Driven by Data: The Podcast

In Episode 16, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Ben Dias, Director of Data Science and Analytics at easyJet, where they discuss the lean startup approach to Data & Analytics, which includes;

• Being a stereotypical neurodiverse data scientist
• Being driven by solving problems that no one else had
• Working on recommendation algorithms 20 years ago
• Intentionally investing heavily in personal development around ‘soft skills’
• Mapping out what “The Lean Startup Approach” to Data Science would be
• Deciding whether to stay technical or move into leadership
• Approaching leadership as a science
• Being one of the first airlines to launch their NetZero roadmap
• Having a CEO who drives the data agenda
• Not being able to build the foundations fast enough to keep up with demand
• How they delivered value incrementally while building the foundations
• How the business continued with investment in data programmes even while planes were grounded during Covid
• Demonstrating the value of the lean startup approach
• The 6-steps practical guide to implementing the lean startup approach (article below)
• The benefits delivered from the lean startup approach
• The challenges/considerations to this approach
• Why you shouldn’t deliver any work until you know what “done” looks like
• Why you should always address the riskiest thing first
• The importance of not being the HIPPO as the Data Leader
• Why you need to align the approach to your vision
• Why all prioritisation conversations have to start with a conversation about value
• The importance of having a framework of measuring non-financial metrics
• The benefits of having a flat structure
• Keeping fixed costs low
• Why you need to have a diverse team to solve complex problems
• Why using external partners can bring “diversity of thought”
• Thinking outside the box to hire a more diverse team
• Implementing data fluency programmes
• Using apprenticeships to upskill business users

Thanks to our sponsor, Data Literacy Academy.

Data Literacy Academy is leading the way in transforming enterprise workforces with data literacy across the organisation, through a combination of change management and education. In today's data-centric world, being data literate is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity.

If you want successful data product adoption, and to keep driving innovation within your business, you need to start with data literacy first.

At Data Literacy Academy, we don't just teach data skills. We empower individuals and teams to think critically, analyse effectively, and make decisions confidently based on data. We're bridging the gap between business and data teams, so they can all work towards aligned outcomes.

From those taking their first steps in data literacy to seasoned experts looking to fine-tune their skills, our data experts provide tailored classes for every stage. But it's not just learning tracks that we offer. We embed a deep data culture shift through a transformative change management programme.

We take a people-first approach, working closely with your executive team to win the hearts and minds. We know this will drive the company-wide impact that data teams want to achieve.

Get in touch and find out how you can unlock the full potential of data in your organisation. Learn more at www.dl-academy.com.

In Episode 15, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is re-joined by Niresh Rajah, now the Group Chief Data Officer at Danske Banke, where they discuss building a Chief Data Office to support one of the largest digital transformations in financial services across Europe, which includes;

• Forward 28: the 5-year strategy to be a digitally orientated, customer-first, sustainable organisation
• Being hired to create a data-driven environment to support one of the largest FS digital transformations in Europe
• Constructing ‘Data-Driven Danske’ and the 4 components of focus
• The 5 layers of the ‘Data-Driven Danske’ layer cake
• Demonstrating value from a multi-billion investment
• The key instigator as to why the investment has been made
• Aligning Forward 28 and Data-Driven Danske
• Building the 8 capabilities that make up a Chief Data Office
• Battling defence and offence as a large FS organisation
• Why faith and trust only go so far
• The 4 metrics to measure that change is happening
• Using transition states to move towards the end-goal
• Having executives who see the value of data as being fundamental to their customers
• The challenge of prioritising the best use cases due to so much demand
• The reality of driving change in a large legacy organisation despite the appetite to do so
• Fighting the war for talent to build a forward-think chief data office
• Delivering quick wins despite having the trust of the executive leadership team
• Top-Down, Bottom-Up and the Messy Middle
• Developing an engagement and communication approach
• The importance of having a talent strategy to build a world-class D&A capability
• Building a co-sponsored cross-skilling programme
• Predictive AI v Generative AI

Thanks to our sponsor, Data Literacy Academy. 

Data Literacy Academy is leading the way in transforming enterprise workforces with data literacy across the organisation, through a combination of change management and education. In today's data-centric world, being data literate is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity. If you want successful data product adoption, and to keep driving innovation within your business, you need to start with data literacy first.

