The DS Show

Episode 26: Jofi Alexander, Regional Director - Africa @ Anaplan

In Episode 26 of The DS Show, Daanish Soomar sits down with Jofi Alexander, Regional Director of Anaplan Africa, to explore a remarkable career journey that spans over three decades of leadership, innovation, and transformation in enterprise performance management. From his early days pioneering BI and data warehousing at Oracle to leading Anaplan’s regional growth across Africa, Jofi shares how curiosity, adaptability, and a genuine commitment to people have shaped his career. He reflects on lessons learned from running his own consulting firm, his time at Salesforce during the SaaS revolution, and how Anaplan’s platform continues to evolve with the rise of AI-driven planning. The conversation also touches on Jofi’s entrepreneurial mindset, the importance of relationship-driven sales, and his latest initiative empowering African graduates through Anaplan education in partnership with Deloitte. This episode is a masterclass in leadership, innovation, and giving back — from one of the most inspiring voices in the connected planning community.

Episode 25: Eoin McMillan, Founder @ Sourcetable

In episode 25 of The DS Show, Daanish Soomar sits down with Eoin McMillan, Founder & CEO of Sourcetable, to explore how he’s reimagining the spreadsheet for the AI era. With over a decade of experience in startups across technical and operational roles, Eoin shares his journey from consulting and product building to launching Sourcetable, a platform designed to make data analysis radically more productive with AI. The conversation dives into the vision behind Sourcetable, the challenges of building spreadsheets from scratch, and how AI transforms spreadsheets into powerful collaborators—acting like a data analyst or scientist on your team. Eoin also discusses the culture of “velocity” in startups, why optimism in Silicon Valley matters, and his perspective on the coming “Agentic Web,” where humans and AI agents will collaborate seamlessly. Listeners will gain insights into entrepreneurship, product development, and the future of productivity tools at the intersection of data, networks, and artificial intelligence.

Episode 24: Ash Jain, CEO of Accelytics Consulting

In episode 24 of The DS Show, Daanish Soomar sits down with Ash Jain, CEO of Accelytics Consulting, to explore a career spanning more than 25 years in enterprise performance management (EPM) and business transformation. From starting in computer science to building and leading boutique consultancies, Ash shares the pivotal decisions, leadership lessons, and personal philosophies that have shaped his journey. The conversation covers Ash’s shift from Oracle to going “all-in” on Anaplan in 2017, the evolution of Accelytics from FP&A into supply chain planning and sales performance management, and the unique advantages and challenges boutique firms face against larger players. Ash also offers candid advice for young professionals in consulting—emphasizing the importance of understanding business needs, staying adaptable, and pushing beyond your comfort zone. Listeners will walk away with insights on scaling a business, navigating market shifts, and leading with courage, creativity, and consistency.

Episode 23: Shell Black, President of ShellBlack.com

In episode 23 of The DS Show, Daanish Soomar sits down with Shell Black, President of ShellBlack.com and a Salesforce MVP Hall of Fame, to unpack a journey that spans two decades of growth, community leadership, and scaling a boutique consultancy into a financial services powerhouse. Shell shares how a personal blog turned into a full-fledged firm, what it was like growing alongside Salesforce during its explosive decade of 25% year-over-year growth, and how he’s navigated new headwinds in a post-hypergrowth world. The conversation dives into Shell’s philosophy on specialization, his approach to company culture, and the tactics his team uses to stand out among 3,000+ global partners. Listeners will gain lessons on how to grow a bootstrapped business, the importance of mentorship, how to build a community presence, and why leaning into verticalization and culture is key to staying competitive in today’s consulting world.

Episode 22: Neil Thomas, SVP, Applications - Finance & Workforce @ Anaplan

In episode 22 of The DS Show, Daanish Soomar sits down with Neil Thomas, Senior Vice President of Finance and Workforce Applications at Anaplan, to explore a remarkable career spanning four decades across finance, sales, and enterprise software innovation. From his early days at Johnson & Johnson to pivotal roles at Adaytum and Adaptive, Neil shares how he evolved from a traditional accountant into a driving force behind some of the most influential planning tools in the market today. This episode dives deep into Neil’s personal and professional journey—how a commission check sparked his pivot to sales, the challenges and rewards of scaling startups, and the evolution of enterprise performance management from green-screen tools to modern AI-driven applications. Neil also offers insight into Anaplan’s platform and its application-first strategy, highlighting the power of AI to democratize planning and boost time-to-value. Whether you're in finance, sales, product, or tech strategy, Neil’s wisdom offers a front-row seat to the future of planning, leadership, and customer success in an AI-powered world.