Women in Data Podcast

Ep.63 - Nicki Tinson - Reduced hours and leadership

This week, Karen is joined by Nicki Tinson, founder of Empowered Analyst, and Professional Development Expert in Data Analytics. In this episode, they talk about the stigmas surrounding part-time working, especially for individuals in a leadership position, and why Nicki prefers the term reduced hours. You will also hear, step by step, how Nicki was able to work reduced hours without making a salary sacrifice.  Enjoy!  ***************************  Show notes   ***************************...

Ep.62 Sophie Duffy - Future-proofing your career

This week, Karen is joined by Sophie Duffy, Group Head of Data and Analytics at Kingfisher. After many years in commercial data roles and in strategy, Sophie decided to pivot into a more technical role, leading a digital and customer analytics team. In this episode, she describes the thought process that led her to data analytics as well as the challenges she encountered along the way. You will hear about how her previous experience helps her lead an analytics team, the business problems add...

Ep.61 - Avoiding the Glue Work black hole & gaining the recognition you deserve

This week, Karen is joined by Debbie Kerr, Data Scientist, and Yamini Krishnamoorthy, Data Analytics Manager at M&G. In this episode, they share their respective experience with getting recognition for their work. You will hear about their strategies to ensure your contribution is noticed, as well as how to avoid your career being involuntarily diverted by Glue Work. Wondering what Glue Work is? You might not have heard of the term before, but it’s very likely that some would have crept on y...

Ep.60 Bianka Pal and Cecilia Oliveira - Starting in Data Science

This week, Karen is joined by Bianka Pal, Data Scientist at Vodafone, and Cecilia Oliveira, Data Analyst at UniQuest. In this episode, they share their experience of starting in the field. While Bianka’s first experience was through a Graduate scheme, Cecilia had already spent over 10 years in a sales and hospitality career when she turned to data analytics. You will hear about their motivations to work in data, the steps they took to land their first job in the sector (including formal and ...

Ep.59 Elizabeth Wanless - Professional Athlete to Data Science: Lessons from the Field

This week, Karen is joined by Dr. Liz Wanless, Assistant Director of Analytics at Ohio University. Before dedicating herself to NLP and Sports Science, Liz competed as a professional shot putter for several years. In this episode, she starts by providing us with an understanding of the current state of sports science before sharing the lessons she learnt from her career as an athlete, and how they translate to a career in business and data science. You will hear how she was able to balance d...

Ep.58 Susan Walsh - Becoming an authentic and visible role model

This week, Karen is joined by Susan Walsh, The Classification Guru. In a field that gets excited by buzzwords, Susan used her sparkling personality to increase her visibility and make data cleansing fun. In this episode, she talks about how being authentic and visible helped her grow her business, along with the impact it has on the upcoming generation of data professionals. An extrovert by nature, she recognises that increasing visibility comes as a challenge to introverts and provides tips...

Ep.57 Gelareh Taghizadeh - AI & NLP in practice

This week, Karen is joined by Gelareh Taghizadeh, Lead Data Scientist at Beamery and an active member of the Women of MENA in technology community. At the time of the recording, Gelareh was working at Cogx, and in this episode, she gives a detailed explanation of how Artificial Intelligence and Natural language processing are revolutionising the podcasting industry. You will, for example, hear about how graph-based summarisers enable snippet identification. You will also hear about the role ...

Ep.56 Natalia Lyarskaya - How to build a great data science team (in a start-up)

This week, Karen is joined by Natalia Lyarskaya, Chief Data Officer at ZestMoney. With a background in applied economics, Natalia made her career in the financial technology sector as a data scientist and later on, as a data leader building data science teams and capabilities. In this episode, she talks about her excitement at working with start-ups and being at the foundation of something new, as well as of her experience building data science teams from scratch. Not only will you hear abou...

Ep.55 Veerle Van Leemput - From data scientist to managing director

This week, Karen is joined by Veerle Van Leemput, Managing Director at Analytic Health. With a background in data science, Veerle always knew that she wouldn’t be satisfied by working full-time for an employer. Starting as a graduate with a company where she was the only data scientist didn’t help and,  she felt like she had to do things independently to grow. That was until she met Greg, her business partner. In this episode, Veerle shares her journey from employee to freelancer to managing...

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 ...

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, bo...

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. Lou...

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...

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 ...

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 membe...

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 tho...

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!   **************************** Show notes: ****************...

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 im...

