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Pete Williams, Director of Data, Penguin Random House UK

Pete Williams, Director of Data, Penguin Random House UK

Describe your career to date

After a brief period of working outside this industry, I soon realised where I was meant to be and went back into education to restart a career in something I was interested in. If I relate how my in-role experiences have supported my career progression and enabled me, I’d consider the three vital skills of a CDO/data leader:

Data competency: I’ve had technical roles, including computer operator, programmer/senior programmer, BI developer, and technical BI tool lead. I’ve also had roles aligned to technical delivery, such as systems analyst and project manager, leading on building data warehouses and reporting systems. These roles allowed me to understand how to code, build a system and data environment and the “art of the possible”.

Commercial acumen: I’ve worked within the commercial line of business teams as well as technology functions, and in a variety of industries including retail, FMCG, facilities, local government and now publishing. Being able to understand and prioritise the levers that drive your organisation is crucial to gaining the trust of teams you wish to empower.

Leading transformation: I’ve worked as a change agent on many projects and been the lead on enterprise change programmes. Understanding how to structure a transformation, lead the team and the organisation in these programmes, the dynamics of the change curve and communication strategies are vital when trying to define the change and transform effort.

As I worked, I realised I was more fascinated by helping people drive better, faster decisions through data than coding to generate the insight. I therefore sought out roles that enabled be to broaden my skill set in these areas. I feel it’s important to take time to be retrospective, understand what and how a role has enhanced you and to work out what you need from the next one.

What stage has your organisation reached on its data maturity journey?

I have a data strategy construct I call the 3Es (establish the data foundation, platform and principles; enable the organisation to use data while the foundation grows breadth and depth – this is where I tackle data literacy; and exploit the union of a robust data foundation and a data literate, curious workforce to drive the best possible organisation). In this data transformation we’re halfway through the enable phase in my estimation.

Tell us about the data and analytics resources you are responsible for

My data team sits in the technology division, reporting to the CIO. We currently comprise 28 people spread across expert dedicated teams for data engineering, data visualisation and data governance. I don’t necessarily regard technology as the right home for data (as opposed to systems) teams, but I do value a savvy, engaged and effective sponsor – which I am lucky enough to have here – ahead of a theoretical better fit.

What challenges do you see for data in the year ahead that will have an impact on your organisation and on the industry as a whole?

I’m hoping the challenge facing my data team will be a surfeit of demand from my newly data literate colleagues, swamping us with innovative ideas they wish to progress.

There’s a constant battle for talent, both in recruitment and retention and I regard this as an opportunity and a challenge. Teams that don’t churn knowledge and experiences, enriched through diversity, are unlikely to be peak performers. But constant recruitment activity is an admin heavy impediment to planned activities.

I also recognise the double-edged enticement of tools such as ChatGPT, which is brilliant to engage people with the art of the possible but also introduces the challenge of users not being able to critique the output.

Have you set out a vision for data? If so, what is it aiming for and does it embrace the whole organisation or just the data function?

Yes, I have. It aims to empower the organisation to achieve its strategic aims using data where possible to inform and guide better, faster decision making. It covers what we can do now and opens up future possibilities as our capabilities, appetite and data quality allow.

Have you been able to fix the data foundations of your organisation, particularly with regard to data quality?

“Fix” would be a huge claim. I’d be happy to claim I have created a focus and facilitated a substantial improvement in data management, governance, and creating the authoritative source for data opportunities in Penguin Random House. These activities have improved data quality and provided a sound basis for further improvements.

Pete Williams
has been included in:

100 Brands 2023 (EMEA)

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Pete Williams, Director of Data, Penguin Random House UK

Join our membership network of over 250 global senior data and AI leaders.

The trusted global collaboration and intelligence platform for data leaders.

Join our membership network of over 250
global senior data and AI leaders.