Tris J Burns 🔥

Trisjburns.com

I work with data professionals looking to supercharge their careers and grow into influential and unstoppable data leaders.

Data Leadership Coach

Strategies For Effective Data Leadership

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Writer

Pizza Hut Digital Ventures

Headed up the PHDV Data and Analytics Function for PH's Global E-commerce assets.

• Introduced a culture of data driven experimentation and CRO
• Provided accurate and timely ecom business insights for C-Suite and external stakeholders
• Managed a team of 6 talented analytics across various disciplines within E-commerce Data and Analytics
• Provided product data analysis that drive a data first approach to product management

PHDV is Pizza Hut International’s E-commerce platform.  As Global Head of Analytics I am responsible for ensuring the entire organisation is data informed and driven as we build and scale our E-commerce strategy in over 100 markets around the world. 

Originally run as an internal startup, I joined PHDV as one of the first 25 employees.

As a member of the senior leadership team I help facilitate organisation-wide goal-setting via OKRs, planning and decision making, and ensure these plans are executed on time and on budget. 

In support of this I provide accurate forecasts and target setting for the business. I keep team members and C-Suite stakeholders informed by delivering regular business performance and strategy updates. 

I lead several strategic initiatives including our Conversion Rate Optimisation and Personalisation programs. These streams of work require me to work very closely with engineering, design and product on a daily basis. 

Since starting with PHDV I have grown my analytics team from just myself to now 6 analysts across multiple timezones.

Global Head of Analytics

Touch Surgery

By being the central nervous system for med-tech startup Touch Surgery’s sales and account management teams, I ensured the business always had a finger on the pulse of our users. I provided actionable insights backed by robust analytics that saw the number of partner institutions grow by over 100% exceeding EOY target by 50%

• Provided app analytics of user behaviour and engagement which enabled account management teams to prioritise accounts with greater potential for future revenue

• Developed and applied engagement metrics to identify opportunities for growth among new customers as well as value add amongst our existing client base

Business Intelligence and Strategy Analyst

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

I turned ‘excel-crashing’ sized data sets into a suite of slick sales management reports ensuring managers who don’t have time to get their own coffee could pick up one of my reports and immediately understand exactly what is going on in their business. The margin for error on the trading floor is 0 and the insights and recommendations made in my reports drove the direction and outcome of multi-mullion dollar deals

• Created and implemented a Resource Efficiency Ratio that measured the value of the resources clients extracted from the bank versus how much revenue they brought through the door. These insights empowered our FX Hedge Funds business to slash costs and improve forecasts. My report was implemented globally

• I worked closely with the new head of the Rates and FX Hedge Funds businesses as the two lines were merged. I produced accurate and timely client analytics reports to ensure solid relationships were maintained with some of the world’s most established Investment Banks and Hedge Funds

Snr. Analyst Fixed Income Global Sales FICC COO

Santos Ltd

I was the Project Lead and Subject Matter Expert for the implementation of a $5 million Stakeholder Relationship Management system built on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database

• Successfully delivered the project on time and on budget by collaborating across multiple internal business units and with external stakeholders. Business user system interaction increased by more than 300% on previous solution. The project was cited as an example of excellent project team and business integration and cooperation

• The development of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) requiring mathematical manipulation of data to produce various ratio based indicators that provided qualitative insight into stakeholder sentiment towards the Project

Santos is a major oil and gas exploration and production company with interests in Australia and Asia. Santos has total assets of $22.3 Billion, annual sales revenue of $4 Billion and over 10,000 employees. The Santos GLNG Project was an $18.5 Billion Coal Seam Gas to Liquid Natural Gas infrastructure construction and LNG export business with joint venture partners Total, Petronas and KOGAS

Business Analyst

Institute of Continuing and TESOL Education - University of Queensland

• Various financial management roles such as maintaining and investigating international student accounts, preparing daily banking reports as well as the maintenance, improvement and administration of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system used by customer service and administration staff members.

• Development of key relationships with relevant stakeholders from across the business.  Act as liaison to external bodies such as consulates and embassies, government departments, sponsoring bodies, members of the public and commercial dealers.

• Worked in a concurrent role as the Group Leader providing interpreting support and coordinating educational programs on behalf of Japanese university students and teachers.

Administration and Student Support Services / Group Leader for Educational Programs

Data is largely viewed as a technical challenge rather than a business one by leadership teams across industries. This causes them to be disengaged from data’s potential as an effective business driver and to focus solely on technical initiatives and solutions.

Through my data leadership coaching and group facilitation, I help data leaders and leadership teams develop robust data-centric cultures to help them increase accuracy and velocity around decision making to maximise ROI from strategic initiatives.

I combine my extensive career experience as a Global Head of Data within a Fortune 500 alongside my experience as a consultant, coach and mentor to work with leaders to develop a company wide, data-centric culture that will ensure individuals and organisations are in the right place to maximise their growth potential.

I am deeply passionate about technology and startups and have been endorsed by Tech Nation as a Global Talent in Tech. I speak frequently at tech events and have experience as a founder having started two marketplace businesses.

