E111 - Mazen Kassis - Bringing Together Existing Technology & New Technology for Data-Driven Decisions

This new technology will change everything about how you work in your business!

At least, that’s what they say.

With how quickly technology is advancing everyday, how do you decide which shiny new piece of technology is either right for your business…

…or a huge waste of an investment?

Even worse, once you find that perfect new technology, how do you implement it in a way that works for everyone?

Meet Mazen Kassis

Mazen’s Role as a Data Analytics Leader at Foodstuffs North Island

Mazen Kassis is the Head of Data & Analytics at Foodstuffs North Island Limited - a cooperative made up of 24,000 kiwis working hard to make sure New Zealanders get more out of life. They serve 2.7 million kiwis each week through their 330+ PAK’nSAVE, New World, Four Square and Gilmours stores and have donated 9m meals to Food Rescue. In 2020, Foodstuffs won the Large Retail Employer of the Year award, and their Four Square banner was a recipient of Aon Hewitt's Best Employer award in 2018. This year, Foodstuffs North Island marks its 100 year anniversary.

Mazen’s Other Work in Data Analytics and Privacy

Besides his work with Foodstuffs North Island, Mazen is a Training Advisory Board Member with IAPP - the International Association of Privacy Professionals. IAPP is the largest privacy association in the world and a leader in the privacy industry. They provide resources for practitioners to develop and advance their careers while helping professionals and businesses navigate the complexities of the evolving environment and how to define and manage privacy issues.

Having spent his career journey in research, privacy, and data & analytics capacities in ANZ, Asia, Africa and Europe, Mazen has learnt important lessons about different ways and means that data can be turned into actionable insights. Synthesising data to inform decision making ignites his passion and creating ecosystems where this can be done at scale drives him further.

Data Driven, Business Decisions, and New Technology

In this exclusive analytics podcast episode, Mazen shares:

• His work as a Training Advisory Board Member with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)
• Idiosyncrasies between the ANZ region and other regions
• His role as the Head of Data & Analytics at Foodstuffs North Island
• Efforts to ensure all business decisions across the organisation are data-powered and customer-driven
• Developing good data culture amongst data users
• Organisational structure: Centre of Excellence vs distributed teams
• What would happen if business decisions were not powered by data
• How to know which new data analytics technology is worth bringing into the organisation
• The process of bringing in a new data analytics technology from start to finish
• Reasons behind less than ideal outcomes when procuring new technologies
• Reflections on an approach to introducing new data and analytics tech that had unintended consequences
• Desirable skills for the modern data and analytics professionals
• His suggestions for those looking to introduce new technologies in their organisations

If you are interested in getting a glimpse into the world of data and analytics inside one of the most significant organisations in New Zealand, this is the episode you do not want to miss.