International Women’s Day: ‘Take the leap’
Suzanne Smith, Driven Brands SVP of Insights and Analytics, shares her advice for International Women's Day 2022.
Suzanne Smith, SVP of Insights and Analytics, loves problem solving and trying to connect dots and patterns to “explain why things happen and how to influence what happens in the future.” While the field has grown and developed significantly, Suzanne says “underneath all this bright and shiny technology is still what I love the most: finding the 1-2 nuggets from all the noise that really matters and can measurably impact the business.”
Never bored a day in her career, Suzanne says understanding how to turn data and analytics “into practical business outcomes is the most challenging and rewarding part of the process.”
Suzanne’s tips:
Take the leap on a new role or opportunity before you think you’re 100% ready. 100% ready doesn’t exist and you’re always more ready than you think you are. Setting career goals is important, but don’t focus so much on the end goal. Learn and evolve from the journey that may very well take you to a different place in your career. Humility and confidence are equally important for success: Never forgetting where you come from and what makes you strong at your core Have a point of view. Be confident to share it and open to changing it. Stay curious and never stop asking questions. Take the time to celebrate and be proud of your successes and those of others. Outside of work, Suzanne loves activities with her husband – outdoors as much as possible! Biking, running, hiking, and traveling. She finds working in her yard to be very therapeutic. In the community, Suzanne volunteers with and raises awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – a key partner to the Driven Brands Charitable Foundation.