At Sainsbury’s, the Data and Analytics team values diversity as we drive innovation and improve decision-making. Partnering with WiD helps us enhance diversity in the sector and accelerate our success.
Steph Bell, Director of Analytics, says, “Women in Data, both at Sainsbury’s and across the industry, are crucial. We share experiences, support each other, and build an ecosystem where everyone thrives because diversity makes us better.”
The data landscape has undergone seismic changes in the last five years and will undoubtedly continue to evolve in the next five. COVID highlighted the importance of data and analytics, accelerating their use across many industries, and unified data assets have become mainstream. We’ve seen analytics scale as technology advances and businesses seek to harness data in new ways, amidst a backdrop of regulatory changes, especially in the AI space.
In the next five years, we expect AI to automate more decisions and enable low code/no code access to data, transforming how businesses leverage this vital resource. The prominence and management of Data Quality will likely grow, becoming a core narrative within non-technical teams. Specifically in retail, the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to open new data opportunities, expanding the scope and potential of data and analytics.
Over 150 years old and still going strong, we’re the UK’s second-biggest retailer. Every day, the nation shops with us because they know they’ll get affordable, good food and excellent service. We focus on great value and convenient shopping across our family of brands, from Argos, Nectar and Habitat to Sainsbury’s Bank, Smart Charge and Tu.
What’s next for Sainsbury’s? We’ve put food back at the heart of our business and we’re taking Sainsbury’s to the next level. We’re investing in technology and people and thinking bigger about how we attract and connect with our customers, while doing everything we can to create a more resilient UK food system.
Our tech team plays a vital role in supporting Sainsbury’s mission and strategy for the future. We power the UK’s third-busiest retail site, and our innovations allow our customers to shop and connect with us whenever they want to, reliably and safely, and help our colleagues to do their jobs brilliantly.
LinkedIn : Helen Brown
Expertise: Data, Analytics & Authentic Leadership
Education: Management Science BSc Hons University of Kent
Bio:
Helen has over 19 years of experience in various data and analytical roles across the food retail industry. She is currently leading in Analytics at Sainsbury’s, specialising in turning data into insight, using insight to drive change, and implementing change with impact. Helen is passionate about championing and empowering women to progress their data careers and encouraging girls to pursue STEM subjects. She prides herself on human and authentic female leadership, creating an environment where everyone can reach their full potential.
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-choy-phd-93811851
Expertise: Data, ML and software engineering, people and technical leadership
Education: Cheminformatics PhD, University of Cambridge
Bio:
Alison is the Head of Engineering at Sainsbury’s, leading data and ML engineering teams. With a PhD in cheminformatics, Alison has extensive experience across data science, analytics, and engineering in various industry sectors and academia. She is a versatile tech leader, passionate about building empowered and diverse teams and creating data and AI outcomes with strong fairness and ethical considerations.
LinkedIn: Hannah Morris-Dahlke | LinkedIn
Expertise: Data and Marketing Product Management, Servant Leadership
Education: Psychology BSc, Durham University
Bio:
Hannah is a Product Leader at Sainsbury’s, overseeing the customer data engineering and Marketing Tech teams. With over 10 years of Product Management experience, Hannah is passionate about building diverse, collaborative, and high-performing teams to create products that our colleagues and customers love.
LinkedIn: Steph Bell – Sainsbury’s | LinkedIn
Expertise: Leadership, Commercial Skills, Customer & Retail Analytics, Storytelling
Education: Bsc Mathematics, University of Durham
Bio:
Steph Bell is the Director of Analytics for Sainsbury’s. She has a huge passion for bringing data to life through compelling and easy-to-access narratives, and focuses on empowering her teams to make the most of their capabilities. With experience in analytics across many sectors, she now leads a brilliant team of analysts, data visualisation experts, and data scientists in the Sainsbury’s retail business.
LinkedIn : Linkedin Profile
Expertise: Service Design, User Research, Practices Leadership
Bio:
Saielle has worked on data products in companies both large and small. From network infrastructure at AT&T to Amazon’s Ad Platform, she has driven amazing products to market. Currently, she leads Data Platform, Retail Media, and Corporate Sustainability data initiatives at Sainsbury’s. Previously responsible for design and hiring practices at Cazoo, Saielle is also a DEI champion, working to build inclusive cultures where everyone is welcome, respected, and safe to do their best work together.
LinkedIn : Linkedin Profile
Expertise: Product Management, Change Management, Servant Leadership.
