This is a profile from the 2022 version of the DataIQ 100.
The latest list is available here.
Robert Bates, head of decision sciences, Currys
What has been your path to power?
I took the more winding route into data science and analytics, commencing with a PhD in Semiconductor Physics. It was there that I realised what really interested me wasn’t necessarily the specific topic, but rather the challenges of identifying how systems interacted, what the causal factors were and how to optimise and solve problems.
After time working in management consulting, I moved into commercial finance where I developed the understanding of the day-to-day commercial world (and CIMA qualifications), being drawn towards the pricing, marketing and customer data aspects of the roles. It was here that I learnt the value of data science isn’t in finding the perfect answer, rather being able to translate the findings into stories and action the business can understand and take - the translation role between the two worlds being critical to success.
I joined Currys (formerly Dixons Carphone) 12 years ago and since then have become known across the business for bringing the right mix of detail, pragmatism and appropriate level of challenge for problems spanning all areas of customer and operations.
What impact has the pandemic had on the role of data in your company/organisation?
It’s opened a lot of doors. We’ve seen a seismic shift in the retail landscape and the need to understand which changes are transient and which are permanent - and how to best deal with them – has led to us building out relationships right across the business.
What’s heartening is that while the pandemic quickly drove interest in what insight and improvements data can bring to the business, this interest hasn’t died down as “normality” returns. We’ve demonstrated the value data brings and our internal customers have bought into it. Combined with an increased awareness of ML and AI in general we are brought into more projects, earlier, with far greater focus upon data collection and what is needed to track performance and generate actionable insights at the start than we saw before.
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