Doing business with Ed Hyde of Qrious

Title:CEO Qrious

Twitter handle: ehyde

LinkedIn: edhyde01

How long have you been in your current role?

I’ve been in the role for two weeks but involved in the business from inception – Prior to this I was SVP of Mobility, Data and Apps for Spark Ventures.

What business technology issue is your organisation focusing on?

Our business at its heart is a business that helps its customers make better decisions through the improved leverage of data assets. The Qrious offering includes BI, analytics, custom data applications, decision support and consultancy services.

What are your interests away from work?

I’m a keen runner and cyclist and enjoy getting outdoors on a regular basis. I also have four boys which makes things fairly lively at home and weekends are full of kids sport as a result.

What are you reading at the moment?

Unfortunately my reading at the moment tends to be work-related reading as opposed to reading for relaxation. Unless of course you count the current household favourites - Diary of a wimpy kid, Spot the dog and Captain Underpants!

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

The piece of advice that remains most vivid was from a very talented CFO in my first job. He had this phrase “If you look after the pennies the pounds will look after themselves” (Please excuse the Englishness!)

It’s a great reminder for me to not take my eye off the detail.

Professionally, who do you admire most?

That’s a difficult question. I’m really impressed with what Elon Musk is managing to achieve with Tesla. They are breaking the mould of car manufacturing and making huge leaps forward in electric vehicles. I also think his choice to open source the battery technology and place a big bet in battery manufacturing is bold but also very clever.

How long have you been working in IT?

My background is largely telecommunications based in strategic, product development and commercial roles.

If you weren't working in IT, What would you be doing?

I have always dreamt that if I’d not attended university and continued with cycling I’d be in a pro cycling team riding in the Tour de France! The best cycling achievement I managed was riding for Great Britain as a Junior.

What was your first job?

My first job was a paper round whilst at school and after that fitting suits whilst at university. It probably explains why I’ve got a weakness for a good suit!

What's the best thing about working with IT executives?

The best thing is being able to work with great people who are able to really push the boundaries on the art of the possible coupled with awesome delivery.

What is the worst?

Difficult one. It’s probably a bit of ‘that’s the way we do it here’ attitude that stands in the way of innovation and moving at pace.

One good example of ‘smart use of data’ by an organisation and a key pointer on why it was successful in this endeavour?

I think Amazon is a great example of a business that is really leveraging smart data. A large part of the company’s success is their ability to customise the user experience and make product recommendations based on your history, profile and other customers with similar interests. I think, however, that this is just the tip of the iceberg and countless opportunities exist in many different verticals. This is one of the key reasons I’m so excited about the Qrious business.

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