World

  I’m an Analyst for Serasa Experian’s O2C department. I first met Patricia — a fellow Experian employee — over a video call, using sign language. She had been struggling with parts of her job and wanted to learn about a new training course I was setting up through Serasa Experian’s inclusion program. You see, Patricia and I are both deaf, which can bring many challenges to our jobs. The new Excel training I’d created was aimed at helping people like us with disabilities. Patricia and I met face-to-face on the first day of training. There were 18 other students joining her, all eager to learn the formulas and tricks that would help them in their daily activities. Most of them were hearing-impaired like Patricia and I, but some were visually-impaired as well. We all sat down together to talk through the challenges we had with Excel. As I led this discussion, I used sign language for my deaf students and a “speak aloud” computer feature for those who were visually-impaired. Our goal was for everyone to learn something. We took the time to understand each participant’s unique issues with Excel and share potential solutions. Patricia shared how each week she spends hours creating a department performance report for her manager. It took a long time because she could only put the numbers in one by one. She didn’t know the formulas and functions that would speed up her process or how to depict the numbers on a chart or a graph, like her boss needed. As a group, we shared ideas of ways to make Patricia’s work more efficient. My students left the class inspired and full of new ideas they couldn’t wait to put into practice and share with their colleagues. A few weeks after the class, Patricia told me she could do her job much faster and better, giving her time to learn more sophisticated formulas to enhance her presentations. And the inspiring part was that because of the training, she had been promoted. It’s amazing to see the tangible impact my volunteer work through Experian is having for people with disabilities. I feel inspired to do more. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.  

I’m a Senior Director of Experian’s Decision Analytics Global Consulting Practice. That means I help banks manage their credit and fraud risk to help drive profits forward. Many of my clients are banks that need help across multiple business units, including credit cards, auto loans and mortgages. What I love about my job is how it constantly challenges me to expand my imagination of what data is capable of achieving. I’m always finding new ways to use data to keep banks’ revenue flowing, save them money, improve underwriting criteria for people seeking auto loans and help banking customers get a better rate on their mortgage. For example, I was recently approached by a major bank that needed a way to collect on delinquent credit card accounts that had previously been written off. The bank needed a way to collect on these accounts that would work within their budget and strict pricing structures while providing the maximum amount of revenue. Using data, I was able to show the bank a solution that not only improved delinquency rates on their numerous credit card accounts, but also provided a significant reduction in operational expenses. Technology has enabled us to do so much more for banks like this. I began working for Experian in the 1970s, when credit reporting was a highly manual process where clients would call us and we would read their credit report back to them over the phone. I’ve held a number of positions within the company over the years and have seen it undergo tremendous growth and change. Some things, however, never change. After having worked at Experian for 46 years, I am proud to say data still powers everything we do here. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.

The benefits of financial education are clear — higher economic growth, lower poverty rates and greater consumer confidence. This is why we put education as a top priority.

  I’m a Senior Product Strategy Manager in Experian’s Consumer Services department. I help banks connect people to the loans and credit cards they need, but my role is always changing because the world around us is changing. My team and I noticed how a whole generation is now thinking differently from other generations about the way they work and live. Rather than joining a large corporation, they make a living through a variety of platforms, like Uber, Airbnb and others — stringing together multiple jobs to make their income on their own timetable. The challenge for these people comes when they go to a bank to take out a loan, apply for a credit card or try to finance a car. The banks have difficultly gauging their risk or creditworthiness because they don’t have a traditional income source or because their credit footprint is difficult to trace. Banks refer to those types of individuals as “credit invisibles.” That’s where my team and I come in. We brainstorm ideas and create concepts for Experian to implement that will enable us to aggregate data from alternative sources — like utility bills or phone bills — to give banks a more accurate, robust view of each individual. Additionally, we create useful tools that help people manage their multiple income streams to ensure they’re able to meet their financial obligations each month. As the wealth of data in the world continues to grow, I see myself as an innovator who turns data into utility that works for people. I am constantly dreaming up new ways to connect banks with people who need a loan to feed their family, send their kids to college or buy a car for work. I want to help people take the guesswork out of taking each of life’s biggest steps. I want to empower them — through their data — to realize their dreams. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.  

At Experian, we unlock the power of data to create opportunities for consumers, businesses and society. Every day, we help millions of people navigate key life moments, helping them to protect, manage and make the most of their data

  I’m a Regional Sales Strategy Director for Experian in France. While Experian provides grants for entrepreneurs, we are always looking for ways to support new businesses beyond financial support. I had discovered an avenue for employees to volunteer as coaches to train budding entrepreneurs, so I brought the opportunity to Experian’s attention. Eight colleagues and I ended up bringing together entrepreneurs from the Ainée Business Incubator and a charity supporting young entrepreneurs from low-income areas in Paris for a day-long workshop in our Experian Paris office. The workshop was focused on helping entrepreneurs build elevator pitches, digital marketing plans and data protection strategies. I was running the elevator pitch session when I met an entrepreneur named Jocelyne. She wanted to set up a business importing Jamaican fruit and vegetables to the top restaurants in Paris. During the session, I coached Jocelyne and her peers through the basics of an elevator pitch, giving them opportunities to practice together in pairs before presenting to the group. Jocelyne had never given a pitch before, but she did an amazing job. She decided to pretend she was pitching Alain Ducasse – one of the big three Michelin star chefs in Paris. She talked as though he was in the room, which brought her pitch to life. She made her business sound so tasty, I was hungry myself by the end. Jocelyne had been quiet at the start of the workshop, but after giving that pitch, you could see this fresh sense of confidence in her as a new light came into her eyes. By helping one entrepreneur in Paris nail her business pitch, I got to help inspire a small amount of confidence to help Jocelyne turn her business dream into a reality. It was amazing and touching to see that kind of transformation. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.  

Alternative data opens up doors to financial access for consumers - and Experian has been at the forefront of collecting, using and advocating for the use of alternative data for many years. This topic was explored and analyzed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in a hearing today in Charleston, West Virginia.

During the National Football League’s biggest weekend, it’s often the commercials that take center stage. It’s every advertiser’s dream. The world as your audience. But how do advertisers capitalize on the opportunity and connect with viewers?

  I’m the Head of Utilities in Experian’s Energy and Water Sector. I handle a very specialized form of fraud called “energy theft,” where an individual or business steals electricity by tapping a line or bypassing the energy meter. Back in 2010, the process for handling this type of fraud was broken. Few companies bothered investigating instances of theft; they just accepted the pervasive issue as a cost of sale. This fraudulent activity was costing energy consumers approximately £30 per year, while putting countless homes and offices at risk, since faulty wiring for gas and electricity often leads to house fires or even explosions. Energy regulators decided the time had come for energy providers to crack down on the practice. My team and I at Experian were invited to a consultation to discuss how to use data and innovative techniques to end energy theft. The model we suggested was adopted as the preferred approach, and in the last year the project has been implemented across the entire industry in the UK. Our model combines data from the big energy companies with Experian’s own database to identify which residential or business properties may be stealing energy from the network. We can determine this by comparing energy consumption trends with information on how many people actually occupy the property. With both data sets, we can determine the amount of energy we believe the property should be consuming. If the energy consumption is lower than it should be on a particular piece of property, we look at fraud and credit data sets to see if the case qualifies as a genuine instance of low consumption (such as an older woman living alone), or if someone is perpetrating theft. We send that information back to the supplier so they can prioritize it for investigation. Through this program, I’ve helped protect countless homes and saved consumers from having to pay for energy they’re not using. I love that what I do not only gives me the opportunity to be creative in how I use data, but also helps protect businesses and everyday people. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.