Data guru Vicky Byrom appointed Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Zumo
Edinburgh-based crypto platform Zumo has brought in award-winning industry innovator Vicky Byrom as its first Chief Data and Analytics Officer.
Byrom will drive the development of Zumo’s data strategy to meet the evolving needs of the business, managing and governing data whilst also ensuring the value of that data is fully realised as a strategic asset. Her focus will be on making data analytics accessible, transparent, secure and useful to the organisation.
She will be responsible for establishing a data governance committee to map data across the business, making sure new data sources are prioritised, ingested and promoted in adherence to regulatory frameworks. Vicky will also oversee the improvement of data literacy across the organisation, identifying opportunities to develop data-driven approaches to business challenges.
The analytics guru has more than 20 years’ experience delivering data projects across both the private and public sectors. Prior to joining Zumo, she headed up the data function at payments fintech Modulr, and has also previously led the multi award-winning Advanced Analytics team for the agency Merkle UK.
In 2019, she won the Data IQ award for ‘Data Analytics Leader of the Year’ whilst working at Merkle. She was also a member of the AI Steering Committee for the Scottish Government which developed the country’s first AI strategy.
“I’m a self-confessed data nerd and have spent my career bringing profitable order to data anarchy,” Byrom said.
“Lots of organisations claim to be data-driven, but most don’t do it very well. That’s because data is often an ill-considered afterthought.
“It’s hugely exciting to join Zumo, a well-respected company that wears its green credentials on its sleeve. It’s an opportunity to work with the very best in fintech. I’m looking forward to helping Zumo use data in a more proactive way. It’s a big asset that can inform customer and business processes as the company moves from start-up to scale-up.”
Dagmara Aldridge, Chief People and Culture Officer at Zumo, added: “This is a fantastic hire for Zumo. Everyone knows the power of data and Zumo is no different. Shared, trusted data breaks down silos and provides real-time visibility into activities across the organisation, enabling sustainable growth, aiding automation and faster delivery of value to our end customers.
“In addition, as we scale, responsibility and customer contact increases – a data-driven 360-degree view of the customer will help Zumo maintain the human touch and provide product intelligence. And Vicky is one of the best in the business when it comes to harnessing and extracting maximum value from data in a responsible, compliant manner.
“Vicky will also help to upskill her colleagues, boosting data literacy skills throughout the business.”
The latest in a series of senior hires for Zumo, Vicky Byrom’s appointment caps a fine year for the company, which has now more than doubled its headcount over the past 12 months.
Following massive growth for the Zumo App, the company launched Zumo Enterprise earlier this year, which was the UK’s first full-stack B2B ‘crypto-as-a-service’ platform that supports financial institutions and fintechs keen to offer crypto solutions.
Zumo also joined the World Economic Forum’s Crypto Sustainability Coalition as a result of its industry-leading decarbonisation work.
In recent weeks, Zumo’s successes have been recognised at the Crypto AM Awards 2022 (Best Application of ESG) and the AltFi Awards 2022 (Crypto Company of the Year).