On this episode of The Data Chief, Katie Russell, Data Director at OVO Energy shares OVO’s transformative journey to become a sustainable energy leader, emphasizing the shift to Google Cloud Platform and a data mesh strategy. The discussion covers OVO's innovative use of generative AI, measuring success through customer savings, and the ongoing challenge of fostering a data-driven culture. Key Moments: OVO’s mission and data support [1:05] Data transformation [7:37] Technology modernization [11:...
Feb 07, 2024•38 min•Ep. 85
You’ve heard the term data science, but have you heard about decision science? Juergen Kallinger, VP of Data and Insights at HP, shares valuable insights and reflections from his 22-year journey at HP. In this episode, Juergen dives into HP’s pivotal shift from solely reporting, to the dynamic realm of decision science and how it’s aligned their data team. Key Moments: Balancing technical skills and business acumen [7:16] The analogy of being a great cook [9:24] Maintaining proximity to business...
Jan 24, 2024•43 min•Ep. 84
Gen-AI, Gen-AI, Gen-AI. The transformative technology has captured the imagination of everyone in the tech industry. Industries are shifting before our eyes, and the roles and responsibilities of data practitioners everywhere are going to shift again. The question is not whether an impact will be made, but what will the impact be? In this episode, Cindi sits down with 3 industry leaders to discuss how AI will impact our work and our personal lives in 2024. Sandy Carter shares how a severe injury...
Jan 10, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 83
The world's top data and analytics leaders share their stories on the The Data Chief. New episodes return in January 2024. Until then, take a look at some of the previous episodes and hear case studies, industry insights, and personal lessons from the executives leading the data revolution. Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.
Nov 22, 2023•2 min•Ep. 82
Description : On this episode, Benn Stancil, Co-Founder of Mode Analytics and current Field CTO at Thoughtspot shares his thoughts on who wants to use data to solve problems, and who just wants data to validate an opinion. He brings unique perspectives to how data excellence can be proliferated through an organization, whether shadow IT is a nuisance or a guide post, and how large language models will influence the future of data. Key Moments: How an internal analytics tool Benn built at Yammer ...
Oct 25, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 81
Diana Schildhouse, Chief Analytics and Insights Officer at Colgate-Palmolive, discusses driving business value through analytics, ensuring executives are data fluent, innovating with AI, and her career path through iconic brands like Mattel and Disney. Key Moments Listening Tours: How 100’s of one-on-one conversations helped to narrow in on which business problems could be solved with data and quickly lead to business value (4:50) Working to benchmark the company against its industry helped to e...
Oct 11, 2023•41 min•Ep. 80
Description As the world’s seventh largest retailer, Carrefour is using advanced analytics to transform operations, better serve customers, and pioneer the future of retail. Chief Data & Analytics Officer Sebastien Rozanes explains how the company is leveraging data and generative AI to drive measurable business value across merchandising, supply chain, marketing and more. Key Moments: How a strong data foundation and data monetization mindset accelerated data maturity at Carrefour (5:46) Se...
Sep 27, 2023•50 min•Ep. 79
It’s that time of year again. On this episode of The Data Chief, Cindi dives into three of the hottest book recommendations for data and analytics leaders and sits down with Dr. Barb Wixom, author of Data is Everybody’s Business, Vin Vashishta, author of From Data to Profit, and Asha Saxena, author of The AI Factor. Key Moments: Introducing Dr. Barb Wixom (2:10) Barb’s desire to continue helping people in the data industry (2:57) (Barb) The different types of organizational leaders (8:21) (Barb)...
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 78
Not many CDOs get to enter a new role with a clean slate. But Geraldine Wong, CDO for GXS Bank in Singapore did just that. In this episode of The Data Chief, she explains how the bank has built a foundation of data literacy by providing employees the right tools, access, and knowledge to put data at the forefront of their workflow. This culture of education and understanding establishes trust, empowers departments to “self-serve” data for better productivity, and ultimately leads to stronger und...
Aug 30, 2023•40 min•Ep. 77
In this episode of The Data Chief, hosts Cindi Howson and Sonny Rivera interview Sumathi Thiyagarajan, the VP of Business Strategy and Analytics for the Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum. Sumathi discusses being a data leader in professional sports, building a data team from the ground up, and leveraging insights to continually provide the best fan experience. Tune in to learn: Making the transition to a professional sports team (2:42) The evolution of Sumathi’s role and team (4:58) The growing i...
