In this episode of Love Data, Love Growth, we sat down with Victor, Head of Analytics at Close Brothers Premium Finance, to dive into a topic that’s close to both Carl and my hearts - how data teams can drive real business outcomes, not just build dashboards for the sake of it.
Victor shared his journey from accounting into data, and how his team developed Focus 360, an internal analytics tool that started as a way to support sales teams but has since expanded into a widely adopted data product. We explored the challenges of proving the value of data initiatives, discussing how usage metrics often serve as the best proxy for impact when clear ROI calculations aren't always feasible.
A big theme was the shift in mindset from "data as a cost centre" to "data as a driver of business value." Victor talked about the fact that building a data product is just the beginning - the real work is in ensuring adoption and iterating based on feedback. And then making sure that insights actually drive action. He also talks about on the balance between security, ethics, and speed, and how hybrid working has changed the way his team engages with stakeholders. In this episode of Love Data, Love Growth, we sat down with Victor, Head of Analytics at Close Brothers Premium Finance, to dive into a topic that’s close to both Carl and I - how data teams can drive real business outcomes.
Victor shared his journey from accounting into data, and how his team has developed Focus 360, an analytics tool that supports the sales teams and has been expanding into a widely adopted data product. We explore the challenges of proving the value of data products, and discuss how usage metrics often serve as the best way o of measuring ROI when other more direct calculations aren't feasible.
A big theme in our talk was was Viktor talking about his shift in mindset from "data as a cost centre" to "data as a driver of business value." Victor talked about the fact that building a data product is just the beginning - his real work is making sure an adoption is successful and iterating on feedback. His focus is making sure that insights actually drive action. we also touch on security, ethics, and speed, and how hybrid working has changed the way Viktor’s team engages with stakeholders.
Ultimately, the conversation reinforced that data teams need to think more like product teams - focusing on user experience, business impact, and ongoing engagement rather than just delivery.
More about Viktor: https://www.closebrotherspf.com/leadership-lens-viktor-kazinec
Transforming Teams Book: https://teamtopologies.com/
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