Jason Foster, CEO and founder, Cynozure Group

What has been your path to power?

I’ve had a career in data. This wasn’t a well-planned out and executed career path but more an iterative progression. Starting with a very vocational degree at university looking at how design, systems and technology are used in business, I moved into a first job as a business analyst and project manager with a focus on technology and data solutions for marketing, operational research, retail store operations, contact centre management and more. Then into a consulting role in a niche data firm in the mid 2000s advising organisations across sectors on how to use metrics to run and manage the business and building business intelligence solutions that give insights and visibility.

In 2013 I moved back into an industry role to help M&S take a big leap forward in its ability to use data to guide its decisions and build cutting-edge data and digital solutions that allowed us to get closer to and understand our customers. In 2016 I started Cynozure which has spawned our customer proposition, our members club for senior data leaders, my podcast series; Hub & Spoken, a best-selling book; Data Means Business, and a brilliant team focused on delivering valuable interactions and outcomes in the business and data community.