This is a profile from the 2022 version of the DataIQ 100.
The latest list is available here.
Dave Warder, head of data analytics, Kambi
What has been your path to power?
With a passion for sports, an inquisitive and analytical mind and a background in mathematics and statistics, the sports betting industry was always a natural fit. I started my career at UK bookmaker Ladbrokes, initially working in reporting and engineering, which kickstarted my understanding of the criticality of data and the technical challenges of delivering it.
After a period as a quantitative analyst at Ladbrokes, I later joined B2B supplier Geneity to develop the mathematical models that deliver millions of odds throughout the year. It was here that I took the opportunity to focus on product optimisation, diving into data science and web analytics while evangelising the power of data and analytics.
In 2018 I moved to Kambi, the world’s leading B2B sports betting provider, where I currently lead the data analytics function, covering reporting, self-service and insight. With hundreds of betting opportunities that can change every few seconds across thousands of sports events per year, this creates an extraordinarily complex but exciting data asset to work with.
My department has taken on more responsibility and doubled in size over the last few years. As a result, my role has evolved to focus much more on the strategic rather than the tactical side of data analytics, not only driving forward on value creation for the business, but also providing a clear framework for individual development into either leadership or technical expertise.
What impact has the pandemic had on the role of data in your company/organisation?
The sporting calendar was decimated for a large chunk of 2020, so we had to rapidly switch focus to sports that traditionally hadn’t been big hitters, such as table tennis and eSports. This meant exploration and integration of new data sources to ensure we could offer the best experience for bettors without compromising on quality.
As sports returned to normal, the role of data was critical to understanding how player behaviour had been affected by these seismic short-term shifts. No amount of experience could predict what would happen with any certainty, so data was thrust further into the limelight.
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