Kiran Consulting Group (KCG) is a specialty consulting firm serving a select number of clients who are the leaders in their industries of hospitality, tourism, and retail financial services. As industry leaders, each of them attracts large numbers of people who have the expectation of receiving a world-class experience. Using data-centric analysis, KCG redefines the differences between known and unknown, random and predictable, controllable and uncontrollable. In doing so, we drive dramatic improvements in our clients’ ability to meet their customers’ highest expectations.

Since 1990, KCG has been called upon by operators of the world’s leading travel and tourist destinations to help solve their most challenging people-flow problems. In addition to our expertise in hospitality and tourism, KCG is known for its work in forecasting customer arrival patterns at banks throughout the world. KCG’s labor forecasting and scheduling solutions are used in more than 20,000 bank branches.

Dr. Ali S. Kiran is an internationally recognized authority in operations research, forecasting, scheduling, and systems simulation, with more than 20 years of entrepreneurial and consulting experience.

His consulting experience encompasses successful projects with recognized companies in over 20 countries which include visitor flow projects with Disney, Universal Studios, Mogao Grottoes, Sydney Opera House, The Getty, The MET, and other cultural and historical sites. Dr. Kiran is a UNESCO and United Nations World Tourism Organization expert in visitor management and simulation analysis.

Dr. Kiran has received numerous awards, including the Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” award in San Diego for his leadership of Exametric Software, which was one of the first SaaS applications to be used by Fortune 500 companies. Prior to his successful track record as an entrepreneur, Dr. Kiran taught industrial engineering at the University of Southern California (USC). He holds an M.S. degree in mechanical engineering, and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering.

Dr. Celal Kaplan is the principal consultant of Kiran Consulting Group. He is specialized in visitor flow modeling and optimization and has worked with world-renowned organizations in this field all over the world, including Disneyland, Universal Studios, The Met, Getty Museum, Empire State Building Observatory, One World Trade Center Observatory and Sydney Opera House. Dr Kaplan has also worked with UNESCO and UN World Tourism Organization as a visitor flow expert.

He also led research teams and has routinely preformed analytical techniques such as neural networks, simulation analysis, optimization and statistical analysis. He received his Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering with a minor in business administration from the University of Southern California.