Lester Berry, director of analytics and data science, John Lewis Partnership

What has been your path to power?

I have been lucky so far, working for several great companies, across various sectors and with some brilliant people. Getting out of bed in the morning has never been a problem. My first role, all those years ago, was as an operational research analyst for British Airways (with staff travel perks!). From there, I moved to Lloyds Bank, then onto British Gas and now the John Lewis Partnership, with shorter spells at Marks & Spencer and Telewest sprinkled in between.

The common thread linking the roles is my focus on bridging the gap between analytical teams and business decision-makers. Doing analysis or data science is one thing, but any advanced analytics team adds most value by improving decision-making and that’s what motivates me. My current role at the John Lewis Partnership is perfect. There are many challenges to overcome, especially as we emerge from Covid-19, but with the backdrop of the retail sector, stiff competition, the Partnership ethos and a great team, life will never be dull.

As I look ahead to 2022, I’m looking forward to taking the analytical capability to the next level. As an organisation, we are investing heavily in analytics and my role is to ensure the profession plays a major part in helping the Partnership to recover – it’s a huge opportunity.