The Future of Operational Decisioning: A Conversation with DTN CEO Patrick Schneidau

As global volatility accelerates and industries face mounting pressure to move faster, operate smarter, and compete with agility, the rules of the game are changing. In agriculture, energy, and weather-driven markets, the winners will be those who can turn complexity into clarity — and use better decisioning to drive better outcomes.

To understand how DTN is helping businesses rise to this challenge, we sat down with CEO Patrick Schneidau to talk about what’s changing in the market, how DTN is evolving, and what the company’s new positioning means for the future.

 

What major shifts are you seeing in the industries DTN serves — and how are they changing what businesses need from partners like DTN?

Patrick: We’re living through a period of massive transformation. Whether you’re managing fuel distribution, farming operations, or supply chains impacted by weather, the pace and intensity of change has accelerated. It’s not just more data or more decisions — it’s an entirely new level of operational volatility.

Historically, many businesses built their operations around stability and predictability. That model doesn’t hold anymore. Today, performance is defined by how fast and confidently you can act in the face of uncertainty. Our customers are telling us they need a new kind of partner — one that helps them move from static planning to real-time, insight-driven decisioning. That’s where DTN comes in.

 

DTN recently evolved its corporate positioning. What’s driving this shift, and why now?

Patrick: We’ve supported critical industries for decades, but today’s environment demands a clearer articulation of how we create value. Our new positioning reflects the urgency and complexity our customers are facing — and the fact that better operational decisioning is becoming the true competitive divide.

We’re focused on helping businesses thrive in this era of constant change. That means giving them the tools to make faster, smarter decisions at scale. The evolution in our brand isn’t just about messaging — it’s about stepping more boldly into the role we already play: the decisioning backbone for companies that feed, fuel, and protect the world.

 

You’ve said this is the dawn of a new operating model. What exactly is the DTN Operational Decisioning Platform, and how does it help customers compete differently?

Patrick: What we’ve heard from our customers is that the current tech stack was built for siloed functions like CRM, MAP, ERP – and has essentially hit its limit. The future tech stack understands that to increase operational decisioning speed, the technology needs to work across functions since today’s world is increasingly cross-functional. Only a platform purpose-built with a deep understanding of the industry it serves can meet those needs. We’ve built what we call the DTN Operational Decisioning Platform — and it’s a game-changer. It’s designed to help companies shift from yesterday’s slow, siloed decisions to high-frequency, high-impact decisioning across every layer of operations.

The platform combines three things you can’t find anywhere else: purpose-built vertical hubs tailored for ag, energy, and weather; what we call Decision-Grade Data; and outcome-oriented AI designed for real-time environments.

It enables a series of powerful shifts — from process automation to decision optimization, from one-size-fits-all approaches to ecosystem-wide adaptability. We’re giving our customers the capability to make thousands of micro-decisions per day that improve efficiency, safety, profitability, and resilience.

 

What are some examples of how this platform is already helping customers in energy, ag, and weather sectors?

Patrick: In the energy space, fuel distributors are using our platform to optimize routing based on real-time demand and weather conditions — cutting costs while improving service. In agriculture, we’re helping growers and cooperatives align planting and crop protection strategies with hyperlocal forecasts and market signals. And in weather-driven logistics, customers rely on us to anticipate and respond to disruptions that would have previously paralyzed operations.

These aren’t future possibilities — they’re live use cases. And the impact is measurable: fewer delays, better margins, more confident decisions. That’s the power of operational decisioning in action.

 

Data and AI are reshaping every industry. What makes the DTN approach different?

Patrick: There’s no question that data and AI are at the center of every transformation story today. But we see many companies struggling to make them work — not because they lack ambition, but because they’re missing the foundation. You can’t make smart decisions at scale if your data is fragmented, outdated, or not trusted. That’s why our approach starts with what we call Decision-Grade Data.

This isn’t just a marketing term. It’s data that’s continuous, granular, normalized, and sourced over decades — from first-party, third-party, and DTN-originated inputs embedded in DTN technologies. It’s governed and AI-ready from the start. When you pair that with purposeful, outcomes-focused AI, you unlock a different kind of value — not just insights, but actionable decisioning that drives measurable performance gains.

What makes us different is that we’re not trying to be everything to everyone. Our AI is embedded where it matters most: deep within the vertical ecosystems we serve. It’s designed to solve industry-specific challenges in real time — with the trust, neutrality, and precision our customers demand.

 

Looking ahead, what excites you most about the role DTN is playing in shaping the future of operational decisioning?

Patrick: What excites me most is that we’re just getting started. We’ve spent years investing in the right data, the right technology, and the right people — and now the market is catching up to the problem we were built to solve.

Our product teams are building out and fine tuning our Operational Decisioning Platform and industry hubs, with dozens of new solutions coming out this year. And the innovation that’s happening is astonishing – it most definitely positions DTN to continue to meet the rapidly evolving needs of our customers.

DTN has been a quiet force behind the success of some of the world’s biggest businesses – but in this next chapter we have the opportunity — and responsibility — to lead. We’re not just delivering insights. We’re helping transform how industries operate. That’s a bold ambition, but it’s exactly what this moment requires. And I couldn’t be more proud of the team driving it forward.