Ep.44 Annalisa Occhipinti – Data Science and Cancer Research

This week, Karen is joined by Annalisa Occhipinti, Lecturer in Data Analytics at Teesside University. Working at the interesting intersection of Computer Science and Biology, she develops critical machine learning and deep learning methodologies for cancer research. In this episode, Annalisa gives insight into how data science is supporting cancer research.  These life-saving models enable early detection as well as providing clinicians with the information they need to prescribe adequate tr...

WiD Podcast Trailer

Ep.43 Alison Williams - The value in thinking differently

This week, Karen is joined by Alison Williams, Head of Data Management and Governance at Dunnhumby. From a university degree in History, to leading a team of 140 data professionals, Alison has faced many challenges in her career. In this episode, she shares how she came to realise that her unconventional way of approaching data-related problems is her strength. She also discusses the importance of understanding different personality profiles and ways of thinking to improve effectiveness and ...

Ep.42 Sue Parker – Career crafting

This week, Karen is joined by Sue Parker, founder of Empowered Leaders in Tech. As a data leader and an ambassador for women working in technology, Sue is passionate about helping data and IT professionals to feel fulfilled by work that has purpose and impact. In this episode, she shares her best advice to help you shape your career. With her 3D framework, Sue will walk you from understanding your journey so far, to defining your success story.  Enjoy!   *****************************   Sh...

Ep41. Alina Timofeeva - Achieving your ambitions

This week, Karen is joined by Alina Timofeeva, Associate Partner at Oliver Wyman. Originally from Russia, Alina was raised with the intention of becoming a housewife. However, she had different aspirations and gave herself the means to make them happen. In this inspiring episode, she shares her advice to get you where you want to be. You will hear about her move from Graduate to Associate Partner as well as tips to raise your profile and get that promotion.   *****************************  ...

Ep.40 Holly Smith - Back to the office

This week, Karen is joined by Holly Smith, Senior Solutions Consultant at Databricks. They share their respective experience working from home and how they feel about going back to the office. On top of that, you will find tips to help you make the return to the office work for you. From managing your time and reviewing your priorities, to reinventing your commute and defining how you will use your time in the office, this conversation will hopefully help you shape your post lockdown routine...

Ep.39 Susanna Moan – The Chief Data Officer explained

This week, Karen is joined by Susie Moan, Chief Data Officer at comparethemarket.com. In this episode, Susie explains the role and responsibilities of a CDO and touches on the skills and experience needed for the role. She also talks about the importance of data literacy outside of data teams and how appointing a CDO was key to instigating data led change at comparethemarket.com. Lastly, as a mum of 4, Susie shares her personal tips to become a leader while also taking care of your family an...

Ep.38 Gráinne Gilmore – Telling stories with data

This week, Karen is joined by Gráinne Gilmore, Head of Research at Zoopla to talk about data storytelling. Gráinne tells data powered stories of the real estate market on a daily basis, and in this episode, she shares her tips to deliver impactful and digestible presentations. She outlines how her career started in journalism before moving into research, and she also shares the perspective of another member of Zoopla's Research & Insight team who comes from a more technical data background. ...

Ep 37 Emma Kisby - Open banking and using Data for Good

This week, Karen is joined by Emma Kisby, Managing Director at CoGo. In this episode, they talk about how Emma uses her experience with customer analytics to fuel a purposeful career in the world of open banking. You will discover what open banking is, how it works and how businesses use customers' transactions history to help them make purchases that are in line with their values.    Enjoy!

Ep.36 Elisa Morariu - Understanding customers behaviour

This week, Karen is joined by Elisa Morariu, Senior Customer Insight Analyst at A.S. Watson. Elisa’s background in market research along with her experience in analytics means that she is passionate about understanding the “why” of customers behaviour as well as the “what”. In this episode, she gives a glimpse of customers analytics and how mixing market research and purchase data can offer a 360 insight on customers.   Enjoy!

Ep.35 Swathi Sudhaakar - Starting a career in Data Science or Data Analytics

This week, Karen is joined by Swathi Sudhaakar, Director of Product Analytics at Cardlytics. If you are looking to start a career in data science or data analytics or have just started working in the field, this episode is for you. In this conversation, Swathi provides some great insights on the different types of roles and shares what hiring managers are looking for, how to build the right skills and when to apply for a job. On top of that, Swathi touches on the biggest responsibilities of ...

