Analytic Partners’ Chief People Officer Alexis Terrazas-Perez Talks About Entrepreneurship, Designing a Rewarding Workplace and Why You Should Work for Us
Alexis joined our leadership team in February, and her first seven months have flown by. We sat down with her to find out more about her, and her time so far at Analytic Partners.
Q: Your resume spans household names like Gap and Visa. Take us back and talk us through your decision to join Analytic Partners.
Alexis: I wasn’t really looking for anything new, but certainly listening – the market was very dynamic at the time. A couple of things made the Analytic Partners story really attractive and made the decision to join an easy one.
First, here was a multi-national business, recognized as a sector leader, built over the last two decades by an amazing leader, Nancy Smith, who is driving an incredible growth strategy for Analytic Partners such as the deliberate search for the right investment partners, Onex Partners. Additionally, her focus on building an expert team who is passionate and invested in the company demonstrates her focus on excellence Nancy’s tenacity is incredibly compelling.
Then, today the company is at a critical inflection point as it leads the industry shift from media mix analytics to commercial mix analytics. A holistic, nuanced view of what is driving business results is essential for companies navigating tough economic times. Analytics Partners is leading this by taking what we have built over the last 20 years and making it scalable for our customers through digitalization and technology. Coupling that with our long-standing expertise and consulting capability drives value to our customer bottom line.
The opportunity to be part of this shift was too good to pass up.
Q: Beyond Analytic Partners, why digital and why marketing analytics?
Alexis: For two reasons. First, there is no doubt that the recovery after the pandemic is digital – you only need to look at the upswing in ecommerce to see this – so when I started exploring this space I realized this was the perfect opportunity to grow as a leader and have impact to the business.
Having worked with chief marketing officers, chief product officers, and chief financial officers, I understand that one of the most difficult things to do is to measure the impact and the value of your marketing spend. Data is important, but business outcomes depend on customer behavior and choices which are influenced by multiple factors on any day. Analytic Partners brings the data together, and through our machine learning capabilities, gives organizations real insights into whether their spend mix is driving the intended business results, given all these variables.
Q: The traditional HR department has evolved dramatically in recent years. Describe your role as chief people officer.
Alexis: My job is to make sure we have the right talent at the right time with the right capabilities to drive business outcomes. Specifically, at Analytic Partners, we look for a combination of right brain-left brain talent in people and diverse experiences across teams. We have been actively adding to the leadership and other teams as we undergo significant growth – in the last six months we’ve added a CMO and a new Legal Counsel, both of whom will be integral to our continued growth.
I also work to create a compelling experience for employees at Analytic Partners where individuals, teams and leaders thrive. This means three things today.
First, creating an attractive value proposition for employees. Key to people being excited to go to work every day is the ability to have an impact and to grow. Next, we have to build a safe space where you can bring your whole self to work so you can deliver in a way that offers personal satisfaction in what you do while also delivering results. Finally, given the growth trajectory we are on, it is my role to minimize growing pains for employees to create a collective future that we can all be excited about.
Q: The data science and analytics space is really hot right now and talent is in high demand. Why should top talent come work for Analytic Partners, rather than anyone else?
Alexis: At Analytic Partners, even though we are growing rapidly, you are not one of many. You can carve out a space for yourself and have a real impact on the organization, even being a part of creating what we are becoming.
Q: Tell us a bit more about yourself, and what drives you as an individual.
Alexis: As the child of entrepreneurs, I have been set up for success in my career thanks to the insider's view of running a business I had access to. But this also means I am hungry for that experience myself at some point. What that looks like is still TBD. But in the meantime, why not learn about how to run your own business from someone who has done it in such an inspiring way!
My other passion is supporting kids aging out of the foster care system. There are so many advantages that I, my children, and others have that set us up for success, that these kids are missing. From balancing a checkbook, to project management skills, to personal branding – this cohort really needs skills transfer, internships and mentoring to thrive as an adult and an employee.