Strategic Analytics and Organizational Insights

CJ delves deep into the world of analytics in this interview with Jesper Sorensen, the CFO of Mambu, a leading fintech and banking platform in Europe valued at over $5 billion. Jesper, who has authored three books on analytics, introduces the Analytics Escalator—a framework for unlocking real value through descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics. In the discussion, Jesper covers everything from getting started with analytics and deciding where it should sit within an organization to identifying key opportunities, building a solid BI tech stack, and understanding the role of analytics tools and data lakes. He outlines the journey to creating a high-impact analytics function within a company, emphasizing the critical interplay between people, processes, and systems in fostering a thriving analytics culture—and shares practical advice on how to achieve it.

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Preview and Intro

(02:01) Sponsor – RightRev | Brex

(04:53) Jesper’s Pre-CFO Career

(06:50) The Huge Success of Mambu

(10:40) Understanding What Analytics Is

(13:56) Sponsor – Planful | Vanta

(16:02) Where Analytics Should Sit in the Org

(20:12) Model for Serving a Team’s BI Needs Internally

(22:03) Creating Value with the Analytics Escalator

(29:51) Prescriptive Analytics and How to Achieve Them

(31:08) The Steps on the Analytics Escalator

(33:36) Establishing People, Processes, and Systems

(34:54) Self-Service Versus Customer Service BI

(37:57) The Components of a Good BI Tech Stack

(38:50) Data Visualization Tools Versus Analytics Tools

(41:59) The Value of a Data Lake

(44:26) Build-Versus-Buy for Analytics Tools

(46:50) The Need for a Proof-of-Concept for Analytics Tools

(48:10) Managing the Trade-Off Between Performance and Cost

(50:19) Wrap