Thought leader spotlight: Eric Fahey
Behind the data are our world-class thought leaders. Over the next few months, we will be introducing you to the people responsible for Comperemedia’s industry expertise.
Eric Fahey is the Director of Content and Analytics for Comperemedia. Eric specializes in financial services and direct marketing. In addition to researching and writing about industry trends, marketing strategy and newsworthy developments, Eric oversees the planning and execution of custom and syndicated competitive intelligence reports for the Comperemedia research team.
Q: What topics do you specialize in?
A: At various points in my seven years with Comperemedia, I’ve specialized in telecommunications, financial services, travel, retail, direct mail, and email marketing. Over the last two years, my focus has been on delivering insightful, timely, and topical reports to our clients across all industries.
Q: How did you get to where you are now?
A: I started my career analyzing TV and print advertising for global telecommunications, oil and natural gas, and CPG companies. I led a small mystery shopping project as part of that role where I learned how to use pivot tables. Having that skill brought me to Comperemedia, where I started as a Research Analyst almost seven years ago.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone in your industry, who would it be and why?
A: I am going to apply the “in your industry” term loosely and say Ray Dalio. I am a massive fan of his book Principles: Life & Work and the framework it provides for living a fulfilling life both personally and professionally. I share his commitment to continuous learning from both failures and successes, being open to perspectives that differ from my own, and being passionate about my work alongside other passionate people. Distilling down large ideas into core truths with such clarity was a life-long process for him. I’d like to pick his brain about the experiences that led him to a few of those realizations and ask about any principles he may have abandoned along the way.
Q: Tell us about a brand campaign or shift in strategy that has recently caught your eye?
A: Citibank cross-selling deposit products to its credit card customers comes to mind; so does Charles Schwab’s recent moves to commission-free and fractional trading. But the larger shift I’m interested to see play out is the Business Roundtable’s recent shared statement changing the defined purpose of a corporation. While it’s easy to dismiss as rhetoric, companies such as Salesforce and JPMorgan Chase have made community investment pledges. Whether this moves beyond CSR initiatives towards something more systemic will be an interesting path to follow.
Q: What is your favorite part about your job?
A: I am continually surprised by what our team is capable of, whether it be thought-provoking analysis, developing new skills, or just making me laugh on a daily basis.
Q: Last but not least- tell a fun fact about yourself.
A: I went to culinary school. I always loved to cook, but usually just made up a recipe as I went along. I decided that to really be any good at it, I needed to learn the basics. On my first day of class, I had to share why I was there. My chef thought I said, “to make my life better.” When I corrected him saying it was “to make my food better,” he responded, “you will find that improving your food will improve your life,” and he was right.
