CDO Matters Podcast

Sanjeev Mohan, founder of SanjMo, discusses key takeaways from the 2022 CDOIQ Conference, including trends in the CDO role, applying product management principles in data management, and the importance of networking and expanding knowledge. The speakers also emphasize the challenge of demystifying data management issues, promoting data literacy, and focusing on the practical applications of data.

The first step to overcoming an obstacle or barrier is admitting the problem and building a base from which to grow. For women in data and technology, it is understanding the potential for change in which the gender gap continues to close.In this episode of CDO Matters, Malcolm interviews the President and COO of BlueConic, Cory Munchbach. Cory is a fellow recovering analyst and runs one of the top Customer Data Platform, or CDP, solutions available in the market today. In her role, Cory is at the forefront of some of the biggest customer experience and digital transformation initiatives of many of the best-known brands on the planet. During their discussion, the two focus on the role of women in technology and how we can improve on the many gender imbalances that continue to persist both in their companies, and society at large. They also discuss the role of CDPs in the digital transformation landscape, and how those solutions differ from other customer-data management solutions – such as MDM or analytics platforms. If you are one of the 25% of CDOs tasked with executing your organization’s digital transformation initiative, this episode of CDO Matters will help bring you to a higher-level understanding of how CDPs ‘fit’ into a broader MarTech and IT technology stack, and the value they bring to the organization. The conversation closes with a dialog around the possibility of a coming recession, and what CDOs and other senior leaders can do to best prepare for some form of economic slowdown. Cory shares her experience in working with major consumer-facing brands over the last recession, and how many ‘doubled down’ digital transformation investments as a means to improve customer relationships and drive competitive advantage. Key Moments 01:56-4:43 The current market of Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) 04:56-6:30 Activating customer data throughout the organization with CDPs 6:35-7:35 How do Chief Data Officers (CDOs) benefit from CDPs? 8:00-11:31 How CDPs can co-exist with master data management (MDM) 11:42-14:22 Thoughts on the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in tech 15:04-18:05 Pay transparency as a catalyst for equality in the workplace 18:15-18:58 Being the only woman on the leadership team 19:06-21:58 The impact of tech companies on expanding access to benefits 22:10-24:33 How CDOs can respond to economic uncertainty 24:35-26:22 Building a data strategy around a clear business objective 26:24-31:43 How GDPR, CDPA and other regulations will continue past 2022 Key Takeaways The Coexistence of CDPs and MDM (9:15-9:37)“I would have conversations…with IT leaders...about this false perception that it was either CDP or MDM. My answer always was both.” - Malcolm Hawker The Underrepresentation of Women in Technology (12:06-14:04) “...this is much less of a tech problem and more of a social problem...we’ve always had an underrepresentation of women in technology, so there haven’t been enough people to go to battle for the kind of things that will make more women come.” - Cory Munchbach Pay Transparency in the Workplace (15:38-17:08) “If you have a certain role...then everyone in that role should be within that pay band...over time, your value for the organization grows and we don’t make a lot of adjustments for that internal expertise...” - Cory Munchbach Responding to Economic Uncertainty (23:19-25:24) “I am a big believer that you should plan for the worst and hope for the best...this should be transformational because it changes how you work...the thing that you need to have is the relationship with your customer.” - Cory MunchbachAbout Cory Munchbach Cory is the current President and COO of BlueConic. She previously worked as an analyst for Forrester supporting marketing technology and the former author of the Forrester ‘Wave.’ While being an early-stage startup investor and advisor, Cory also serves as a member of Chief – a private network designed for the most powerful women in executive leadership. EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: Visit BlueConic’s official company website Follow Cory Munchbach on LinkedIn

