The Me, You & Data Podcast: Recent Episodes
Joseph Kala
The Podcast that uncovers insights from leading professionals across analytics and data science globally. Allowing you to grow your career, teams, and business!
Join us on this last episode of Season 2 of the podcast! Our guest is James Walker and we have a broad insightful, and jovial conversation.
James has enjoyed a successful analytics career that spans over three decades and multiple continents. James has held senior positions at Accenture, OC&C Strategy, Mindshare, and within analytics start-ups too!
In this rich discussion, we cover so much from his experience in leadership, advice for early-stage consultants as well as soon-to-be Partners, analytics misconceptions, CAC & LTV and So much more!
To connect with James' and keep up to date with what he will be up to next, find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameswalkeranalytics/
00:00 - 0:54 - Podcast Intro 0:55 - 4.19: - James Walker intro 4:20 - 7:10 - Working in global environments and adapting quickly in a new environment 7.11 - 9.00 - The Advertising and Consulting space and the changes over the last 30 years9.01 - 12:10 - Talent strategy for consulting partners - "the unspoken contract"12:11 - 14:30 - Differences/similarities across different work environments - startup, corporate, etc14:31 - 17:50 - Different skills for different contexts 17:51 - 21:09 - Perception vs Reality - Hacks for getting ahead as a Partner / Director 21.10 - 22:15 - The importance of being able to articulate your value22:17 - 22:41 - Tips for doing well in the partnership process22:42 - 25:56 - Tips for an external partner candidate25:57 - 29:09 - Articulating your value as a Partner candidate29:10 - 32:52 - Pearls of wisdom for early career consultants 32:54 - 37:50 - Entrepreneurial talent and investing in people37:53 - 40:42 - James Walker's "accidental mentor" 40:43 - 45:49 - The building of Accenture Analytics, influential leadership and innovative joint ventures 45:50 - 50:16 - James's "manifesto" and thoughts around data science & analytics - SKU's, Markdowns in e-comm, and more! 50:17 - 51:47 - James's hands-on career foundation and early career influences51:48 - 54:03 - Balance of technical and commercial skills 54:04 - 59:00 - Rethinking Customer Acquisition Costs and CLTV 59:01 - 1:05:15 - Analytics-specific project management advice 1:05:16 -1:11:31 - James's journey at OC&C1:11:32 - 11:14:43 - What is happening now and next for James11:14:44 - end - Best pieces of advice James has received
The latest guest on the podcast is Eddie Short. Most recently Operating Partner at private equity firm MidEuropa. He has previously been Chief Data Office at Virgin Media and AON and before this held Analytics Partner and VP roles at KPMG and Capgemini.
We discussed the 7 Habits for Effective Chief Data & Analytics Officers, The "Intelligent Business" and so much more!
Timestamps:
00:00 - 8.10 : Intro and a helicopter view of Eddie's career
8.11 - 11:10 : The Genesis of the "intelligent business" concept and what it means
11:12 - 12:35 Amazon Example and "Good to Great" influence
12:36 - 16:36 Why Eddie is doing Accademic research and codefiying his approach to business transformation
16:37 - 18:20 Habit 1: Customer is King / Queen - (Potential clip - does who serve customers )
18:21 - 20:22 Habit 2: Becoming Masters of the External Environment (Signals in the Noise)
20:23 - 22:22 Weak Signals vs Strong Signals - what it means and how to leverage them
22:23 - 24:08 - Creating a brain for the business and getting C-Suite onboard CLIP
24:09 - 25:37: Habit 3: Building a data driven business model
25:38 - 27:32 Habit 4: Governance and Regulation: Friend not Foe
27:32 - 30:17 Habit 5: Migrating to Data driven architecture in the cloud
30:18 - 32:58 Habit 6 - Servant leadership: Data Serving People
32:59 - 35:20 The citizen data scientist and the importance of different roles and common tools in working together.
