Get to know Bob Campbell, Head of Content Analytics and Data Science

Bob Campbell, Audible’s Head of Content Analytics and Data Science, joined us in November 2014, after an early foray into finance analytics showed him how much he preferred the “analytics” part. At the time, Audible had a new analytics team of fewer than a dozen people, and Bob was enticed by the opportunity to “get in on the ground floor” by being part of a small, but fast-growing team that got to work with Amazon-powered data analytics capabilities. (Now there are more than 100 people on the Global Insights and Data Science team.)

Bob has recently taken on another major role: he’s a new father. A few months ago, Bob and his wife had their first child, so he took five of his six weeks of parental leave, noting that he’ll “save the other one for time off later this year.” Being able to have that time to adjust to such a monumental shift was incredibly helpful, he says. “A lot of my friends at other companies got a week or two,” but given how fast that first week flew by, imagining going back to work full-time that early "would have been challenging.” With a new baby (and two dogs), “I’d be leaving my wife alone to do everything.”

In classic analyst form, Bob tried to optimize his return from leave by adding in one more component of his work each day, which helped him adjust to a style of working that would accommodate the new demands in his life. He says his absence actually held some benefit for some of his team, who stepped up in Bob’s absence and thus had the chance to experience administrative and leadership work, preparing them for their own career moves.

The career journeys of others is something Bob considers quite often, as part of our Spectrum & Belonging initiative, which focuses on equitable and inclusive recruiting, interviewing and hiring. As a “bar-raiser” in the interview process, he serves as an objective third party that adjudicates a candidate’s potential for innovation, while also helping to prevent unconscious biases. (He’s nearing his 250^th interview since joining us!)

Bob’s got a knack for engineering and knowing how things work. He’s into computer-simulation racing and built his own custom racing rig. He loves woodworking, and even built his baby’s furniture. During the pandemic, he converted a Sprinter van into a camper all by himself, with a sink, stove, fridge and bathroom. “We camp a lot, and one of the benefits of the van is you don’t have to really plan, you just choose a destination. We’ve spent a lot of time in Maine. Next weekend we’re going to a campground in Pennsylvania. We go all over the East Coast, and our family’s in the Midwest, so we’ll go out there.” 

For Bob, the flexibility of being able to choose his work-from-home days enables him to balance showing up for his family with being an effective leader for his teams. It also makes it a bit easier to build a thing or two.

Fun Fact: Bob is passionate about engineering, and worked as a mechanic for Volkswagen before college.

Current Listen: Audible’s new multicast production of 1984.

To commemorate Father's Day, our Editorial team have curated a selection of recommendations which highlights the profound impact fathers have on their children's lives. From inspirational memoirs to practical guides, this list reflects a spectrum of perspectives on this foundational relationship and offers a diverse lens into the resilience, strength, and love that fathers worldwide bring to their roles. We are pleased to share this top collection of listens recommended to appreciate all the different dads of the world.