The Data Chief

At the end of every year, you’re probably asking the same questions we are. What are the big changes coming next year? How do I stay ahead of them? And what’s separating real trends from the hype?To answer these questions, we are excited to bring together some of the top minds in the industry. In this special episode, we’ll pick their brains and dig into what you need to know to thrive in the year ahead. You’ll hear from three incredible guests -- all of whom are building and shaping the future of data and analytics:First, Ben Taylor, the Chief AI Evangelist at DataRobotThen, the Global Field CTO of Databricks, Chris D’Agostino.And finally, Bruno Aziza, the Head of Data & Analytics at Google Cloud.Nothing is off the table. So whether you want to hear about augmented everything, dig into the debate around different cloud platforms, or learn why analytics has become more impactful than ever, this is the episode for you.Key TakeawaysCDOs must deliver simplicity but contend with complexity: As the data ecosystem continues to introduce new innovation at an ever increasing rate, data leaders must grapple with all these new capabilities. At the same time, however, the rising need for access to this innovation from nontechnical, business professionals means CDOs must simultaneously deliver simple, intuitive experiences that empower the rest of the businessIs the data warehouse on the way out? D’Agostino makes a bold prediction that within 10 years, the traditional data warehouse won’t exist. That begs the question: what will replace it? The lakehouse, data mesh, and data fabric are all contenders, but require organizational changes, not just the introduction of new technologies, as Aziza points out. Preventing bias within models: A consistent problem in the industry - one that we’ve touched on several times this year - is the potential for machine learning and AI to scale bias in unprecedented ways. As we enter 2022, it will become even more imperative that you and your team are able to answer questions like “how will this model potentially amplify basis,” “how can we prevent biases,” or “what biases exist in our data sets?” Creating an ecosystem of data sharing: The rise of analytics exchanges creates massive opportunity for businesses for two reasons. First, it allows users to share data across platforms at a faster rate. And second, users are now able to share more than just data, but actual assets at an improved rate.In 2022, AI, ML, and data products must prove value: For years, companies have experimented with AI and ML, but as Taylor points out, the disillusionment with the impact of these experiments is at an all time high. So whether you’re building data products or launching new AI use cases, data leaders need to lead with the value they will deliver, not only imagine the art of what’s possible.--The Data Chief is presented by our friends at ThoughtSpot. Searching through your company’s data for insights doesn’t have to be complicated. With ThoughtSpot, anyone in your organization can easily answer their own data questions, find the facts, and make better, faster decisions. Learn more at thoughtspot.com.    Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

We are back with more episodes! In the coming months, you’ll hear from executives and data leaders from companies like Databricks, Google, General Motors, Etsy, ServiceNow, and more. Our guests cover topics like cloud acceleration, ethical AI, data fluency, scaling data teams, the trends that matter as we enter 2022, and much more!You won’t want to miss these upcoming episodes, so be sure to subscribe to The Data Chief on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Plus, you can dive deeper into these subjects at thedatachief.com where we host live events, share industry articles, and you can join a private slack community of like-minded Data Chief listeners.--The Data Chief is presented by our friends at ThoughtSpot. Searching through your company’s data for insights doesn’t have to be complicated. With ThoughtSpot, anyone in your organization can easily answer their own data questions, find the facts, and make better, faster decisions. Learn more at thoughtspot.com.   Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

As we wrap up Season 2 of the Data Chief Podcast, It’s time to once again thank all of our listeners for tuning in and sending Cindi your ideas, and to all of our awesome guests who willingly shared their time and insights along the way.  This season The Data Chief shared stories such as Sol Rashidi, CAO Estèe Lauder Companies, about how she starts every day by reading for an hour.  