{"id":40446,"date":"2026-01-28T10:05:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T10:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/?post_type=100-alumni&p=40446"},"modified":"2026-02-12T13:18:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:18:18","slug":"ryan-den-rooijen-md-ai-and-monetisation-currys","status":"publish","type":"100-alumni","link":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/dataiq100\/ryan-den-rooijen-md-ai-and-monetisation-currys\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Den Rooijen, MD AI and Monetisation, Currys"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ryan Den\u00a0Rooijen\u00a0is Managing Director for AI and Monetisation at Currys, where he\u00a0is responsible for\u00a0leading the company\u2019s AI agenda and translating advanced analytics into commercial value at scale.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He began his career in technical roles, initially as a developer and later as a data scientist, including several years working with some of the world\u2019s largest global advertisers. That experience shaped a strong grounding in applied data science and commercial analytics before he moved into industry roles outside the technology sector.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ryan went on to build and lead data functions at Dyson, shifting from hands-on specialist work to creating the environments,\u00a0platforms\u00a0and teams in which technical talent can thrive. He was later tasked with\u00a0establishing\u00a0a data and AI organisation for a multi-billion-dollar retail group in the Middle East. During the COVID period, as data became central to every aspect of the business, his remit expanded to include responsibility for e-commerce and digital, moving him from a technology leadership role into direct ownership of a profit and loss,\u00a0reinforcing\u00a0the link between strong data capability and sustained commercial performance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After returning to the UK, Ryan spent time in private equity before deciding to refocus on large-scale transformation. He brings a clear view that AI is not a project to be delivered in isolation, but a multi-year organisational journey requiring deep partnership with stakeholders across the business.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He joined Currys attracted by the brand, culture,\u00a0leadership\u00a0and personal affinity with the categories, and is\u00a0focused on embedding AI as a durable driver of growth and monetisation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a data and AI leader, which traits and skills do you think matter most, and which of those have been most influential for you in your current position?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Ryan is clear that technical competence, while necessary, is no longer what differentiates data and AI leaders. An understanding of the technology is now \u201ca hygiene factor\u201d,\u00a0he said, comparing it to \u201cbrushing your teeth; you don\u2019t put it on your CV\u201d.\u00a0Being conversant in cloud platforms and architectural trade-offs \u201cjust comes with the territory\u201d.\u00a0What really matters sits elsewhere.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

First is the ability to\u00a0\u201cunderstand the organisation in the most holistic sense\u201d: its market context, customer motivations, internal\u00a0culture,\u00a0and operating model. From that comes the capacity to shape a direction that people can \u201cclaim as their own\u201d.\u00a0Ryan\u00a0is explicit that there is no single \u201cCurrys AI strategy\u201d,\u00a0because \u201cit\u2019s not my job to tell this organisation where to go\u201d.\u00a0Instead, his role is\u00a0\u201cto apply a lens to existing business strategy\u201d\u00a0which requires deep understanding before influence.\u00a0Central to making that work is simplification. \u201cIt\u2019s very easy to talk about transformer architectures and instantly lose the room,\u201d he joked, noting it is \u201cnot very effective on a date night either\u201d.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The second critical skill is talent. Once leaders agree on direction, the question becomes \u201cwho have you got in the boat?\u201d That means attracting and mobilising the right people, internally and externally, and moving away from fragmented models of separate data,\u00a0governance,\u00a0and analytics teams.\u00a0Ryan added,\u00a0\u201cthat model doesn\u2019t work anymore.\u201d The focus is now on building products that scale, blending engineering, product,\u00a0governance,\u00a0and change.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The final ingredient, Ryan\u00a0stated,\u00a0is transformation at scale. Leaders must answer the question every colleague asks: \u201cwhat does this mean for me?\u201d That demands empathy. For Ryan, the defining traits are simplicity, relationship-building,\u00a0and empathy and \u201cthe big paradox is none of those things are technology skills.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflecting on your career, what is one non-traditional piece of advice (outside of technical skills) you would give to an aspiring data or AI leader aiming for the C-suite?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Ryan\u2019s non-traditional advice is disarmingly simple: \u201clearn to read a P&L.\u201d He is quick to\u00a0caveat\u00a0that careers are rarely linear. His own path, he says, has been \u201ca mix of hard work and luck\u201d,\u00a0shaped by opportunities across ecommerce, digital, advertising, and deeply technical CDO roles. Ryan never followed a master plan, stating \u201cit\u2019s absolutely not the case that 18-year-old Ryan was sitting there going, I\u2019m going to end up in this role,\u201d but that breadth left him unusually well prepared for a job that blends commercial ownership, technology, transformation and advertising.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The reason the P&L matters, he argues, is durability. Organisational structures, delivery\u00a0models\u00a0and technologies will keep shifting, but \u201cthe thing that will always remain true is that organisations operate using a P&L of some sort\u201d.\u00a0Leaders thrive when they can \u201cclearly articulate how they\u2019re helping the organisation as a whole\u201d,\u00a0which means understanding its engine, whether that is retail trading, pharma pipelines,\u00a0or something else entirely. But commercial literacy on its own is not enough. Ryan warns against the instinct, common in technology roles, to \u201cjump to solutions\u201d or\u00a0\u201cbelieve that the right roadmap or vision guarantees success.\u201d\u00a0In a world marked by economic,\u00a0geopolitical\u00a0and technological volatility, \u201cit\u2019d be a fool\u2019s errand to pretend that anyone has all the answers\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What anchors his own approach is working in a values-led organisation, where enduring priorities\u00a0such as\u00a0\u201ccustomers for life\u201d,\u00a0empowering colleagues, and \u201chelp[ing] everyone enjoy amazing technology\u201d outlast any\u00a0tool\u00a0or trend. His closing thought captures the balance he\u00a0advocates:\u00a0leaders need \u201cthe\u00a0humility to say we don\u2019t have all the answers\u201d,\u00a0combined with absolute clarity about purpose.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As\u00a0Ryan\u00a0puts it, the goal is \u201chumility with direction.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click\u00a0here to read the full profile<\/a>\u00a0and learnings, exclusively for DataIQ subscribers.\u00a0Get in touch<\/a>\u00a0to become a subscriber and access unique events, insights, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ryan Den\u00a0Rooijen\u00a0is Managing Director for AI and Monetisation at Currys, where he\u00a0is responsible for\u00a0leading the company\u2019s AI agenda and translating advanced analytics into commercial value at scale.\u00a0 He began his career in technical roles, initially as a developer and later as a data scientist, including several years working with some of the world\u2019s largest global […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":40764,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"100-designation":[1454],"100-search-term":[1456],"class_list":["post-40446","100-alumni","type-100-alumni","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","100-designation-100-brands-2026-europe","100-search-term-2026-europe-brands"],"acf":{"sort":"","rank":"","forename":"Ryan","surname":"Den Rooijen","fullname":"Ryan Den Rooijen","jobtitle":"MD AI and Monetisation ","organisation":"Currys ","introduction":"","content_2":"","content_3":"","content_4":"","100_thumbnail_image":40764,"affinoid":""},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-27 07:28:26","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"100-designation","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-alumni\/40446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-alumni"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/100-alumni"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40446"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-alumni\/40446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41103,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-alumni\/40446\/revisions\/41103"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"100-designation","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-designation?post=40446"},{"taxonomy":"100-search-term","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-search-term?post=40446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}