Aug 16, 2023•45 min•Ep. 76
Alex Viana, VP of Data at Vercel, has had a truly unique career. Starting with a role at the Hubble Space Telescope, Alex found his way into the data space by way of data security and searching for leaked data assets. Today, he leads the data organization at Vercel, where he views building – teams, technology processes, and metrics – as his primary responsibility. In this episode Alex shares his thoughts on leading data teams at different (but fast-growing) tech companies, the importance of buil...
Aug 02, 2023•44 min•Ep. 75
Each day, valuable patient data collected by healthcare systems. When used properly as part of healthcare analytics , this can help drive better outcomes for both patients and providers. However, when data management is not effectively implemented, organizations lose out on these benefits. Terry Myerson, CEO of Truveta, saw the need to unlock data’s potential while still ensuring privacy and security. In this episode, he discusses his company’s unique approach, the urgent need for better data in...
Jul 19, 2023•38 min•Ep. 74
It’s one thing for a company to invest in new technology. It’s another for a company to become invested in technology. In this episode, Yao Morin, CTO of JLL explains how she isn’t just adding data to the company workflow, but is instead fostering a culture of innovation and data-driven mindsets across the 240-year-old company through education, and by demonstrating data’s business value across departments. Key Moments: Yao’s rapid rise at JLL [4:01] Energy efficiency data in commercial real est...
Jul 05, 2023•42 min•Ep. 73
The role of data teams continues to evolve across industries. But in mission-driven fields such as healthcare, data creates efficiencies that could potentially save lives. In this episode of The Data Chief, Cindi is joined by Jeremy Forman of Seagen to discuss the pivotal role his data team plays in driving insights-informed decision-making, and how they successfully collaborate with other departments to improve patient outcomes. Key Moments: The key challenges for data leaders in healthcare [3:...
Jun 21, 2023•49 min•Ep. 72
When it comes to investing, it’s been said that the biggest risk of all is not taking one. But for many of us, the prospect of figuring out how and where to smartly invest our money is overwhelming if not flat-out confusing. TIFIN is a FinTech company focused on democratizing this process by matching investors to potential investments with AI. In this episode, Raja Musunuru, the Chief Product Officer of financial tech leader TIFIN, covers a wide range of topics, from the importance of understand...
Jun 07, 2023•44 min•Ep. 71
Using data to gain customer insights can be difficult. Using data to gain customer insights from an ever-growing, ever-changing entertainment audience presents a much steeper challenge. In this episode, Elizabeth Stone, VP, Data & Insights at Netflix, explains how her dedicated team reflects the larger Netflix culture, balancing hard data with a mindset of learning and experimentation to make decisions that improve the Netflix experience. Tune in to learn: Elizabeth’s role as head of Netflix...
May 17, 2023•47 min•Ep. 70
Most data professionals aspire to be leaders within a single industry. It’s rare to see professionals establish and re-establish themselves as powerful influencers across multiple verticals. But this is precisely what Dr. Alexander Borek has done, helping some of the world’s most recognizable brands scale tangible value from data, analytics, and AI. In this episode, he covers a wide range of topics, including his personal career journey, creating cultures of innovation, centralized vs. decentral...
May 03, 2023•51 min•Ep. 69
The role of the CDO is changing, and with these changes come new opportunities to prove business value. On this episode of The Data Chief, Ido Biger, EVP of Data and Technology for Delek US, explains how he’s breaking down data silos and turning insights to actionHe also takes listeners through several analytics use cases including creating operational efficiencies for frontline workers and reducing customer churn. Tune in to learn: Ido’s role at Delek and confronting his biggest challenge (04:2...
Apr 19, 2023•41 min•Ep. 68
What is the true value of data? Whether you’ve been collecting data for years or are just getting started, the reality is that data holds zero value on its own. In fact, it’s a huge cost. In this episode of The Data Chief, industry veteran Bill Schmarzo, currently in Customer Data Innovation at Dell Technologies, shares why modern data leaders must let go of the notion of being data-driven and focus on business outcomes. He also discusses how having more data isn’t always the right move, especia...
Apr 05, 2023•48 min•Ep. 67
Modern data leaders know creating a data-informed culture requires cross-functional partnership and collaboration across the entire business. IT by themselves can’t do it. Nor can individual business departments. Both the IT and business strategy must be in lock step to achieve results. On this episode of The Data Chief, Dora Boussias, Senior Director of Data Strategy and Architecture at Stryker, discusses the role of modern data executives, three keys to creating a data-informed culture, and he...