Or from Season one, Alberto Rey Villaverdo, Executive Director of Advanced Analytics at VirginMedia, about how he reads an hour or more every single day. It’s those stories that have inspired this special end-of-season episode.In this podcast, Cindi is joined by four distinct authors with must-read books, two new that are new to bookshelves, and two that are time-tested. Be sure to check out the companion blog on thedatachief.com for other books Cindi recommends as well.In this episode you’ll hear from Randy Bean, author of Fail Fast, Learn Faster.John Thompson on Building Analytics TeamsCole Knussbaumer Knaflic on Storytelling with DataDoug Laney on Infonomics: How to Monetize, Manage, and Measure Information as an Asset for Competitive AdvantageKey TakeawaysFrom Randy Bean, Developing a data culture is an ongoing process: Becoming data-driven or developing a data culture is not a destination, it's an ongoing process that never truly ends. In fact, the most sophisticated data companies are often the most worried about how they’re doing. This mindset of continued iteration and improvement is what fuels innovation. When you feel like you have it all figured out, think again.From John Thompson, When building an analytics team, hybrid models deliver the best of both worlds: Although more complex than other organizational models, hybrid data teams allow you to meet the needs of your business in a faster, more scalable, and more effective way. How? At any given time, high-volume data professionals will be focused on repetitive tasks like data acquisition, data integration, feature engineering, modeling, and feeding data objects up the chain, while artisanal data scientists directly interface with the subject matter experts embedded across various lines of business. From Cole Knussbaumer Knaflic, Shape data stories with your audience in mind: When presenting data, it’s important to understand who your audience is. What do they care about? How will this information impact them? What action should they take after receiving it? Tailoring your data story to them and building a narrative arc that takes them along for the journey is key to creating the kinds of a-ha moments that stick.From Doug Laney, Data monetization requires innovative thinking: For many organizations, the value of their data outweighs the value of the rest of their business. Instead of focusing on the limitations of regulations like GDPR or HIPPA when going to monetize it, try to think outside the box. Can your data help you develop a new product or service? Can it forge a partner relationship? Can you sell a derivative of it? The possibilities are limitless.--The Data Chief is presented by our friends at ThoughtSpot. Searching through your company’s data for insights doesn’t have to be complicated. With ThoughtSpot, anyone in your organization can easily answer their own data questions, find the facts, and make better, faster decisions. Learn more at thoughtspot.com.  Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

Is the role of a data scientist still a “sexy job” or has it lost a bit of its luster? And what’s more important for successful data leaders, deep data knowledge or business savvy?Daniel Seymore is the Head of Business Intelligence for Investec, a bank that is delivering out of the ordinary insights in the world of finance to help its customers create and manage wealth. One of Daniel’s career-guiding principles is to question the conventional, and on this episode of The Data Chief, he sheds light on some of these questions and shares how he is continuing to live by this principle to help Investec modernize its data capabilities. Daniel and Cindi also discuss why the only constant in life is change, which means businesses must place a larger emphasis on upskilling workforces. Lastly, the two dive into why domain expertise might be the most important skill for any data leader.Main TakeawaysDomain expertise matters: The hardest pivot for most technical professionals is moving away from day-to-day technical capabilities and into a leadership role. Data science is an important part of any company’s toolkit, but great leaders should understand the problems they’re solving on a business level and be able to relay it back in a way everyone can understand.Fail quickly to learn and adapt: With any project, it’s good to have a plan but it’s also important to embrace the idea of failure. The faster you fail, the sooner you can learn and adapt your processes to succeed.Change management is about partnerships: Gone are the days when employees sit back and take every direction from their boss at face value. Successful change managers recognize the individual value each employee can add to a project. They treat it as a partnership. And this is benefiting not just immediate teams, but the business as a whole.About DanielDaniel Seymore joined Investec in 2016 and soon after got appointed to lead the Private Bank Business Intelligence team. Prior to Investec, Daniel worked at SARS as the Manager of the Performance Analytics team. His career has mainly been focused within the data realm with extensive experience within the fields of data analytics and decision sciences.At Investec Daniel is responsible for operational and strategic management of the business intelligence and operational analytics capability within the Private Bank department. This includes identifying and implementing machine learning use cases and scaling the capability enterprise wide, refactoring and streamlining of data warehouse processes and implementation of self-service capabilities for end-users.--The Data Chief is presented by our friends at ThoughtSpot. Searching through your company’s data for insights doesn’t have to be complicated. With ThoughtSpot, anyone in your organization can easily answer their own data questions, find the facts, and make better, faster decisions. Learn more at thoughtspot.com.   Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