35:21 - 37:10 Habit 7: Data Strategy spins the business strategy
37:11 - 40:57 How does Eddie view the Chief Data Officer role
40:58 - 44:11 Tips for transitioning into leadership from a technical background + "high functioning autism"
44:12 - 47:49 Best pieces of career advice Eddie has recieved - changing tact
47:50 - Where to find Eddie online + Outro
On this episode of the Me, You, and Data Podcast our guest is the amazing Caroline Zimmerman. She is the Data Products & Strategy Director at Profusion. This episode centred on understanding and defining true data value while Caroline was also candid on becoming a working mother and shared some great career tips! To connect with Caroline or find out more about her, check out her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-zimmerman-4a531640/ Timestamps: 0.00 - 1.22 : Intro 1.22: 3.47 How do you define value? Differing definitions3:48 - 7:02 : 3 layers to value creation 7.03 - 9:31 When companies aren't on the same page regarding value. 9:31 - 11.39: The private equity view re value and the growth hypothesis 11:40 - 14:06: How to get value from untapped data / starting with the customer journey14:07 - 16:17 The link between customer journey and business strategy16:18 - 17:46 Understanding how the business works under the hood 17:47 - 21:24 The importance of Persuasion and consultative skills for data professionals 21:25 -22:53 Executive-ready stories22:54 - 25:04 Data Monetization / Data as a Product25:04 - 30:08 From English Lit to Data, Caroline's story of getting into data from a non-tech background. 30:09 - 34:40 How Caroline shifted into coding from non-tech34:42 - 37:37 Becoming a working parent- the shift and how Caroline is finding it. 37:37 - 41:26: Career phases + supportive organizations41:27 - END - Best piece of career advice - are you having fun?
In a shorter than usual episode (22 minutes), Abed Ajraou gives us a whistle-stop tour through Generative AI. We talk impact, deploying GenAI at scale, culture being a key component to success, and much more!
Abed is an Executive Partner of Data Analytics at Gartner and has spent over 20 years in data. He has had a deep impact in growing successful data teams and getting tangible value from data for renowned businesses. We dive into some of his thoughts and experience with Generative AI.
Podcast timestamps:
0.00 - 1:28 Intro + Abed Intro
1:28 - 4:40 GenAI intro and impact on life and business
4:41 -7:00: how has demand for AI changed from C-Suite since ChatGPT + importance of value in data
7:01 - 8:34 Hype or Real - Why GenAI is the real deal
8:35 - 9:33 Speed of adoption and ChatGPT growth
9:34 - 13:24 Deploying at Scale, AI Engineering & Risk
13:25 - 15:52 Value-driven culture and AI as a means vs an end.
15:53 - 18:58 How should individuals interact with GenAI?
18:59 - 22:08 When will GenAI hit critical mass + Companies and users embracing AI as a norm
22:09 - end outro
The Me, You and Data podcast is BACK for season two.
The first guest is David Whitcombe, founder of data consultancy Data Vision Services (https://www.datavisionservices.co.uk/)
We spoke about all things e-commerce analytics and strategy and David also gave great career advice! This episode sees David dive into the intricacies of e-commerce analytics in a simple and digestable manner allowing all listeners to take actionable insight into their roles, companies, and careers.
Podcast timestamps:
Intro & David's background: 0.00 - 2.21
2.21-3:21 - Where to start with e-commerce analytics strategy
3:22 - 4:44 - Strategy Blindspots and what matters in ecommerce
4:45 - 6.44 - Overview of CLV & ROAS (Customer lifetime value & Return on AdSpend)
6.45 - 8:08 - Higher ROAS vs Low ROAS
8:09 - 12:01 - Combining CLV & ROAS (CLV Adjusted ROAS) + brief use case
12:02 - 14:06 - Intersection of the art & Science within Marketing
14:07 -17:59 - Attribution models & assigning credit
18:00 - 19:56 - potential drawbacks of some attribution models
19:57 - 22:26: Customer segmentation & High value customers
22:27 - 23:28 balancing High Value Customers vs other customers
23:29 - 26:45 Gross Margin & Contribution discussion + examples
26:46 - 27:59 Conflicts between different stakeholders on metrics
28:00 - 31:16 - Trust with data teams being key when dealing with non-technical c-suite stakeholders
31:34 - 36:32: 3 buckets opportunities within E-Commerce Analytics for companies
36:33 - 38:39: What is David most excited/concerned about re the future of E-Commerce Analytics
38:40-41:00: How are C-Suite reacting to the impact of AI
41:00-44.17: Best nuggets of career advice - being nice to people!
44:18 - end: Managing relationships remotely
Outro:
Glad to be back with a new episode of the podcast. Me, You and Data Podcast episode 6!
My guest was the amazing Amita Basu – Director at KPMG.
