Do you have what it takes to be a Chief Data Officer (CDO) in today’s business landscape?

On the latest episode of the CDO Matters Podcast, Profisee Head of Data Strategy and former Gartner Analyst Malcolm interviews Justin Magruder, the CDO of SAIC Corporation. The conversation begins with a focus on his role as CDO as well as some of the major changes Justin has implemented within his organization to help SAIC become more data-driven.

This includes creating a data office center of excellence (COE) outside the IT organization that embraces a producer/consumer operating model — where it’s the job of the data office to provide data products that meet the needs of its consumers.

The data products — and core capabilities — are managed by a team of product managers within SAIC’s data office. Data serves as a primary focus where economies that efficiently share data are a top priority.

The discussion then pivots into Justin’s journey to becoming the CDO of one of the biggest technology services companies in the world. According to Justin, “For those who want to become a CDO, who aren’t already in technology, there is hope.”

In fact, Justin did not come from a background in technology, but rather as a Catering Service Manager at a large hotel in New York. Through a long series of choices always leading him back to data, Justin outlines a career focused on enabling companies to become more data-.

Data and analytics leaders who want to become a CDO — especially those without technology backgrounds — should be inspired by listening to this episode as Justin shares some of his keys to success. Justin stresses the importance of “communicating and collaborating” to anyone looking to transition into a CDO role.

Key Moments

[1:25] The Role of the CDO in Modern Organizations

[5:37] Developing a Data Strategy

[9:42] Data Commonalities Across Industries

[12:03] Finding Purpose in Your Data

[14:46] Evangelizing as a CDO

[18:58] Treating Data Management as Product Management

[22:00] The Significance of Data Sharing

[25:02] Starting a CDO Career

[30:38] Important Characteristics of a Modern CDO

[35:20] The Importance of Communication for CDOs

Key Takeaways

SAIC’s Approach to Managing Data (4:15)

“We help businesspeople get the data they need to do their job — it’s as simple as that. What makes us successful at SAIC is that we’ve been able to govern the intake of data requirements from across the business using very common ‘voice of business’ type approaches, very agile methodologies.” — Justin Magruder

Implementing a Successful Data Strategy (13:11)

“What [a data catalog] is really about, we have learned, is automation — and how we build a framework where we can have this integrated environment and we can really find out the authoritative source for any given data point at any point in time…so it’s really been rewarding to see how the introduction of data strategy to a technology firm is beginning to have a positive impact on how we do business with our customers and the value we provide to them.” — Justin Magruder

The Importance of Data Sharing (24:30)

“We realized we can really supercharge some of the work we are doing for our customers if we can do this kind of integration and sharing of information. It turns out we don’t need three copies of the same thing. If we can learn how to share one, it would save us all time and money.” — Justin Magruder

Becoming a CDO (25:50)

“For those people who aren’t already in technology, there is hope [for becoming a CDO]. I started my career after college with a big Fortune 500 company in a management training program, the company was Marriott. I went through Marriott’s management training program and became a Catering Service Manager. How did I get here?...I wound up in New York City for a big hotel...and I began to question how we put together profit/loss statements for my department. I worked with the hotel’s Food and Beverage Director to look at the way we were calculating gross margin and things like that...he said I should go to business school and go into banking. I came out of business school and fell into a technical role.” — Justin Magruder

About Justin Magruder

Justin is the CDO of SAIC Corporation, a $7.4B Fortune 500 technology integrator at the forefront of enabling the digital transformation of some of the largest government entities in the U.S. He is a pioneer and a thought leader in the field of data governance, master and reference data and data operations, with more than 25 years supporting data operations, leaders and decision-makers to improve business performance through better data management.

EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES:

Follow Justin Magruder on LinkedIn

Visit SAIC’s website