Ihab Moawad, director of data-driven marketing and technology, Samsung

How is your organisation using data and analytics to support the corporate vision and purpose?

Samsung is one of the biggest brands in the world. Data is one of our most critical tools to help us meet consumer needs - from innovation in product development, providing unique and edge cutting technology on our devices, to the way we market these products and services to our customers.

2020 was a year like no other - how did it impact on your planned activities and what unplanned ones did you have to introduce?

No one expected what happened in 2020. The pandemic has put pressure on all business around the world to accelerate their business transformation, while consumers’ behaviour has changed dramatically.

For the data and technology team in Europe, agility was our key ingredient for success. We had to accelerate our transformation and focus on priorities for our customers and the business using technologies such as automated real-time reporting and building algorithms using machine learning.

Looking forward to 2021, what are your expectations for data and analytics within your organisation?

The pandemic is far from over. Online and digital will continue to be the new normal, at least for 2021 and expectations to build data transformation will continue to grow.

Is data for good part of your personal or business agenda for 2021? If so, what form will it take?

Yes, it is, and it will remain a big part of the business agenda. As online business is growing, more and more brands are leveraging their direct to consumer offering, and there will be opportunities to leverage our capabilities to grow this area further.

What has been your path to power?

In my opinion it has three main ingredients: you have to have a strong vision on where you and your team want to be; build a strong team and empower them; and have an agile mindset, not only practice. We have to adapt to business and consumers’ needs, as well as external forces beyond our control. A good example is what happened in 2020 and our response.

What is the proudest achievement of your career to date?

Every day is a challenge, and every day brings an achievement in Samsung. The everyday achievement that means a lot to me is knowing I have built a strong team that will take on any challenges that come our way

Tell us about a career goal or a purpose for your organisation that you are pursuing?

My purpose is to empower the organisation with data and knowledge, that will help provide our customers a delightful experience throughout the ownership lifecycle. Also, we have to be aware of the rapid increase in innovation and transformation. My mission is to ensure Samsung is using the power of new technologies such artificial intelligence and machine learning to accelerate our transformation.

How closely aligned to the business are data and analytics both within your own organisation and at an industry level? What helps to bring the two closer together?

Very aligned. Data is a critical component of how Samsung responds to customer demands and new innovations.

What is your view on how to develop a data culture in an organisation, building out data literacy and creating a data-first mindset?

To build a data culture, you have to understand every business unit’s requirements, challenges, opportunities, and navigating across a global business. This takes a huge amount of time and effort, to ensure alignment and to avoid duplications.

When it comes to analytics and reporting, there are different levels of seniority in the organisation and you have to cater for all levels (working level and top executives).