Women in Data Podcast

Ep.54 - Robin Sutara - Breaking the bias in data careers

This week, Karen is joined by Robin Sutara, CDO at Microsoft UK. Having started her career in engineering, working on helicopters in the US Army, she went on to pass the bar in 2 US states, before embracing data and technology.  Now, Robin is on the podcast to drive change and inspire! In this episode, they discuss how the field of data could be more accommodating to diverse backgrounds, skills, and capabilities. You will hear about the importance of ensuring diversity in new hires, as well as how Microsoft tackles the data skills gap by creating software that enables low code to no code. An avid learner, Robin also shares how continuous learning has impacted her career and how one can make space for development in their busy life. 

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Show notes: 

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Robin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-sutara/ 

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She recommends: 

Invisible Women: https://carolinecriadoperez.com/book/invisible-women/ 

Ep.53 Gurleen Shabharwal - How to make a successful career transition

This week, Karen is joined by Gurleen Shabharwal, Data Science Manager at Intact in Toronto. They discuss how Gurleen successfully navigated a move from India to Canada. While data science is strongly present in both countries, the market couldn't be more different. Moreover, Gurleen’s network was limited in Canada and her culture meant that reaching out to strangers was making her uncomfortable. In this episode, she provides advice that is applicable to anyone making a career transition, both in terms of geographic area or changing field or path. She talks about how finding her ‘why’ helped to focus her search and land her first role in Canada; highlighting the importance of speaking with the right stakeholders and of being flexible. Finally, she touches on how she managed to make friends in a country that was so far away from hers.

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Show notes: 

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Gurleen’s LinkedIn

She recommends 

Cassie Kozyrkov 

Super data science podcast 

Trustworthy online controlled experiments 

 

Ep.52 Melis Tufur - Diving into the role of a data translator

This week, Karen is joined by Melis Tufur, ex-Managing Director at MBI research and analytics. In this episode, Melis walks us through her role as a data translator. She touches on her responsibilities, on the skills that are crucial to be successful in such a role and talks about the projects that she worked on, from market research to marketing mix modelling. In 2018, HBR published an article stating that the analytics translator was a must have role and Melis tells us why that is. 

Ep.51 Louise Maynard-Atem - Voicing what you want and stepping up into leadership

This week, Karen is joined by Louise Maynard-Atem, Head of Data Insights at GBG. For Louise, stepping into this role was a move outside of her comfort zone, and in this episode, she shares her experience and learnings. You will first hear about fraud analytics, how it benefits businesses and how Louise moved from identifying fraud after it happened, to predicting unconventional behaviours and therefore preventing it. The conversation then moves towards stepping up into a leadership role. Louise describes how she was able to leverage her network to land her current role, as well as how she crafts it every day by balancing what she wants from the role and what the company wants from her.  

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Show notes: 

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Louise’s LinkedIn

Louise Recommends: 

Radical candor

How I built this

HBR

Ep.50 The Women in Data community in 2022 - pushing forward for change

This week, Karen is joined by not one, not two, but three data titans!  Claire Williams (Associate Partner at IBM), Holly Armitage (Principal Strategist at BAE Systems) and Richard Tate (EVP Data at DAZN Group) share what 2022 will look like for the Women in Data community.  Forming half of the Chapter Leads team, they are working to make data careers more accessible and welcoming to women. They respectively lead the Girls in Data, Career Crossroads and Allyship chapters.  Listen to find out more about their missions and what to expect in the new year. 

Enjoy!

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Show notes:

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Connect with Karen and the guests:

Karen 

Claire - Girls in Data chapter

Holly - Career crossroads chapter

Richard - Allyship Chapter

 

 

 

 

Ep.49 - Jennifer Agnes - Leveraging strategy to thrive with data

This week, Karen is joined by Jennifer Agnes, Managing Director at Cynozure Group for the second part of a two-part conversation. In this episode, Jennifer shares the steps to building a data strategy and how to identify and address the right business questions to ensure alignment with your business strategy. She also provides key advice to data professionals at all stages of their career. From recent grads who need to find ways to broaden their perspective as they grow and develop thinking more broadly and identifying what needs to be done, to senior managers who have to build a strategy that is in line with business objectives and create an environment that encourages sharing ideas, learning every day and iteratively and continuously creates value with data. 

Enjoy! 

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Show notes 

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Jennifer recommends to read Data Means Business  

Ep.48 Jennifer Agnes - How to build a strong and sustainable network

This week, Karen is joined by Jennifer Agnes, Managing Director at Cynozure Group for the first part of a two-part conversation. In this episode, Jennifer shares how she moved from risk management to a career in data. She then moves on to talk about how to build and maintain a strong network. You will hear about two different ways of building your network: communities and 1 on 1 meetings. You will discover the role played by networking communities, like the CDO Hub and how they benefit members who invest time in them. You will also find some advice on how to approach 1 on 1 networking conversations and make the relationships last over the years. Towards the end, Jennifer covers how she blended her desire to give back and help others build a network and grow in their career with her day-to-day role.

 

Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn

Ep.47 Gemma Turner and Michelle Williams – The power of introversion in data professionals

This week, Karen is joined by The Very Group’s, Gemma Turner (Analytics Manager for Digital Product) and Michelle Williams (Data Product Owner). In this episode, they explore introversion in data professionals from the differing perspectives of these two leaders. While Michelle covers what it means to lead as an introvert; Gemma brings the viewpoint of an extrovert who leads a team of introverts. They talk about why careers in data analytics and engineering are particularly attractive to those of an introverted nature and how they can benefit data teams. They also share how introverts can perform and progress in their careers and how leaders can support their team members, especially when it comes to meeting participation.

Enjoy! 

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Show notes: 

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The power of vulnerability – Brené Brown 

The Ripple Effect – Dr. Greg Wells 

The power of introverts – Susan Cain 

Ep.46 Harietta Eleftherochorinou - Innovation in action: Driving impact in healthcare

This week, Karen is joined by Harietta Eleftherochorinou, Head of Innovation Strategy and Ventures, at IQVIA (NYSE: IQV). Through Harietta’s career journey, they talk about how AI and technology are transforming healthcare. They then explore the topic of innovation, mentioning the three archetypes of innovation, the different ways to innovate and the five ingredients to create transformational impact through innovation. 

Enjoy!

 

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Show notes:

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IQVIA innovation hub: https://www.iqvia.com/about-us/innovation-hub

Ep.45 - Sheila Byfield – Combining data with common sense for better decisions

This week, Karen is joined by Sheila Byfield, who has led a successful career specialising in research and data analysis within media and advertising. In this episode, Sheila shares what she has learnt over the years as well as her frustration over the direction that the advertising sector has taken - frustration which ultimately led her to write a book called ‘In with the old. In with the new’. She talks about how promises to change the interruption model were not kept, how time pressure impacts ads’ effectiveness, and how digital advertising could benefit from learnings from the past. Most importantly, she highlights the significance of human intervention and common sense in technological and data developments as well as their applications. 

Enjoy! 

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Show notes:  

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Sheila’s book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/old-new-Sheila-Byfield/dp/0244501955/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=sheila+byfield&qid=1634586146&sr=8-1 

Reading recommendations:

• The Attention Economy by Karen Nelson-Field 
• The long and the short of it: Balancing long and short-term marketing strategies by Les Binet and Peter Field. 
• Hello world by Hanah Fry 
• Invisible women by Caroline Criado-Perez 

Podcasts recommendations

• The digital human: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n7094/episodes/player 
• Marketing Week’s podcast: https://www.marketingweek.com/marketing-podcasts/