Back when I was first discovering the tool, I was also the loudest advocate in rolling it out throughout the department. I also gave the trainings. So it just became the standard response to any questions. ‘Ask Ben, he’s the Power BI guy’.
Though on social media I post under Power BI Guy, this, shockingly, isn’t my birth name. I’m Ben Ferry, and thanks for taking the time to read a bit about who I am.
I was Born and raised in Whitley Bay, a coastal town in North East England. Aged 23 I made a permanent move to Berlin in the summer of 2006, after having spent a lot of time in the city in my early 20s.
I am married with a daughter and a son. My wife is Italian and we live in Germany, so living and raising our kids in a three language household has its own challenges. But more rewards. We also have 2 dogs. A miniature dachsund, Fleck, who was our pandemic dog, and Willow, a Bernese Mountain Dog, who takes up all the space on the sofa.
Power BI is my job, but I am lucky enough to think of it also as my hobby. I create YouTube videos about Power BI as frequently as I have time for, but also do a weekly live stream with people who work with Power BI and data.
Other than Power BI I also enjoying learning and playing the Ukulele.
I have lived and worked in Berlin since 2006. My career path has most certainly been an unusual one. Studying History and Politics, working as a Flight Attendant, in a bank, a small IT company, and in a data entry position before discovering Power BI.
After I discovered Power BI back in 2016 my career trajectory changed dramatically, as I dedicated a huge amount of time and energy into the tool and general data analysis skills.
Since 2016 I have been almost exclusively working with Power BI, with most of my time spent learning, implementing and teaching various aspects of the tool. This has of course also led me to learn other skills along the way. And whilst enjoying learning a range of tools and increasing my general skill-set, my strength and focus lies firmly with Power BI and the Microsoft Power Package.
Though I work as a Data Analyst, other aspects of my job I enjoy are helping colleagues resolve any problems they are facing, conducting trainings, and making Power BI ‘how-to’ videos for my company.