Bernard Marr
Speaker, Author, Advisor
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling business author, keynote speaker and strategic adviser to companies and governments. He is one of the world’s most highly respected experts when it comes to business performance, digital transformation and the intelligent use of data in business. Bernard is also a major business and technology influencer with over 1.1 million followers on LinkedIn, which have recently ranked Bernard as one of the top 10 Business Influencers in the world. In addition to that he has a strong presence on Twitter, Facebook and SlideShare. His columns in Forbes, HuffPost and LinkedIn have millions of readers. He has written many books, which have been translated into over 15 languages, including the international best-sellers ‘Data Strategy’, ‘Big Data in Practice’, ‘Big Data’, ‘Key Business Analytics’ and ‘The Intelligent Company’. Bernard has worked with and advised many of the world’s best-known organisations including Accenture, Astra Zeneca, Bank of England, Barclays, BP, Cisco, DHL, Fujitsu, Gartner, HSBC, IBM, Mars, Ministry of Defence, Microsoft, NATO, The Home Office, NHS, Oracle, Orange, Tetley, T-Mobile, Toyota, Royal Air Force, SAP, Shell, the United Nations, Walgreens Alliance Boots, Walmart, among many others.
How did you get to become an expert in big data?
I have never done anything else. After finishing my degree at Cambridge University on the topic of management information systems I took on a job at the University and stated researching and consulting on the topic, which then evolved into business intelligence, analytics, big data and today AI and machine learning. After 10 years of working for leading business schools I left academia to focus on my own writing, speaking and strategic consulting work.
What areas of big data are you most passionate about?
I am most passionate about how big data (and all associate technologies) can help boost business performance. I help many of the world’s best-known companies identify the strategic areas of their business where big data can make the biggest difference. The biggest potential I see in machine learning, which is fueled by big data.
Which big data influencers influence you?
There are so many – I absorb all knowledge from very diverse fields. There are academics like Erik Brynjolfsson, Tom Davenport, Andrew Mcaffee and Richard Susskind. Then there my data science friends including Kirk Borne, Vincent Granville, and James Kobielus and even philosophers such as Yuval Noah Harari or economists like Paul Mason, who have all helped me shape my view on big data. But there are so many others…
Outside of big data who else influences you?
Besides the field of big data I get influenced by people working in strategy, business performance and management.
Which brands or products stand out for you in big data?
Tech giants like Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft are all doing amazing things in this field. Then there are the hundreds of fantastic vendors working on big data technology and solutions as well as many other clients and case study companies I write about every week.
If a brand wanted to work with you, what offline / online activities would you be most interested in?
As you would expect there are endless ways I work with brands including speaking, blog posts, white papers, social campaigns, podcasts, customized books, webinars, strategic advice, solution partnering, training, market intelligence, and much more.
What would be the best way for a brand to contact you?
The best way to get in touch with me is via my website: www.bernardmarr.com