 At Data Literacy Academy, we don't just teach data skills. We empower individuals and teams to think critically, analyse effectively, and make decisions confidently based on data. We're bridging the gap between business and data teams, so they can all work towards aligned outcomes.

From those taking their first steps in data literacy to seasoned experts looking to fine-tune their skills, our data experts provide tailored classes for every stage. But it's not just learning tracks that we offer. We embed a deep data culture shift through a transformative change management programme.

We take a people-first approach, working closely with your executive team to win the hearts and minds. We know this will drive the company-wide impact that data teams want to achieve.

 Get in touch and find out how you can unlock the full potential of data in your organisation. Learn more at www.dl-academy.com.

In Episode 14, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Sarah Barr Miller, Director of Data & Automation at British Airways, where they discuss the reality of trying to influence change in a large, traditional organisation, which includes;

• Working in data straight out of University in the 90’s
• Why data hasn’t historically been the focus of the organisation
• How the digital experience of the business has left a lot to be desired at times
• Why the presence of safety extends culturally across the organisation
• How they’ve had people working in data for over 35 years at the organisation
• Having deep ‘on-prem’ routes
• Being the cheerleader of the team to drive change
• The challenges that having minimal to no attrition can bring
• How they’ve upskilled and trained a large data team
• Being impatient in a world where change is slow
• Why they’re still using old-school tech and tools
• Battling to increase the organisational expectations of the Data team
• Why the organisation doesn’t often see that data can be a solution to their issues
• Kicking off a big engagement and communications workstream to cater for 3 audiences
• Why this year will be more about bringing the work of the data team out into the daylight
• Being brutal in prioritising work
• Being open, transparent, and approachable as a leader
• The importance of framing ‘The Why’
• Generating interest from a business that had historically been trained to not make requests
• The polo mint analogy
• The transformation from governing data from a security perspective to being a value-generator
• The role operating model and team structure play in large-scale transformation
• The people puzzle; combining the why and the how
• Why data is at the heart of all BA transformation programmes

Thanks to our sponsor, Data Literacy Academy. 

Data Literacy Academy is leading the way in transforming enterprise workforces with data literacy across the organisation, through a combination of change management and education. In today's data-centric world, being data literate is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity. If you want successful data product adoption, and to keep driving innovation within your business, you need to start with data literacy first.

 At Data Literacy Academy, we don't just teach data skills. We empower individuals and teams to think critically, analyse effectively, and make decisions confidently based on data. We're bridging the gap between business and data teams, so they can all work towards aligned outcomes.

From those taking their first steps in data literacy to seasoned experts looking to fine-tune their skills, our data experts provide tailored classes for every stage. But it's not just learning tracks that we offer. We embed a deep data culture shift through a transformative change management programme.

We take a people-first approach, working closely with your executive team to win the hearts and minds. We know this will drive the company-wide impact that data teams want to achieve.

 Get in touch and find out how you can unlock the full potential of data in your organisation. Learn more at www.dl-academy.com.

In Episode 13, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Zachery Anderson, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Natwest Group, where they discuss the value that is being driven from productionising GenAI, which includes;

• Why GenAI feels different to any other D&A hype that’s come before it
• How the scale and interest is off the charts
• Having an outpost in Silicon Valley to scout new tech partners
• How they were working with OpenAI 18 months before ChatGPT launched
• Working with LLM’s 6-8 months before ChatGPT
• Having 2 LLM use cases in production and another 10 in development
• How there will be more direct interaction between LLM’s and customers
• Educating the business on the security risks
• Why regulation matters but customer expectation matters even more
• Why it’s important to just get started
• Prioritising the correct use cases  
• The 5 design patterns for GenAI use cases
• Running the central D&A function like a PE firm; it has to generate a return or it doesn’t happen
• The importance of killing projects that won’t deliver a return as fast as possible
• Having an annual target of how much the D&A organisation will generate as a multiple of the cost structure
• The importance of having your finance team calculate and audit target
• Why Analytics Leaders should, but don’t do analytics on themselves
• Why GenAI will change D&A team structures and operating model
• Why executive support and interest is more important than who you report to
• Advice on productionising GenAI
• Why it really matters where your GPU’s are hosted
• Why you need to hold your current plans very lightly
• The importance of app development for LLM usage
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Thanks to our sponsor, Data Literacy Academy. 

