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Lyndsay Weir​​

Lyndsay Weir​​, Chief Analytics and Insight, Barilla Group

Describe your career to date

 

Firstly, I have a very varied background which did not start in STEM at all, but I have happily ended up where I am today through training, experience, and great mentoring. 

 

Today, I am a dedicated and experienced data and analytics leader with over ten years of success in driving business growth and improving decision-making through data-driven insights. Currently, I serve as the Chief Analytics and Insight at Barilla Group, a global leader in the food industry. In this role, I lead a very broad global team with people in the UK, Italy, US, and Europe – from Data Scientists and Analysts to Insight professionals or Capability leaders. I also today have the privilege of serving on the Board for Barilla Acceleration Limited, Barilla Group’s UK office. Here, I showcase my strong business acumen on top of my data and analytics experience, leading cross-functional teams towards shared objectives. 

 

Before stepping into my role at Barilla, I held senior data and analytics or marketing positions at Nestlé, where I was lucky to spend four years working in their global HQ as Head of Data and Analytics. These experiences granted me a broad perspective across various process units and markets. My commitment to the field and my leadership has been recognised, as I have been honoured to be listed in the DataIQ 100 for 2022 and 2023. 

Data literacy is a key enabler of the value and impact from data. How are you approaching this within your organisation?  

 

As part of the global leadership team, I am a champion of data literacy, promoting it both bottom-up and top-down. I believe that data literacy is essential for businesses to thrive in today’s data-driven world. My team has transformed from a data, analytics, and dashboard focused team to a team that works alongside a panel of expert insight professionals to ensure that we deliver only the “so what” answers to the business. This means that we focus on providing actionable insights that help businesses make better decisions. 

 

As well as analytics, the group team for capabilities for marketing and commercial sits in my team. This is key as it allows us to embed what we deliver into peoples’ roles through training and hands on learning. 

Bottom-up, I promote data literacy by providing my team as well as other process units with the resources and support they need to develop their data skills. I also encourage them to share their knowledge with others and to collaborate with other teams across the business. 

 

I believe that data literacy is essential for businesses to succeed in today’s data-driven world. By promoting data literacy both bottom-up and top-down, I am helping my company to build a data-driven culture that will enable us to make better decisions and achieve our business goals. 

How are you preparing your organisation for AI adoption and change management? 

 

I am passionate about helping Barilla prepare for further artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and change management. A key milestone in this journey is going to be the imminent launch of our revised company-wide AI and advanced analytics strategy built in close partnership with our IT function. This strategy, which serves as our roadmap and testament to our commitment to harnessing AI’s immense potential, will be step-changing for the group in terms of commitment to embracing new technology to grow. 

 

However, AI is not new for us, and our experience with AI (spanning over five years) uniquely positions us to navigate the new generative AI landscape with confidence and expertise. We have successfully integrated AI into many of our analytics products, from MMROI to supply chain forecasting with great results. 

 

We have been actively exploring the potential of generative AI, and we proudly partner with Microsoft Open AI as one of the leading Italian companies to do so. Our collaboration has already culminated in the successful delivery of use cases employing this technology within months, with further promising projects coming soon. 

 

My vision for AI (but not just AI, analytics too) in Barilla is, and always will be anchored in pragmatic utility. We are not in this to amass a collection of proofs of concepts. Our ambition is clear: to leverage AI as a catalyst for our commercial growth, ensuring that each project and initiative we undertake translates into tangible business value. 

Lyndsay Weir​​
Lyndsay Weir​​
has been included in:
  • 100 Brands 2022 (EMEA)
  • 100 Brands 2023 (EMEA)
  • 100 Brands 2024 (EMEA)

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