Driven by Data: The Podcast

In Episode 9 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Alex Golbin, Chief Data Officer at Morningstar, where they discuss how to maximise value by connecting Data & Analytics to a business.

Having worked for a number of high-profile financial institutions including Lehman Brother, BlackRock and now Morningstar, Alex articulates the key components of how a CDO connects an organisations Data & Analytics initiative to the core business, which includes:

• Why you always to start with your "clients"
• How everyone that comes into contact with your data is a "client"
• The importance of defining "moments that matter"
• Why a CDO function is an internal service provider
• Why data should "tell the truth" and "predict the future"
• How to define Defence V Offense
• How to connect disparate data to tell a story
• Why data should be available, discoverable and trusted
• How to create zones of readiness for data discovery
• Why data quality isn't always about accuracy
• The importance of creating data quality dimensions/taxonomies
• Why creating business partnerships is the key to being a great CDO

In Episode 8 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Caroline Carruthers, CEO of Carruthers and Jackson, where they discuss the key components of a successful Data Transformation.

Caroline shares how she helps organisations to transform to be "data enabled" which includes:

• Why taking the first step is the hardest
• How the focus should be on our people and literacy
• Why "looking in the mirror" is so important
• How to find the balance between "the foundations" and the "sexy stuff"
• The need to define what value means to your organisation
• How to fix the wrong behaviours
• The importance of starting with the purpose
• The power of curiosity
• How "what's in it for them" is the all important question
• Why most data strategies focus on technology and governance
• The importance of celebrating success
• Why the 2nd edition the CDO Playbook

In Episode 7 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Oguzhan Gencoglu, Head of AI at Top Data Science, (a Data Science Consultancy that is ranked as one of the best Artificial Intelligence consultancies in Finland) where they talk about how to go beyond the proof of concept cycle with Artificial Intelligence.

Oguzhan has given over 40 "talks" on the subject of AI, has numerous publications and has delivered over 60 AI solutions into production, and he shared the key considerations of productionising AI, which includes:

• How FOMO is a driver behind many AI projects
• The importance of how data is collected
• How to check the pulse of commitment within the business
• Why "top down" commitment is key
• How the cost implications are more than just the implementation cost
• Why POC failure is a good thing
• How to build a production level solution even in a disparate environment
• Why most POC's are successful but rarely make it to production
• Why you need more than just Data Scientists & ML Engineers
• How mindset and culture determine success

In Episode 6 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Helen Tanner, Founder and CEO of Data Cubed, where they discuss how organisations can get to the eternal, single source of truth.

Having helped numerous organisations to establish a single source/view of their reality, Helen takes us through how she guides her clients to get there and some of the common challenges/findings she uncovers, which includes:

• Why it's become the "holy grail"
• What the key benefits of obtaining it are
• The obstacles/challenges in getting there
• What the process of establishing it looks like
• How much investment is required
• The timescales to do so
• Why most executives have misconceptions about their business
• How to overcome those difficult conversations
• Why it's nice to be bale to tell executives things they don't know about their business

In Episode 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by (Best Selling Author) John Thompson, Global Head of Advanced Analytics & Artificial Intelligence at CSL Behring, where they discuss the competitive advantage that businesses who have adopted Data & Analytics have and how they are leaving their competitors behind.

Having worked on both sides of the pond, and wrote two best selling books, John articulates how to get the most of Data & Analytics within your organisation, which includes:

• The realistic cost/investment required to get it right, first time
• The timescales to see genuine business value
• How to manage stakeholders to ensure action is taken
• Why analytics professionals are fundamentally different
• How to manage high-performance analytics teams/people
• Ways to test if you're organisation is ready to adopt
• Why it's difficult to move analytical models and applications from development into production
• Whether speed of adoption determines success
• If there is such thing as first mover advantage
• Why he decided to write his books

If you're interested in purchasing John's books then please use these links:

• Building Analytics Teams - https://www.amazon.com/Building-Analytics-Teams-intelligence-improvement/dp/1800203160/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
• Analytics: How to win with Intelligence – https://www.amazon.com/Analytics-How-Intelligence-John-Thompson/dp/1634622375/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

In Episode 4 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Kate Sargent, Director of Data & Insight at Collinson, where they discuss how to maximise value by combining research and analytics.

Having had success by combining the two throughout her career, Kate was able to provide great insight into the key considerations of merging these two capabilities, which includes:

• The purpose of a research team
• How it aids the wider Data & Analytics capability
• Why they are often housed separately
• How to identifying the gap (between what customers do & what they say they do & why)
• The potential of leveraging these two disciplines 'under one roof'
• The common challenges of using this hybrid model
• The specific opportunities to add value
• Where to begin

In Episode 3 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by James Miller, Head of Data, Analytics & Insight at Intu, where they discuss how to build a Data Strategy in a (Data) greenfield environment.

Having found himself leading various Data & Analytics capabilities in greenfield data environments over the years, James provides some really great insight and tangible advice on how to design and deliver on a data strategy, which includes:

• How to get a seat at the top table
• Why the business strategy must come first
• The need to be a salesperson
• Why a data strategy is about action
• How to focus on culture & literacy
• Why you need a multidisciplinary team
• How to utilise Data Governance
• The key things to avoid
• What makes a good 'data pioneer'

In Episode 2 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Rachel Pillsbury, Head of Insight at Riviera Travel, where they discuss how she has built, best in class analytics teams.

Fresh off the back of her triumph at the 'Data IQ Awards' where she collected the award for 'Data Analytics Team of the Year', Rachel provides fantastic insight and tangible advice into the key considerations of how to build great Data & Analytics teams, which includes:

• How she built the team from scratch
• Why (she thinks) they won the award
• The importance of Experimentation
• How to build a well-rounded analytics team
• Acquiring talent in a remote location
• Sourcing talent from within & when to go external
• Upskilling internal talent
• The importance of your degree
• Why our education system is creating a problem
• Alternative areas of study to explore
• Why you shouldn't focus solely on knowledge-based skills
• What skills are often overlooked?
• The business value

In Episode 1 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Ed Child, Head of Enterprise Data at Studio Retail, where they discuss how Experimentation has added value to the businesses he has worked, while developing his team in the process.

Ed provides some really great insight and tangible advice on how organisations can benefit from adopting an experimentation culture, which includes:

• Why having a growth mindset is a must
• How to empower your team to be creative
• Why it aids the teams development and performance
• How to execute within controlled parameters
• The investment required
• How to structure for best results
• Impact on engagement scores
• The business value