Susan Walsh, founder and managing director, The Classification Guru

What has been your path to power?

My path to power has involved a lot of hard work, determination and self-belief. When I started The Classification Guru in 2017, I didn’t have a single connection in the procurement or data space! But after spending five years at a spend analytics company, I could see there were huge issues with data quality, and I knew there were organisations out there that would need a data classification or cleaning service, without the analytics or dashboards.

While there was a need for this service, there also seemed to be a lack of focus or importance placed on data quality. I started creating content on LinkedIn, positioning myself as an expert in the field, highlighting the importance of data quality and appearing on podcasts and webinars - I even did a TEDx talk! And I was making data fun, relatable and, dare I say it, exciting! Carving out a niche for myself, coupled with my unique approach to marketing has taken the business to places I wouldn’t have even imagined five years ago.

I also came to realise that there are actually very few resources available in data classification, so I decided to create my own. My book, “Between the spreadsheets: Classifying and fixing dirty data,” was published last year and has had great reviews from peers and people I rate very highly.