Experience:  Head of Data and Insights

Linked In Profile Emma Bateman | LinkedIn

I re-joined Screwfix in 2023, when I relocated back to Somerset with my family.  I’d previously started my corporate career at Screwfix, so it felt like coming home.  I have a squiggly, generalist leadership career spanning twenty years or so in a wide variety of roles and organisations – but always focused on leading change, people (both teams and customers) and on making a positive difference – and there is plenty of opportunity for all three in my current role as Head of Data and Insights!  Out of work, I am wife, mum of two and occasional dog walker to our two working Springer Spaniels. I run marathons (slowly and painfully) for charity, but balance this out with a keen interest in food and cooking. I’m an avid reader of anything and everything and love the occasional Netflix box-set binge.  One day I will write a book, but I haven’t quite got round to it yet.

I’d worked at Screwfix previously and had stayed in touch with the company.  During my time away, I watched the business grow from strength to strength, so when we relocated back to Somerset it was fabulous to have the opportunity to return to the place that had helped me start and develop my early career. My mentor from years ago is now our CEO, and many of my original colleagues have stayed and grown their careers with the business too, which was great to see. Data and Insights is a new discipline for me, so the role offered the opportunity to immerse myself and learn a new subject matter, with a big opportunity to put our extensive customer data at the heart of organisational decision-making.

Screwfix is a fabulously successful organisation, with tremendous energy, great people, and it’s a business that is always innovating.  Being part of the Kingfisher Group also gives broader opportunities for networking, support, and career development.  I absolutely love that you can have a fantastic FTSE 100 for a fabulous brand, with the advantage (for me and my family, anyway) of being based here in the serenity of Somerset –  it’s the best of all worlds.

Education: BSc Economics, MSc Business Analysis and Strategic Management

Experience: Kubrick Group, Kingfisher PLC

LinkedIn profile: LinkedIn

I studied economics and pursued a master’s in business analysis and strategy, where data played a recurring yet secondary role. Despite not being the primary focus, the data component within my studies always captivated me. This interest guided me towards a data-centric career as a Data Management Analyst.

When I joined Kingfisher in the data platform team, the team was newly formed and had only a few members. There was an appetite to establish strong data management capabilities, giving me the opportunity to lead on projects such as building a data catalogue tool and developing a data governance framework from the ground up. Empowered by my team, I am always encouraged to be innovative and unafraid of making mistakes. This supportive and forward-thinking environment is one of the many great aspects of working at Kingfisher.

I am passionate about growth and continuous learning; you will always find me being curious to learn new ways of working and ideas. Although I am still early in my data career, it hasn’t stopped me from experimenting and exploring new paths with enthusiasm. This led me to the opportunity of a secondment in the analytics team at Kingfisher where I significantly expanded my skills in the data world, allowing me to gain valuable insights and expertise.

For me, the thrill comes from constantly embracing new challenges and enjoying the continuous learning journey whilst making a meaningful impact in the ever-evolving world of data.

Experience: Machine Learning Engineer

Linkedin profile: LinkedIn

I didn’t start my career intending to be a woman in data. I studied psychology at undergrad and master’s level! But after a job in market research that didn’t work out, I applied to anything that sounded interesting – and I landed a role as a data analyst. I learnt SQL and Power BI on the job and found that I really enjoyed it – I really loved writing queries to get me what I needed, and to tell stories from the visualisations I produced.

I joined Kingfisher in the analytics team and really enjoyed the work and the team. Usually, I’d be in teams where I was either the only woman in data, or women were vastly outnumbered. I’d be the person expected to organise the leaving card/present/drinks. Kingfisher’s analytics team had a leadership team comprising 3 women and 1 man, and you could really feel the difference. Standards were high, but the vibe was much more encouraging and celebratory.

I wanted a change and negotiated a secondment in the data science team, which has now resulted in a full-time role in for just over a year. I work in our recommendations sub-team. It’s such an exciting field to be in, recommendations are a key driver of growth and revenue for ecommerce or streaming websites. Recommendations was one of the first success stories in bringing AI in house to Kingfisher, and now the company are all-in on data and AI. We get the chance to work with different models and see our work put into production, we can see how much revenue we have generated for the company. I’ve learnt so much throughout my data journey and I can only see myself growing further with a company like Kingfisher that believes in growth from within.

Expertise: Data Analytics and Insights, Data Management, Data Quality, Data Strategy

Education: CIM Diploma in Direct Marketing, CIM Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing, Data Technician apprenticeship

Social Media: LinkedIn

I started my career in direct marketing, which is of course firmly underpinned by data. I then moved on from running and analysing campaigns, to work as a commercial analyst, looking at the sales performance across channels, products and brands. This is where I build my skills to deliver strong insights that drive change in business processes and strategy to improve performance for both the business and for customers.

In 2019 I started my coding journey as part of an initiative with Women ConnecTech to get women into coding. I immediately loved it and spent 6 months learning Python and using it to deliver untapped insights for the business.

Wanting to follow my passion for data, I used my experience with stakeholder management, strategy development and analytics to move directly into the Chief Data Office, a centre of excellence. Here, I learned fast and soon became a champion for data quality and metadata management before going on to lead the data strategy for approved data sources (golden sources).

Fuelling my desire to move to a more technical role and wanting to demonstrate my competence, I undertook a Data Technician apprenticeship. This, alongside additional studies in Python and SQL, gave me the confidence to start applying for more technical roles. I humbly stepped down from my leadership role to pivot my career.

My journey is just getting underway as I am now in the initial stages of my first technical role as a ‘Customer Data Analyst,’ and love bringing insight to the business whilst sharpening my coding skills.  My ambition is to move into data science within the next few years.

Expertise: Data driven insights and fulfilment analytics

Education: MEng Automotive Engineering Loughborough University

Linkedin: LinkedIn

From a young age I have always had a keen eye for detail and asking questions to further my understanding. Along with a love of maths I like to logically approach problems with an open mind something that has naturally benefited my role as an analyst.

After graduating, I fell into the world of logistics and operations, a great starting point to use my methodical approach to problem solve and provide insights. It was while working for Kingfisher and B&Q where I was able to further develop my skills in SQL and getting hands on with large data sets. Here is where curiosity plays a crucial role and how it enables you to become an expert in your field. For me currently this is within our distribution order management system. Where I am proud to have created our most precise data set providing greater confidence to stakeholders through detailed insights.

Throughout my studies and career I have frequently found myself to be the only female in the room, with my own subconscious bias often hindering my confidence. Having a supportive environment at B&Q has allowed me to constructively turn this view on its head. I strive to go above the minimum expectation to not only provide great insights but to prove to myself ‘you can do it’.

As a mother of two young girls, I aim to bring this message home, that with passion, curiosity and determination we can achieve our goals regardless of gender.

Hannah Carroll, Analytics Engineer at Motorway 

Hannah Carroll is an Analytics Engineer at Motorway, the UK’s fastest growing used-car marketplace. In her current role, Hannah provides clean datasets to end-users, modelling data in a way that empowers teams to find answers to their questions in an independent way. She supports the upper funnel, customer success service teams and also the post-sale teams, in order to use data to enhance user experiences and operational efficiency.

Hannah’s journey with Motorway began when she joined the company as a Data Analyst and after one year, made the transition to Analytics Engineer.

Before joining Motorway, Hannah gained valuable experience in various analytical roles across different industries. She served as a Tactical Analyst at ASOS, where she honed her ability to interpret data trends and support tactical decision-making processes. Prior to that, she was a Workforce Planning Specialist at MOO, where she focused on optimising workforce allocation and planning to improve operational efficiencies.