Director

I'm so excited to announce this!! You are not going to believe what I'm about to announce! OMG THIS IS SO AMAZING. 

That's right, you guessed it! 

You're all invited to join my book club 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗱 𝗔𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗳! 

Can hardly believe can you?? Well, you better believe it!

The Bad Ass Bookshelf is a book club for people who are hell bent on becoming a better version of themselves both personally and professionally.

Each month members vote for a best selling non-fiction book - books like 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 and 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝘁 (this month's book from Annie Duke).

We all get together on our private Discord channel to chat about these incredible books and at the end of the month we host a book club call for our Bad Ass Bookworms.

Here's the MOST amazing part - We will be voting for our November book on Monday! So now is the perfect time to join us!!

We are an equal opportunity book club! EVERYONE IS WELCOME

Just comment BADASS below and I'll be in touch to shoot over the secret codes for you to get in!

★ Strategy & Data Leadership Coach | Helping leaders maximise the potential of their careers!

I came across the most infuriating post yesterday. 

Poster was a software eng. with a massive following & 20+ years experience. 

He was taking beef with folks posting on LinkedIn "as though they were experts" who only had a few years experience in their field. 

He was claiming that due to their relatively low level of experience, they lacked the credibility to talk about these topics, and that readers should verify if they are in fact "qualified" to have a POV on this.

✅  Part of me sees where he's coming from  

😑 But another part of me sees this as a form of gatekeeping 

To me, this message sounds like:

"𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠!" 

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗢𝗩 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘀:

If I took my first science lesson from Einstein, I wouldn't understand a thing.

We need folks at every stage to share their experiences and insights. 

Someone who is 20 years ahead in their field rarely has anything of value to share with someone starting out in their career. But they will likely be able to learn a LOT from these folks just a couple of steps ahead. 

LinkedIn is a conversation. The more people we invite to it, the more better. 

Let's not exclude folks because we've decided their lack of experience excludes them. 

END RANT

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Hi I'm Tris 🔥 and I want you to know your perspectives are welcome here.

Happy Halloween 🎃

In just two weeks time, I’ll be joining UK Chief Data Officers and senior leaders from across Banking, Financial Services and Insurance for a two-day event. 

I’ll be hosting a roundtable on a topic we do not talk about openly enough:

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝘁.

I am not interested in polished success stories. I am interested in the decisions that backfired, the signals we misread, and the organisational dynamics that made things harder than they needed to be. 

Those are the conversations that move us forward.

I am genuinely looking forward to this conversation because failure itself is not the issue in our industry. Failing to learn from it is.

If you are attending or thinking about it, I would love to hear ahead of time:
What is one thing you tried that absolutely did not go the way you expected?
 
https://lnkd.in/gCc3gvmV #CDOBFSI

Nothing ages a data leader more than feeling like they have no impact. 

That’s why every time I hear about a data team that’s nothing more than a glorified service desk, I age by 1 hour.

On paper, I’m still a young man, but the service desk thing puts me somewhere in my early 70s. 

At the current rate I’ll be hitting 100 sometime in Dec. 

Data is easily and organisations most valuable asset, yet 9/10 the teams responsible to managing this asset and who are closest to it, have basically 0 strategic relevance. 

This is absolutely backwards. 

To truly leverage the value and power of our data, we need influential data leaders who help steer their organisations towards better startegic decision making. 

Not ones that simply take orders and build dashboards. 

If you need guidance on how to become that data leader, I’m here to help. 

Book a free 1:1 intro call with me before I get too old!! 👨🏼‍🦳 

Head to my bio/website to book now.

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Drowning in data requests is THE key challenge for data teams.

Teams I encounter are overwhelmed by the volume and complexity of the requests they receive and have little to no time whatsoever to focus on other, non-reactive tasks. 

For many of them, responding to tickets is their ENTIRE job. 

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲/𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿:

🎟️ Building scalable data products and reusable assets
🎟️ Developing team capability and modern practices
🎟️ Partnering with the business to shape decisions
🎟️ Strategic data planning and roadmapping
🎟️ Improving data quality and governance

Getting on top and in control of your data request intake process is essential. It is the absolute 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 you need to take if you hope to make any meaningful progress on the opportunities I listed above. 

🛟 Good news - it doesn't have to be this way!

For many of my data leadership coaching clients - addressing this in a meaningful way is our first port of call when we start working together.

We look at the current approach and begin deploying meaningful strategies and prioritisations frameworks to ensure we limit the negative impacts of data request overwhelm. 

This has absolutely changed their jobs for the better.

If you would like to find out how, why not grab some time with me for a free 1:1 intro call that you can book here: https://lnkd.in/gwNChJVf

Let's get you out of that water, and back on dry land!

Going 1% in 100 different directions. 

This is how a data leader described to me recently what it was like being in data at their company - right before they quit. 

I found this statement to be EXTREMELY powerful.

It's the best description I've ever come across for what it's like to work in data in 2025. In it I see countless stories of frustration and pain that I've both observed first hand, and had told to me by my clients. 

