About Alan

Who I am.

My name is Alan Hylands and I am a data analyst and writer from Northern Ireland.

What I'm doing now.

In early 2020, I joined Zapier and am currently a Staff Data Scientist.

What I've done.

I've worked in tech, data and analytics for the past 20+ years - building, reporting, analysing, managing, and mentoring.

I've covered varied sectors, mainly tech, financial services, healthcare, and e-commerce, and have led successful data projects in areas such as exploratory data analysis, customer segmentation and profiling, and customer lifetime value modelling.

A little more background.

I studied Accounting at university and planned for a future in finance.

Then I found the internet, programming, and databases.

I started my first e-commerce development agency in 2003. Since then I have worked on a number of small business start-ups in e-commerce, analytics, marketing, online research, and content marketing.

I started a successful football website which gave me the opportunity to write professionally for the New York Times Company. (Want to find out how that came about, check out my I Want To Be A Football Writer When I Grow Up article.)

Quite unexpectedly, I was seduced into the corporate world of banking and financial services in the boom-time mid-noughties.

I spent over twelve years running Data and Analytics projects for a large UK and Ireland banking group. I worked my way up through the ranks from senior data analyst to senior analytics manager to Head of Retail Commercial Excellence.

Then I decided that I'd had enough of management and wanted to get back into doing what I love best - digging into data and telling stories about what I find. And that's what brought me to Zapier.

Anything else?

I also write articles to help folks become better data analysts, and interview actual real-life data professionals, at Analysts Assemble.

And I help them get started learning SQL with my online SQL Crash Course.

Where you can find me.

You can contact by email (alan AT alanhylands DOT com) or on this contact form or take a chance on social media where I (very) occasionally post on Bluesky or LinkedIn.