This is a profile from the 2022 version of the DataIQ 100.
The latest list is available here.
Paul Alexander, group CEO, Beyond: Putting Data to Work
What has been your path to power?
I’m an econometrician and lawyer who started my career in advertising because it was a sexy industry at the time. I’ve won awards, and, amongst other things, produced a CD which went triple platinum: The World’s Best Beer Songs. I left advertising due to a lack of data, and certainly a lack of people around me at the time who knew what to do with it. I had a brief stint running my own business which then got bought out, so I stuck around with the new owner for three very successful years but hankered to run my own thing again, so started Beyond. I’m hanging on to the title group CEO because I’m one of the few owners of the company, unemployable anywhere else.
What impact has the pandemic had on demand from your clients?
The next 12 months have been widely tipped as the year of data and digital transformation. COVID has accelerated digital agendas, so now is the time to start embedding the changes and leveraging data assets. It is therefore unsurprising that we have seen a lot of interest in our services, particularly as we have a long track record in delivering significant performance improvements.
Do you get a seat at your clients’ strategic discussions? If not, what will it take to get you there?
Always. If you work in data and have ever heard of and believe in the butterfly effect, you will know that when we do something the impact will not only be felt by the part of the organisation we are helping to fly, but the rest of the organisation could also potentially benefit from the same work and insight. We recently rebranded as “Beyond” because we do just that, go beyond. To help organisations fully leverage our work, we need to have a seat at the table – getting there requires trust and getting to know their businesses incredibly well.
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