GreenBook 2022 Future List Spotlight: Chloe Russell-Sharp

Editor’s Note: The following interview features a GreenBook Future List honoree, Chloe Russell-Sharp. The GreenBook Future List recognizes leadership, professional growth, personal integrity, passion, and excellence in the next generation of consumer insights and marketing professionals within the first 10 years of their careers.

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Introducing Chloe Russell-Sharp

Chloe is a Data Scientist at Brandwatch, a leader in the Digital Consumer Intelligence space, who provides a suite of products aiding querying, exploring, and augmenting online conversation. She is particularly passionate about building web app dashboards that communicate her team’s projects outside of Data Science, facilitating transparency and accessibility of their work. As a keen advocate for gender diversity in STEM subjects, Chloe has given presentations at various events, hosted data-related workshops, spoken on panels, and mentored other women in her field. Chloe holds a BSc in Psychology with some final year Neuroscience from King’s College London.

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If you could go back in time to when you first started your career, what advice would you give to your younger self?

“The voice of Imposter Syndrome is lying to you.”

 

How did you get your start in insights? Did you know that this is what you wanted to do, or did you fall into it?

At university, I studied Psychology with some Neuroscience, which heavily focussed on research and statistics. Here, I found my love for data and how numbers can be transformed into, literally, life-changing insights.

 

What is something you’ve built or launched that you’re proud of?

I have built a few web apps using Dash, a framework that combines Python with front-end languages to build interactive applications and dashboards. Through doing so, contrary to popular belief, I began to see the ways in which Data Science can foster creativity. These apps have garnered praise from throughout the company, which I’m super proud of. 😊

 

Do you have a mentor or role model who has made a large impact on your career? If so, who? In what way did they make an impact?

Every person on the Brandwatch Data Science team has mentored me in some way, often without knowing. Indirect mentorship comes in the form of encouragement, pushing others out of their comfort zones, and creating safety for even the silliest of questions to be asked.

 

What changes would you like to see reflected in the industry over the next five years?

I hope to see diversity continue to take the spotlight in improving hiring practices over the next five years and beyond. We are only at the start of the fight to change long-held stereotypes about who a person in tech should be. I hope diversification continues to focus on gender, race, sexuality, academic backgrounds, etc.; but also on diversifying the types of minds that are considered desirable on a team.