Asda are delighted to be a Women in Data partner. We believe a diverse workforce is key to understanding our customers’ needs and fulfilling them. Working in diverse teams produces stronger outcomes and increased productivity. We want to create a fair and safe environment providing access to opportunities for all and the data team are starting from the great position of already having great overall diversity including a very high proportion of women in leadership team positions. Our partnership with Women in Data will allow us to further grow gender diversity across all roles.
We look forward to the opportunities the collaboration will bring, networking events allowing leaders in the field to share their knowledge and experience and look forward to celebrating the success of women working in data within Asda.
Asda are proud to be heavily involved in STEM activities and we look forward to partnering with Girls in Data to help encourage talent at a young age and highlight the breadth of data careers at Asda. Women in Data is also a great platform for Asda to showcase the huge data transformation journey which we are embarking on, and we will look forward to the opportunity to share learnings with other Women in Data partners.
The team have led:
Women in Data® are so deeply proud of our continued partnership with Asda. The commitment from the data team and the impact they have made is simply phenomenal. Asda are supporting our mission in creating pathways for young women to enter and flourish in a data career. We know this collective action will effect real change for the future generation of data professionals.
It’s been 30 years since data revolutionised retailing – when loyalty card data and digital till systems helped the world’s biggest and best retailers dramatically improve their range, prices, promotions, and more around their customer data.
What does this tell us? Data has never been more powerful in retailing and will continue to grow in importance for organisations over the coming years. It is a must have capability to ensure companies really understand their business, their market, their customers, their supply chains, and their colleagues to remain competitive in ever more challenging times. Core to all of this is having the right, diverse, data talent and culture to meet these demands. So, as a data industry, we need to focus on educating, developing, and maturing the UK’s data capabilities from a people, culture and diversity perspective.
Over the next five years Asda will continue to ignite the next data revolution in retail. And create the next game changing customer experience in the country. Digitising stores, generative AI and cloud computing to name but a few, alongside injecting and embedding a strong data culture so that data becomes a natural consideration.
Asda was founded in 1965 through the merger of the Asquith family grocery business with the Associated Dairies company and its name is derived from this merger.
Headquartered in Leeds, Asda is the UK’s third-largest supermarket by market share, employing more than 140,000 colleagues and serving over 18m customers every week in its 633 stores and online via www.asda.com Its George clothing division, which launched in 1989 and is based in Leicestershire, is the UK’s second-largest clothing retailer by volume.
Asda has a long heritage in providing customers with low prices and in June 2022 was crowned the UK’s lowest-priced supermarket by the Grocer magazine for the 25th consecutive year. In October 2020, Asda was acquired from Walmart by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital
Location: Leeds
Expertise: Leadership, data delivery, data literacy, data culture
Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-heppinstall-08b82222/
A bit about me….
I joined Asda in 2011 as a Technology Leader and moved into the exciting world of Data in 2020. I’m an active mum of 2 – Eleanor and George, plus my gorgeous cockapoo – Hugo! In my spare time I love long walks, hiking mountains and more recently weightlifting. You will often find me on the side of a football pitch cheering my children on in their many matches. I have a passion for leadership & delivery and believe data should be a natural consideration in everything we do.
Why did you join Asda?
Originally, I joined Asda as I love the fast pace of Retail – it gives me a buzz to see the difference tech and data can make across a large supermarket chain and online offering.
Why have I stayed at Asda? As well as having the opportunity to lead one of the largest data transformations in Europe, we have an Exec and leadership group that understand the value data can bring, it’s great to be part of a company that is striving to be an acknowledged leader in data driven retail.
What do you like most about Asda?
Asda strives for a diverse workplace, there is always an opportunity to involve yourself in something you are passionate about, for me it’s female leadership and getting more women involved in a data career, so you will often find me at conferences and presenting at sessions across Asda on this very subject.
Location: Leeds
Expertise: Customer Analytics, Data Storytelling
Education: BSc in Chemistry with Pharmaceutical and Forensic Science
Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-ross-8593271b9
A bit about me…
I’ve been with Asda for a little over 2 years, having joined the Insight Analytics team as after an extended career break looking after my two children. After initially taking the role of Senior Customer Analyst I moved into my current post as Customer Analytics Manager last year, and I now head up our Customer Review team. Our work revolves around using the wealth of transactional data we have to better understand our customers and how they interact with us both in our stores and online, with my team’s specific remit being to take on longer-term projects to gain an in-depth knowledge of key topics before sharing this insight with stakeholders across the business. Teasing out the stories in the data and communicating them in a clear, actionable way is my favourite thing about my role.
