As global director of data and analytics at Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Erick Ngwiri is leading data transformation on a global scale, while exploring cultures through cuisine in his downtime.
Meet the IT professional who is cooking on all fronts – literally. By day, Erick Ngwiri is the global director of data and analytics at Catholic Relief Services (CRS), whipping up strategies to turn data into lifesaving decisions. By night (and sometimes weekends), he’s in the kitchen mastering Thai curries, Bangladeshi biryani, and probably plotting how to automate dinner. Whether it is dashboards or dinner plates, Erick brings flavour, precision, and a dash of flair to everything he touches.
It’s no surprise, then, that Erick’s career has followed a recipe all his own: equal parts curiosity, mission-driven work, and bold moves off the beaten path.
“I never followed the traditional IT route. I was always more interested in how tech could help people with real solutions – not just crunch numbers in a boardroom,” he says.
Forget the usual menu of banks and blue-chip tech firms. Erick dove headfirst into the non-profit world, building and implementing cutting-edge data systems in places like Nepal and Mozambique, long before “data for good” became a buzzword. Today, as the data czar at CRS, he’s not just collecting numbers, he is using them to help guide humanitarian efforts across continents.
CRS is one of the world’s largest humanitarian and development organisations, working in over 100 countries to assist the poor and vulnerable through emergency responses, health, agriculture, education and peacebuilding initiatives.
“I have always been fascinated by how technology can tell stories, especially in spaces where people don’t typically expect it,” Erick shares. His lightbulb moment came during an internship at UN-Habitat, reviewing a project about street lighting in Somalia. “There was a lot of funding involved, but I couldn’t quite connect the spend to the real-world impact. That’s when I started getting curious about using tech to tell the whole story,” he continues.
That curiosity led him to Kimetrica, a startup focused on monitoring and evaluation tech for the humanitarian sector. “We were doing mobile data collection before it was cool. This was in 2009,” he laughs. From building logic frameworks to managing global consulting projects, Erick wore many hats: techie, strategist and occasional globe-trotter.
Real-world challenges
Fast forward to CRS, where he’s now leading global data transformation, with a focus on embedding data into every decision the organisation makes. “I work on everything from analytics strategy and governance to responsible AI. It’s not just about having the data, but making sure it's actually helping people on the ground,” he adds.
One such initiative, Analytics for Impact, applies data science to real-world challenges like food security and donor engagement. “We have picked six use cases and we’re building models that can support programmatic decisions,” he explains. “It’s exciting because we’re not just building tools; we’re building trust in data.”
But it hasn’t all been smooth cooking. Aligning teams across dozens of countries, each with different digital maturity levels, has been a challenge. “CRS has been around for over 80 years. You can’t just slap on a dashboard and call it transformation. You have to slow down, build relationships and show value. This job has taught me patience,” he reflects.
And speaking of patience, it comes in handy when perfecting a Moroccan tagine or Thai green curry. Erick’s love for cooking isn’t just a hobby; it’s a cultural exploration. “I take a cooking class in almost every country I visit. I’ve done them in Thailand, Bangladesh, even Nepal. When I come back home, I host lunches or dinners to recreate those dishes for my friends,” he continues.
He is currently working on opening a small food venture that ties together his global travels, culinary skills and passion for connection. “Food is storytelling,” he says simply. “Just like data.”
Outside the kitchen, Erick is also a member of the Rotary Club of Lavington Jioni, where he serves as a director. He is an avid reader, balancing African fiction in the evenings with non-fiction and podcasts in the mornings. And, as a proud gamer dad, he’s passing on important life lessons: “I’m teaching my son how to lose gracefully, through video games, of course,” he laughs.