Our industry has tremendous potential.

But that potential is being wasted. 

We exist to generate value and guide our organisations, but most of the time, we're just running on a treadmill that is getting faster and faster each year.

And, frankly, a lot of people can't keep up the pace. 

Their legs give out and they're violently thrust off the treadmill. 

There are many things that cause this, and we speak about them frequently on LinkedIn and at conferences. Data folks aren't necessarily the cause of this, but they are certainly the ones having to deal with it. 

This isn't a post to provide the answers.

It's just to say that we need to acknowledge that there are some severe challenges in our industry and a tonne of pressure right now. 

If you're feeling that, know that you're not the only one. 

This is universal and many folks are right there with you. 

--------
Hi, I'm Tris 🔥 and I work hard to help data leaders become more influential and impactful inside their organisations. If you'd like to schedule a chat to see how I can help you, head to my profile/website to grab some time for a free 1:1

Every time I share this meme... 

it f*cking kills  🚀 📈

Impressions go to the freaking moon 🌕

I guess it hits a nerve, huh?

I mean, it's pretty obvious why. Folks don't come to data dreaming of a long career as an IT help desk. 

They come to data to make an impact and a difference.... but it almost never pans out like that. At least not for most of the data leaders who reach out to me.

🦧 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘆. 

🧭 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆.

But shifting the purpose and role of the data function requires a tremendous amount of political manoeuvring, some thick skin and and a lot of managing up.

These are skills we're not taught nor supported with when we transition to data leadership roles. 

For the most part we're just expected to shut up and keep the unnecessary dashboards coming. 

If that's your lot in life - great, enjoy it. 

But that's not the life for me (or many of my clients).  

We're here to make a strategic difference by leveraging the businesses most valuable asset:  IT'S DATA.

If you're struggling with this feeling and this memes makes you feel it in your bones, why not hit me up for a free and casual 1:1 intro chat to discuss ways forward. 

Head to my profile/website to nab some time with me via Calendly.

Far out! This is an unexpected result! 

Last week I ran the same poll here on LinkedIn and in my newsletter (subscribe above will ya!).

I asked my readers and followers this question:

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝟮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀?

45% of 170 respondents felt that the key reason data leaders fail so quickly is that exec teams don't know what they actually want (from them). 

I'd love to get your interpretation of why you think this is, but my perspective having spoken 1:1 with hundreds of data leaders is this:

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Strategies are a signal to the wider business about what the organisation hopes to achieve in the coming time period and how they expect to do it. 

Most orgs don't have an overarching strategy OR they've not communicated it effectively across the org. Some will treat it as a box ticking exercise that once done, is forgotten - until the next strategy setting cycle.

If you're a data leader who wants to succeed, you need to get f*cking close to your biz strat. 

If there isn't one - find out why not.

If there is one, use it to align your data efforts with what the business has determined are its goals.

This is how you stay relevant and win.

--------
Hi, I'm Tris 🔥. I help data leaders become more strategic and influential inside their organisations. If you'd like to chat about how I can help you, head to my profile to grab time with me over a free 30min intro chat.

Some folks would rather have their head kicked in than join a boring ass book club.

That was me until not too long ago. 

You see, I suck at reading. I'm not particularly motivated to read and I found the experience of reading to be a pretty lonely one for the most part. 

But I also know how insanely valuable reading can be.

That tucked inside the covers of these incredible books are ideas and perspectives that can literally change a person's life. 

So, to make sure I wasn't alone on my reading journey (and to provide a little peer pressure to make me actually read) I started the Bad Ass Bookshelf book club. 

Open to everyone, the Bad Ass Bookshelf is the book club that doesn't suck. 

Each month our members vote on the book they want to read from the nominated list.

Right now, our members are voting on one of:

📚 Grit - by Annie Grant
📚 Upstream - by Dan Heath
📚 Hidden Potential - by Adam Grant

Once we know what book we're reading, we get started and come together to share our learnings and insghts via our private Discord channel.

At the end of the month we join for a book club call to discuss and review.

Like I said, we are open to everyone. If you'd like to learn more or join the book club comment 𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗔𝗦𝗦 below and I'll be in touch with the secret codes to join us!

🚔 Here's a data opinion I might get arrested for:

Business literate data teams are 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 valuable than purely technically teams. 

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀?

Well, if the data team can't understand the business problem, the context in which is has occurred, or the impacts of fixing/ignoring it, then their technical competency counts for very little.

Unfortunately, data leaders tell me all the time that their teams simply cannot communicate effectively with business stakeholders, which forces them to become involved at every stage.

In my 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 last week I dove into the topic of how data leaders can start to improve the business literacy of their data teams. 

And, as usual, I included the below poll on the topic👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

If you're not yet subscribed, you should be. My newsletter is called Strategies For Effective Data Leadership and that's exactly what it is about.

Subscribe via the button up top on this post!

What’s the hardest part of getting your data team to communicate effectively with business stakeholders?

The author can see how you vote. Learn more

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