JoAnn Stonier loves her role. After all, when you’re the Chief Data Officer for Mastercard, the opportunities to create real change are plentiful. But Stonier knows her work is about more than just data privacy and governance, it’s about aligning the company’s data strategy to business goals and impacting the organization in a positive way. And of course, making sure that all 725 million of Mastercard’s credit card holders are protected.With a career rooted in privacy, a degree in law, and a background in interior design, Stonier is not just a well-rounded CDO, she’s a visionary. On this episode of The Data Chief, JoAnn joins Cindi for an inside look at data’s impact on people, data ethics, and the importance of building trustworthy models.Main TakeawaysThe CDO is an enabler of the business: In Joann’s own words, “the role of the CDO is to engage the business in tomorrow’s business.” This means CDOs must consistently be aligned with the company's goals, and develop capabilities that lay track for future innovation. Great data governance, data management, and data quality are table stakes. The CDO must also have a sense for where the market is going and how the business can carve out new space for itself to deliver value to customers.Data is about people: As a data leader, it’s easy to get caught up in the novelty and opportunity of innovation. But data is more than an anonymized collection of 0s and 1s, it’s about people and the tremendous impact it can have on their lives. As products and services are developed, it’s important to apply individually-centric design principles and evaluate how you might be affecting someone, for better or worse, on the other side.Responsible AI starts with trustworthy data: Simply put, data is food for AI. In order to build ethical or responsible AI and machine learning algorithms, there must be improvement in data trust and quality. Oftentimes these algorithms are missing integral data points that neglect particular demographics. This creates a level of bias in the numbers that will only continue to be amplified over time.About JoAnnJoAnn Stonier is the Chief Data Officer for Mastercard, where she is responsible for the enterprise data strategy and management, including identifying and mitigating data risks across the company, as well as influencing data-driven products, overseeing data policy and governance.  She advises executive management on a broad range of complex data policy and regulatory issues.    Prior to her current position, Ms. Stonier established the first Privacy Office for Mastercard in 2008, and developed the organization’s Information Governance program beginning in 2013.  Prior to joining Mastercard, Ms. Stonier was the Chief Privacy Officer for American Express Company.  JoAnn is a recognized data and privacy expert and is sought after for her innovative and practical approach to solving problems in the digital age.  In 2018 she assisted in the creation and launch of Trūata, an Irish data trust enterprise, formed to ensure anonymization compliance with the EU-General Data Protection Regulation. She currently serves on their board.  In addition to the Trūata board of directors, she currently advises a broad range of industry and policy groups regarding data innovation and privacy including:  the United Nations Global Privacy Advisory Group; the World Economic Forum’s Data Driven Development Steering Committee; and the Board of Directors of the Information Accountability Foundation.  She is also a Board Advisor for Hope for the Warriors, a non-for-profit organization that assists U.S. military personnel and their families.   She has served on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Privacy Professionals from (2013-2018) and served on the Executive Committee in multiple roles including Chairman in 2017. For her data thought leadership, Ms. Stonier has been recognized by the Information Governance Initiative as the Chief Information Governance Officer of 2015 and in 2011 she was named as an Aspen Institute First Mover Fellow.  Ms. Stonier received her Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University in Queens, and her Bachelor of Science degree from St. Francis College.  Ms. Stonier is a lawyer and holds memberships in the Bar of the State of New York and the Bar of the State of New Jersey.  --The Data Chief is presented by our friends at ThoughtSpot. Searching through your company’s data for insights doesn’t have to be complicated. With ThoughtSpot, anyone in your organization can easily answer their own data questions, find the facts, and make better, faster decisions. Learn more at thoughtspot.com.   Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