Ep.34 Bianca Partington - Managing data teams

We are closing the anniversary of the podcast with Bianca Partington, Head of Customer, Decisioning & Digital Analytics at NatWest. 3 years ago, with no prior experience in data, Bianca took on managing a team of over 70 data professionals.  In this episode, she shares her approach to managing data teams and provides tips for managers coming from a technical background and for those who like her, didn’t initially set up for a career in data. Whether you are an experienced manager or aspiring...

Ep.33 Wies Bratby - Negotiate your worth

This Week, Karen is joined by Wies Bratby, founder of Women in Negotiation and TEDx speaker. Over the years, Wies has helped more than a thousand of women get a job they love along with an average salary increase of 49%. In this episode she talks about the importance of negotiating your worth, and what are the steps to start doing so.  As we are still celebrating the anniversary of the podcast, at the end of the episode, you will hear Elisabeth Harris and Cecilia Olivera talk about what a f...

Ep.32 Kavya Gupta - Deep dive into the role of a product analytics team

This week, Karen is joined by Kavya Gupta, Head of Product Analytics at Paymentsense. In this episode, you will hear about product analytics – what it is, why it’s important and how a typical team is structured. Kavya also talks about the skills that are important in a product analytics team and, having come to data from software engineering, she shares how she over comes the challenges she faces heading a team that is more technical than she is.  At the end of the episode, you will hear fr...

Ep.31 Ekaterina Atanasyan - Career fulfilment

For the second week of the anniversary of the podcast, Karen is joined by Ekaterina Atanasyan, General Manager at Business Intelligence Group. Ekaterina is joining from Russia and shares what having a fulfilling career means to her. Get ready to feel uplifted by her positive attitude!  At the end of the episode, you will hear other women working in data talk about their views on career fulfilment.  Enjoy! 

Ep.30 Sonal Goyal - Big Data small data and data mastering

This week marks the beginning of the celebrations of the first anniversary of the podcast, and in April, we will release one episode every week. In this episode, I am joined by Sonal Goyal, Founder at Aficx and Cristina González, aspiring data professional. You will hear all about data mastering and driving value from data. As Aficx focuses on supporting companies with having clean, consistent and trusted data, Sonal shares how this is done through graphs and data science. She also highlight...

Ep.29 Sathya Bala - Breaking the mould

This week, Karen is joined by Sathya Bala, Head of Global Data Governance at CHANEL. They talk about what data governance is and how it varies from one industry to another. Sathya then shares her views on the perceptions people have of data professionals, encouraging you to create your own story and your own success.  Enjoy!    *************************** Show Notes : *************************** Find My skin My Story Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myskinmystory_/ - updates on ev...

Ep.28 Macarena Estévez - Choose to challenge!

This week, Karen is joined by Macarena Estévez, Partner for Analytics & Cognitive at Deloitte Spain and recognised by LinkedIn as Top Voice for Data and Analytics in Spain. In this episode, they talk about what “Choose to challenge” means for Maca. They also discuss leaving a well-paid and secured job to start a business focusing on data and mathematics, along with some applications of mathematics in business. Maca’s philosophy of life is inspiring and I hope you will as you will be glued to...

Ep27. Elisabeth Yaneske - Using data science to understand human cells mechanisms

This week, Karen is joined by Elisabeth Yaneske, Principal Lecturer in Computer Science at Teesside University. In this episode, they talk about Elisabeth’s research that aims at curing diseases using data science. You will hear about genes expression, the advantages of using data science to model human cells rather than animal testing and touch on what working in academia means.   Enjoy!   ************************  Show Notes:  ************************  Elisabeth’s website: https://ww...

Ep.26 Natasha Joslin - Democratising data for better business decisions

This week, Karen is joined by Natasha Joslin, co- founder of We Are Mojo, a data agency that helps businesses use their data to accelerate growth. They discuss the growing importance of data literacy within businesses, along with the best approach to using data analytics to answer business questions.  Enjoy!   ********************* Show Notes: ********************* Find Tash on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-joslin-9b72296/

Ep.25 Elizabeth Harris - Reflections on career resilience

This week, Karen is joined by Lizzie Harris, Senior Customer Analytics Manager at Sainsbury’s. They talk about how Sainsbury’s utilises data and reflect on career resilience. With the global pandemic and various lockdowns across the world, career resilience is likely to be helpful in 2021. In this episode, you will hear Lizzie and Karen’s experience with career resilience, ranging from accepting feedback, being at peace with one’s job title, but also falling victim of the cancel culture.   ...

