Hire people
who are more knowledgeable
than you are
In our latest Up-Close interview, we speak with Lara Izlan, Director of Insights & Analytics at ITV.
Please share the story behind your career as a data leader.
I have worked in digital media for many years, across a number of disciplines. I started in investment research for dot-com companies and then moved into the industry and did roles in consumer research, strategic planning, and advertising technology.
I worked in media companies at the height of their digital transformation, in companies like AOL, Disney, Telegraph and Auto Trader, and have contributed to some really interesting and pivotal business model shifts over the years.
In my current role as Director of Insight at ITV, I’m responsible for a team of fifty research and data professionals delivering data-driven insights to the business. I am also a non-executive director on the board of a global media measurement company.
Data has not always been in my job title, but it has always been a very pivotal element of every role I have had. My path is probably different from other data leaders, but I think I benefit from having multiple lenses on what it means to be a successful media business.
Can you tell us about your journey at ITV over the last 5 years?
I joined ITV five years ago. I have held three different Director roles and worked on evolving data and insights strategies. As data sophistication has grown within the company, and because the demands on the function is increasing due to changing user and economic factors in the market, we needed to continually adapt our approach to delivering data and insights for ITV.
My first role was more specialised. I came in to establish a data and analytics team to support our commercial advertising business. That role was about creating new opportunities for our advertising customers using ITV’s own data and partnerships with other data platforms and providers, and generating new advertising revenue streams for ITV.
I was then promoted into an ITV Group role, leading a brand new data strategy programme. This role was broader, covering the insight needs of multiple departments across ITV. It also marked a shift for me as a leader, going from focusing on one vertical to considering how the data needed to be connected and insights amplified end-to-end across the business.
If you look back, what are you most proud of in terms of what you've built out and the impact you've made in the past couple of years?
I feel most proud of how our teams have and continue to navigate change and drive new ways of working in the business.
One area of change has been how we embed an outcomes-based mindset to data activity. How we ensure that we are developing data and insights capability to drive ITV’s business outcomes and prove value, such as the delivering strategies that grow profitability. It’s been an interesting challenge as media businesses in general are not used to thinking about data in this way. At its heart, ITV is a creative business, and we are about delivering that creativity to as big an audience as possible. Introducing a value-driven mindset to data and insights required a whole new narrative.
And, I believe we are making great progress. We are changing the perception of data from being a back-office function and moving it up the value chain to where the decision makers are. Today, our team leads are partnering with the senior leadership, answering tough business questions and supporting ITV to achieving our commercial and strategic corporate objectives.
“One of the most important functions of being a data leader in this day and age is your ability to build and develop your team.”
Which are the functions that you partner with most frequently, and which are those that you've had to take on a journey?
To take the company on this journey, we had to move away from thinking about the business areas and leaders we work with as internal customers or clients, to thinking about them as stakeholders who have a vested interest in what we are trying to deliver. We now think of our Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Product Officer as partners - we need their input, advice and feedback to deliver the best possible results.
Aside from the business functions, we work very closely with our technology and legal teams. Given the importance of the data we work with, it’s imperative that we develop systems and processes that are technically robust and legally compliant from the start.
How do you manage to strive for D&I in your teams (especially gender) given the data function is so under-represented by women? What successful strategies have you adopted?
One of the most important functions of being a data leader in this day and age is your ability to build and develop your team. I have built three senior teams during my time at ITV so far. Building a team with diverse perspectives is absolutely crucial in a company like ITV with its mass audience appeal. It’s also particularly important in a function like data and insight.
To achieve a diverse team, you need to be conscious and systematic throughout the recruitment process. No step can be taken for granted. From developing the original org design, you must think about the type and blend of roles you have and need, and how you define each job description. You also need to continually pay attention to consistency, fairly applying your criteria across longlist and shortlists, and paying attention to your choice of interviewers. It's about giving candidates the opportunity to engage in a way that suits them best.
Once you have successfully hired your team, the shift then focuses on how you operate inclusively within your team. The goal is to turn a group of brilliant, diverse voices into a high performing team by allowing those voices to mingle, mix, and challenge each other in a safe space.
As a data leader, how do you ensure you're continuously growing and staying ahead?
In a fast-moving area like data and insights, it's important to keep up with a multitude of trends and you can do this through podcasts, conferences, social media and more. However, I genuinely don't have the time to know everything about everything, so I try to keep an open mind in any discussion, and always bring it back to the outcomes we are trying to achieve together; that is my role as a leader.
You must hire good people who are more knowledgeable than you are - you can then ensure their knowledge and contributions benefit everyone in the team. This ultimately leads to successful delivery and being up to speed with the industry.
