Fano, Andrew

Andrew Fano is Clinical Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Director of the Northwestern MBAi program, a joint AI-focused MBA offered with the Kellogg School of Management.

Before joining Northwestern, Andrew spent 25 years at Accenture Labs as Global Managing Director for AI Research, leading teams across the US, Ireland, India, China, and France. His work spanned conversational systems, computational creativity, supply chain security, bias detection, and more — applied across industries from retail and pharma to heavy equipment and hospitality. Known for emphasizing human-AI collaboration over narrow optimization, he is one of Accenture's top patent holders. He also led Accenture's University Research Program, engaging over two dozen top institutions worldwide.

At the MBAi program, Andrew draws on his experience bridging industry and academia to develop graduates who understand what AI can realistically solve, what deployment requires, and what responsible implementation looks like.