Customer Insight Leader podcast

For episode 62, my guest is Gabriel Straub. He is the Chief Data Officer at Ocado Technology. There he’s led their data & data science efforts for over two years, following successful data science leadership roles at the BBC & Tesco amongst others. Gabriel is also a guest lecturer at the London Business School and an Honorary Senior research associate at UCL, so he is also still active on the academic side.

Gabriel describes himself as a passionate data science strategist, who believes that clever analytics & big data can make life less complicated for customers & colleagues. During our conversation we explore both his career to date & why Grocery Retail is a great sector for Data Science leaders to consider.

We also explore Gabriel's choice of studying an MBA (rather than a Masters or PhD in a Data subject) and how he came to clarity about his key skills. Gabriel shares loads of useful life experience and advice for developing as a data leader & the skills data scientists will need during their career. So, there should be nuggets for everyone to find helpful.

In episode 61 my guest is Sanjeevan Bala, who is ITV’s Group Chief Data & AI Officer. He is responsible for transforming the broadcaster to fully leverage the value of Data and AI & to create value for all areas of their business. Prior to this he was Channel 4’s Head of Data Science where he built a multi award winning team which combined human creativity with machine intelligence to drive growth and innovation.

Sanjeevan is consistently ranked most influential in Data and AI globally and under his leadership his teams have won numerous awards for Innovation. He has also expanded his executive career as a Non Executive Director (NED) at Bakkavor and Scholars’ Educational Trust. During our chat we explore both how his background in consultancy & startups helped developed the skills he needed for these roles & how leaders can amplify their impact by taking on NED roles later in their careers.

He is also very open with us about his experience of racism & exclusion earlier in his life. We discuss how he coped with this & emerged as a whole person during his career. Sanjeevan also shares his advice for those earlier in their career & what organisations need to do to encourage more genuinely inclusive organisations that nurture talent. Plus, you'll learn why he now embraces "not knowing". 

For episode 60 I am joined by Laura Rodgers who is Head of Performance Insights for NatWest Group, one of the major banks here in the UK. She has worked within Royal Bank of Scotland (which became part of NatWest Group) for over 16 years, holding management roles responsible for data & wide range of Business Intelligence and reporting services. She also describes herself as passionate about championing diversity and inclusion within the data and technology communities. 

During our conversation, Laura shares her background and how a grounding in IT & Data Engineering set her up for success in later roles. We also explore how the work of a BI or Reporting team can be so much more interesting & motivating than you might realise. Along the way, Laura shares her tips for introverts, those lacking confidence & those at the start of their data careers.

We also extend the conversations that we have had about diversity in previous podcast episodes. In this conversation, Laura shares what she has experienced that helped support and get the best out of Neuro Diverse members of her team. We learn about the importance of empathy, curiosity & treating every person as an individual. Not an easy job when you lead 170 people. Well worth other BI leaders hearing & considering for their teams.

In episode 59 I have the pleasure of being joined by Dr Maryam Ramezani-Bartsch from Munich.

Maryam is currently the VP of Data at Sky and will soon be joining GoStudent (Europe’s most valuable EdTech company and one of the world’s leading online tutoring providers). Before that, Maryam has lead data & analytics teams within businesses as prestigious as WPP & Adidas.

In this episode we hear her career story all the way from a childhood in Iran, through a PhD working in US & German research labs, to creating & growing successful data & analytics teams for leading businesses. Along the way you will hear Maryam's commitment to following her passion & lifelong learning. There are also tips for those early in their career as well as facing the challenge of data leadership roles. Lots to learn from a fascinating life story (so far).

For episode 58, I am in conversation with Olivia Gambelin, who joins us from Brussels. Olivia has the exciting job title of being an AI Ethicist and is the founder & CEO of Ethical Intelligence. 

As you will hear in this episode she has a background across organisations including CAKE Corporation, Save the Children, Springer and being an Advisory Board member on several influencial AI & Ethics groups. We explore more of her journey from an MSc in Philosophy to such critical roles in today’s use of data & AI. Along the way we consider the benefits of a broad interest in technology, wide ranging conversations with your network and how we need much more than GDPR compliance.

