Ahead of the festive season, we brought together leaders in the data science field for a BI & Data Roundtable, discussing the topic, Where does Data Belong?

On Thursday 10th December 2020, we hosted nine top thought leaders from across Switzerland to engage in an open discussion on where data sits within an organisation and where it should sit.

This virtual event brought together key professionals from Geneva, to Zurich, to Lausanne.

Members of EMEA staff were joined by:

• Matteo Vasirani – Data Science Manager at Electronic Arts (EA)
• Marcus Köhnlein – Head of Digital Business at United Grinding Group
• John Wegman – VP & Managing Director at Iron Mountain
• Valéry Thomas – Head of Business Intelligence, Analytics and Digitization at Bell Food Group
• Dirk Jan Verschuijl – Director Commercial Investment & Analytics at Salt Mobile
• Clemens Pirker – Head of Intelligence/VP at Swarovski
• Steffen Lange – Group Data & Analytics Officer at Sulzer
• Leon Peeters – Data Science & Data Analysis at Swiss Casinos
• Pascal Sulser – Data Science Lead at IWC Schaffhausen

We kicked off the discussion by asking participants where they believe data should sit within an organisation.

Matteo and Dirk agreed that the data science function deserves to report directly to the top, acting as an independent advisor to the business. Marcus argued that data should be split within an organisation, between the structured, traditional processes, and the flexible, agile side. John noted that there is currently huge tension between the two areas.

Pascal believes that the focus should be on where the most value is created, which should subsequently “steer the ship”.

Valéry feels that data belongs everywhere, to which Dirk added that the creation of data should sit within the technical function, while it’s the consumption of data that is across an organisation.

Steffen feels that there is a danger that we’ll look back on the 2020s as a time when we were so focussed on data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) that we left out emotional intelligence and gut feeling.

The topic moved onto how to find really good data professionals to join your organisation.

Leon gave his top tips on attracting the right people to the role, while Steffen focussed on why Switzerland is both a blessing and a curse when competing for talent.

EMEA Recruitment ended with key recruitment advice for data science professionals.

We’d like to thank everyone who took part in the roundtable for their active participation and hope that everyone left with lots to think about!

If you’re interested in participating in a similar event in the future, please get in touch with Paul Toms.