Mar 22, 2023•47 min•Ep. 66
The implications of employment shifts have different effects on certain subsets of the population. Understanding these implications in real time helps businesses, governments, and individuals make better decisions about what to do next. ADP serves its customers in more ways than just payroll, taxes, and employment benefits. CDO Jack Berkowitz shares more about these benefits, and the parts of ADP’s business dedicated to reporting and sharing data. Tune in to learn: Managing high data volumes and...
Mar 08, 2023•35 min•Ep. 64
Historically, computers haven’t been particularly good at determining user intent from real-world language inputs. However, the advancement of natural language processing technologies, like ChatGPT, has led to remarkable improvements in AI systems' accuracy in responding to human queries. In this episode, Amit Prakash, Co-founder of ThoughtSpot, discusses the development of AI and the accountability required to make it ready for daily use. Tune in to learn: What was the problem Amit was trying t...
Feb 22, 2023•47 min•Ep. 65
Everywhere you look, change is redefining the data landscape. From the rise of the analytics engineer to data leaders clamoring to make self service analytics real, it’s clear organizations are looking for new opportunities to put their data to work. But which changes matter? In this episode, we break down some of the data and analytics trends for 2023 that will help you identify key ways to rise above your competitors. Tom Davenport is back for another episode and this time he’s here to talk ab...
Jan 18, 2023•50 min•Ep. 63
Today’s digital economy is more competitive than ever, and making smart data decisions can be what sets the leaders apart from the rest of the field. With new technologies now democratizing data at an accelerated pace, how can companies ensure that their data strategy is helping them stay ahead of the curve? As our third season comes to a close, Cindi takes a look back at some of our most insightful conversations to lay out six essential rules that every Data Chief should follow to dominate the ...
Nov 16, 2022•46 min•Ep. 62
On this episode of The Data Chief, we look back at some of the key themes from season one, including the rise of the CDO, the intricacies of aligning your department’s goals with that of the businesses, and how you coped with accelerated timelines. While we relive these important conversations, we also discuss why culture and data fluency continue to be the biggest hurdles to becoming a truly data-driven business. Tune in to learn: The Rise of the Data Chief (02:54) Aligning with Your Business V...
Nov 02, 2022•37 min•Ep. 61
Each year, around 8 million tons of plastic waste enter the ocean, killing wildlife and damaging the environment for future generations. Much of this pollution originates from the wasteful packaging used for everyday grocery products. But a greener grocery alternative is making waves from across the pond. Joining us today is John Hughes , Chief Strategy Officer at The Modern Milkman , a UK-based grocery delivery company that brings locally sourced goods directly to customers without any single-u...
Oct 19, 2022•48 min•Ep. 60
Treating data as a treasure is a foundational principle for Jan Sheppard , the Chief Data and Analytics officer at New Zealand’s Crown Research Institute of Environmental Science and Research ( ESR .) This agency leads ongoing research in public health, environmental health, and forensics for the country of New Zealand. Like many other CDAOs, her role is relatively new. But the unique values she applies to data can be traced back many hundreds of years to the indigenous Maori people of her count...
Oct 05, 2022•49 min•Ep. 59
At French bank, Société Générale , providing the best customer experience in the modern digital world means rethinking everything about banking, including its corporate structure. Three years ago, Julien Molez , joined the bank’s leadership team to become the first Innovation Data & AI Leader. On this episode of The Data Chief, Julien addresses changes sweeping the banking industry, including higher customer expectations, tougher regulations, and the ESG revolution. He also reminds us that a...
Sep 21, 2022•45 min•Ep. 58
It is once again that time of year when our host, Cindi Howson shares her favorite data and analytics book recommendations. In this special annual episode, we feature three of the industry’s top data writers, thinkers, and fellow podcasters. Tim Harford comes to the conversation with his new book, The Data Detective, and big-picture ideas about how traits like curiosity serve data scientists so well. Zhamak Dehghani shares her concept of The Data Mesh, especially as it relates to sharing data ac...
Sep 07, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 57
Who’s hungry? Thanks to delivery apps like DoorDash, it’s never been easier for modern consumers to satisfy almost any craving in just a few taps. At the helm of DoorDash ’s data organization is VP of Analytics & Data Science, Jessica Lachs . With metrics guiding every decision at the company, a key part of her decision-making comes down to properly quantifying the value of each possible tradeoff. Learn more about her decision-making framework, plus how her career in finance evolved into ent...
Aug 17, 2022•46 min•Ep. 56