Data Literacy Academy is leading the way in transforming enterprise workforces with data literacy across the organisation, through a combination of change management and education. In today's data-centric world, being data literate is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity. If you want successful data product adoption, and to keep driving innovation within your business, you need to start with data literacy first.

 At Data Literacy Academy, we don't just teach data skills. We empower individuals and teams to think critically, analyse effectively, and make decisions confidently based on data. We're bridging the gap between business and data teams, so they can all work towards aligned outcomes.

From those taking their first steps in data literacy to seasoned experts looking to fine-tune their skills, our data experts provide tailored classes for every stage. But it's not just learning tracks that we offer. We embed a deep data culture shift through a transformative change management programme.

We take a people-first approach, working closely with your executive team to win the hearts and minds. We know this will drive the company-wide impact that data teams want to achieve.

 Get in touch and find out how you can unlock the full potential of data in your organisation. Learn more at www.dl-academy.com.

Thanks to our sponsor, Cambridge Spark;

Cambridge Spark is an education technology company that educates the workforce with critical digital transformation skills to succeed in the AI era.

They offer a range of flexible learning solutions to meet business needs, from fast deployment of new skills with bespoke programmes through to longer-term investment in the workforce with apprenticeships.

Their unique patented online learning platform EDUKATE.AI simulates real-world industry scenarios, providing learners with instantaneous feedback on their code. This hands-on, practical approach ensures that students are learning how to apply new skills to real datasets, which accelerates the business impact they can make.

Get in touch to learn more - Cambridge Spark

In Episode 12, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Alexandra Sidgreaves, Chief Data Officer at Zurich Insurance, where they discuss the practicality of building an award-winning diverse and inclusive, Data & Analytics team, which includes;

• Being in an organisation for 19 years
• Transforming from a traditional MI function to an end-to-end Data & Analytics function
• Moving everything back in-house
• Spending a lot of time externally to learn from others
• Having the job description of “deliver value through data”
• Why they’ve launched their 3rd data strategy
• Having internally focused and externally focused strategies
• 25% tech, 25% value and 50% people
• Putting a pound amount value to what they deliver
• Why the business doesn’t want to talk about risk or technology, they want to talk about value
• The link between D&A success and diversity
• Building an award-winning D&A team
• Why you need to destroy groupthink and promote positive challenge
• Doing 175 interviews and realising they were getting a lot of the same type of applicants
• What they changed to attract more diverse individuals and getting 170% more applicants
• Why this isn’t about ticking boxes
• How a diverse team is simply a by-product of doing the right things
• Why organisations mistake Representation and Diversity
• The power of apprenticeships and the two ways they’ve used them
• The benefits of growing your own talent
• Tackling skills shortages
• Challenging yourself when identifying the essential versus desirable skills
• The misconception that technical data people aren’t able to communicate
• Why you don’t need a data translator
• The link between diversity and inclusion, and Data and AI ethics
• The AI ethics framework and ethical committee they’ve implemented
• The key trends predicted from being a governing body member for DataIQ and Evanta

Thanks to our sponsor, Cambridge Spark;

Cambridge Spark is an education technology company that educates the workforce with critical digital transformation skills to succeed in the AI era.

They offer a range of flexible learning solutions to meet business needs, from fast deployment of new skills with bespoke programmes through to longer-term investment in the workforce with apprenticeships.

Their unique patented online learning platform EDUKATE.AI simulates real-world industry scenarios, providing learners with instantaneous feedback on their code. This hands-on, practical approach ensures that students are learning how to apply new skills to real datasets, which accelerates the business impact they can make.

