Where Consumer Insight meets Data Science (with Simon Hay, former CEO of dunnhumby)

"Focus on making things happen. Insight that doesn’t lead to action has been a waste of your time."

Data Science. It's a term that is somewhat of a catch-all for anything these days from Statistics through to Machine Learning and everything in between. This week I wanted to focus on the somewhat grey area of where Data Science meets Consumer or Shopper Insight and specifically within one of the area's that I specialise in a recruiter/headhunter, the retail sector.

In keeping with previous Q&A sessions with industry experts, I have been very fortunate to catch up with Simon Hay, who up until recently was the CEO of global customer science powerhouse, dunnhumby.

Simon's career has grown and developed in parallel with the explosion of data and the science and skills necessary to make sense of it. He has worked in over 25 countries with many of the world’s largest retailers and brands to help them understand and engage customers and change every part of their business to grow sales and profits with this knowledge. 

As I have already touched upon, his previous roles include 25 years at dunnhumby including 6 years as Global CEO. He led dunnhumby’s work with Tesco on the launch and expansion of Clubcard in the 1990s. He also set up and led dunnhumby USA from 2002 onwards, and it was credited with helping to double sales of The Kroger Co. from $50 billion to $100 billion+. As CEO of dunnhumby he helped build a consistent global culture of collaboration across 80+ countries and led growth into China, India, Africa and Latin America. He also led the acquisition of 3 major technology companies and set up an innovation fund to establish dunnhumby’s leadership position in using data and science to delight customers. Thank you very much for helping me on this instalment Simon, greatly appreciated!

Richard: "Where do you feel that Consumer/Shopper Insight ends and Data Science begins? Is there a difference and what are your definitions of each?"

Simon: "The terms seem to be interchangeable these days, but for me, insight is typically about looking back to learn the lessons of the past. Data Science more about predicting the future. If you are going to realise the power of data the two have to be connected for both the retailer/brand and for the customer."

Richard: "How is Data Science and Machine Learning being applied to traditional Consumer/Shopper Insight problems in ways that interest you?"

 Simon: "Machine Learning opens doors to continuous improvements in analysis to understand customers and how we communicate with them. For example, personalization algorithms continue to learn what interests and excites customers and to allow us to respond to their needs in real time. We now have the volumes of data to benefit from Machine Learning techniques that we didn’t in the past."

Richard: "From what you saw in your last role as CEO of dunnhumby, how did you see retail clients expectations change concerning what services they expected from your consultants over the past few years? (as a result of being more data focused)"

Simon: "Clients are keen to learn and know about what is best practice around the world. They want to start from best practice, not learn their way to it. They are also looking for the best in innovation and what is happening at the cutting edge of Data Science and technology. Getting a business to bring both the entrepreneurial edge while connecting and working with global scale is a cultural challenge that has always excited me."

Richard: "What career advice would you give to more junior Consumer/Shopper Insight professionals, knowing what you do about what’s over the horizon?"

Simon: "Focus on making things happen. Insight that doesn’t lead to action has been a waste of your time. You need to understand how you get analysis embedded into a process or the way a business thinks and works.

Never accept the status quo. As Mark Twain said, “it ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble, it is what you know for sure that just ain’t so." Find a company where you are allowed to challenge and bring your best ideas every day."

Richard: "What common mistakes do you see with respect to how data-driven professionals interact with retailers?"

Simon: "Sometimes it is easy to be excited by the data and the possibility it brings while ignoring what decision makers are measured or rewarded on today. You will need to find people with the remit to see beyond the world today to drive the change."

Richard: "When you were with dunnhumby, what people did you find particularly hard to hire and what skills did you and your clients value above others?"

Simon: "The biggest thing I learnt with respect to hiring was in being patient to wait for the right personality and skills. Hiring made in haste was always repented at leisure! I also firmly believe values are inbuilt while skills can be taught. People with the right mindset can make the impossible happen."

Richard: "When you started with dunnhumby 25 years ago, what changes were there between the kinds of people you were hiring then to the present day?"

Simon: "25 years ago we were selling the idea of why data and technology were a great career choice, it isn’t such a hard sell today! The skills have moved a long way, but the mindset and cultural fit are as important as ever."

My name is Richard Downes, and I specialize in helping companies hire experienced Analytics, Data Science and Machine Learning professionals in Europe and the U.S and have over 15 years of Recruitment / Staffing experience. If you are considering your next career move or are a company needing to make an experienced hire within any of these areas, please feel free to get in touch and take a look at my video introduction embedded below.