Our Story

Welcome to Haystack Data Solutions.

We are data scientists & engineers who exist to help food companies unlock the transformational power of data. Learn more about our own transformative journey from harvesting mangoes to harvesting data insights and paving the way for the future of food & ag.

Family. Data. Mangoes.

Our Story

Founded in 2014 by Pedro Medina, E.E., the inspiration for what would become Haystack Data Solutions was actually born on a mango grove in Miami. Since a small child, Pedro worked alongside his father picking and packing mangoes. Once the birthplace of the mango industry in the U.S., foreign competition and input costs made the Florida mango unprofitable, causing the groves – and a family livelihood – to disappear.

Inspired to explore ways that technology can advance people and businesses, Pedro founded Haystack to help food & ag companies harness data for the human good. We believe that data is the key to improving the global food system and combating climate change, and we’re obsessively passionate about it. We’re excited to bring cutting edge Business Intelligence, Machine Learning, Process Automation, and Cloud technologies to the food supply through our hands-on development, education, and community engagement.

Photo credit: Mitchell Family Collection

Meet Pedro Medina, E.E. - Chief Data Farmer

Our Founder

Pedro Alexander Medina, E.E. founded and serves as Chief Executive Officer at Haystack Data Solutions – an Advanced Analytics Agency specializing in custom managed solutions across the data value chain. Through a strong background in business and technology management, coupled with deep expertise in business intelligence and advanced analytics, Mr. Medina’s mission is to help food & ag organizations optimize their strategic data assets by converting complex data into intelligence and innovation.

His strong business acumen allows him to align analytics with business goals. His experience across diverse projects in Machine Learning and Business Intelligence helps him propose, build, launch, and manage data products and transform data analytics from an operational necessity to a growth enabler. 

Mr. Medina manages a diverse and talented team of Data Scientists, Engineers, and data analysts at Haystack. In this role, he has advised both Fortune 500 & emerging companies on technology strategy and implementation for analytics and BI projects, while delivering extraordinary quality, value, and thought leadership to stakeholders; no data-related problem goes unsolved!

He is a proud graduate of Georgia Tech’s top-ranked School of Electrical & Computer Engineering. In his time off, he enjoys hiking and camping in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with his partner.

Focus & Expertise
Education
Awards
Thought Leadership
  • Analyze This! Crowd-sourced Data Science, Machine Learning in R, December 2020
  • Analyze This! Crowd-sourced Data Science, R for Data Science, January 2020
  • FARCON: Financial & Retail Conference on Analytics, August 2019
Meet Maria Medina, MPH - VP of Strategy and Food Systems

Our Vice President

Fueled by a deep commitment to tackling racial and health disparities, our VP of Strategy and Food Systems, Maria Medina, has dedicated her life’s work to supporting organizational, policy, and systems change to better include and serve those most impacted to achieve equitable outcomes.

Learn more about how Haystack’s Vice President, Maria Medina, can support you in building your leadership and strategy toolbox to catalyze transformational change.

Why and How We Exist

Our Mission, Vision, & Values

We’re proud to be a purpose-driven company in service to the food & ag industry. Our mission, vision, and core values set high standards and drive our passion to make a difference.

Our Mission

To help agri-food companies realize the power, potential, and value of data by developing effective solutions that bring growth to their bottom line, help feed the world, combat climate change, and expand opportunities for women and data scientists of color.

Our Vision

To become the most trusted data solutions partner inspiring and informing the transformation of the food & ag industry.

Who We Are, Every Day

Our Core Values

Earn Your
Trust

Uphold the highest standards of integrity.

Deliver Unparalleled
Expertise

Have the best answers & build things that work brilliantly.

Serve
Others

Bring empathy & service into every action.

Be Nimble
& Adaptive

Focus on outcomes, embrace change, and keep it simple.

Spark
Innovation

Challenge what’s possible to find new ways.

Stay
Sharp

Explore, learn, and understand to stay a step ahead.

Meet Some of our Data Farmers

Our Incredible Team

From our principal consultants, to our inner circle of skilled data specialists, all things Haystack are brought to you by an amazing team of talented and diverse professionals who make our work better every step of the way.

Pedro Medina

Founder & Chief Data Farmer

Maria Medina

VP Strategy & Food Systems
Learn more about Maria

Zeus Coralde

Lead BI Consultant

Yoismel Perez

Lead Data Integration Engineer

Grant Bender

Lead Technical Consultant

Swapna Boppana

Senior Business Intelligence Developer

Christian Alvarez

Associate Multimedia Specialist

Meaningful Participation and Change

Our Affiliations

We support, engage, and have founded organizations that bring people together at the intersection of data and technology to collaborate, learn, and explore ways to make smarter use of our resources and improve our world.

We are proud to be a certified Minority Business Enterprise
Vendor # 20965633