What "Data-Driven" Actually Means | Anthony Jackel (Ferrara)

**SPEAKER_1** (0:09)
Data Storytellers, we are finally here. This is an episode that we've been planning literally for two years. I think when Anthony joined one of our master classes years ago, we immediately agreed that our conversations should be immortalized in the form of a recording, but then after back and forth, I had a kid, I think he had a kid, so we couldn't make it happen, but-

**Anthony Jackel** (0:33)
I had two of them, I had two of them.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:35)
Yeah, I have two now as well, so I know it's a competition.

**Anthony Jackel** (0:41)
You might win, you might win if you're doing it anymore, because I think we're done.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:44)
We'll see, we'll see. But anyways, Anthony, before we dive in, welcome on the show. It's been long overdue.

**Anthony Jackel** (0:52)
Yeah, excited to join you. I know, I feel like we have been talking about it for like two years, so it feels good to finally be here.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:58)
Yeah, and we just linked back up again, like a couple of months ago, maybe even a couple of weeks ago, and immediately agreed that that podcast that we never had should be had now. And it's a good time, right? Because I think when you joined, when was that even? It was like 2020, I think it was the end of 2022, early 2023

**Anthony Jackel** (1:18)
It was because I just started my new world at that point.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:22)
Which is crazy because if you think about it, when you and I started talking, ChedGPT wasn't even a thing. It might have existed, but it hasn't really conquered the public consciousness to the degree that we have now. So now we are living through this enterprise AI revolution, even though it's ultimately a data revolution if you're privy to what's happening behind the scenes. But it's an exciting time to be a data analytics professional.
So, just from your perspective, before we explore your career, which I know that you have a bunch of stories from, from companies like Kraft, and now you're with Ferrara, first of all, what is your assessment of the state of data analytics in an enterprise setting today? What keeps you busy? What makes you excited, concerned, hopeful, and a mix of all those?

**Anthony Jackel** (2:21)
It's a great question. I do feel like it's, I'm sure everyone says this when asked this question, probably 10 years ago, probably said, this is the time to be in data. But I do feel like this is the time where it's so exciting. Like it feels like there's so much opportunity. And I think with that, you know, you said, you know, maybe keeps you up at night. I feel like with that, it's like, so also a little bit scary because you got to think like, am I doing enough? Is our team doing enough? Are we investing enough? Knowing that, you know, there's so many opportunities that are out there and it feels like things are changing every day, at least every week, if not every day. Like you said, when we first were connecting, talking, even though it was two and a half years ago, ChatGPT was like a thing, but it was like this thing that launched that, you know, maybe people that were on the super early stage had adopted and had started to use, but probably even, you know, four and five analytics people probably weren't using it day to day. Now I think it's flipped where if you're not in that four and five, you're probably in the minority of people that aren't leveraging some of those new technologies. So I think it's an incredibly exciting time. It's almost overwhelming with that too, because there's just so much opportunity in thinking about what to lean into, what not. Sometimes there's a lot of noise, but you know, they say like strategy is actually choosing and picking a lane and figuring out where to spend your time. So it's also a good time to learn from others, have conversations and figure out what's the best path to go down when it comes to the data strategy that teams are going on.

**SPEAKER_1** (3:52)
I liked how you put it that strategy is about picking a lane. And I think that's a great way to conceptualize it, because especially today, there are so many opportunities and everyone is selling you their own perspective and the AI experts on LinkedIn. Even as I put it, you might be like falling behind if you're not doing X, Y, you're already behind. So the FOMO and the noise is just insane, but a good strategy is about carving out a clear path that will elevate your chance of success. So with regards to AI and we're gonna, this episode is not about AI, right? So we have plenty of those. But how do you see that actually now changing the enterprise analytics landscape? I'm more interested in just your take as a professional on the front lines.