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Marta Czerep, Analytic Consulting Senior Manager EMEA, FICO (Fair Isaac Services)

Path to power

 

I am a mathematician by education with a Master’s degree from Gdansk University of Technology in Poland. I worked in one of the major Polish banks, in the credit risk department, before relocating to the UK in 2011. I am now a senior manager in FICO’s EMEA analytic consulting team working mainly in predictive science and applied optimisation.

 

What has been the highlight of your career in the industry to date?

 

I see my career not just in terms of projects, but in terms of learning. One of the most important lessons was about working with highly-biased data. Sometimes, we do not appreciate how the context of the information collected can influence the quality of the data we analyse. If we investigate the data in isolation, we might draw conclusions that are completely incorrect. This experience taught me to stay open-minded and always curious, seeking information reaching beyond the collected data to get a better understanding of the wider business problem. There is a phrase attributed to Albert Einstein that perfectly summarises my experience: “Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.”

 

If you could give your younger self some advice about how to progress in this industry, what would it be?

 

Be patient and thorough. And do not jump to conclusions quickly. A successful analyst is able to remove the noise from the data and identify the pieces of information that matter to the organisation. This can take time and requires great discipline. It was definitely a very exciting year. I have observed two main trends over the last 12 months: desire and readiness to use very complex analytics techniques within the industry (especially artificial intelligence), and a growing recognition of the importance of meeting a consumer’s preferences, whether this relates to customer contact method or use of products.

 

What do you expect 2019 to be like for the industry?

 

With the high demand for analytic insights, there will be even higher demand for better data design and governance. Organisations are recognising that well-managed, up-to-date information is critical to the operational efficiency of business strategies. We will be seeing a lot of fantastic co-operation between data scientists and IT departments to prepare the organisation’s data and create systems that support the development and deployment of highly-sophisticated analytical solutions.

 

Talent and skills are always a challenge to find – how are you tackling this in your organisation?

 

The analytical mind is always curious and open for a challenge. At FICO, I am lucky to be surrounded by colleagues who easily get bored with status quo. We always try to do something better, find a more accurate answer, take advantage of new tools, and this is a foundation of the company’s success. Skills developing is easier if you empower your employees to bring out their creativity and ideas.

 

What aspect of data, analytics or their use are you most optimistic about and why?

 

With the increasing amount of collected information, there are growing opportunities to apply highly-advanced analytic techniques to provide data-driven insight. Analyses can becomes more complex and multi-dimensional, allowing us to construct highly-customised solutions. With wider acceptance of AI within the industry, we are tackling the problems with new tools and delivering more comprehensive answers to the business. Data and analytics technology/service provider

Marta Czerep
has been included in:
  • 100 Enablers 2019 (EMEA)

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