simon rowe, data storyteller
Specific focus areas: managing the storytelling with data community and driving awareness of all things SWD through the European market.
Promotional materials
Need an official bio or photo of Simon to help promote your session? Feel free to use the text and images linked below.
Official bio: click here (or scroll down)
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In their own words…
Where are you from?
Growing up in the countryside of Kent, England and always residing in and around the South East area, I now live in greater London with my wife and two boys.
Do you have a favorite chart type?
Line charts - a great choice for continuous data, they also free up white space to allow the annotation of important data points directly.
What inspired your interest in visualization?
My childhood fascination with data manifested itself through absorbing the match statistics of my local football team. During my career, although working within an analytical team my passion for visualization was ignited following the attendance of a storytelling with data masterclass. Following that, I began to engage with Tableau and enjoyed the inspiration and personal connections I was able to gain through the Tableau community the ‘datafam’.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
A keen tennis player, regularly participating again after a 20–year hiatus, I also enjoy most other sports, especially Football (Soccer), Formula 1 and Golf. Currently, much of my personal time is spent enjoying providing lasting memories and experiences to my two young children.
Videos
Simon is a featured speaker at multiple conferences, user groups, and data meetups, and creates webinars and special events for the storytelling with data community. In addition, he develops videos for the SWD YouTube channel, a selection of which you can find below.
Articles
Simon regularly contributes articles for the storytelling with data blog, on a wide variety of topics—data viz makeovers, in-depth analyses of visualization types, workshop attendee questions, and more. Here is a sample of Simon’s work.
tackle the challenge of scope creep
“Scope creep” affects almost every organization and while nobody sets out to make a confusing communication, visuals with multiple additions from the original will, by the time you encounter it for the first time, be thoroughly impenetrable. Read how Simon tackles this challenge and returns overly ambitious and complex slides back to a level of usefulness and clarity for everyone.
don't hide the crucial findings
Critical information present in the graphs we create may not be easily retrievable to us, or our audience. In this article, Simon explains that by choosing a more appropriate visual and taking steps to call attention to this information, that important finding can be successfully highlighted.
what is a treemap?
In this installment of our back-to-basics chart series, Simon explores treemaps. Learn about what a treemap is, scenarios where they might be appropriate, some of the challenges with them, and different ways you can show your data with them.
Podcasts
On occasion, Simon participates in the popular storytelling with data podcast. Below are his favorite episodes.
episode 61
AI, quantified self, and fingernails
SWD storytellers Simon and Mike Cisneros offer their thoughts on how the recent advancements in AI tools may transform the way we analyze and communicate with data. They also discuss some of their favorite entries and interesting themes from the most recent SWD challenge on the quantified self.
episode 51
the path to trusted advisor
How can you position yourself—and your team—to be a valued analytics consultant by your stakeholders and clients? Cole talks with Simon about his experience and tips for building productive partnerships. Tune in to hear about the journey from reactive to proactive data analytics, including practical strategies you can employ to avoid missteps, build relationships, and have greater impact in your work.
Official bio
Feel free to use or share this bio in any printed or promotional materials in support of your event.
Simon cultivated his skills working with data in financial services, where his experience spans consulting with clients, creating and presenting communications, and coaching his team to bring business performance insights to life in an engaging way. Inspired following attendance at a storytelling with data workshop, Simon became actively involved in the SWD monthly challenge, Tableau community, and co-leads the Sports Viz Sunday initiative. He understands how essential it is for those communicating with data to be trusted advisors to stakeholders and leaders and helps SWD clients achieve this standing within their organizations.