In Episode 26, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Michelle Gansle, Chief Data, Analytics & AI Officer at McDonald's, where they discuss why, as one of the world's biggest brands, they still have a commitment to change and innovation and how Data & Analytics fuels that, which includes;3 fun facts that people don’t know about McDonald's The data and analytics goals of McDonald's The size and scale of the D&A capability at McDonalds Defining the right operating model for such a large enterprise Key D&A use cases in the fast food industry Why prioritisation should be the easiest part of the job Why even the biggest companies need to optimise and innovate to be successful Why one of the world's biggest brands has a commitment to change The tangible impact that certain innovations like drive-thru’s and delivery apps have had on their business What the landscape looked like before and after the pandemic Building a foresight team to predict what may happen in the future The three-legged stool concept Why the McDonalds culture has always been tied to innovationHow innovation is in service of the organisation's core business Why they view their size and scale as an incomparable advantageThe double-edged sword of being a large business Why relentless curiosity will make you successful Understanding the difference between what you could do versus what you should do The benefit of having a seat at the table Why it’s imperative to understand what “the end” is, and why Data & Analytics is not itWho really are the competitorsWhy they’re rarely first to market but are often fast followers The role that GenAI will play at McDonald's The 3 horizons of Generative AI How D&A was mentioned 42 times at investor meetings Thanks to our sponsor, Data Literacy Academy.Data Literacy Academy is leading the way in transforming enterprise workforces with data literacy across the organisation, through a combination of change management and education. In today's data-centric world, being data literate is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity.If you want successful data product adoption, and to keep driving innovation within your business, you need to start with data literacy first.At Data Literacy Academy, we don't just teach data skills. We empower individuals and teams to think critically, analyse effectively, and make decisions confidently based on data. We're bridging the gap between business and data teams, so they can all work towards aligned outcomes.From those taking their first steps in data literacy to seasoned experts looking to fine-tune their skills, our data experts provide tailored classes for every stage. But it's not just learning tracks that we offer. We embed a deep data culture shift through a transformative change management programme.We take a people-first approach, working closely with your executive team to win the hearts and minds. We know this will drive the company-wide impact that data teams want to achieve.Get in touch and find out how you can unlock the full potential of data in your organisation. Learn more at www.dl-academy.com.

Irina Mihai, Director of Data at Adidas, shares insights on creating visibility for D&A teams, authentic leadership, decision-making, team building, and fostering psychological safety. Key topics include prioritizing projects, communication skills, organizational culture, and stakeholder engagement.

In Episode 24, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Chris Bannocks, Group Chief Data Officer at QBE Insurance, where they discuss how they are productionising GenAI use cases from scratch within 8 weeks, which includes; Being a CDAO/Group CDAO in multiple organisations/sectors The importance of international experience Being allergic to the term ‘data strategy’The impact that Gen AI will have on businessWhy GenAI/AI isn’t the solution to every problem Harnessing the value that GenAI can bring The top and bottom line opportunities of GenAI Why GenAI raises the stakes further for D&A teamsThe requirements of the semantic understanding of your data organization Going fast and hard on one opportunity to prove it could be doneUsing different mediums to gather 300 potential use cases Building things to be reusable and scalable Measuring the addressable opportunity Why they didn’t have to quantify the value before they got started Standing up a technical spike within 6 days to show what could possibly be done Having a 12 week deadline to get it done from a standing start with no capability How that capability has now reduced time to production to 8 weeks The collaboration needed with each leader from different business units The importance of creating a working product in productionWhy they avoided focusing on efficiency and focused on increasing revenue instead Avoiding enthusiastic experimentation Why tight deadlines helped to make decisions quickly and focus on scope/MVPWhy you should never start a piece of work without input from business stakeholders The challenge of ethical and bias considerations How they tackled GenAI education across the organisation The importance of having a human in the loopBuilding a team that can deliver Top pieces of advice for anyone about to embark on this journey

Caroline Zimmerman, Director of Data Product & Strategy at Profusion, talks about how private equity firms leverage data & AI for growth. They discuss the unique definition of value in PE, the role of data in value creation, and the challenges faced in the D&A community. The podcast explores the differences between PE-backed firms and others, the power of growth modeling, and the career opportunities for Data Leaders in PE.

