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  • Elaine Priest, Chief Data Officer, Data Transformation, NatWest

Elaine Priest, Chief Data Officer, Data Transformation, NatWest

What has been your path to power?

My career has been shaped by being curious and taking on challenges where the journey isn’t easy nor the path that clear. My help has been sought numerous times across different areas within the banking industry, but there has always been a data lens to any role that I have undertaken. Collaboration and partnership are key to any success, and being open to new ideas and innovation creates an energising environment.

 

I thoroughly enjoy “paying it forward” through career coaching and mentoring. I have enjoyed and benefited from the advocacy and sponsorship of numerous people for nearly 30 years. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing someone reach their goals.

What impact has the pandemic had on the role of data in your company/organisation?

Even before the pandemic, the organisation had shifted its focus towards a co-creative and symbiotic relationship with data. As we drive forwards to become the relationship bank for a digital age our focus on data will not relent.

 

The pandemic continues to provide a useful frame on the importance of data on our day-to-day lives and makes it a more relatable subject for those that are not deep within the profession, including our customers.

 

Does data now have a seat at the table during strategic discussions? If not, what will it take to get it there?

Data is a major component of our corporate strategy to help champion the potential of the 19 million people, families and businesses we serve in communities throughout the UK and Ireland. The team regularly presents to leadership and the board on data-related subjects. We work in partnership across all divisions of the company to bring the best analytical insights. We have continued to increase our footprint and in 2020 we hired more than 300 data engineers and data scientists.

What are your key areas of focus for data and analytics in 2022?

 

We believe that working for a bank where we have deep understanding of our customer needs through highly personalised engagement enabled by simplified cloud-based solutions and a data driven culture will delight our customers but also attract and retain the best talent. Throughout 2022 we will continue to focus on increasing personalised insights, cloud adoption, increasing the functionality of our Google-like map, Info Map, to help support our data-driven culture, while further increasing the number of employees successfully completing our award-winning NatWest Data Academy.

 

Tell us what leadership means to you in the context of your role as a senior data leader.

 

A leader knows the way, goes the way and shows the way, and this couldn’t be more important than in the role of the data leader. Ensuring legitimate use might go without saying, but the needs of the customer, society, shareholder and employee are also careful considerations. In 2019, I launched the Info SAFE principles to our 80,000 staff as part of their annual learning schedule to ensure that when it comes to information we are secure, accountable, fair and ethical. This has proven to be an effective guide. As a data leader I ensure that every decision I make uses this frame.

What key skills or attributes do you consider have contributed to your success in this role?

 

To be successful you need to be open to learning, to welcome a broad range of perspectives and collaborate with all those around you to create new stories.

 

How did you develop – and continue to develop – these skills or attributes?

I love learning about new theories and practices inside and outside the industry and find that putting new learning into practice and re-teaching is the only way of truly embedding new capabilities.

Is the data tech you have keeping pace with your goals and requirements? Are your providers leading or lagging your demands?

 

We are adopting cloud-based solutions to our data opportunities at scale. We have used graph, machine learning and AI to help solve the most complex problems. Last year we hired around 300 data engineers and data scientists as we continue to grow our capability. Growth mindset is important to us and we support our staff through our award-winning Data Academy programme – the content continues to be enriched in tandem with new technology advancements.

 

Elaine Priest
has been included in:
  • 100 Brands 2021 (EMEA)
  • 100 Brands 2022 (EMEA)
  • No. 6 100 Brands 2020 (EMEA)

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