Education: BCS International Business Analyst, Product Management Fundamentals
Bio:
Aimee is a dedicated and innovative Head of Product with a passion for leveraging data and technology to drive value and benefit for Sainsbury’s. With a strong belief in the power of collaboration, Aimee excels in working with cross-functional teams to deliver impactful solutions. Her expertise lies in harnessing data insights to inform strategic decisions and implementing cutting-edge technologies to enhance business operations. Aimee is deeply committed to both colleagues and customers, ensuring that their needs and perspectives are at the forefront of every initiative. She maintains a dual focus on internal and external stakeholders, combined with a commitment to continuous improvement.
Education: BSc Geography
https://www.linkedin.com/in/siobhan-waldron-ab6a97270/
Talk about a squiggly career! Upon leaving university I went travelling around the world for a year, upon returning I began an exciting career in the Ministry of Defence. It was here I honed my skills for threat intelligence and the collection process. I began to understand the broader threat landscape and the actors that played their part to disrupt our way of life in the UK. 16+ years later, I needed a new challenge and discovered my skill set fit well with the cyber security world.
My role has opened many doors, opportunities, and experiences for my personal and professional growth. Currently, I am responsible for communicating cyber threats across the organisation through data collection and analysis, sustaining a community of practice and developing strategies and policies.
I have a passion for equality, diversity, and inclusion and for being a role-model for women in cyber and data.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-read-0a761936/
Expertise: Building high performing teams that maximise value extraction from data solutions
Education: TOGAF Certified Architect, Oracle Certified Associate, SCRUM Alliance Certified Product Owner.
Over the past decade, I’ve had the privilege of building and leading data-driven teams across various industries, all with a core focus on leveraging data to deliver tangible business value. I’m a seasoned data leader, with a strong background in data platforms, cloud technology and data strategy. In previous roles, I have led data teams at a major BPO and headed up the data architecture function at a financial services company.
At EDF UK, I have led the EDF UK Customers business migration to AWS/Snowflake and have led numerous large scale data transformation programmes. I promote a less is more tech strategy and am focussed on ROI and driving reusability wherever possible.
I’m deeply committed to driving diversity within tech, which I champion through my involvement in the EDF UK data and tech steering group. I’m fully supportive of initiatives such as early careers programmes that help develop and nurture talent. I passionately believe that the gender disparity in roles such as a tech and engineering needs to be addressed and it’s on all leaders to create a culture and environment where talent can flourish.
In the data landscape, I believe that data is more interconnected than ever and the ability to share data between producers and consumers is vital to drive innovation. As we advance in this data marketplace era, I’m excited to continue building strategies that use technological transformation to drive real-world impact. And of course, developing talent that enable value to be extracted from data and drive an innovative data culture.
Expertise: Driving AI initiatives into operational business applications
Education: Applied Science, 25 years in data innovation
https://www.linkedin.com/in/owen-eszeki/
My adventure into the world of AI began in the mid-90s, pre-internet, as a Geographical Information Systems Analyst for the Australian Government. I quickly realized the immense value of data accuracy and cleanliness. Hungry for more challenges, I moved into the vibrant world of publishing at Lonely Planet Publications. Here, I understood the critical importance of project deliveries, cost efficiency vs. accuracy and digital publishing, witnessing the dawn of Google Maps and its transformative effect on the industry where I learnt that I would, where possible need to be at the forefront of data technology. Fuelled by my passion for exploration, I sold everything and travelled the world, eventually landing in the UK. My freelancing days were filled with diverse data projects, sharpening my skills and expanding my horizons. I found a home at Kimberly Clark Professional, where I turned raw data into actionable insights and honed my data engineering skills. This marked my first foray into data science, developing predictive churn models, stunning data visualizations, and natural language sentiment models. These experiences laid the groundwork for building digital marketing insights and eventually leading the data team. Recognizing the impact of ML and AI seven years ago, I transitioned to a small startup, honing my data and AI skills while leading projects and teams, especially in NLP. This path led me to EDF, where I initially served as a consultant before becoming a full-time member in the EDF Blue Lab incubator as an AI Lead. Today, I am at the helm, driving AI innovation to operational scale deployments. I oversee strategy, governance, and the responsible deployment of AI, working alongside my talented award-winning team. With a profound understanding of AI technologies and strong management abilities, I ensure foster innovation within my team. My commitment to responsible AI practices upholds transparency and ethical standards in every initiative and support EDF in understanding AI Governance practices building their AI strategic future. With over 25 years of experience working with data, my leadership and passion for advancing AI technologies empower EDF UK to achieve extraordinary results, enhancing sustainability and operational efficiency. I take pride in contributing to a culture of excellence and responsibility, shaping the future of energy innovation.