Get in touch to learn more - Cambridge Spark

In Episode 11, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Dr Raoul-Gabriel Urma, Executive Chairman of Cambridge Spark, where they discuss the role of education in Data & Analytics success, which includes;

• Creating a business out of a passion for education and technology
• Gaining a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Cambridge
• Becoming a published author
• The pace of technological change and transformation is becoming bigger and faster
• How CDOs/CIOs are constantly battling to adopt and embrace that change
• Creating a business out of a passion for education and technology
• Why there’s too much hype in the industry and the impact that has on expectations  
• Why there needs to be more education around commercial use cases for business leaders
• What it will take for Data and AI to be a profit centre
• Why it’s always about people (staff and customers)
• The importance of being able to see the impact of your work
• The retention challenge; why Data and AI skills are in high demand
• Why you have to invest in people to keep pace with technological advances
• How education supports retention
• Why CDO tenure often disincentivises education and people investments
• How the role of the CDO is expected to deliver ROI like any other exec role
• The power of a strong HR business partner
• Getting the balance of delivering quick wins while also building for and investing in the future
• Educational use cases from some big brand names
• How apprenticeship programmes can create several £m in top-line
• How graduate boot camps are reducing time to ROI
• Why educated leaders understand how talent delivers profit
• Why people are the first to go when costs need to be cut
• Why most UK organisations don’t realise the apprenticeship levy is readily available for training existing staff
• How a lack of value realisation may become a blocker for investment in education
• How business leaders don’t view data and AI as something that will support revenue growth
• Why training is needed for business leaders to understand how a data strategy delivers value
• Why that is the job of the CDO and the importance of selling
• Why CDOs need to take more credit for what they do
• Understanding which educational avenue is best for your organisation
• The benefits of career changers and reskilling  

In Episode 10, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by David Castro-Gavino, Global VP of Data at HelloFresh, where they discuss, unboxing data maturity and insights from the HelloFresh growth journey, fuelled by data, which includes;

• Their focus on renewable and sustainable value to the customer
• Being recruited directly by the Co-Founder
• Removing complexity by having a unified data platform
• The evidence that data has played a pivotal role in the huge growth trajectory of the organisation
• Why being “data-driven” is a company value
• Going beyond the what and understanding the why behind the data
• Tackling different levels of maturity across regions and breaking those silos
• The symptoms of growth pains in a hyper-growth organisation
• Dismantling certain capabilities that weren’t designed for scale
• Accelerating time to actionable insight
• The framework of 4 key pillars; People, Technology, Governance and Enablement
• Designing the data strategy so it was practical and linked to the business
• Implementing the four-pillar approach as a 6-Step recipe
• Talking in the language of food which the business would understand
• Building for the immediate requirements that needed tackling but also for the long-term vision
• The importance of having the right structure, the right talent and the correct career frameworks
• Deciding the speed you hire at and how you’ll lose productivity
• The importance of data education and the HelloFresh Data University
• Balancing build versus buy and its relation to maturity
• The four core dimensions of data enablement
• Monetising the work that has been done
• Walking through the 6-Step Data Recipe to get to relish feast
• Helping the business to adopt the technology
• Prioritising based on core business metrics
• Ensuring you’re delivering a return on investment  
• The importance of stakeholder application, not just usage, in realising value  
• Why you have to ensure you agree of the definition of a business metric
• The 4 key takeaways
• Moving from data-driven to data-enabled
• The lessons learnt from the journey they’ve been on with implementing data-mesh

Thanks to our sponsor, Cambridge Spark;

Cambridge Spark is an education technology company that educates the workforce with critical digital transformation skills to succeed in the AI era.

They offer a range of flexible learning solutions to meet business needs, from fast deployment of new skills with bespoke programmes through to longer-term investment in the workforce with apprenticeships.

Their unique patented online learning platform EDUKATE.AI simulates real-world industry scenarios, providing learners with instantaneous feedback on their code. This hands-on, practical approach ensures that students are learning how to apply new skills to real datasets, which accelerates the business impact they can make.

Get in touch to learn more - Cambridge Spark

In Episode 9, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Aimee Smith, Director of Data at Metropolitan Police (probably known as Scotland Yard by most outside of the UK), where they discuss the opportunities that Data & Analytics presents to revolutionise policing and moving to prediction for prevention, which includes;

