This month, we hear from our newest Board Member, Christine Mayston. Christine recently returned to her hometown of Vancouver after building her career in the UK and is currently VP of the Analytics Centre of Excellence at Vancity. She shares what analytics means to her and why she finds the Vancouver Analytics Board so valuable.
From early on, I’ve been obsessed with understanding why things happen and especially why people behave and respond the way they do. For me, Analytics is deeply human - human beings have been processing data since the beginning of time. It’s how we make decisions, assess risk and find opportunity. Modern analytics is about speeding and scaling up those processes. Keeping simplicity in mind and considering first and foremost the human impact of our analytical insights, products and models is what makes me tick.
More than anything, I want to open people up to the possibility of analytics - supporting colleagues to leverage data as an asset and lean into the transformative potential of strong analytical outputs. Having a very non-traditional route to analytics helps me do this - my background in marketing helps me position insights as a clear story with a human impact.
In 2020, I decided to return to my hometown after a decade in the UK. Finding an analytical home here wasn’t easy. As I got to know the local landscape, I started to connect with brilliant analytical leaders and through them was introduced to the Vancouver Analytics Board. I was immediately inspired to action. The emerging Analytics community here is vibrant and engaged with a fantastic network of professionals at all career stages. As Vancouver increasingly becomes a hub for analytics, the Vancouver Analytics Board is supporting community, engagement and learning. It’s very exciting to be a part of.
I’m eager to see more people get involved with the Vancouver Analytics Board in 2022. We have several committees to join as a volunteer. Check them out here and learn how to get involved and help us make Vancouver a place for analytics professionals to thrive.
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