We discuss several areas of analytics including:
Common Myths around a career in data
Artificial Intelligence in Contract negotiation and it’s wider role in business.
Women in Data and Diversity in Leadership
The evolution of data roles & much more!
Show notes:
0-2.48 – Intro
3.-18- 4.30 How and why she got into Data
4.55 – Myths around a career in data
6.50 – 9.14 The importance of self-learning to grow your data career
9.20 –11.32 Analytics Specialist vs Analytics Generalist (including a use case)
11.32 – 15.25 Evolution of data roles in consulting and why business acumen is key.
16-22.20 Women in leadership within data & technology. How to improve representation and important areas for representation. Proving the right environment and support for women to thrive. Initiatives that have worked (mentorship)
22.20-27.30: AI in Contract management & Automating processes. Upskilling & Reskilling.
27.50 – 29-30 : Dealing with the change and shifts that come with AI.
29.30 – What Amita is excited about for 2021 – Potential for continued use of data within Life Sciences and Transparency through data.
32.30 – Amita’s final career tips
Abed is an experienced data leader with over 20 years’ experience in this space. This conversation discusses his experience in leading data teams, executing data strategy and always looking at data through a business lens. He shares great insight and tangible tips across getting C-Suite on board with a data strategy, building internal trust, stakeholder management and more. Abed also shares some real-life business use cases that demonstrate how data has grown revenues. Check out the show notes to see what is in store:
Show Notes:
00.00-1.54– Intro
1.55 – 4.13 Looking at Data with a business lens – importance of mixing the technical aspect with the commercial side.
4.15-9.33 Business & IT, Challenges and tips in building a data driven culture. Gaining trust of non-technical stakeholders, defining the problem, and understanding the TRUE business question. Tangible ways to build trust.
9.35 – 11.48 Effective problem definition to get maximum business value from data. Business case study shared
12.22 – 13.35 Getting Maximum Value from Data. Moving internal teams from being an “IT service” and just answering questions to going deeper, understanding why, uncovering true pain points and guiding business stakeholders to valuable insights
13.36 – 20.14 Legacy businesses vs Data Native firms – Differences in building data cultures across both.
The process of building a Big Data platform for the yellow pages. Importance of having the internal advocates to create a data strategy and not stifling ideation.
20.14 – 21.26 Importance of stakeholder management and having the business buy into being data driven.
21.27 – 23.52 Start ups / Scale ups being Data first environments
23.52- 30.41 Examples of how startup and established firms changed their outlook and increased revenues through data science. Business Case studies discussed – Decathlon & Gaming business.
30.42 – 33.20 What Abed is most excited about in the data space and the importance of constant learning to continue to evolve.
33.23 – 36.10 Abed’s best piece of career advice. The mindset Abed has to sustain a long term career in data.
The Podcast you didn’t know you needed!
In this episode of the Me, You and Data podcast I speak to econometrics and data titan Jo Gordan. She was previously the Head Media Effectiveness at Virgin Media and held several Director of Analytics roles for leading agencies. Jo knows her stuff and has earned the respect of many through her expertise.
What is perhaps more impressive is how she has embraced building her own freelance consulting business (Jo Gordon Consulting). This is a transition many people in senior corporate roles grapple with.
Jo starts from the inside out – understanding who she is, what she wants and building a business around her life and interests.
During this pandemic, many people have rethought what’s important to them – if you have EVER considered going into business for yourself or taking making a career pivot more aligned to your interests, this podcast is for YOU.
Jo is incredibly candid and it was a pleasure to have this conversation, I hope it helps someone!
Timestamps: 00-1.41 Intro 1.41-4.46: Building a career around life – the transition from Corporate life. How Jo’s consulting business came to be. Developing her consulting business around what she loved about analytics. 4.48-6.53: Building a career around her passions and numerate skillset. How/Why advertising and econometrics suits her 6.54-10.52: Importance of understanding your clients and their differences. Challenges transitioning from corporate to consulting and advice for overcoming these. 10:54-13:32: Benefits for clients in using smaller businesses. The ability to be nimble and flexible with solutions. 13:33-17:07: Being an introvert – making introversion a superpower and not hinderance. Seeing opportunities in what you’re more comfortable with. 17:07-19:03 : How to strike the balance between doing what you like and what you must do as a sole owner. The importance of making important things a habit. Eating the frog! 19:03-21:42: Approach to sales and business development. Success from inbound strategies. Importance in content creation. 21.43-23:50: Deciding your Business Model. Loads of small projects vs few big projects 23:51 – 26:04 Structuring your book of business. Learning through new kinds of businesses 26:05 – 27:46 How Jo’s Volunteering commitments have changed during Covid-19 lockdowns 27:48 – 30:30 What Jo is most excited about – the opportunities to provide solutions & insights even during a recession. 30:30 – 33:20 Best piece of career advice Jo has received. You are not paid to be liked. Respect leading to trust. 33:23 – end
Episode 3 of the Me, You and Data Podcast takes us stateside! This conversation is with Irina Pessin-Monnerat who is a Partner of Analytics at Kantar in the USA. Irina has over 15 years’ experience across analytics rising to leadership roles at leading media agencies.
