Data Monetisation &
Board Advisory
Turning data into shareholder value.
I help boards and management teams understand what their data is really worth, who values it and how to turn it into sustainable commercial value. I bring the perspective of a founder who built and sold a data business, alongside years spent advising boards, investors and management teams.
Built it.
Sold it.
Advised on it.
Most organisations know their data has value. Far fewer know what that value actually is, who would pay for it, what problem it solves or how to turn it into sustainable commercial growth.
That is where I come in. I founded SalesOut, built it into a POS data platform serving more than 500 FMCG manufacturers and led the business through its acquisition by IRI International, now Circana.
Since then I have worked from the other side of the table, advising boards, wholesalers, manufacturers, investors and technology businesses on commercial strategy, data value and growth.
Commercial thinking shaped by doing the work
I combine the experience of building a data company, operating inside a global information business and advising leadership teams responsible for growth, governance and shareholder value.
Built and sold a data business
I founded SalesOut, a POS data platform serving more than 500 FMCG manufacturers, and led it through acquisition by IRI International, now Circana.
Boardroom perspective
My experience as a non-executive, board advisor and chairman means I understand how an opportunity needs to be framed, challenged, costed and de-risked before it becomes a board decision.
Cross-sector commercial experience
My work spans wholesale distribution, retail, FMCG, technology, data platforms and PE-backed businesses, giving me a broad view of what makes a data proposition work commercially.
"I do not approach data monetisation as a theoretical exercise. I have built the business, sat across the acquisition table and worked with boards responsible for making the decision."
Marcus Vallance
Two ways I work with businesses
Sometimes the need is ongoing strategic input at board level. Sometimes there is a specific commercial opportunity to unlock. Often, the two overlap.
Non-Executive Director, Board Advisor & Chairman
I work with boards and leadership teams where data, commercial strategy and growth intersect, particularly where a business has a valuable customer or data asset that has not yet reached its commercial potential.
- Commercial and market expansion strategy
- Data and technology monetisation strategy
- PE and investor-facing strategic narrative
- Deal and transaction support
- Governance informed by founder and operator experience
Data Monetisation Consultancy
I help management teams move from "we have valuable data" to a clear commercial proposition with defined buyers, realistic economics and a model capable of creating value for both sides.
- Assess and value the data asset
- Identify the organisations most likely to value it
- Define the commercial opportunity
- Design collaborative and tiered access models
- Build a board-ready commercial proposition
From data asset to commercial value
The technology matters, but monetisation starts with the commercial question. I normally work through three connected areas.
What is the data actually worth?
Assessing uniqueness, quality, buyer demand, substitutability and the realistic commercial ceiling of the asset.
Who values it and why?
Identifying the manufacturers, retailers, investors or platform partners for whom the data closes a genuine information or commercial gap.
How should the value exchange work?
Designing data-sharing, joint business planning, tiered access and collaborative models that create more value than a simple one-way data sale.
Businesses sitting on unrealised opportunity
I am particularly useful where commercial growth depends on understanding an asset, market or opportunity that sits between data, customers, technology and strategy.
- PE-backed businesses
- Wholesalers and distributors
- Retail and FMCG businesses
- Technology and data platforms
- Businesses preparing for growth or exit
- Boards with underused customer or data assets
Track record
Experience spanning company building, trade sale, board roles, international expansion and commercial data monetisation projects.
The view from both sides of the table
I know what it feels like to build a business around data, persuade customers to value it and make decisions with shareholder value on the line.
I also know what happens after that business becomes part of something bigger. Following the acquisition of SalesOut by IRI International, I went on to lead data and insight work across retail and foodservice.
That combination means I can move between founder thinking, commercial execution, corporate reality and board-level decision making without treating them as separate subjects.
What could your data be worth?
If your board is asking what your data is worth, how it could create new commercial value, or you are looking for a non-executive, advisor or chair who has built, sold and monetised data businesses, let's have a conversation.