Originally published in Data iQ, a source of insight across the data and AI sector, this article highlights that Currys Managing Director of AI and Monetisation, Ryan Den Rooijen, has been named to the DataiQ 100 Europe list as one of the most influential figures in data and AI.
Ryan Den Rooijen is Managing Director for AI and Monetisation at Currys, where he is responsible for leading the company’s AI agenda and translating advanced analytics into commercial value at scale.
He began his career in technical roles, initially as a developer and later as a data scientist, including several years working with some of the world’s largest global advertisers. That experience shaped a strong grounding in applied data science and commercial analytics before he moved into industry roles outside the technology sector.
Ryan went on to build and lead data functions at Dyson, shifting from hands-on specialist work to creating the environments, platforms and teams in which technical talent can thrive. He was later tasked with establishing a data and AI organisation for a multi-billion-dollar retail group in the Middle East. During the COVID period, as data became central to every aspect of the business, his remit expanded to include responsibility for e-commerce and digital, moving him from a technology leadership role into direct ownership of a profit and loss, reinforcing the link between strong data capability and sustained commercial performance.
After returning to the UK, Ryan spent time in private equity before deciding to refocus on large-scale transformation. He brings a clear view that AI is not a project to be delivered in isolation, but a multi-year organisational journey requiring deep partnership with stakeholders across the business.
He joined Currys attracted by the brand, culture, leadership and personal affinity with the categories, and is focused on embedding AI as a durable driver of growth and monetisation.
As a data and AI leader, which traits and skills do you think matter most, and which of those have been most influential for you in your current position?
Ryan is clear that technical competence, while necessary, is no longer what differentiates data and AI leaders. An understanding of the technology is now “a hygiene factor”, he said, comparing it to “brushing your teeth; you don’t put it on your CV”. Being conversant in cloud platforms and architectural trade-offs “just comes with the territory”. What really matters sits elsewhere.
First is the ability to “understand the organisation in the most holistic sense”: its market context, customer motivations, internal culture, and operating model. From that comes the capacity to shape a direction that people can “claim as their own”. Ryan is explicit that there is no single “Currys AI strategy”, because “it’s not my job to tell this organisation where to go”. Instead, his role is “to apply a lens to existing business strategy” which requires deep understanding before influence. Central to making that work is simplification. “It’s very easy to talk about transformer architectures and instantly lose the room,” he joked, noting it is “not very effective on a date night either”.
The second critical skill is talent. Once leaders agree on direction, the question becomes “who have you got in the boat?” That means attracting and mobilising the right people, internally and externally, and moving away from fragmented models of separate data, governance, and analytics teams. Ryan added, “that model doesn’t work anymore.” The focus is now on building products that scale, blending engineering, product, governance, and change.
The final ingredient, Ryan stated, is transformation at scale. Leaders must answer the question every colleague asks: “what does this mean for me?” That demands empathy. For Ryan, the defining traits are simplicity, relationship-building, and empathy and “the big paradox is none of those things are technology skills.”
Reflecting on your career, what is one non-traditional piece of advice (outside of technical skills) you would give to an aspiring data or AI leader aiming for the C-suite?
Ryan’s non-traditional advice is disarmingly simple: “learn to read a P&L.” He is quick to caveat that careers are rarely linear. His own path, he says, has been “a mix of hard work and luck”, shaped by opportunities across ecommerce, digital, advertising, and deeply technical CDO roles. Ryan never followed a master plan, stating “it’s absolutely not the case that 18-year-old Ryan was sitting there going, I’m going to end up in this role,” but that breadth left him unusually well prepared for a job that blends commercial ownership, technology, transformation and advertising.
The reason the P&L matters, he argues, is durability. Organisational structures, delivery models and technologies will keep shifting, but “the thing that will always remain true is that organisations operate using a P&L of some sort”. Leaders thrive when they can “clearly articulate how they’re helping the organisation as a whole”, which means understanding its engine, whether that is retail trading, pharma pipelines, or something else entirely. But commercial literacy on its own is not enough. Ryan warns against the instinct, common in technology roles, to “jump to solutions” or “believe that the right roadmap or vision guarantees success.” In a world marked by economic, geopolitical and technological volatility, “it’d be a fool’s errand to pretend that anyone has all the answers”.
What anchors his own approach is working in a values-led organisation, where enduring priorities such as “customers for life”, empowering colleagues, and “help[ing] everyone enjoy amazing technology” outlast any tool or trend. His closing thought captures the balance he advocates: leaders need “the humility to say we don’t have all the answers”, combined with absolute clarity about purpose.
As Ryan puts it, the goal is “humility with direction.”