As Head of Partnerships at Synthesis, Ash spends his days getting very enthusiastic about the possibility of open source data to give our partners a commercial edge. He works closely with data scientists, cultural strategists and designers to bring new perspectives to familiar growth questions.
Garbage Truck by Blippi. It’s an absolute banger if you are between the ages of 3-5 years old.
Entourage. Don’t judge me. I know it hasn’t aged well. I know it is of questionable intellectual or editorial quality. But it is full of 00’s nostalgia. And most importantly I can put it on whilst I work and pay little attention to it - which is what I need to ‘lock in’ for a session of productivity. I cycle through a range of formulaic 00’s TV whilst i work but my absolute favourite is West Wing. It's like a warm, encouraging hug and I can enjoyably plough through a tonne of work whilst listening to the characters walk and talk.
Unreasonable Hospitality. Our Future of Food event is a best in class user experience - even if I say so myself. Each year we have fine tuned this and it has begun to spoil me and my expectations in every aspect of my life. From how we do workshops to how I judge bars or restaurants, I will regularly point out to my wife how Synthesis could have designed this better. Lee and the creative team recommended I read this book to fuel this obsession and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I’m relistening to Invisibilia and an episode called the Pattern Problem. It speaks so compellingly about both the potential and limitations of making sense of the world's data. We often get lost looking for patterns in our data but this podcast asks are we destined to repeat our patterns or do we generally stray in surprising (or refreshingly individual) directions.
It’s a little cringe but how can you not love this beauty from Robert Kennedy: “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation”. I love teams. I love the idea that we can all make a big difference if we do our part. I love learning how all of our actions can have a cumulative impact and make important changes.
Kenya. It’s where my wife is from. It’s where we got married. It is where I've made friends who are now family. From blissful Indian ocean beaches to craggy mountains, lush forests and wildlife rich savannahs, there are endless beautiful places to explore.
Not fridge but pantry: Popcorn. The likelihood of my inevitable demise being due to a popcorn kernel choking me is worryingly high. I don’t care, I bloody love it.
Playing football. When I am chasing a ball around there is not a single thought going through my mind. It's like group meditation - but with more swearing and beers afterwards.
Navigating Airports and Workshops. I am never more at home than when ‘gently nudging’ in a workshop or people watching in an airport. I think I was born to be a consultant.
Impacting decisions for the organisations that we work with. I am oddly fascinated by the intricacies of business decision making. The way their KPIs are set up, the nuances of their org structures and the way these relationships influence decision making. The facts. The emotions. It can be frustrating. It can make or break projects. I love figuring them out - and figuring out how our work fits into this thought process.
