Governing Body Spotlight

As a leader of a large, global analytics team, Martha Asselin has a passion for partnering with executives and leaders to leverage analytics-driven insights and transform business processes, enabling the successful attainment of company growth and profitability goals. She has experience bringing siloed, under-utilized data to light to enable richer insights, impactful analyses and well-informed business decisions.

Learn more about leaders in the New York CDAO community here.
 

Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.

I am a very creative person, always looking for better ways of doing things – particularly using data to drive that optimization. As such, I started my career as a structural engineer. It seemed to be the perfect fit of using math and data to design structures. However, I am also an initiator.  I love stretching the boundaries of current thinking and practice to find those better ways of doing things.

Much of the design that I did as an engineer was based on tried-and-true methodologies which didn’t hold my interest once I had mastered them. I came to realize that the best fit for me was in a field that was constantly changing and evolving. Analytics became a natural landing ground, and I truly get excited about the impact that I bring in this capacity.
 

What is one of your guiding leadership principles?

I love taking a very complex concept or data set and transforming it into a format and delivery method that provides critical and succinct insights to folks across my organization. I also very much enjoy the pioneering, experimental nature of analytics, and I work to inspire others to take that experimental approach. My motto is "Let's try it and see what happens."
 

With disruption being a key theme of the past year, where do you see your role as a CDAO going in the next 1-2 years?

My company, LKQ Corporation, is the leading provider of alternative aftermarket, specialty salvage, and recycled auto parts to repair and accessorize vehicles. We have operations in North America, Europe, and Asia. The automotive industry is in the midst of significant change as demand for electric vehicles grows throughout the world. This presents significant opportunities for LKQ and likewise, opens opportunities for our analytics team to understand the changing dynamics and impacts to customer demand and behavior.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the role as a CDAO?

Ask 'why?' a lot. Don't be afraid to question assumptions. They can lead to biases, slow progress, and prevent you from getting to the bottom of why things are the way they are.
 

Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.

1. I had unique opportunities to visit several famous structures when I started my career as a structural engineer.  I have been to the very top of the Zakim Memorial Bridge in Boston and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York.
2. I have a wonderful family with a loving husband and two boys.
3. When we are not at home or work, you can find us at the baseball field, the ski mountain or the beach.
    

What is the value of joining an Evanta community?

The connections that I have made are invaluable.

Evanta Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.
 

by CDAOs, for CDAOs
 

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