Simon Ferriter, CEO at Anmut, discusses the valuation of data assets, the importance of understanding key data for decision-making, and the challenges organizations face in managing data effectively. He explores the financial methods for valuing data, the social impacts of data, and how putting a financial figure on data assets can drive improved decision-making and board involvement. The conversation highlights the under-investment in data management capability and the universal problem statements across industries.

Ranil Boteju, Group Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Lloyds Banking Group, discusses the power of purpose, evolving views of value creation, future analytics skills, potential of Generative AI, fostering a data culture, building unique teams, and the existence of the CDAO role in 5 years.

In this episode, Anthony Cosgrove, Co-Founder at Harbr, discusses building a data platform, challenges of data sharing, importance of scalability, empathy in data assets, and the value of diversity and flexibility in data management.

In Episode 19, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Phillip Dale, Head of Data Governance at Marks & Spencer, where they discuss how data governance by design is enabling them to the build for the future, which includes;Why the data & analytics community is the best community in the world Making data accessible for people to leverage it Why a good governance function is one of the best commercial enablers in business The importance of having the right controls in place The value of trusted data What data governance means for ‘the business’ The role of DG in executing the data strategy How getting people to understand the benefits of good-quality data is the easy partStrategy versus Governance and understanding the true north Why you need a governance approach which keeps you fit for the future Why you need to show how commercial challenges of your organisation can be supported by governance Why keeping it simple makes things more robust and sustainable Why your job as a governance leader will never be done The challenges of being accepted by data & analytics professionals when you come “from the business”Choosing the right DG tooling and understanding your maturity Getting your tools used and minimising technical debt Prioritising what should be fixed and what doesn’t need to be Dealing with ad-hoc requests The importance of getting people on the same page with a unified narrative Why sub-par experiences and results live long in the memory Celebrating the governance trophies (wins)Why the exciting stuff is often delivered by other parts of the D&A teamData governance by design core principles and artefacts Why GenAI is a great opportunity for the governance community The eutopia of when organisations want governance rather than feel like they need it Thanks to our sponsor, Data Literacy Academy.Data Literacy Academy is leading the way in transforming enterprise workforces with data literacy across the organisation, through a combination of change management and education. In today's data-centric world, being data literate is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity.If you want successful data product adoption, and to keep driving innovation within your business, you need to start with data literacy first.At Data Literacy Academy, we don't just teach data skills. We empower individuals and teams to think critically, analyse effectively, and make decisions confidently based on data. We're bridging the gap between business and data teams, so they can all work towards aligned outcomes.From those taking their first steps in data literacy to seasoned experts looking to fine-tune their skills, our data experts provide tailored classes for every stage. But it's not just learning tracks that we offer. We embed a deep data culture shift through a transformative change management programme.We take a people-first approach, working closely with your executive team to win the hearts and minds. We know this will drive the company-wide impact that data teams want to achieve.Get in touch and find out how you can unlock the full potential of data in your organisation. Learn more at www.dl-academy.com.

