Alex Cook

How would you summarize what you do?

Being a Principal involves wearing many hats one day, and then setting those aside and wearing an entirely new set of hats the next day (I have a large hat collection by now). My responsibilities include everything from client success and delivery, to people management, to selling exciting, impactful work for our consultants. It’s a challenge and a pleasure.

What work / project are you proudest of and what impact has it made?

I am part of an effort to completely redefine and modernize how a large enterprise delivers, accesses, and uses data. It’s completely changing the data culture within the organization.

What’s unique about working for Inpsire11?

Autonomy. The ability to drive your career where you want to go and focus on the things that are important to you.

How has your background shaped how you think, relate to others, and conquer challenges?

As a data practitioner, I generally use a data-driven approach to decision-making. But it’s not foolproof; sometimes you have to go with your gut.

What does “inspiring a better tomorrow for all” mean to you?

It means impacting our clients, the communities we live in, and the world, in a positive way. We try to build things for a brighter future.

Describe how you’ve grown professionally since you started working for Inspire11?

I try to take a servant leadership approach. I’m not always successful but there are so many learnings along the way that it helps me become a better consultant, colleague, and person.

How do you turn it up to 11?

Every day is a challenge. Our Day 1 mentality means we always try to approach problems with a fresh and unbiased perspective. It’s very refreshing.

If you have to be odd to be an Eleven, what makes you odd?

At heart, I am just a data geek and would prefer to nerd out over a cool dataset in my data cave.

What’s a fun fact about you that many people may not know?

I was born a generation too late: all my favorite music is from the 1960s & 1970s.

What’s your motto or personal mantra? 

Be kind.

What’s one item you can’t live without? 

Black coffee. Lots of black coffee.

What advice would you give someone who wants to enter your field?

Just get started, somewhere, anywhere. It’s a huge ocean of data out there.