# Decision Science: The Systems Behind Billion-Dollar Site Selection with Ramya Gowda Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/problem-solved-the-iise-podcast-342916/decision-science-the-systems-behind-billion-dollar-site-selection-with-ramya-gowda Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/problem-solved-the-iise-podcast-342916/decision-science-the-systems-behind-billion-dollar-site-selection-with-ramya-gowda.md Podcast: [Problem Solved: The IISE Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/problem-solved-the-iise-podcast-342916) Published: 2026-04-14T09:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://podcast.iise.org/episodes/decision-science-the-systems-behind-billion-dollar-site-selection-with-ramya-gowda Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/1ddef069/41395824.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/problem-solved-the-iise-podcast-342916/episodes/decision-science-the-systems-behind-billion-dollar-site-selection-with-ramya-gowda Duration seconds: 1792 ## Resource Learn more about IISE's Emerging Technology Forum Decision Science: The Systems Behind Billion-Dollar Site Selection with Ramya Gowda When companies decide where to build, expand, or relocate, that single decision shapes everything that follows - hiring, productivity, supply chains, cost, and long-term risk. But how do organizations actually make those decisions? In this episode of Problem Solved , we sit down with Ramya Gowda, Managing Director at Newmark, where she leads strategic consulting in site selection, location strategy, and labor analytics. Ramya helps global corporations evaluate potential locations and make some of the most consequential decisions in their organizations. Using industrial and systems engineering principles, Ramya and her team apply decision science, data modeling, and systems thinking to compare locations across hundreds of factors, from workforce availability and infrastructure to logistics networks, environments, and long-term resilience. In this conversation, you’ll learn: • How companies evaluate potential locations for manufacturing plants, offices, and data centers • Why site selection is really an upstream systems decision that affects everything downstream • How decision models translate complex data into board-ready recommendations • Why relationships with communities and economic development organizations matter • The skills industrial engineers need to work in location strategy and consulting Ramya also shares how industrial and systems engineering prepares professionals to solve complex problems across industries—not just in manufacturing. Read some of Ramay's articles: https://www.areadevelopment.com/corporate-site-selection-factors/q1-2026/the-geography-of-packaging-why-location-strategy-matters-more-than-ever.shtml https://ww… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/problem-solved-the-iise-podcast-342916/episodes/decision-science-the-systems-behind-billion-dollar-site-selection-with-ramya-gowda/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/problem-solved-the-iise-podcast-342916/decision-science-the-systems-behind-billion-dollar-site-selection-with-ramya-gowda.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.