What key skills or attributes do you consider have contributed to your success in this role?
I’ve always been fascinated by data. My natural curiosity as to why data didn’t have the profile of people, process or tech in business led to a career looking for the answer. Persistence, sticking to my instincts and willingness to take a risks have helped. And I’m a people person before a data geek and I love building amazing, diverse teams.
What level of data maturity do you typically encounter across your client base and what tends to hold this back?
It still varies widely but has progressed significantly in recent years. I’m delighted to see the growing professionalism of data and analytics and the networks and communities like DataIQ. I’m proud to have been a pioneer of data science apprenticeships way back in 2010 (I hope some of those people are reading this now) and helped bolster that community of specialists, some of those apprentices from back then are becoming true industry leaders now which is making a difference.
Above all, data and analytics is a hot topic in the boardroom these days. PwC’s 2023 CEO survey saw data and analytics as the highest priority capability for investment in people and technology. At PwC’s non-exec director network, deep-dive sessions for board members on data and analytics and also cyber are by far our most oversubscribed topics.
I think the most important maturity step I see my clients taking is building a strong link to business value of their data and analytics strategies, and describing the value and benefits in ways that the business can engage with. It really isn’t a technology problem at its heart, true maturity requires a significant set of cultural and behavioral mindset shifts across the enterprise.