Driven by Data: The Podcast S7 | Ep 1 | Accelerating the Speed of Value Delivery with Kevin Cassar, Chief Data Officer at TalkTalk
Apr 7, 2026
44:40
In Episode 1, of Season 7 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Kevin Cassar, Chief Data Officer at TalkTalk, where they discuss how to accelerate the speed of value delivery, which includes;
- Why speed to value is becoming as important as ROI itself
- The macroeconomic and GenAI forces increasing pressure on delivery timelines
- How TalkTalk’s data strategy is focused on profitability, trust, and customer satisfaction
- The “triangle of value”: data, business action, and financial outcomes
- Why federated data operating models can accelerate adoption and execution
- The balance between experimentation and implementation at scale
- How governance should act as an enabler, not a blocker, to faster delivery
- The pyramid framework linking ExCo priorities to data products and models
- Why culture, psychological safety, and upskilling are critical to speed
- The five pillars of organisational readiness for faster value creation
- Real examples of reducing delivery from 12 months to under 8 weeks
- Kevin’s three practical leadership principles: vision, collaboration, and investing in people
- Why ExCo maturity and sponsorship are the hidden drivers of speed to value
- How direct CEO access materially reduces time from idea to production
- Why poor data foundations still kill speed, regardless of AI ambition
- Why adoption velocity, not just build velocity, determines realised value