Scott Pryde, Medical Technology Surveillance and Analytics Lead, NHS Improvement (GIRFT)
Path to power I got involved in healthcare 15 years ago from an electronics background and was surprised by the comparatively lower focus on supply chain quality and efficiency as well as the lack of data and transparency. I was fascinated by the complexity and pace of innovation in healthcare and biomedical technologies, alongside the […]
Ian Scholey, Analytics Director, Mars Petcare
Path to power Following a degree in mathematics and a master’s in operational research, I have had a number of roles in data analytics leading to my current position at Mars Petcare. From analysing clinical trials to building models to optimise steel production, to predicting turnover of new pubs, I certainly looked for variety early […]
Alberto Rey Villeverde, Chief Data Officer, Just Eat
Path to power I studied air transport management and economics and spent a few years between Madrid and Barcelona in the airline industry. I came to London and joined easyJet in 2006 as a yield developer, working on the R&D side of the pricing engine. Back then I was quite surprised at how inefficient […]
Jabe Wilson, Consulting Director, Text and Data Analytics, Elsevier
Path to power My background is primarily in artificial intelligence, which I have been working with for over 30 years. Since the late 90s I have worked on a wide range of innovative projects which have been instrumental in driving the transformation of Elsevier from an established scientific print publisher through to a digital information […]
Sudip Trivedi, Head of Data and Analytics, London Borough of Camden
Path to power Ever since school I wanted to get into technology. I gained a degree and a master’s in information systems and technology, and started my career in the private sector, crossing into the public sector when I joined Camden Council. During my 13 years in Camden, I have gained a wealth of […]
James Weatherall, Vice-President of Data Science and AI, R&D, AstraZeneca
Path to power I started life as a high energy particle physicist, pondering the subtle differences between matter and anti-matter, and how they might affect the universe. This saw me acting as a “data scientist” working on “big data” many years before those terms were coined. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the field, […]
Paul Ravenscroft, Head of Personalisation and Digital Insights, Walgreens Boots Alliance
Path to power I’ve been leading the personalisation and digital insights function at Walgreens Boots Alliance for over 11 years now. The reason I have been in this role for so long is that it has continually grown in scope, remit and expectations, mirroring the wider data and analytics industry. Over 20 years ago, […]
Jan Teichmann, Consultant, Thetrainline.com
Path to power Like many early day data scientists I have always been driven by curiosity, innovation and technology; this and a passion for mathematics. At first, I saw my calling within academia. As I matured as a scientist and completed my PhD in mathematics, I realised that there is a strong entrepreneurial side to […]
Mark Powell, Head of Data Architecture, Heathrow Airport
Path to power I started my career on a graduate scheme at a transport consultancy, mainly working on projects modelling and monitoring traffic and public transport flows in and around London. This gave me an appreciation of the varied skills and work that goes into accurate data for decision making on a variety of scales. […]
Rebecca Salsbury, Deputy Director of Platform, BBC
Career path My career began by “falling into IT”, having gained degrees in education with specialisms in mathematics and computing from the University of Maine, I only ever taught adults and teachers (about personal and classroom computing). My early roles combined my love of developing (and teaching) people of all ages with an interest in and […]
Anthony Morris, Director of Data, Analytics and Insight, Dixons Carphone
Path to power I trained as an engineer then worked for around ten years with the management consultancy Booz Allen. This gave me the opportunity to work with a broad range of clients on a mixture of strategic and operational issues. I specialised in due diligence and the turnaround of businesses in the consumer packaged […]
Gail Miller, Head of Data, Scottish Power
Path to power I came to a data role later in my career, having worked for many years as an accountant and also in change management and commercial management positions. It’s fair to say I fell into it. My previous role was as lead for the retail business in the industry wide competition market investigation, […]
Ken Macpherson, Head of Consumer Data and Insight, DMG Media
Path to power Starting out in a data list management and brokerage company, Uni-Marketing, I began my career in the world of data by managing many different publishing companies’ customer databases and helping them to monetise these on the list rental market. Moving on Wegener DM, I took on the challenge of helping to […]
Alex Lorke, Chief Data Officer (Interim) and IT Director Platforms, Royal Mail Group
Path to power I am CDO at Royal Mail and a non-executive director of two subsidiaries, Storefeeder and Intersoft, as well as the IT director for strategic application development services including royalmail.com, postal mobile devices, integration and DevOps. I am currently focused on the creation of the group’s digital twin, a cloud-based data platform […]
Rachel Pillsbury, Head of Insight, Riviera Travel
Path to power I became interested in data and analytics by chance in my first job at a financial company, having completed a degree in archaeology at Oberlin College, a liberal arts university in Ohio. This led me to pursue a master’s degree in computer science at Nottingham Trent University. Having started my career […]
Thomas Lee-Warren, Chief Technologist – R2 Data Labs, Rolls-Royce
Path to power My career has been eclectic one, operating on both sides of the entrepreneurial/corporate divide, across industries and geographies. After studying both philosophy and computer science, I cut my coding and architecture teeth at Marks & Spencer. Back then, we built everything ourselves, warehousing, ordering, procurement systems; you name it we were thought […]
Andy Nicholls, Head, Statistical Data Sciences, GSK
Path to power In a way my career has come full circle. Following master’s degrees in mathematics and statistics, I joined GSK as a graduate in 2007 working as a statistician/senior statistician. My interest in S-Plus and R took me to Mango Solutions in 2011, starting out life as a consultant and R trainer. […]
Viktor Kazinec, Head of Analytics, Close Brothers
Path to power I studied finance at Loughborough University. After finishing my degree, I joined PwC’s Transaction Services’ graduate scheme in London in 2010, which was a great opportunity to work with private equity houses and management teams at a variety of UK businesses. In 2014, I joined Close Brothers as a strategic analyst, an […]
Will Hutchinson, Head of Data, Global
Path to power From an early age I wanted to work in software development, and I fell into data and analytics before my career had really started; I was lucky enough to be one of the first to study cloud-based big data and analytics systems at university. From there, I was set on applying […]
Lara Izlan, Director, Advertising Data and Analytics, ITV
Path to power My professional journey to date spans three continents, a few media companies, several inspirational managers, and many fantastic colleagues who have shaped the way I think and work. I grew up in Malaysia, and on winning an academic scholarship, moved to the US where I completed a degree in economics. After […]