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Yigit Gungor, Head of Analytics, eBay

What has been your path to power?


I started my career as a forecasting analyst at GfK Boutique Research, providing market insight products to hedge funds and equity investors on the global electronics market outlook. I gained a lot of hands-on experience in building data products to address client needs, utilising the vast global point-of-sale data GfK collates from retailers worldwide.

 

After leading a team of analysts at GfK, I decided to accelerate my career and expand my industry experience and joined Capgemini Invent in its established analytics practice. As a management consultant equipped with data science skills, I worked with retail, consumer products and government clients on data and analytics strategy, digital transformation projects and established data science teams. I’ve also led the internal Capgemini supply chain analytics and data science communities, building data science proof of concepts that were rolled out as the new go-to-market propositions to clients.

 

After a rewarding career as a management consultant, I wanted a new challenge and decided to join eBay’s in-house analytics team, where I grew the regional analytical capabilities in the UK and am currently leading UK analytics, supporting the leadership team on critical decisions.

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

 

The pandemic disrupted the entire e-commerce ecosystem; buyers shifted their purchases online, hundreds of thousands of small businesses with no online presence shifted their inventory online for the first time. Supply chain challenges coupled with high demand created scarcity on numerous highly sought-after product categories, when at the same time delivery carriers and warehouses were struggling with staff shortages.

 

All these unprecedented changes challenged our understanding of conventional buyer and seller behaviour, and it became increasingly important for eBay to understand ever-changing customer behaviour to continue to offer exceptional value and a great selection of choices – – putting data at the heart of our customer-centric actions.

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

 

Staying true to its early start-up days, data and analytics has been an integral part of the decision-making process at eBay. The influence of data consistently increased over the years, with strong partnership between analytics teams and the business formed through powerful storytelling with data.

 

This collaboration enabled analytics teams to help our business to focus on the right priorities and help make data-driven decisions. At eBay, analytics has a seat in key strategic forums across all levels, from the senior leadership team to management teams. Analytics is also part of eBay’s global strategy, positioned as an integral part of long-term strategy as well as short-term tactical decisions.

 

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

 

With eBay’s clear, long-term strategy, as well as a detailed execution plan, analytics will be central to our 2022 ambition of becoming the partner of choice for our sellers and cultivating life-long trusted relationships with our buyers. We will continue to use data and analytics to offer the best possible experience to our buyers by tailoring the products and deals that spark unexpected joy. Providing our business partners with more self-service tools to help them make better decisions will continue to be one of our focus areas through 2022.

 

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

 

Data and analytics has the power to provide a holistic view of a company and its customers, irrespective of how the business is organised. As data leaders, we are in a perfect position to remove organisational silos in providing data-driven insights to help stakeholders make better decisions. The key element is to be able to understand the context, business and customer needs as well as any limitations through data, and, crucially, being able to translate this understanding into a clear direction of travel for the wider teams.

 

As data leaders, it is also crucial to keep growing and nurturing high-performing teams and mentoring upcoming talent. My key focus areas are providing clear direction of priorities, helping the team to develop their skills, providing opportunities to grow and giving individuals exposure to key decision-makers so that they can build a voice of their own in strategic conversations.

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

 

With data and analytics being a technical area, my career has been helped by the ability to translate complex concepts into simple yet compelling stories, combining them with a macro-level business and customer understanding while effectively communicating with wider business leadership.

 

Also, being able to bring systems-thinking and a customer-centric approach to data analytics helps to build a stronger point of view, even when the focus is on a micro-level. Problem-solving in business and data requires a strong understanding of the connective nature of business, technology and analytical approaches, which can help us be flexible in our analyses while taking more ownership.

 

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

 

Getting exposure to many different organisations, teams and their challenges, ways of working as well as problem-solving approaches throughout my career, especially during my time in management consulting, gave me ample opportunities to observe, learn and build on the skills that I have today. With curiosity and love for problem-solving being key driving forces, exposure to different areas and leaders can help you learn a variety of perspectives, approaches to build a good understanding of management styles. At eBay, we also work alongside many talented analytics professionals, and we are part of a great network to collaborate and learn from each other’s experiences.

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

Answer not provided.

 

Yigit Gungor
has been included in:
  • 100 Brands 2021 (EMEA)
  • 100 Brands 2022 (EMEA)

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