
In this episode, co-hosts Emma McGrattan and Ole Olesen-Bagneux sit down with Tim Wiegels, Executive Data Advisor and former VP of Data at FreeNow. Known for his brutally honest and refreshingly pragmatic take on building data teams, stacks, and cultures, Tim shares lessons from a career spanning gaming, mobility, and high-growth tech.


Together, they explore:
Tim’s journey from bioinformatics PhD to startup veteran and strategic advisor.
Why he believes your first hire shouldn’t be a data scientist—or even a data engineer.
The rise of the analytics engineer and why Excel skills still matter more than most admit.
The myth of the all-knowing centralized data team—and how to rethink service, ownership, and collaboration in real-world enterprises.


🎧 Tune in for an unfiltered, field-tested look at what it really takes to move organizations from spreadsheet chaos to data-driven confidence.
Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In this episode, co-hosts Emma McGrattan and Ole Olesen-Bagneux sit down with Tim Wiegels, Executive Data Advisor and former VP of Data at FreeNow. Known for his brutally honest and refreshingly pragmatic take on building data teams, stacks, and cultures, Tim shares lessons from a career spanning gaming, mobility, and high-growth tech. Together, they explore:<ul><li>Tim’s journey from bioinformatics PhD to startup veteran and strategic advisor.</li><li>Why he believes your first hire shouldn’t be a data scientist—or even a data engineer.</li><li>The rise of the analytics engineer and why Excel skills still matter more than most admit.</li><li>The myth of the all-knowing centralized data team—and how to rethink service, ownership, and collaboration in real-world enterprises.</li></ul> 🎧 Tune in for an unfiltered, field-tested look at what it really takes to move organizations from spreadsheet chaos to data-driven confidence. Hosted by Ausha. See <a href="https://ausha.co/privacy-policy">ausha.co/privacy-policy</a> for more information.

Enterprise Wide Search 11: Tim Wiegels - Data Stacks, Not Science Projects


You’re listening to Enterprise Wide Search — powered by Actian.
Hosted by Ole Olesen-Bagneux, Chief Evangelist at Actian, and now joined by Emma McGrattan, Actian’s CTO and global data leader, this show explores the often-overlooked challenge at the heart of modern enterprises: finding and making sense of data.


Why is it still so hard to search across systems and uncover the data you need to do your job? Ole is obsessed with that question — and together with Emma, he speaks with authors, software inventors, data architects, industry leaders, and academics about the tools, processes, and ideas shaping the future of enterprise data search.


From metadata to data intelligence, governance to AI-powered discovery — Enterprise Wide Search is your guide to navigating enterprise data's wild, tangled world.
Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

You’re listening to Enterprise Wide Search — powered by Actian.Hosted by Ole Olesen-Bagneux, Chief Evangelist at Actian, and now joined by Emma McGrattan, Actian’s CTO and global data leader, this show explores the often-overlooked challenge at the heart of modern enterprises: finding and making sense of data. Why is it still so hard to search across systems and uncover the data you need to do your job? Ole is obsessed with that question — and together with Emma, he speaks with authors, software inventors, data architects, industry leaders, and academics about the tools, processes, and ideas shaping the future of enterprise data search. From metadata to data intelligence, governance to AI-powered discovery — Enterprise Wide Search is your guide to navigating enterprise data's wild, tangled world. Hosted by Ausha. See <a href="https://ausha.co/privacy-policy">ausha.co/privacy-policy</a> for more information.