Every data professional will gladly discuss their big wins — but what about their big losses? How have career hiccups molded them into the leaders they are today and put them on a path to transform entire industries? Sol Rashidi is the Chief Analytics Officer at the Estée Lauder Company. Throughout her personal and professional life, Sol has used moments of uncertainty as opportunities for growth. Today she is recognized as one of the top 50 most powerful women in tech. On this episode of The Data Chief, Sol joins Cindi for a candid conversation about how she uses challenging circumstances as fuel for further innovation, and how she turns failures into valuable learning moments. Sol also takes a deep dive into the unique position of the CDO as both a business and a tech partner, why data as a service for internal stakeholders is just as important as when designing consumer-facing data products, and why knowing your shelf life is one of the most valuable professional skills you can have.Main TakeawaysCompetition breeds innovation: When it comes to fostering innovation, having the right talent and a propensity for technology are both critical to success. But so is a healthy amount of competition. When your margins are locked, there’s no sense of urgency and it’s easy to slide into a state of complacency. On the other hand, industries with more competition tend to see higher levels of innovation because teams are motivated to push the envelope.   Data as a service for internal stakeholders: External facing data apps and operationalizing machine learning are great for data monetization, but applying a product mindset is a key tool for internal stakeholders as well. The reality is enterprises are hungry for insights and it’s important to develop tools with these constituents in mind. Data and insights must come to life for the organization so it can be used by anyone within the organization. The scope of tech is always changing: Every new piece of technology is going to possess the latest and greatest features, but it’s important to understand where that technology is in its maturity cycle and a particular tech partner’s focus. Will a particular service solve the need for the business at hand, and will it continue to serve a need into the future? These answers are often more telling than any laundry list of features.About SolSol Rashidi currently holds 8 patents, with 21 filed in the Data & Analytics space and is a keynote speaker at several technology conferences speaking on various topics such as Machine Learning, Data & Analytics, and Emerging Operating Models for organizations taking on transformations in the D&A space. Prior to joining Estee Lauder as their Chief Analytics Officer, Sol was the Chief Data & Analytics Officer for Merck, EVP and CDO for Sony Music, and Chief Data & Cognitive officer for Royal Caribbean.Goal oriented and a team player, Sol believes in uncomplicating the complicated and cultivating environments that are innovative, driven, and collaborative. Sol has a unique ability in bridging the gap between Business and IT, her deep understanding of multiple functional disciplines (i.e. change management, enterprise data, application architecture, process re-engineering, sales, etc.) enables her to drive change by articulate the need for change in organizations that otherwise wouldn’t evolve.Sol played NCAA Water Polo and Rugby for Cal on the Women’s National Rugby Team for several years, and completed the Ironman.--The Data Chief is presented by our friends at ThoughtSpot. Searching through your company’s data for insights doesn’t have to be complicated. With ThoughtSpot, anyone in your organization can easily answer their own data questions, find the facts, and make better, faster decisions. Learn more at thoughtspot.com.  Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

Data governance. It’s a “dirty word” in business often associated with being told “no,” but from the perspective of the CDO it’s a crucial part of managing data quality and trust. How are employees being held accountable? Do people have the right access to insights? And is your own business’ data infrastructure and governance policies fostering innovation or stifling it? Ameet Shetty is Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Pilot Flying J, a company that serves more than 1.3 million consumers daily while operating more than 750 locations stateside. On this episode of The Data Chief, Ameet joins Cindi for a conversation on data governance and how to organize your analytics team. Ameet explains why governance gets a bad rap while also touching on the importance of balancing accountability with innovation, having the right technology foundation in place, and the most successful CDOs are natural connectors.Main TakeawaysLean on data as a driver for customer insights and intimacy: Data is key to creating unique personalized touchpoints for your customers. By allowing customers to willingly provide information across all the business touchpoints, this creates a chance to drive insights and move the organizations forward. Companies can use this information to create a stickier connection with the user by providing more personalized experiences in-store or across its apps, but this also gives the business a chance to enhance every touch point and provide a consistent user experience.Building a holistic team pushes you forward: A single individual cannot pull the boat forward, but a team rowing together can get the boat to where it needs to go. When building teams, make sure you are taking a holistic approach and bringing in members from different fields of expertise and backgrounds to close the gap in areas where you are not as strongOver-governing stifles innovation: The term governance is a dirty word for a lot of enterprises, but it’s more important to think about governance not as a burden or regulatory issue but more as data management. It’s important always to maintain data quality, but you must have a balance because you don’t want to govern your data to the point that it stifles innovation.About AmeetAmeet Sheet is the Chief Data Officer at Pilot Flying J. Prior to joining Pilot, Ameet served as McDonald’s first Chief Data Officer. Ameet is helping to define and infuse data across the global enterprise.  