This month we’re shining the spotlight on Neil Peggs, who recently joined our team as a Senior Commercial Analyst, based in the UK’s South Coast. Find out how he doesn’t let his color blindness stop him, and why he’d like to be on a sailboat or a paddleboard – when he isn’t deriving insights from data, of course.
Check out his answers to some of our questions below to get to know him a little bit better…
How long have you been with Cint? What is your role?
I started in December ‘21 as a Senior Commercial Analyst, so I am in month three.
What’s a typical ‘day in the life’ as a Senior Commercial Analyst?
My days are filled with spreadsheets, SQL, Power BI, and lots of meetings! Our job is to translate dense data into simple actions so that our teams can bring value to our clients.
What are you passionate about when it comes to your job?
My personal passion lies in creating profiles of sales teams and clients to help improve the customer journey. What I mean by this is that, if we can identify that salesperson A is good at cold calling and discovery, but salesperson B has more success at closing deals, it can help us to build a stronger team through sharing hints, tips, and techniques to strengthen the skills of each individual.
How did you get into the market research field?
Well, that’s because Cint called! I’ve spent the majority of my career working in finance and operations roles in commercial property and related fields, and the last thirteen years with a SaaS provider where I spent seven-building a sales operations function where one had never existed before. I hope to bring the skills I learned in generating actionable insight and process improvement to Cint, to enable even faster growth for the business.
What kind of music do you listen to while you are working?
I’m more of a talk radio kind of guy these days. It’s how I stay abreast of developments in the news – but I turn it down so as not to get too engrossed in the opinions you can hear there…
What do you like to eat while working?
I’m a very predictable and boring sandwich person.
What is the best way to start the day?
I love beating the alarm clock. I have two daughters, so the day starts with making sure they have eaten, done their spellings and reading, and then walked them to school. At the weekends, we’re up and off to the beach most of the time.
Who inspires you?
I’m lucky to have had some great leaders over the years. The lessons I have learned from several of them stay with me today. Some helped change my view of the world and indeed my politics; others have taught me lessons in resilience and how to overcome the daily problems we have in our work and personal lives. These mentors are the people that have had the greatest impact on my life.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you aren’t working?
I have two children, so free time is in short supply, but I try and get out on my mountain bike in the South Downs a couple of nights a month. Cycling downhill through the woods in the dark is exhilarating. And, like many people, I took up paddle boarding just before the pandemic hit. I have always enjoyed kayaking and being on, or in, the water, but paddleboarding is a unique perspective that allows you to see so much more of our marine wildlife. It truly can be wondrous on the water.
Do you have any four-legged friends?
Yes, we also have two cats at home: Thomas and Lula.
What do you hope never changes?
I believe that nothing ever does, or should ever, stay the same. We all change and grow as people throughout the course of our lives. The things around us should change and grow, too. I hope for the safety and security of my family, of course, but that won’t happen by doing anything. We all need to work at that.
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
On a 15-20m sailboat! Then I could travel everywhere I wanted to – and show my daughters and family how amazing the world can be.
How different was your life one year ago?
Well, a year ago, we were mid-pandemic, working and sometimes schooling from home, and now we are hopefully coming out of the pandemic and starting to see some hope for a return to some form of normal. It’s great not to be homeschooling again though, which is something I’m sure most parents will agree with!
What animal do you best relate to, and why?
It has to be dolphins. They play in the surf all day – which, truthfully, is where I would love to be!
What skill would you like to master?
Kite surfing. I’ve tried most water sports but never had a go on a kite.
What website do you visit most often?
That would be Google. It’s the start of every search.
What movie best describes your life?
Forrest Gump… “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.”
Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?
I loved the Maldives for the marine life; Dubai for the sheer ostentatious display of wealth; climbing the mountains around Chamonix in my youth, or simply being a couple of miles offshore on a paddleboard. Lots of places inspire us for different reasons. Recently we have been talking about the Holocaust at home with the children, and my visits to Auschwitz, Dachau, and Treblinka are possibly the most ‘interesting’ – if not harrowing – places I have visited.
What fad or trend do you hope comes back?
I fondly remember being able to meet friends without having to lateral flow test or worry about bringing a virus home. I hope we are there again in the not-too-distant future.
What is something you will NEVER do again?
I’ll never have another child. Two forthright girls are enough!
If you could live in any period of history, when would it be and why?
I’m not very good at wishing for things. We can only influence what is in front of us.
What was the most memorable gift you’ve received?
My children.
Do you have a quote you tend to follow?
Take care of yourselves, and each other. (Okay, it was Jerry Springer, so not the most sage of individuals, but nevertheless, it’s a good mantra for life.)
Where’s home?
I live in the seaside village of Felpham, just outside of Bognor Regis. It’s beautiful, we moved here when my wife was pregnant with Olivia and I can’t imagine any better life for my children, and us.
What is your favorite thing about working for Cint?
The friendliness of everyone I have had the pleasure of meeting!
What is the luckiest thing that happened to you?
Three years ago, my wife suffered a SCAD, a Spontaneous Coronary Arterial Dissection; essentially a tiny tear in one of the layers of your coronary artery, that allows blood to get in between the layers and balloon out; causing an occlusion. This caused a cardiac arrest. Fortunately, the ambulance arrived just as she arrested, and she was resuscitated and survived against the odds. Lady luck was definitely on our side that day. But as I always say, if anyone reading this has an opportunity to train in CPR, take it. The life you save is most likely to be someone close to you.
Why did you decide to do the work you are doing now?
I have an affinity for drawing data from systems, and I love interpreting that and deriving insight from it. It’s a powerful skill and can help drive sales in organisations receptive to improving ways of dealing with customers. I love driving that level of influence.
What’s one thing you’ve had to overcome in your life?
I’m severely color blind, which for an analyst who produces lots of graphs leads to sometimes quite amusing images. But I overcome this by checking RGB codes on websites and ensuring my color palettes match a corporate palette.
What do you wish someone would ask you?
“How do I do x,y or z in Excel?”– I can almost always answer those types of questions.
What’s on your bucket list this year?
A holiday, somewhere warm.
What makes you feel accomplished?
Hearing how my work helps others achieve in their jobs.
What was the last movie you went to? What did you think?
I went to watch “No Time to Die” in October. I didn’t rate it
Who is your favorite author?
Bill Bryson. I love his outlook on life, and I was lucky enough to serve him dinner at a restaurant I was working in when I was young.
If you could share a meal with any 4 individuals, living or dead, who would they be?
I would choose my family, every day.
What’s the longest you’ve gone without sleep?
I need sleep, and probably the most I’ve gone without it would be twenty-four hours, but that would have been years ago!
Aside from necessities, what one thing could you not go a day without?
My children.
Do you like or dislike surprises? Why?
I don’t enjoy surprises. I much prefer life proceeding to plan.
What is your favorite thing about your career?
Driving insight and influence.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
I taught myself how to write SQL queries nine years ago using a book called “Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes”. Titles to books can be completely misleading, but there is nothing that you cannot do if you put your mind to it!
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