While most BI teams are shrinking, Ericsson’s Analytics team has grown to triple digits in the last five years, to bring the 5G evolution to life! If you’re not familiar with 5G, it’s the next generation of cellular network technology that is 100 times faster than 4G! Crazy I know! I met Bjorn six years ago when Ericsson hired our team to help them create analytics to support the LTE evolution. As the Head of Automation and Analytics at Ericsson Networks, Bjorn Johansson shares his lessons learned from scaling up so quickly, his unique philosophy around analytics, and key tips to scale any BI team!

Are you still struggling to create and build a good social media presence in the data space? This week, I talk with real-life data analytics and BI rockstar, Kate Strachnyi. Kate is a Program Manager and Consultant of Data Analytics, as well as an author, blogger, and LinkedIn “Top-Voice” in data analytics with well over 50,000+ followers. In this knowledge filled BI masterclass, Kate teaches you the importance of social media and the exact steps you can take to up your social media game and become a rockstar!

Are you data-informed or data driven? My guest this week, Ella Hilal, the Director of Data at Shopify explains exactly why being data-informed is more important than being data-driven. Ella works at Shopify, a unicorn company in Canada that handles over $100B per year in e-commerce transactions and is growing 60%+ year over year. Besides dealing with insane amounts of data, Ella is an award-winning professor with more accolades than we can list here. Listen as Ella clarifies what it means to be a leader, and explains why being data informed is to key to transforming your organizations' data culture! Golden nuggets galore here folks.. enjoy!

In this episode of Analytics on Fire, I talk with one of my mentors and best friends Ismail Maiyegun. Ismail, the CTO and co-founder of Hingeto, a Y-combinator funded and fast-growing Silicon Valley startup, shares how they use business intelligence to scale their high seven-figure annual re-occurring revenue! He also demystifies the hype around artificial intelligence in silicon valley and shares how they focus on what's important.

Ever wonder about the masterminds that create the famous Gartner Analytics and BI Magic Quadrant? Meet Cindi Howson, former VP at Gartner and current Chief Data Strategy Officer at ThoughSpot. Cindi’s unorthodox start in the BI world and quick rise to well-known author, BI Scorecard creator and go to for the media, is nothing short of spectacular. Find out why Cindi is one of the most inspirational and well-known women in BI!

Are you a data professional struggling to influence others with your data savvy? Wondering what may be missing? If you're one of those data professionals who is seeking a proven way to influence your users and win their trust, this BI masterclass is for you! Ryan Deeds, a classified BI 'rockstar', is yet another example of an 'action taker' who took our BI Data Storytelling Mastery workshop and completely transformed his career. Today, Ryan is the VP of Data Technology at Assurex Global, but he didn't start out there! Listen to how Ryan went from a normal data professional to a chief data storyteller in a few months!

Have you ever thought about starting your own data community? Ever wondered what really goes into it? Data communities are hot and have become the number one source for learning and networking! Our guest today talks to us about exactly how he grew Experian's online data community from zero to 200K followers in two years. Mike Delgado is the host of the popular Experian #DataTalk Show, where he interviews the top data scientist and data rockstars via facebook live on the globe. In this BI masterclass, he shares his unique start in data, how Experian's switch to being data-driven was a game-changer, and how he continues to grow the #DataTalk show amidst high competition.  You don't want to miss it! 

Have you ever wondered what really happens in a $10M+ analytics transformation? Surely it’s more than building analytics. The stakes are higher and so are the risks! Well, my good friend Andrew Joo, who is is the head of Energy and Utilities practice for Infosys Consulting is a master of making these “unicorn” programs successful. Whether your project is big or small, there is something for everyone to learn!

Jeremy Kuhlenbeck is a BI rockstar! As a Senior BI Consultant at cBeyondData, Jeremy used our BI DataStorytelling Mastery class tools, techniques, and methods to turn an almost failing BI project around at the last minute. Jeremy describes his bumpy road to becoming a chief data storyteller, and the actions you can also take to do so!