He is creating the roadmap to identify the technology, team, process and culture change required for enabling enterprise data transformation and establish best-in-class processes for data strategy and governance and evangelizing these changes throughout McDonald’s.Prior to McDonald’s, Ameet was the Chief Data & Analytics Officer for SunTrust Banks, Inc.  In this role, he led the Enterprise Data & Analytics office, with responsibility for driving the strategic vision and effective deployment of data and business intelligence capabilities to improve efficiency, reduce risk, and enable strategic business growth.Ameet earned an MBA in Marketing from Georgia State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Georgia.  --The Data Chief is presented by our friends at ThoughtSpot. Searching through your company’s data for insights doesn’t have to be complicated. With ThoughtSpot, anyone in your organization can easily answer their own data questions, find the facts, and make better, faster decisions. Learn more at thoughtspot.com.  Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

No journey to the cloud is the same. While some will encounter similar obstacles, each journey has its own unique challenges. But what happens when a company born in the midst of a crisis and changing technology, has to innovate just as fast as the changing landscape to keep up?Ryan Graciano is the co-founder and CTO of Credit Karma, a company that is aligning technology and data to help bring transparency to the credit lending process. On this episode of The Data Chief, Ryan explains how Credit Karma survived early struggles such as the financial crisis of 2008. Ryan also touches on how Credit Karma navigated it’s journey to the cloud, stepping away from the comfort of on-premises data centers to the elasticity of the cloud, and the importance of grooming outside data sources to keep insights consistent. That and more on today’s episode with Ryan Graciano.Main TakeawaysExplainable algorithms drive success: As third party datasets become more readily available, there is an evolving need for data professionals to understand where that data is coming from and how it will affect your models. While these datasets can make it easier for models to be spun up quickly, you must be able to account for how and why those algorithms are generating particular answers.Clean data leads to reliable answers: Data analysts must spend time making sure the data they are using is not only clean, but reliable. When an analyst uses dirty or untrustworthy data, algorithms will have a tendency to run in an undefined manner, which will lead to high variance in answer quality and consistency.Keep data fluency a priority: Even for organizations that believe they are data literate, the process of understanding data at an organizational level is an ongoing one. A best practice for maintaining data literacy is to create a standardized set of how data is recorded and reported internally. When practices like this are standardized, organizations can avoid issues like data bias.About RyanAs a co-founder of Credit Karma and Chief Technical Officer, Ryan Graciano has grown the company’s engineering department from a one-man band into a team of hundreds, developing a technical framework to support the company’s rapid growth. His expertise and innovation has helped bring new levels of usability and sophistication to financial services technologies.Today, Ryan runs an ever-expanding group of engineers tasked with building out new products at pace while stressing a culture of agility and experimentation, even as Credit Karma reaches new levels of scale. As a leader, he serves as a constructive agitator, looking to break down traditional workplace hierarchies and empowering each member of his department with real influence over the future of the product.Ryan has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and spent five years at IBM before joining Credit Karma.--The Data Chief is presented by our friends at ThoughtSpot. Searching through your company’s data for insights doesn’t have to be complicated. With ThoughtSpot, anyone in your organization can easily answer their own data questions, find the facts, and make better, faster decisions. Learn more at thoughtspot.com.  Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

