{"id":195935,"date":"2025-12-10T10:16:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T10:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harnham.com\/?p=195935"},"modified":"2025-12-10T10:16:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T10:16:50","slug":"unifying-data-strategy-european-media-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harnham.com\/unifying-data-strategy-european-media-group\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Leading European Media Group Unified Its Data Strategy with Harnham"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-195330\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harnham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-design-26-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"116\" height=\"116\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harnham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-design-26-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.harnham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-design-26-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.harnham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-design-26-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.harnham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-design-26-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.harnham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-design-26.png 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 116px) 100vw, 116px\" \/> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jamie-smith-2b136b148\/\">Jamie Smith<\/a>, Senior Manager at Harnham, UK.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A major privately owned media organisation in Europe, employing more than 12,000 people and operating hundreds of print and digital brands, had reached a critical point in its data journey. As its digital footprint expanded, so did its data capability, but not in a way that created cohesion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data teams across multiple countries and functions were working hard, but independently. Analytics, planning, digital, infrastructure and legal each had their own tools, processes, and priorities. The organisation needed one view of its audiences and a consistent, streamlined approach to how data informed decisions across the group.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Challenge<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fragmented data functions made it difficult to share insight, reduce duplication, or measure impact at group level.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The client wanted to unify its data teams under one strategic direction enabling the UK data function to act as an internal analytics consultancy to the wider business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To do that, they needed a senior leader who could connect the dots: someone able to define best practice, align teams across markets, and embed data into everyday commercial decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Partnership<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Harnham was engaged to identify a Head of Data Science &amp; Analytics who could combine strategic thinking with hands-on delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The search was entirely headhunt-led. From taking the brief to verbal acceptance, the full process took just <\/span><b>30 days<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. During this time, we:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identified 12 targeted profiles<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Secured 8 first-stage interviews<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Progressed 6 second-stage interviews<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delivered 3 final-stage interviews<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Candidates were evaluated for their technical depth, leadership across multidisciplinary teams, and experience in fast-moving, consumer-facing environments.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Delivery<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the Head of Data Science &amp; Analytics was in role, the next step was to build the structure needed to deliver their roadmap.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Harnham supported the wider transformation by placing <\/span><b>17 additional hires<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A mix of data engineers, analysts, and data scientists to strengthen capability across the group.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This combination of executive search and delivery support meant the new leader could focus on execution from day one, not recruitment.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Impact<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the appointment, the organisation has:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Unified data teams<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across the UK and Europe under a single operating model.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Delivered a clear data strategy and roadmap<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for audience analytics and personalisation.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Reduced reliance on external agencies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, building in-house capability and improving cost efficiency.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Accelerated reporting and insight cycles<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, helping business units act on data faster.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Improved segmentation and targeting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, directly supporting audience engagement and monetisation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bigger Picture<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The client now operates with a more connected, consistent approach to data. The UK team acts as a central hub for analytics across Europe driving consistency, improving visibility, and supporting better commercial decisions across the business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Harnham, this project demonstrates what we do best: bringing together executive search precision and delivery capability to help clients build lasting data teams and leadership at scale.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hiring across Data Teams? Get Practical Support<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a style=\"font-size: 16px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harnham.com\/contact-page\/\"><b>Book a consultation<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with a hiring specialist who understands the market.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Jamie Smith, Senior Manager at Harnham, UK. A major privately owned media organisation in Europe, employing more than 12,000 people and operating hundreds of print and digital brands, had reached a critical point in its data journey. As its digital footprint expanded, so did its data capability, but not in a way that created&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":618,"featured_media":195936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-195935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hiring-for-data"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How a Leading European Media Group Unified Its Data Strategy with Harnham - 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