The Me, You & Data Podcast

S2: EP 5 - James Walker - Wisdom from 35 years in Analytics, Consulting and Advertising

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 years 9.01 - 12:10 - Talent strategy for consulting partners - "the unspoken contract" 12:11 - 14:30 - Differences/similarities across different work environments - startup, corporate, etc 14:31 - 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 value 22:17 - 22:41 - Tips for doing well in the partnership process 22:42 - 25:56 - Tips for an external partner candidate 25:57 - 29:09 - Articulating your value as a Partner candidate 29:10 - 32:52 - Pearls of wisdom for early career consultants 32:54 - 37:50 - Entrepreneurial talent and investing in people 37:53 - 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 influences 51:48 - 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&C 1:11:32 - 11:14:43 - What is happening now and next for James 11:14:44 - end - Best pieces of advice James has received

S2: Ep 3 - Eddie Short - 7 Habits for Effective Chief Data & Analytics Officers

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

S2: Ep 3 - Caroline Zimmerman - Data Value & Becoming a working Mother (MYAD Podcast)

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 definitions 3:48 - 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 journey 14:07 - 16:17 The link between customer journey and business strategy 16:18 - 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 stories 22:54 - 25:04 Data Monetization / Data as a Product 25:04 - 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-tech 34:42 - 37:37 Becoming a working parent- the shift and how Caroline is finding it. 37:37 - 41:26: Career phases + supportive organizations 41:27 - END - Best piece of career advice - are you having fun?

Season 2: Ep.2: Abed Ajraou - Intro to GenerativeAI

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

Season 2 - Ep.1: David Whitcombe - E-Commerce Analytics & Strategy

The Me, You and Data podcast is BACK for season two. The first guest is David Whitcombe [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAAAbDJfsB2R2z4KUjH3aFq3i5hqpFdHMkdOI], founder of data consultancy Data Vision Services (https://www.datavisionservices.co.uk/) [https://www.linkedin.com/company/data-vision-services-ltd/] 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: