ICIS is a place where difference is welcomed, embraced, and celebrated. We foster an environment in which it is safe to be yourself, to share your best ideas and knowledge. We bring together different viewpoints and ways of thinking that make us stronger. Together, we are empowered and thrive.
Data is the fuel of our business and together with LexisNexis Risk Solutions and our parent company RELX, we believe that diverse teams are essential for innovationand enhancing critical decision-making. We are proud to partner with Women In Data because we hold ourselves accountable to cultivating an inclusive and diverse workforce that ensures equality and opportunity for career progression for everyone.
As so many businesses, ICIS has – over the past 4 years – invested heavily in our data estate. We have the systems and the tools that enable us to manage data very effectively. But successful management of data alone does not yet deliver value, people using that data do. While we will continue to see an exponential growth of data generation, all this data is only valuable within the context of the problem it helps solve.
We are beginning to see a real shift in discussion from systems and tools to people and processes. We are at a point where equipping everyone with the skills to extract value from data is beginning to take centre stage and more and more organisations will be looking to upskill existing workforce or bring in new staff with higher levels of data mastery and data fluency.
ICIS is a global source of Independent Commodity Intelligence Services. We connect data, markets, and customers to create a comprehensive, trusted view of the global commodities markets, enabling smarter business decisions that optimise the world’s resources.
For decades, our prices have been the backbone of thousands of transactions around the world.
At ICIS, we help businesses make strategic decisions, mitigate risk, improve productivity, and capitalise on new opportunities. We make some of the world’s most important markets more trusted and predictable by providing data services, thought leadership and decision tools. As a result of our global presence, we deliver targeted connected intelligence to influence thousands of decisions across supply chains every single day. Drawing upon our legacy, we are also in a unique position to leverage big data and analytics as part of RELX, a FTSE 15 data and analytics company with over 30,000 experts across 40 countries. With our intelligence, we shape the world by connecting markets to optimise the world’s valuable resources.
ICIS is part of LexisNexis® Risk Solutions Group (RSG), a portfolio of brands that span multiple industries providing customers with innovative technologies, information-based analytics and decision tools and data services that provide market-specific solutions. Approximately 8,700 employees in offices throughout the world support RSG brands by serving customers in more than 180 countries. RSG is part of RELX, a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries.
Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manca-vitorino/
Manca Vitorino started her career as a financial markets’ journalist for Thomson Reuters in Slovenia, before joining commodity intelligence service ICIS (part of RELX group) in London in 2009.
After four years covering the European energy markets, she moved into a data management role by illustrating the opportunity improved data management practices would bring to the business. The career pivot started with the implementation of data visualisation software to help journalists discover the stories in ICIS industry data. It continued through improved and automated data collection practices, implementation of RPA software before moving deeper into development of a comprehensive data strategy to enable business transformation and growth.
As ICIS Director of data operations, Manca is now focusing on the development of a data culture through implementation of a comprehensive data literacy programme, enabling all ICIS staff to ask questions and make decisions based on data.
Representation is extremely important to Manca. Coming from Slovenia, a tiny country of just 2 million people in central Europe, it has been extremely hard to get visibility in a city of nearly five times as many people. “When I first arrived in UK 14 years ago, I sent out nearly 400 job applications. With a foreign name and a degree from an unknown university, very few people were willing to even interview me, let alone give me a job. It is a well-known fact that female CVs as well as those with foreign names are perceived less favourably. So now, that I am in a position where I get to hire people, where I can influence and help shape company policies, I’m extremely personally motivated to improve that experience for others and not just invite in but celebrate diversity at ICIS.”
Expertise: Data strategy, explaining data concepts and issues to business users, Translating business requirement to data requirements, Data journeys and processes, programme management and operational processes, people coaching & development, account management and marketing strategy, menopause mentor.
Education: CIM Qualified, BSc Media & Communication Loughborough University
Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-bland-8705392/
Jo fell into data management almost by accident. She left University with a degree she didn’t really know what to do with, so she started out her career as a finance admin assistant. However, with Excel quickly becoming her best friend, her data journey had started.
From there she moved to a role as an Account Executive in a small direct marketing company. “I have a lot to thank that small independent business for as I spent 9 amazing years working my way through to Account Director managing large database accounts, helping them work through data issues and helping them to get their data segmentations right.”
While there, Jo took a year-long sideways career move into Marketing management but ended up realising that her structured brain loved data and process more. She moved into an Operations Director role and flourished. The move provided her with springboard to join larger organisations like GfK & ISS, and the fun of remote management of outsourced teams. She became more and more involved in the end of product of data in my work (that lovely word we call “insights”) which meant she had a full circle of knowledge and understanding how data moves throughout businesses to get the desired results.
“I have really found a great organisation in RLEX who, not only provide data services themselves, but have data at the heart of what we do internally.”
Jo also became a mum on this journey and can see how STEM and data careers are desperate for more involvement from women. “My daughter is shocked if I don’t have some kind of spreadsheet or chart open in front of me when she comes home from school, such is my life but I love it.”
Expertise: Data analysis, data quality assessment, cross-functional communication
Education: 2001-2006 Tehran, Iran: BSc in physics
2008-2011 Bonn, Germany: MSc in astrophysics
2011-2016 Bonn, Germany: Ph.D. in astrophysics
2017 Bonn, Germany: Postdoctoral researcher
Hananeh was born in Iran and moved to Germany after graduating from university to continue her studies, achieving a Ph.D in astrophysics in 2016. During her PhD, Hananeh worked on cosmological simulations and performed statistical analysis. She joined ICIS data science team in 2018 where she has been using her critical thinking and analytical skills on real-life applications. “I am continuously improving and developing new skills, for instance in the area of data quality assessments and workflows, and project management.”
Hananeh’s ability to simplify and explain extremely complex subjects make her an invaluable partner when working with – and influencing – senior stakeholders. Most recently, Hananeh has been closely involved in the development of an enterprise data quality framework, which will ensure all data, used in ICIS data models and analytics, is of the highest quality can be trusted. As data is the key building block for all ICIS products, this is of top importance.
Expertise: Uncovering insights into customer behaviour to innovate products and drive commercial strategy. Skills include Python, SQL, Power BI, Adobe Analytics, Azure.
Education: Mathematical Sciences BSc 1st Class
Social Media: www.linkedin.com/in/demitownson
Demi joined ICIS in 2018 as part of the graduate scheme, working first at Cirium as an associate data scientist before being lured over to ICIS by the data science team. As a data scientists Demi worked on models to predict commodity prices.
More recently, Demi took over the role of product analyst providing ongoing analysis and insight into our product performance, championing measurement and data driven decision making. She is working with teams across ICIS to help them better understand business drivers, which shape ICIS products and services.
A relentless self-learner, intelligent communicator, and skilled analyst, Demi has become a key part of the product management team.
Expertise: automation, asset management, Application life cycle management, automated Operating system/Application deployment, trading systems and databases in low latency high frequency trading systems including Metatrader 4 and 5
Fond of automating routine activities using Powershell, VBA, C#/VB.NET, Virtualisation, SQL /MySQL
Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raji-ramachandran-56265520/
As a senior data analyst in ICIS technology, Raji leads the data enablement team in the architectural function where she work with all product development squads to unify the way ICIS define, store and transform data across our products.
Raji has over 15 years of IT industry experience and has worked in a variety of job roles – Developer, Automation Engineer, Application Support manager, Project delivery manager to name a few.
Raji is fascinated by data, storytelling and problem solving so much that she says this is something she will do even if she is not paid for it. “Outside of work, I’m a mother of two and when I’m not chasing my kids around, I like to catch up with my ever growing reading list.”
Expertise: Data analysis, reference data management, data classification, content management systems
Education: BA Business Studies with Information Technology and Marketing, MSc Digital Technical Solutions – Data Analytics (Ongoing)
Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerrie-wright/
Kerrie Wright is a seasoned data specialist with over 15 years’ experience in the field. Currently serving as Head of Data Management at ICIS, she is responsible for managing the development and delivery of data products that fuel business growth and data-driven insights.
Throughout her career, Kerrie has held various roles in data management and product ownership, including data analyst, data quality management and business systems analyst.
Kerrie is a results-oriented data management professional who is committed to delivering high-quality innovative solutions that meet the needs of her stakeholders. She is known for her ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and to communicate complex technical concepts in a clear and concise manner. Kerrie is currently studying a masters’ in Data Analytics and is also a Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) and holds a certificate in business analysis from BCS, the chartered institute for IT.
As co-lead for the EDGE Employee Resource Group (ERG), Kerrie is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion. With a particular focus on race and ethnicity, EDGE aims to cultivate an inclusive culture built on mutual trust, respect and positive relationships across the organisation.
Outside of work Kerrie keeps herself busy with charity work and family life including keeping up with her two beautiful daughters.