Areas we discuss include:
The nuances between working in the USA & the UK and how Irina dealt with the transition
Building Data teams in agencies
Client Development and Leadership
How the customer journey has evolved and its impact on measurement.
Growing your commercial/sales skillset as a hands-on data professional
Finally, we speak about the trends and future of marketing analytics and effectiveness – diving into MTA, Unified Measurement and more!
Show notes
Intro and insight into Irina’s Transition from Europe to the USA and how she adapted
Building Data teams – things to consider and steps to go through
Core traits/skills when hiring marketing effectiveness talent
How Irina’s career has evolved in terms of technical skills, leadership and client development.
How Irina grew her commercial skillset and how it helped her add more value to clients.
The complexity of the customer journey and its impact on measurement. Best practices to help you navigate this.
Unified measurement going forward. Understanding the best approach for your organisation.
Irina’s advice for agency career growth and strategies you can use to get the most out of your role/career.
Daryl is the Founder of Hexdon, a data driven consultancy. Hexdon help businesses grow by unlocking data value and being people centric. Prior to founding Hexdon, Daryl was Head of Data Innovation at Samsung Europe where he lead them to 2x DataIQ Awards. He is also a keynote speaker and part of DataIQ 100 among other impressive achievements.
In this episode we discuss:
Why is a people first approach to data important and what does it actually mean?
Examples of how a people first approach to data can be valuable for businesses
What is Data Literacy and how can we go about increasing it
Challenges when trying to improve data literacy and how to overcome these, especially in this climate
What Data Natives can consider regarding data literacy and data maturity.
Get a behind the scenes look at the award winning Smart bi project at Samsung
Organisations with Low data maturity and how to improve it.
The key in aligning data strategy to the business objectives.
What companies/data units with low data maturity not consider at times?
What Daryl is excited about in the data space. The power and challenge of AI
Daryl’s career advice for data professionals.
Advice for Data Leaders looking to improve Data Literacy and Culture.
First up on the podcast is Davide Cervellin – CDO of Telepass and CEO of InfoBlue. This conversation explores insights from his career focused book “Office of Cards” and apply it to data careers. We dive into Davide’s hiring tips and the traits great data leaders should possess.
Also, if you want to know how to carve a path from a data role to the c-suite, Davide shows how he did it and how you can too!
The insights shared in this conversation are crucial for data leaders and future leaders who want to get the most out of their careers and teams.
Show Notes
2.29: Intro and David's background as well as why he wrote his book Office of Cards.
8.24-13.18:Ideas to influence stakeholders successfully and effectively with data. The importance of being "other centric". It's not always about what you say, it’s about what people hear.
14 -20: Progressing your career as an "introvert". Career coaching time! Aligning your objectives to your actions
20 -25.07: Elon Musk and the role of Data leaders when hiring and leading, what skills are important? The importance of both soft and hard skills and why experience in the “trenches” DOING the hands-on work is vital.
25.07-34:27: Recruiting data talent and building a complimentary team, what Davide looks for when hiring, going beyond the job spec and being strategic with the recruitment process and who is involved in interviewing.
36.30 - 39.12: From data guy to the CEO. How Davide made the transition and how you can use the “privileged position” you have with data to grow your commercial skillset.
41.32-42.25: Advice to those in Data who aspire to be in a leadership/general manager type role
42.30-47.30: Benefits of being data led in executive positions and cross industry
47.45 - End: Trends across data and business for 2021 and post COVID-19. Advice on how businesses should try to pivot. Envision the world post COVID-19 and shape it in the best possible way for your business.