Tell us a little about yourself!
Hi, I’m Eric! I’m originally from Minneapolis –I love the Twin Cities very much. I attended Northwestern University where I double majored in Theatre and Mathematics. After graduating, I moved to New York City to pursue careers in acting and data analysis. I’ve performed in Broadway national tours, off-Broadway shows, regional theatres, and some TV/film. I love the outdoors, hiking, camping, playing soccer or disk golf, singing, and playing Rocket League and Smash Bros. I’m also an avid Formula 1 and Minnesota Vikings fan!
What’s your role at WorkReduce?
I’m a Senior Analyst, working on digital ad performance and attribution for a large media group. I’ve always enjoyed data analysis and reporting; I enjoy the challenge of extracting as much relevant information as possible from a dataset. I often think of myself as a data communicator, my favorite part of my job is communicating important strategic information in an engaging and digestible manner.
How do you explain to your Mom what you do for a job?
I look at how well our online ads are performing and help determine why certain methods are working better than others.
How does your work impact our business and our client’s businesses?
On the client side, I’m alleviating reporting work for my client, allowing them to focus on strategic decisions from my findings rather than spending time getting to those findings themselves. For WorkReduce, I’m one of the first on this account so I hope to make good introductions, forge good relationships, and show them our company’s value!
You graduated from Northwestern with a degree in Mathematics and Theatre. That’s a polarizing combo – how does that shape your approach to work?
I think my degree effectively encompasses who I am – an analytical thinker with problem solving abilities who thrives on interpersonal communication. I gained a lot of technical and conceptual mathematical skills from the math major, and the theatre major perfectly exemplifies how I’m not afraid to get up and talk in front of a room of people.
I think these areas of interest blend effectively in a work setting because most of what I do is take those mathematical concepts and communicate them in a simpler form to help drive strategic decisions – a bit of both worlds!
Roughly 60-65% of the gen. population are visual thinkers, the remaining are non-visual, who think with words and numbers. You seem to be a rare breed who can satisfy both with your talent for data analytics and visualization. Why do you think this is important in business and marketing?
This balance is crucial when communicating information with people at differing levels of data fluency. The goal is to present decision-driving insights with as much simplicity as possible. Providing the necessary context and visualizations is one of the most effective tools in accomplishing that goal.
Having an intuitive understanding of the numbers, concepts, and trends is crucial in doing the work, but also for crafting visualizations –especially when the visualizations and insights are for those who may not have that underlying conceptual knowledge themselves.
We’d love to know more about your work on Broadway! And which shows you’re excited to see again live. *jazz hands*
While auditioning in New York, my primary job was reporting on ad performance for an agency focused on Broadway shows. I got to work on marketing teams for all sorts of new and iconic Broadway shows (what a dream) as well as other NY institutions like the Metropolitan Museum and the Metropolitan Opera. It was a great experience to be “in the industry” and see the inner workings of the advertising side of the performing arts. Free tickets are pretty great too!
Personally, I’m just excited for any live performance to begin again so theatre-makers can get back to work (actors, directors, stage managers, musicians, etc), but I’m particularly excited for Come From Away to return, and the opening of Company and Six. Unfortunately, many shows I would have liked to see won’t be able to make it through.
What’s the craziest job you’ve done before, and what did it teach you?
After graduating and moving to New York in late summer of 2017, I was cast in the national tour of Motown: The Musical, my first professional contract. That was an amazing experience, 10 months of touring around the USA and Canada, performing 8 times a week on a Broadway schedule signing playbills and trying local beers in cities across the country. I learned so much about what it means to be a professional performer and how to maintain and work on my craft during a long contract. I made some amazing friends, and got to see so much of this beautiful country that I had never experienced.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
“You’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” – Dave Peters. This is why I always overpack, thanks Dad.
“Call your Mom.” – Julie Peters. Listen to your mom.
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