Data Leaders of the North | The Podcast Lawrence Harvey

In Episode 14 of Data Leaders of the North; The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by James Waterhouse, Head of BI and Data at Sky Betting & Gaming where they discuss some of the key learns that James has experienced in; Building Data Science teams for Business Success

James provides some great insight and tangible advice from his journey which has seen him build the Data Science capability at Sky Bet, while being part of the growth from a small BI team of 4 people, to a fully fledged Data & Analytics capability of 100+ people. This includes:


How having domain knowledge within a DS team is imperative
That you have to make the business aware of the “art of the possible” and how he went about doing that
Why you have to be proactive in offering support to business/stakeholder problems
The importance of having the right skills-mix and not looking for the Data Science “unicorn”
The benefit of giving the DS autonomy to go and seek business problems and opportunities
Why it’s important to “follow-up” to gain visibility on the value of the work that has been done
How understanding the business strategy is essential for success and communication is key
Why the “handoffs” and “passing of the baton” between teams is often the major challenge – the transition is equally as important as the work      itself!
The difficulty of quantifying making better business decisions
Advice for organisations at the start of its Data Science journey

In Episode 13 of Data Leaders of the North; The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom sat down with Steve Mills, Director of Data & Analytics at PwC to discuss; Moving to Cloud & It’s Impact on Data.

Steve provides some really tangible advice and valuable insight into:


The benefits being realised by organisations who have moved to the Cloud
How the industry has adopted a “Cloud First” approach
What your decision means for your data
Why security and privacy concerns are not as feared as they once were
How to identify the potential pitfalls for your organization
The internal governance challenges
The significance of not polluting your cloud environment
Why you should think about talent before making your decision based solely on the technology
The benefit of failing fast and the advantage of speed and flexibility
Single vendor versus “pic n mix”
How the cost debate has become somewhat of a red-herring
The key considerations before making your decision

In Episode 12 of Data Leaders of the North; The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Fiona Sweeney, Managing Director of Data IQ where they unravel; Using Analytics as a Competitive Differentiator.

Fiona provides some really brilliant advice and insights into what should be considered for organisations, it’s leaders and their teams to get the most out of its data and analytics, such as:


Data Strategy should always align with the Busines Strategy
Start with Why – what’s the purpose?
The importance of benchmarking (against yourself and not others)
Why it doesn’t need to be perfect, just “good enough” to make something happen
How the industry has gone through a revolution and not transformation
How to assess your Data Maturity
The importance of Data Storytelling
How you have to simplify and speak to your audience;  why language and communication is key
That you don’t have to have lots of data to be “data-led”
Why you should value internal data as an asset like you do external      data
The Key 3 things to consider before you start

In Episode 11 of Data Leaders of the North; The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Kelvin Lee, Head of Data Science at Lloyds Banking Group, where they delve into the best way of; Creating the Data Science Ecosystem.

Kelvin gives some fantastic insight and examples into:


How to structure an end to end Data Science capability for success
Why you have to set up your Data Science team with more than just Data Scientists
The frustrations that form within Data Science capabilities
The main challenges and opportunities that comes with forming the Data Science ecosystem
How “do some AI on that” doesn’t work
Why you shouldn’t do Data Science just to be “on-trend”
How to measure success and what to measure (and what not to)
Why allowing your Data Science to understand the business context is critical
Providing the right tools and technology is imperative to maximise success
Advice to any organisation that is at the start of its DS journey

In Episode 10 of Data Leaders of the North; The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Craig Mackay, the CEO and Co-Founder of Sharktower AI where we discuss the relationship between Data Driven Change and Organisational Agility.

Craig gives some really valuable insights into:


The key differences between Enterprise organisations and Challenger Brands/Disruptors when it comes to change
Why Data has become a focal point for all organisations to make decisions
How the complexity or simplicity of a business determines an organisations ability to change in an agile way
Where organisations should start when considering change
Why change keeps organisations innovative and at the forefront of its market
Identifying critical metrics to make decisions on change
The importance of Data Storytelling in creating “buy-in” which facilitates change
Why change projects often fail
The relationship between Data Literacy and change
Understanding what problem are you trying to solve

Get in touch: You can reach Kyle at k.winterbottom@lawrenceharvey.com

In Episode 9 of Data Leaders of the North; The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Will Lowe, Chief Data Officer of Engine UK to discuss ‘The Pathway to CDO’.

Will provides some really great insight into:


The rise of the CDO role
The Norths position on the appointment of CDO’s
The deliverables, responsibilities and key components of the CDO role
What things are really important to CDO’s
How to demonstrate value and show ROI
Where ‘Data Monetisation’ sits on the CDO agenda
What skills someone needs to have to take on that role?
How, if the CDO role is your goal, how to start positioning yourself
What organisations should be considering when looking at a potential CDO

Get in touch: You can reach Kyle at k.winterbottom@lawrenceharvey.com