Estée Lauder’s Sol Rashidi on Treating Data as a Product, Turning Failures into Success, and the Unique Position of the CDO

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 Takeaways

• Competition 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 Sol

Sol 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.

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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.