits their professional development, while their internship enhances their understanding of course concepts.  

Fagbenle appreciates the statistics classes that explain machine learning models he previously encountered professionally. 

"I always saw the data science team talking about amazing machine learning models, but I never understood what they were talking about," he says. "Now, I'm being taught about these different models, and it makes so much sense."  

MacInnis values the program's project-based learning approach that teaches technical skills and collaboration, which he says will serve him well in his goal to break into the sports analytics industry.  

“I love connecting with people and can talk to anyone about anything. My goal is to combine that with the technical side of creating something complex or helpful,” MacInnis says. “A lot of what we do is more complicated than people realize, and I want to be the person who can both build the solution and clearly communicate how it works.” 

Fagbenle says the internship has sparked an interest in automation, which he plans to pursue.  

Opportunities in Business Analytics  

Shea is optimistic about the future of analytics, especially as AI evolves. He encourages students to be curious about AI — emphasizing that new technologies often create more opportunities than they replace — while focusing on fundamentals like understanding and organizing business data.  

“I think there’s an underappreciation for what I call ‘blocking and tackling’ — solving fundamental business questions. Clients often need help answering what seems like a simple question, like ‘How many patients did we see yesterday?’ but depending on the systems and data involved, that can be incredibly complex,” Shea says. “It’s the practical, scalable solutions that really move the needle.”  

With students like MacInnis and Fagbenle already contributing meaningful work, Shea sees the opportunity for additional collaboration, including welcoming an undergraduate intern this summer.

"UNH is a regional player producing good products, people with skills that we value," says Shea. "By nature of UNH being within our geography and teaching coursework that we find very useful, it's a great starting point for training our employees. We're going to continue that relationship."