HOO is the Datamine Owl team?
In traditional storytelling, owls are known for their intelligence, their wisdom, their sharp wit - these traits are also embodied by a group of Dataminers, known as our ‘Owl team.’ Full of insights, personality and technical know-how, our Owls are a key cog in the Datamine machine. If you’ve worked with us before, you’ll have collaborated closely with a member or two of this skilled group of account managers.
Aucklanders may have noticed a number of colourful owls scattered around the city for the Haier Big Hoot in 2018, each sharing a different story and raising awareness for Child Cancer Foundation. Datamine sponsored one of these sculptures, in part because it reminded us of our own Owls - even though the art trail has finished, we wanted to share with our readers a bit more about our Owl team and their importance to the business. But first, let’s take you through the customer journey in interacting with our internal teams to give you a little insight into our unique setup.
How do the Datamine teams fit together?
Consultants - if you get in touch with Datamine, you’ll be set up with one of our Consultants who will sit down with you to discuss the nature of your business challenge. Once the project gets the green light, the technical side of it will move into the hands of our data analysts, a.k.a. the Geeks (though the Consultant will actively engage with you throughout the project duration).
Geeks - the real horsepower behind Datamine, our team of Geeks are tasked with completing the technical work behind most of our analytics projects. Hyper-intelligent, and with a knack for technical analysis, they’re the ones who will delve into your data to figure out exactly what is going on, what insights can be gleaned and what factors should change to solve your problem. The Geeks then compile all of the relevant information they have discovered in the data and hand it off to (you guessed it) the Owls.
Owls - the Owls are our translators. They take the information given to them by the analyst team and turn it into something that clients can easily understand. We call it data storytelling, and it’s no easy feat - much of the analysis done by the Geeks is heavily technical and difficult for non-analysts to truly make sense of. For that reason, it’s pretty remarkable to find people who not only have the people-skills to work closely with our clients, but who can also digest and then regurgitate (only in a much more appealing form) the juicy analysis that Datamine is so well-respected for providing.
This is a concept that is beginning to gain traction around the world - in fact, Forbes published an article explaining why ‘data translators’ are such valuable hires in today’s technical and competitive business world.
Who are some of the Datamine Owls?
As you might expect, our Owls all come from very different backgrounds - some technical, some design, some strategy - but all of them have mastered the art of translating geek-speak to people-speak in order to give clients the best possible insights into their data.
We sat down with a few of them to hear about what being an Owl means - what the challenges are, what they’ve learned and what they love about the job.
Rosie N
Rosie joined the Datamine Owl team with a degree in Mathematics and over five years of experience in business support, customer relationship management and account management. Rosie is keen to understand and consider all perspectives in a given challenge, and she’s enjoyed marrying up her passion for helping clients and her love of technical subject matter in her role with Datamine.
"My favourite part about being an Owl is building strong relationships and using them to deliver great value to clients over time. I work with super smart people both internally and externally and that is always so enriching."
"The biggest challenge I face is when expectations are misaligned, digging into those problems and finding a way forward is always very rewarding."
Bruce
Bruce began his time at Datamine as an Owl and is now split between owling and product, while still working closely with the other Owls as well as the development team.
“Being an Owl is a great challenge. I think one of the hardest parts is ensuring the final result you’re delivering to someone is tailored specifically to them, not just communicated in the style you’re comfortable with. Every person absorbs information differently, so it can sometimes be a challenge to find the perfect way to communicate a difficult point to a client.”
“My favourite aspect of the job is getting to see clients’ reactions when we show them the final results. Knowing how much work has gone into the analysis, and knowing that you were able to turn that into something digestible and engaging - it’s pretty cool.”
Alicia
In 2025, Alicia traded managing a team of sales reps and account coordinators within her Customer Experience team at REACH Media to managing Datamine clients. Bringing her people skills and declared love for Excel to support and implement solutions for a wide range of our Australian and New Zealand customers.
“What I love most about being an Owl is the people side of the role. I’m naturally curious and really enjoy getting to know our clients — understanding their businesses, what matters to them, and building strong relationships based on trust. Every client and project is different, which keeps the role interesting and constantly challenging. I also love the responsibility that comes with being a key point of contact and helping turn complex data into something genuinely valuable for our clients. And of course, having a laugh along the way makes the work even better.”
“One of the biggest challenges is balancing multiple clients and priorities while keeping momentum strong across all projects. Each client is at a different stage, with different needs and expectations, so staying proactive and aligned is key. Keeping clients engaged, confident, and excited about the work — especially when things get complex — is a big part of the role. It’s challenging, but it’s also what makes the job rewarding, because when that trust is there, the outcomes are always better.”
As you can see, the role of a Datamine Owl is challenging, exciting and rewarding. People like Rosie, Bruce, Alicia and our other Owls all play integral roles in the delivery of our client projects. Subscribe to datafix to get monthly updates on industry news, our latest insights, and info about what the Datamine team is up to.