When considering MDM and governance architectures for your organization, it is important to know each of the dynamics in which they relate to your most critical data when growing your business.In this episode of CDO Matters, Malcolm is a guest on the Data Engineering Podcast with Tobias Macey. This episode is a great fit for any non-technical data leader who is looking to gain a deeper understanding of some of the technical dependencies and concepts required for successful master data management (MDM) and data governance — but without getting too deep into jargon or software engineering concepts.If you’re a business-centric CDO with limited technical experience or background, this podcast will help you to build your data literacy and allow you to have deeper and more compelling conversations with your technical staff — and it will help you make more informed technology-centric decisions. Malcolm and Tobias cover some of the technical concepts involved in MDM and governance programs — in both relatable and understandable terms — including:MDM systems architecture and typical implementation patternsThe connection between MDM, data engineering and systems architectureData modeling for MDM and data governance The processes used in MDM platforms to support data quality requirements Entity resolution, i.e., matching or deduplication MDM team dynamics and roles, the role of data stewardship. After listening to this podcast, any data leaders who may be new to the concepts of MDM or data governance will why their organizations need these foundational elements and better understand how they can be used to drive business benefit. Key Moments3:14-6:50: Identifying ‘who is a customer’ to model and govern data 7:11-9:27: What is MDM and how does it add value? 10:27-14:57: Who needs MDM and how does new technology solve for data quality? 15:11-17:53: Limitations and considerations when searching for a “single source of truth” 18:15-21:45: Who is responsible for MDM within an organization and who comprises it? 22:16-26:59: What are the differences between analytical and operational MDM? 29:15-31:50: Top 4 reasons that so many MDM implementations fail 32:45-36:40: Using a business perspective to identify the right outcomes 37:40-42:25: How MDM is evolving to use graph functionality in addition to relational databases 42:32-43:15: Why Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) fall short for enterprise-level management 43:36-49:51: Insights on novel MDM use cases: data sharing, graph databases, data fabrics 50:08-53:53: 3 ‘Watch-outs’ learned from years in the data management space 54:36-57:26: How small companies can implement MDM principles 57:38-1:00:14 The gap between data software and real business outcomes Key TakeawaysWhen is MDM relevant for an organization? (10:22-11:34)“The bigger and more complex you are and the more decentralized you are...where organizations are struggling to have a single view of the customer...the larger the company, the more they tend to have a need for MDM.” - Malcolm HawkerCloud-native data warehouses vs. MDM software (15:11-16:33)“There are many cloud-based data warehouse technologies that are saying we can enable a single version of the truth, and they absolutely can...but does it have all the flexibility and reconfigurability to allow for all the things that MDM software can do? Typically, they don’t.” - Malcolm HawkerWhat are the differences between analytics and operational MDM?? (23:51-26:22)“An analytical style of MDM is where the flow [of data] is one-way...[operational MDM] can actually turn around and syndicate that data back down into consuming systems.” - Malcolm Hawker4 MDM pitfalls to avoid during your implementation (29:15-31:01)“If you’ve got a need for MDM and if you have been given a mandate by your management to come up with a single version of the truth...avoid the key pitfalls that often send so many MDM programs sideways.” - Malcolm HawkerCompanies of all sizes can benefit from MDM principles (57:05-57:26)“I would argue that most companies need MDM as a discipline...But chances are, you still have some use cases that need that consistent approach to the data management side...” - Malcolm HawkerAbout the GuestTobias Macey is a dedicated engineer with experience spanning many years and even more domains. He currently manages and leads the Technical Operations team at MIT Open Learning where he designs and builds cloud infrastructure to power online access to education for the global MIT community. He also owns and operates Boundless Notions, LLC where he offers design, review, and implementation advice on data infrastructure and cloud automation.In addition to the Data Engineering Podcast, he hosts Podcast.__init__ where he explores the universe of ways that the Python language is being used. By applying his experience in building and scaling data infrastructure and processing workflows, he helps the audience explore and understand the challenges inherent to data management.EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES:Connect with Tobias Macey on LinkedInSubscribe to The Data Engineering Podcast

There's always a story behind everything. At the end of the day, leadership wants to know the overall narrative that goes with your data. CDOs need to add storytelling to their resume!In the inaugural episode of the CDO Matters Podcast, Profisee Head of Data Strategy and former Malcolm Hawker speaks to his former colleague, “The Data Whisperer” Scott Taylor, on the art and science of data storytelling — and how to frame the critical importance of trusted data in a way that resonates with business leaders.In his years of consulting, speaking and writing on all things master data and data management, Scott has developed a unique storytelling approach to make sense of complex ideas in ways that prompt business leaders to action and get funding for enterprise data projects.Malcolm and Scott discuss why business leaders don’t care about the technical or dogmatic approach to data management and CDOs can hone their storytelling abilities to deliver a pitch with passion, clarity and effectiveness. They push past the buzzwords, trends and stodgy approaches to data management and stress the importance of starting any data initiative pitch with “why.”And despite the reality that most business leaders will never care about data for its own sake, they close the conversation with a sense of optimism and hope about the future of high-quality, trusted data in the marketplace.Key Moments01:30 CDO Matters: A new approach to data storytelling05:20 Creating a compelling narrative for business leaders05:52 What to avoid starting with — and leading with ‘why’08:30 The 3 Vs of Data Storytelling10:15 Honing data storytelling abilities13:50 Leading your pitch with Passion16:03 Should you try changing the data culture?17:52 Forget the dogmatic approach to data management21:14 Data is fuel, not the exhaust12:16 Showing vulnerability as a data leader22:52 The importance of a consistent data philosophy23:36 Why businesses don’t care about data quality24:42 Optimism about the future of data managementKey TakeawaysCreating a Compelling Narrative around Data Initiatives (4:43-5:32)“There’s this idea you have to create a compelling narrative that the business would understand so they can really support and literally fund the work that was so important in the data management space…” - Scott TaylorHoning Your Storytelling Abilities (10:21-11:05)“I think everybody is a born storyteller...they’ve got to be human and to be successful in business...you’ve got to be able to convince someone of the benefits of the offer or articulate some kind of need.” - Scott TaylorVulnerability as a Data Leader (12:16-12:54)“These are lessons for CDOs as well, and one of them is vulnerability...if you are in front of a large group, particularly technology folks, you say, ‘Here are the things that I can’t do’...” - Malcolm Hawker The Unique Impact of Data Professionals (17:00-17:49)“There’s not another group [data professionals] in an organization that can bring value to every other part of the company…financing, sales, operations…” – Scott TaylorForget the Dogmatic Approach to Data Management (17:52-18:40)“If I’m being told I need to change the [data] culture…and what don’t you understand about how important data is, if I am managing a supply chain or selling something, that doesn’t really resonate with me…” – Malcolm HawkerAbout the GuestScott Taylor, also known as The Data Whisperer, has helped countless companies by enlightening business executives to the strategic value of master data and proper data management. He focuses on business alignment and the “strategic WHY” rather than system implementation and the “technical HOW.” At MetaMeta Consulting he works with Enterprise Data Leadership teams and Innovative Tech Brands to tell their data story.EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES:Follow Scott on LinkedInScott’s 2020 book, “Telling Your Data Story”Scott’s ‘Data Whisperer’ explainer videos