Episode 17 Andrew Wright: The Data behind the Magic of Disney

In my 17th episode I speak to the fantastic and brilliant Andrew Wright Senior Manager, Data Science at Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. We talk about: 1) His data journey and career 2) The attributes and skills data scientists require to be effective 3) "Insightful Thinking" and why it's important 4) Connecting theme parks, hotels and customer data to drive improved customer experience 5) Driving value from orchestrating different teams, different kinds of data and achieving business objectives 6) How teams in a complex environment like Disney, operate effectively to deliver valuable analytical solutions 7) Why insight doesn't come from data, but from a complex ecosystem 8) Analytics use cases and how Disney has driven value or efficiencies during Covid-19 9) The "Art of Storytelling" as a Data Scientist 10) Data literacy and how you can minimise it and improve capabilities 11) How innovation is captured and nurtured at Disney - the definition of Innovation at Disney "Changing before you have to" 12) How the data scientists position will evolve in the future About Andrew: Andrew Wright manages the Walt Disney World’s Commercial Strategy data science team. In his 14 years with the company, he has also supported marketing and operations analytics.  Prior to joining Disney, Andrew worked in financial services and consulting firms, where he learned the value of performant storytelling backed with data. He has been selected to present at several Disney Data & Analytics conferences, and is often invited to speak to corporate & non-profit organizations about the value of analytics.  Holding an undergraduate degree in Foreign Affairs, as well as an MBA and a Master’s of Applied Science, Andrew enjoys finding non-obvious solutions for businesses’ biggest decision making challenges. About Samir: Samir is a data strategy and analytics leader, CEO and Founder of datazuum. He has a history of helping data executives and leaders craft and execute their data strategies. His passion for data strategy led him to launch the Data Accelerator Workshop, and host the Data Strategy Show. After a career in both private and public sectors Samir launched the datazuum brand in 2012, with a view to working with executives to deliver data strategy at a time when data was not seen as a business asset.  Today datazuum delivers projects across both private and public sectors including: Charities, Financial Services (Banking & Insurance), Government, Housing & Construction, Law Enforcement, Logistics, Media & Publishing, Outsourcing, Postal, Retail, Telecoms, Transport and Utilities. Samir has 20 years of international experience across Europe, North America, and Africa. Is a regular speaker at international conferences, coach / mentor, a charity fundraiser, and youth champion for Working Knowledge - supporting young people to achieve their personal and career goals in life. Samir lives in London with his wife and daughter. Contact details for Samir LinkedIn: Samir Sharma Email: [email protected] website: www.datazuum.com