The role of the Chief Data Officer is an evolving one. Today, data professionals are expected to be champions for their business  – aligning data goals with business values – while also leading their company’s digital transformation. It’s a position best suited for visionaries, advocates, and change agents.  Darren Pedroza is the Vice President of Enterprise Data and Analytics at First Command Financial Services, with a mission of helping military families reach their financial goals. In addition to being a data and analytics savant, a major part of his success in this role is his acute understanding of how to transform a data strategy to keep pace with changing times and business needs. On this episode of The Data Chief, Darren explains how First Command transformed its data and cloud strategy to be more flexible, agile, and democratized. Darren also touches on a host of topics, including Databricks, what routinely leads to bad data, and leadership best practices.Main TakeawaysFuture-proof your cloud strategy: Your cloud data strategy shouldn’t end at scale. Focus on flexibility, agility, and democratization by adopting as many cloud-native tools as needed and consistently upskilling non-technical business users. Additionally, you want to be intentional about your build vs. buy strategies and make sure the vendors you partner with become allies.Remember that good data doesn’t just happen: All data has a lifecycle, but there are two unique challenges that plague companies when it comes to their data collection: silos and poor user experiences. The best data collection applications are the ones that have a simple workflow, and a clear and pleasant user experience.Align your team to your tech stack: When going through digital transformation it’s important to make sure that not only are you partnering with vendors that can integrate across multiple platforms, but also compliment the skillset of your team at hand.--The Data Chief is presented by our friends at ThoughtSpot. Searching through your company’s data for insights doesn’t have to be complicated. With ThoughtSpot, anyone in your organization can easily answer their own data questions, find the facts, and make better, faster decisions. Learn more at thoughtspot.com. -- For full show notes and more, go to thedatachief.com.  Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

In the age of data-driven decision making, an adage still bears true: People are a company's most valuable asset. No matter how technologically advanced and forward thinking your company is, it cannot operate without the individuals that make the organization go. So how are companies using data and analytics to not only make better decisions at the company level, but also improve the employee experience? And how are data and analytics predicting trends for the future of work that includes employee well-being and greater inclusivity?Serena Huang is the Global Head of People Analytics at the Kraft Heinz Company. On this episode of The Data Chief she shares insights into her work and why companies are turning to this important function to design more thoughtful employee experiences. Enjoy!Main TakeawaysStart with the problem, not the data: When solving a problem, don’t start with your data. Instead, understand what solution you are trying to solve for and then design your experiments around that problem. Once that’s in place, you can start gathering directional data that will lead to a solution. Share your progress and momentum: Transparency is key, so when you are conducting your analysis make sure the data you are collecting from employees not only benefits the company, but also the employee itself. If your employee feels as if the line of questioning does not benefit them, they are less likely to participate. Your data gathering process must be a two-way street that shows results both for the employees and the company.Create value beyond the obvious: Data and analytics should always be on the lookout for new ways to bring value to the business. For Kraft Heinz, this meant measuring different scenarios such as exit interviews, engagement surveys, and understanding why employees left, to create a more holistic view of the employee experience.About SerenaDr. Serena Huang is currently the Global Head of People Analytics at the Kraft Heinz Company. Serena is a thought leader in people analytics, HR technology, future of work, and employee experience with deep expertise spanning large multinationals including GE and Deloitte. Her recent interviews appeared on Workforce.com and Rallyware. Dr. Huang is also a long-time practitioner of mindfulness and leads guided meditations in corporate settings to boost employee well-being.As a data analytics executive, Dr. Huang is passionate about leading change, building high-performing global teams, and helping business leaders see data as an asset in large organizations. She excels at showing executives the “art of the possible” through both 1-on-1 dialogues and facilitated hands-on workshops, and co-creating customizable, scalable solutions in predictive analytics in HR, Workplace Strategy, Supply Chain and Litigation domains. Dr. Huang has built and led on-shore/off-shore analytics teams and capabilities from the ground up in highly matrixes multi-national corporations over the past 10 years. She welcomes global opportunities outside the U.S. or U.S. companies with significant global footprint.--The Data Chief is presented by our friends at ThoughtSpot. Searching through your company’s data for insights doesn’t have to be complicated. With ThoughtSpot, anyone in your organization can easily answer their own data questions, find the facts, and make better, faster decisions. Learn more at thoughtspot.com. -- For full show notes and more, go to thedatachief.com. Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.