An emerging theme from our conversation (one that has stayed with me) is the benefit of being a polymath. At least the benefit of gathering people together to share knowledge across disciplines. Olivia paints a compelling picture of Data & AI Ethics as being a field where you can think & work broadly. A great opportunity for those with many interests or wanting to connect more with their values as well as apply their technical knowledge. I hope you find Olivia's openness and many stories as fascinating as I did.

For episode 57, I'm in conversation with Charlie Ballard who is the Marketing Science Enablement Lead at Meta. He has been a lifelong technology and data evangelist and shares with us on the basis of his experience working in and with firms including General Motors, American Express, BT, Tripadvisor & now Meta.

Our conversation is wide ranging and includes plenty of tips from Charlie's experience. He is one of my guests whose background was originally within market research and who has developed into data & analytics & marketing leadership roles. As well as exploring Charlie's career story we discuss a number of topics that will be relevant to all such leaders.

Charlie shares advice on speaking both business & technical languages, silent starts to meetings, going bigger on your projects & considering new data sources. Well worth a listen and prioritising which ideas could work for you in your role. I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did.

In episode 56, I'm in conversation with Aparna Bharadwaj, an MD & Partner at BCG who is also their Global Leader of the Centre for Customer Insight. During her interview, you will have the opportunity to hear why she is passionate about customer insight & the difference it can make in businesses.

Prior to her very successful career in BCG, Aparna learnt her marketing trade at Coca Cola & has an MBA from Harvard Uni. So, she has a great commercial grounding for her perspective on customer insight & what businesses really need. Together we explore the power of focussing on empathy, simplification & impact. Aparna brings to life how this helps researchers & analysts deliver insights that actually drive sustainable changes.

We also follow up on Aparna's highly praised talk for International Women's Day by exploring the benefits of diversity & more global awareness for both customer insight leaders and analysts. Aparna is my second guest from Singapore (following Avis Easteal in episode 43). During our conversation, she really brings to life how greater cultural awareness & empathy for people can improve the quality of the insights produced. Enjoy!

For episode 55, I am joined by Rob McLaughlin the founder of the Loop Horizon agency. Rob is an experienced digital marketing professional and a proven leader in the field of data & analytics, with a track record of bringing customer data into the complex marketing and technology landscape. 

Prior to founding Loop Horizon, Rob has led data & decisioning teams at Sky, Digitas, Barclays & Canon. So, he has plenty of real world experience to share with us in both leading data teams and applying data to deliver improved marketing or customer experience. Some of which we are going to try and mine during this conversation.

We start by exploring Rob's career story & the lessons he has learnt about where he was best to specialise. We discuss the benefits of working within the business & being close to the action with regards to your ability to 'activate' data. During our chat we also touch on the power of creating your own data & when you might consider the move to consulting or even setting up you own agency.

Plenty of nuggets of wisdom and some controversial opinions along the way - I hope you enjoy it & can't wait to hear your thoughts. Thanks again to Rob for his time.

For episode 54 my guest is Peter Jones, who is Head of Data for Internal Audit at the UK insurer Legal & General. During our conversation, we explore many lessons that Peter has learnt during his career. These include how he became a data leader without even a Maths 'A' level, as well as the lessons learnt from integrating identity systems, switching sectors & delivering a data warehouse.

But what is most unique about this episode is our discussion about the growing use of data & analytics within Internal Audit functions. You may not of considered that department as a career opportunity for data or analytics. So, listen to Peter describe why it's "hot" as an opportunity with fresh challenges for those who possess the data & critical thinking skills needed. Well worth considering as a new opportunity area for analysts.

For episode 53 my guest is Dan Kellett, CDO at Capital One in the UK. Dan has great experience to share with us, with many years of hands-on experience in leading & developing data & analytics teams.

Unlike my well travelled guests, Dan has spent the vast majority of his career with one employer, Capital One. He shares why & the benefits that he's seen from such a choice. He also shares the value of focussing on practical commercial work rather than academic qualifications (so a contrarian view to that of my guests with PhDs).

More importantly, Dan shares practical tips from his experience of bringing together diverse technical teams and developing commercial awareness as well as technical skills. We debate the added value of Data Science beyond the Statistical approaches in Analytics that pre-date that label. Dan is a humble and eloquent leader with much real-world proven experience to share. He also has a passion for developing his team, so I recommend that other data leaders tune in to hear his perspective.