• Tackling Organised Crime Groups
• Chairing the national police data board bringing together 43 organisations
• Being one of the most complained about organisations to the ICO
• The importance of executive sponsorship
• How investment is linked to your highest leadership level
• The biggest challenges Met Police/Scotland Yard have with data
• Why their people are genuinely their biggest asset and the challenge that creates for D&A investment
• Peelian principles; why data has always been used in policing
• What they have done to prove their value
• Using credible stakeholders within the organisations to tell the data story
• The different levels of data-led decision-making
• The opportunity to revolutionise policing through data and analytics
• The challenges of being judged based on media headlines
• Why the obsession with catching offenders could be the wrong approach
• Prioritising workload in potential life and death situations
• How the public help set the organisation's business strategy
• Why most people don’t connect data to their core role and mission
• Why their data can be valuable to UK PLC but the challenges in articulating how
• How the expectations of how data is used are different within the same organisation
• Fixing broken relationships with the black community while also trying to deploy DS/ML with biased data
• Tackling bias and ethics as an organisation that people love to scrutinise
• Using their own DS team to test for bias
• Choosing not to deploy certain solutions due to bias and ethical concerns
• Needing to build trust with the public before they can execute on predictive analytics
• A shout-out to Davin Crowley Sweet

Thanks to our sponsor, Cambridge Spark;

Cambridge Spark is an education technology company that educates the workforce with critical digital transformation skills to succeed in the AI era.

They offer a range of flexible learning solutions to meet business needs, from fast deployment of new skills with bespoke programmes through to longer-term investment in the workforce with apprenticeships.

Their unique patented online learning platform EDUKATE.AI simulates real-world industry scenarios, providing learners with instantaneous feedback on their code. This hands-on, practical approach ensures that students are learning how to apply new skills to real datasets, which accelerates the business impact they can make.

Get in touch to learn more - Cambridge Spark

In Episode 8, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by James Morgan, Chief Data Officer at The Crown Estate, where they discuss all of the facets involved in building a Data & Analytics capability for strategic transformation while managing the hype cycles, which includes;

• The importance of having the right information strategy
• Why D&A needs to be involved in strategic planning
• Why you have to identify which stakeholders deliver value for the organisation
• How too many data teams are focusing on solutions instead of objectives
• Choosing objectives that will deliver the best ROI  
• Why diverse teams are critical for success with D&A
• Balancing the immediate needs and the strategic vision
• Defining what your core capability needs to be
• Ensuring you enable the business so they don’t do it themselves
• Why all hype cycles only exist to help deliver an outcome  
• Why choosing the right tools can be critical
• Why some hype cycles have been hugely advantageous
• The importance of identifying where the nuggets of real change lie within any hype cycle
• Why the fundamentals of good data practice are still applicable today
• Why prototyping is beneficial but it can’t be your main approach
• Why AI isn’t the answer to everything
• Why not all hype cycles are created equally
• How people confuse operating model and team structure
• Trying to hire unicorns and writing 35 different job descriptions to build a team
• Why your data team should represent the population
• Why you have to truly believe in building a diverse team
• Why being obliged to fill a diversity quota or target is the wrong approach
• Why you’ll only ever gain credibility by delivering something that people want and use
• Needing to get your organisation to the place of believing that data is intrinsic to its success
• Attributing the value of your work before you deliver anything

In Episode 7, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Tim Carmichael, Chief Data Officer at Chaloub Group, where they discuss the role of servant leadership in Data & Analytics success, which includes;

• Being the first CDO in the British Army
• Why the remit of all CDOs should be to enable evidence-based decision-making
• Solving the challenge of helping organisations find the tantalisingly out-of-reach value
• Why servant leadership is the type of leadership needed to get value from data
• What servant leadership is NOT!
• Why to be a servant leader you need to have a fundamental shift in mindset
• Why you have to play to your people’s strengths and not agonise over their weaknesses
• People are 6 x more effective if they’re playing to their strengths
• Why you have to help people understand the context of decisions
• The twin facets of the role of the Data Leader
• The role of trusting partnerships and the importance of communication
• Why you can never get to value without trust
• How moving away from “then and us” is the secret sauce to unlocking value
• The difference between leadership, line management and mentorship
• To be a great influencer you need humility and courage
• Why being an enabler doesn’t mean you’re less important
• Why, amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics
• Why Gen AI is unlocking awareness of Data Literacy
• Why ruling through fear means you can kiss goodbye to innovation
• How servant leadership is not servile
• Aligning team structure and operating model to play to people’s strengths
• Why communication is just a form of marketing
• Learning the hard way that beauty is in the eye of the beholder