Richard Gregory, CDO, head of data transformation, Imperial Brands
Describe your career to date
I continue to work with some fantastic organisations and some incredible people. The cross-industry experience of global consumer goods, telco, banking and energy have all brought their unique challenges and learning opportunities, at the same time all presented a common set of capability aspirations.
How do we get hold of the data we most care about - when we need it and of a known quality... alongside this... how do we use it to drive value, grow our business and keep us and our consumers safe?
Underpinning this with a requirement to develop and grow a rewarding employee proposition, attracting and retaining talented people in a market where demand for what we do is at an all-time high.
A combination of some very long tenures alongside a mix of shorter consulting assignments has seen me develop, run and optimise data and analytics functions for some of the largest and most complex companies in the world. I feel privileged to have experienced such a rewarding career to date.
What stage has your organisation reached on its data maturity journey?
I only recently joined but it is clear “ambition matters” here and we have ambition in bucket loads. We are an established company with a large global footprint and we are already doing fantastic things in many parts of the world. It’s far reaching; across the full supply chain right through to societal, ethical and environmental matters and, crucially, our customers and consumers who are at the heart of everything we do.
Work is underway to complete further modernisation and digitisation, across the full data “create to consume” lifecycle, covering both operational processes and analytical landscapes. My role is to surface best practice, deliver innovation and drive adoption which really makes a difference.
Tell us about the data and analytics resources you are responsible for
In my experience overall accountability for the data and analytics agenda usually sits with either the CFO, CIO or COO. Like many large organisations we work within a matrix structure with different elements anchored in different parts of the organisation, brought together through pragmatic governance fora. Our teams are diverse and sit across a number of geographies, linked to a location strategy which ensures we remain relevant to a given line of business or market. What is critical is that the topic is defined as a professional capability with defined roles, a job family and a clear articulation of how you progress your career in this exciting field.
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