Outside of work my time is usually spent enjoying family adventures, but when I get some time to myself, you’ll either find me with my nose in a book or trying to develop my skills in cryptic crossword solving!
Why did you join Asda?
Having enjoyed a number of years working in Customer Insight before taking my career break, I was keen to find a new challenge in that area when I returned to work. Asda really sees the value of data and puts it at the centre of the decision-making process, and the growing Data and Analytics function is a fast-paced and exciting place to be. I knew that joining the team would lead to amazing opportunities to learn new skills and develop my career in data. This has been borne out by the fact that my team has been at the forefront of learning the new data structure and adopting the tools we will use within the new Data Ecosystem.
What do you like most about Asda?
Without a doubt the people are the best thing about working at Asda. My team are so supportive, and I felt right at home here from the very start. This extends to colleagues across the business, who have all been happy to share their knowledge and expertise – there is a real sense of collaboration and teamwork.
I’m also really proud to work for an organisation which offers so many opportunities to support young people as they navigate their career choices. I am part of Asda’s STEM Outreach team and have participated in various events from career discovery sessions to data skills workshops. Every day really is different!
Location: York
Expertise: Data Engineering
Education: BSc in Digital and Technology Solutions
Social Media URL: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-barnes-aa9a4482
A bit about me…
I got into software engineering by joining a large company as an apprentice at 18 years old. The apprenticeship was 5 years long, with a 3-year sponsored degree from Aston university. I didn’t go the traditional route into IT by going to university directly, as I wasn’t sure if university was for me, and I was really excited to get hands on experience and mentoring. I then found an opportunity to sidestep on to a project doing data engineering. This came about through by building a network and finding out about what other projects were going on in my company. There was a real gap in the skill set, which meant they were happy to take on anyone who was interested and ready for a challenge. Since then, I have been working with data across many companies, all in different stages of migrating to the cloud, from more traditional data ecosystems. I love how much time I spend problem solving and thinking about the ethical side of data use.
Why did you join Asda?
I joined Asda a year ago, after hearing about their mission to lift and shift their entire data ecosystem and start again from scratch. As they are a large retail company, there are some fascinating problems they face that never have a “perfect” solution.
What do you like most about Asda?
I love that there are always conversations going on about how different areas of the business want to work in the new ecosystem, and how we try to solutionise different architecture to support them. I’m constantly learning and there’s so much opportunity for me to develop in any area I want. I also love how much interaction I get with every area of the business, and how much they are willing to listen and adapt if someone comes in with good ideas.
Come and work with Charlotte: Diverse Data Jobs for Female Data Scientists from Women in Data®
Location: Leeds
Expertise: Data Project Manager
Education: MSc International Business Management
Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriela-dobre-22aa89b9/
A bit about me…
I joined asda in 2016 through the Asda Graduate Management Programme. I started off learning about our retail operations in our Asda Watford Superstore where I did a rotation in all the store departments.
After the Retail rotation of 6months, I moved to Head Office initially working in Project support in Asda Technology and then as a Business Analyst in the Data Team. Although I had a break and moved to a consultancy for 2 years, I came back at Asda as a Project Manager in Data.
Why did you join Asda?
It’s a great time to work for Asda as we are undergoing one of the biggest data transformation projects in the world. The journey to separate from Walmart is challenging but it represents a once in a lifetime opportunity. We are working with multiple teams and technologies and there is always a way to help, learn and add value to the project. I have learned professionally and personally, and I owe this growth to Asda and my team.
Additionally, Asda values people and the culture is reflective of that. I am a STEM and Girls in Data volunteer and I love the fact that Asda allows me to offer back to the community and get involved in multiple initiatives, beyond my day job.
What do you like most about Asda?
People. Everyone in my team and the wider teams are lovely, supportive and approachable. People are always willing to help and to guide. I started at a very young age, with no experience and people have been there for me. For me, the biggest competitive advantage of the Data Team at Asda is the fact that there will always be someone willing to coach and help. Finally, even though the industry is male dominated, at Asda I have met brilliant women who act as great role models and I look up to. This is really inspiring and keeps me going.