In Episode 18, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Susanna Moan, Chief Data Officer at Currys Plc, where they discuss how they're using data to create connections to create better customer experiences, which includes;Using Data to create customers for life The 4 key pillars of the Data Strategy and the thought behind themDefining the data strategy prioritisation roadmap Ensuring that you’re listening as a CDOFocusing on where you’ll get advocacy and usageUnderstanding the difference you’re making from a contribution perspective communications plan to market the story and benefits Aligning the business, data and customer strategies Why they have a tagline that surmises the data strategy Articulating the breadth of what a chief data office should doSegmenting the strategy into collect, protect and use The importance of thinking about usage at the beginningReducing technology costs Why data platform projects aren’t exciting to CEO’s, but what does interest themUsing data to create connected partnerships that create better customer experience and also make money Balancing the needs of intergenerational customer expectations Hyper personalisation needs and the relationship with security The role of GenAI in the world of retail and 3 internal POCs for internal use cases Managing GenAI interest from the ExCoThanks to our sponsor, Data Literacy Academy.Data Literacy Academy is leading the way in transforming enterprise workforces with data literacy across the organisation, through a combination of change management and education. In today's data-centric world, being data literate is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity.If you want successful data product adoption, and to keep driving innovation within your business, you need to start with data literacy first.At Data Literacy Academy, we don't just teach data skills. We empower individuals and teams to think critically, analyse effectively, and make decisions confidently based on data. We're bridging the gap between business and data teams, so they can all work towards aligned outcomes.From those taking their first steps in data literacy to seasoned experts looking to fine-tune their skills, our data experts provide tailored classes for every stage. But it's not just learning tracks that we offer. We embed a deep data culture shift through a transformative change management programme.We take a people-first approach, working closely with your executive team to win the hearts and minds. We know this will drive the company-wide impact that data teams want to achieve.Get in touch and find out how you can unlock the full potential of data in your organisation. Learn more at www.dl-academy.com.

In Episode 17, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Antje Bustamante, VP of Data at Funding Circle, where they discuss the role of "leadership" in Data & Analytics, which includes;Why the fun comes from generating revenue for your business and giving people amazing careers Why businesses don’t ask for data transformation Learning from personal experience the CDO/Data Leader role is undefined Why titles are often intentionally misused Why your customers won’t tell you what their problems are The importance of understanding commercial drivers and how your business makes money Changing the mindset that data isn’t a problem it’s an opportunity How data events are always focused on technology, yet you can’t find much on the topic of leadership Why aspiring leaders are concerned about losing their technical skills when they shouldn’t be The ability to change habits and mindsets Why D&A is misunderstood and is often the starting point of most of our challenges Why there is too much entitlement in Data & Analytics Leadership Data Leaders need to be ready to take on the job of educating people Why managing and leading are two different things The challenges of promoting high-performing ICs into management How 82% of all managers have never had any management training The importance of having leadership values Why it’s OK to ask for help and you don’t have to know it allWhy attracting and retaining great talent is the hardest part of leadership Finding a way to that seat if your role doesn’t grant you oneAs maturity increases, the less the Data Leadership role should be neededWhy data needs strong representation to be seen as a success Why the NED market for Data Leaders is quite hot Why commercial organisations will only truly understand the value of data when we help them make more money Why the Data Leadership role could be dead in 5 years The importance of personal development and upskilling as a leader Why she qualified as a career coach to become a better leaderWhy your success is directly linked to the success of your people Why data leaders need to change their network and bubble Thanks to our sponsor, Data Literacy Academy.Data Literacy Academy is leading the way in transforming enterprise workforces with data literacy across the organisation, through a combination of change management and education. In today's data-centric world, being data literate is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity.If you want successful data product adoption, and to keep driving innovation within your business, you need to start with data literacy first.At Data Literacy Academy, we don't just teach data skills. We empower individuals and teams to think critically, analyse effectively, and make decisions confidently based on data. We're bridging the gap between business and data teams, so they can all work towards aligned outcomes.From those taking their first steps in data literacy to seasoned experts looking to fine-tune their skills, our data experts provide tailored classes for every stage. But it's not just learning tracks that we offer. We embed a deep data culture shift through a transformative change management programme.We take a people-first approach, working closely with your executive team to win the hearts and minds. We know this will drive the company-wide impact that data teams want to achieve.Get in touch and find out how you can unlock the full potential of data in your organisation. Learn more at www.dl-academy.com.