Ep.24 Roisin McCarthy and Payal Jain – WiD reflections and projections

In this new year episode, Karen is joined by Roisin McCarthy and Payal Jain, respectively co-founder and Chair of Women in data. They reflect on what 2020 looked like for WiD, the challenges they faced, the wins they had. They also discuss their plans for Women in Data and Girls in Data in 2021. And, if you have been wondering what happened to the Twenty in data awards for 2020, you won’t be disappointed as Roisin reveals what they have been up to.    Enjoy!   ********************* Show...

Ep.23 Your career questions answered

You sent us your career questions and, in this episode, Belinda Djamson, Managing Director at Accenture, Claire Thompson, Head of Data and Analytics at NatWest, and Samani Lamabadusuriya, Head of Data and Analytics at Cigna, bring you answers.   To help you navigate this episode, we grouped the questions in 3 parts: Starting in data, from doing to leading and leadership.   Starting in Data   2”40 What are the different paths into data science and data engineering?  And what do you advise...

Ep. 22 Sumedha Menon - From Analytics to Data Science

This week, Karen is joined by Sumedha Menon, Data Scientist at Google. If you ever wondered how to transition from Data Analytics to Data Science, this conversation might answer many of your questions. In this episode, Sumedha talks about her personal experience of making this transition, factors she considered and how she made non-linear career choices so she could have a more fulfilling professional journey. She also provides tips on how anyone looking to make this transition can upskill t...

Ep.21 Karrie Liu - Success story and cultural clash

“I would have been more proud of your achievement if you were my son!”   This week, Karen is joined by Karrie Liu, winner of the top 100 women in technology in 2019. Karrie works as a Freelance mathematician for the NHS and Pharma companies. Making a point of using her skills to help others, she also advises charities on data related issues, allowing girls living in rural areas of India go to school. At the age of 17, Karrie moved to the UK to study and decided to stay and pursue a career i...

Ep.20 Grainne Gilmore and Dewi Spijkerman - Real estate research and geo spatial analytics

This week, Karen is joined by Grainne Gilmore, Head of Research at Zoopla and Dewi Spijkerman, Senior Geospatial Analyst at Knight Frank. In this very insightful episode, they talk about how the real estate industry uses data for research purpose, allowing them to understand trends and create insights into the market. They also talk about geospatial analytics and its various applications. Get ready for an exciting peek into the world of real estate and discover the power of geospatial analyt...

Ep19. Cristina Meloni - What do Credit Risk Analysts do?

Did you know credit risk analysts were key workers?  This week, Karen is joined by Cristina Meloni, Senior Credit Risk analyst at Lloyds Banking Group. In this episode, they talk about Cristina’s experience as a Credit Risk Analyst. You will get a good sense of what the responsibilities of risk analysts are and why their role is so important. Cristina also shares the challenges of the job along with her view of what it takes to make a good credit risk analyst. While listening, please rememb...

Ep.18 Freya Holland – Owning your career!

This week, Karen is joined by Freya Holland, EMEA & International HQ Analytics Lead at The Kraft Heinz Company. From feeling unhappy and losing confidence to driving the analytics agenda for a multinational FMCG company, Freya shares her journey to own her career. In this episode, you will also find tips to grow confidence.  Enjoy! 

Ep.17 Caroline Pankhurst - How to get rid of limiting beliefs and build bravery!

Feeling like you would like to be braver and make changes happen? This week Karen is joined by Caroline Pankhurst, founder of Be Braver, and on a mission to help women realise more of what gives value and meaning to their personal and professional lives. While this episode started with Caroline outlining the Be Braver program to which she is generously offering a discount to the WiD community, it quickly got out of control and turned into a very personal conversation and a coaching session a...

Ep.16 Lara Izlan - Finding opportunity in uncertainty

This week, Karen is joined by Lara Izlan, Director, Advertising Data & Analytics at ITV and one of the DataIQ 100 most influential people in data.  Lara’s career in digital media spans a number of recognisable brands across different roles, with a central theme of using data to facilitate business transformation. Through first-hand experience, Lara has developed her views on how businesses and individuals can cope and thrive with change. With COVID-19 accelerating the pace of change, new cha...

Ep.15 Sarah Hunt - Saying yes to a side hustle and flexible working

The summer break came and went and as promised, we are back with some great content and giveaways.  This week, Karen is joined by Sarah Hunt.  After almost 30 years of experience in data analytics, Sarah was made redundant during the lockdown. Thankfully, she had a side hustle and chose to transform her unfortunate situation into an opportunity to focus on her yoga teaching business.  If you have been thinking about having something on the side, or would like to change your working pattern,...