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Employee Spotlight: Meet Ryan, Client Analytics & Insight (CAI) Manager and avid hiker

Welcome to our brand new employee spotlight series! One of the key contributors to our growth and success has been our fantastic team, so it’s fitting to bring them into the spotlight with a recurring series. We hope you enjoy getting to know the diverse and unique talent we have the pleasure to work with everyday. 

In our first post, we get to know Ryan, our CAI manager and avid hiker, based in Vermont, US.

 

Let’s jump right in, what is your role at Opensignal?

I’m a manager on the Client Analytics and Insights team. I’ve been at Opensignal for just over 4 years. I started at the analyst level and gradually worked my way up to CAI manager, which is my role right now. 

So what does a CAI manager do?

Our key focus in CAI is to produce actionable insights for our clients. I usually split my time between more standardized tasks - insights we deliver to clients on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis - and more ad hoc, deep dive projects that dig into a specific question, creating deeper analyses on a certain topic.  We basically collect a bunch of different data points from different data sets and distill them into a coherent and meaningful narrative and actionable piece of information. Clients can use this to make decisions and improve their business. This is what I enjoy the most. 

We’re a close-knit team and I also just help out where I can. In the past months, I’ve tried myself out in business development and sales and quality assurance, helping out with client insights wherever I can. 

What led you down the data analytics path?

In college, I studied Information Systems as well as Business Analytics. I started my career in Information Systems, working at a management consultancy. But I quickly realized I would’ve preferred to start in Business Analytics so I switched my career path at that point and joined Opensignal. Been here ever since. 

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I really like interacting with clients, working together to come up with a solution that will work for them. Every question is unique so there’s never a one-size-fits-all answer to the specific queries. We really go deep, looking at their business as well as the industry. 

It’s really exciting when you bring new insights to the table, offer recommendations in a meeting and then see the client successfully implement your suggestions. The best part is when you get to see the results and how the success plays out. We can measure all that in the data. 

 

What drew you to the wireless industry? 

It’s a very dynamic industry, changing all the time. Just looking at the past couple years we’ve seen the Sprint / T-Mobile merger in the US, a huge change for the competitive dynamic. We’ve also witnessed a major phone manufacturer drop out of the marketplace, another shake up. Then the launch of 5G networks, and, of course, most recently, Covid. The pandemic had such an impact on the industry, making connectivity even more important with so many activities moving online. This changed consumer habits, like how people shop for phones. 

There's always a big new question just round the corner, that shakes things up. The wireless industry just never gets stale. 

What do you find unique about Opensignal?

I appreciate how flat the organization is. It’s really easy to get hold of even our C level leaders in the company, you can share your ideas with them, and you can tell they take it seriously. The flow of information is really transparent and easy.

How do you fill your cup after a long day?

I’m lucky enough to be close to Lake Champlain, and after a long day I really enjoy just taking my dog, Maya, out there. 

What about the weekends? 

I recently moved to Vermont, so I've been spending the past 9 months exploring the area. I’m a big skier, so I spent the winter months skiing in the mountains. And now, with the weather turning warmer, I swapped that for hiking. Just exploring all the gorgeous scenes in the area and keeping busy in my backyard garden.

What is something you couldn't live without?

Coffee. And air conditioning. I despise the heat, so Vermont is ideal.

What’s the last book you read?

Campfire Stories: Tales From America's National Parks​​​​​​. It’s an anthology of stories about national parks in the US. 

What is your biggest pet peeve?

I’m going to blame my actual pet for this. When I’m working upstairs, I can hear her scratching the carpet downstairs just because she’s bored and she knows it will get me to come down and tell her to stop.