CDO Matters Podcast

In this episode, Dan Everett, an expert in understanding and navigating change, discusses the challenges of driving change as a new data leader. He shares strategies for fostering fairness and engaging employees, explores the influence of culture on organizational behavior, and emphasizes the importance of questioning ingrained behaviors.

Wendy Turner-Williams, former CDO of Tableau and VP of Data Strategy for Salesforce, discusses her vision for The Association: a community of data practitioners dedicated to overcoming challenges. They also explore topics such as Salesforce's V2 Mom process, the growth & impact of AI, challenges faced by CDOs, collaboration with cyber teams, and creating peer-to-peer standards & data sharing.

Veronika Durgin, VP of Data with Saks, shares insights on applying the '30% rule' to learn the language of business. They discuss centralization benefits, the obsession with decentralization, and the importance of a common language in data management.

The podcast explores the need for modern data leadership in a world of constant change. It discusses challenges faced by data leaders, the importance of prioritizing customers, and shifting focus from data quality to business value.

Joe Reis, co-author of the bestselling O'Reilly book, 'Fundamentals of Data Engineering', discusses the importance of understanding and managing data engineers effectively. They also talk about the challenges and strategies for bridging the gap between development and data teams, as well as the future of models in data engineering and the significance of having a clear data strategy.

In this episode, Laurence Young, a value consultant, discusses the importance of improving data from a business perspective. They explore showcasing the value of data investments and emphasize the significance of revenue as a metric for growth. The speaker also shares insights on quantifying the return on investment for data initiatives and addresses challenges in improving customer data. They highlight the importance of aligning organizational goals with data projects and connecting business metrics with data quality metrics.

The podcast discusses the challenges faced by CDOs, the importance of effective communication and delivering business value. It also explores adding fun and excitement to data and analytics, the evolution of roles, the collaborative approach in problem-solving, and misconceptions surrounding data quality.

Episode OverviewIn this 30th episode of the CDO Matter Podcast, Malcolm has an inspired exchange with the ‘Dean of Big Data,’ Bill Schmarzo. Bill is an accomplished author, teacher, and C-level executive with a depth of knowledge in building and running large-scale data operations in service of some of the biggest companies in the world.In the discussion of his most recent book, “AI & Data Literacy,” Bill shares his insights into the six key responsibilities that all consumers of AI must fulfill to optimize their relationship with this transformative technology. In becoming more AI literate, we increase the likelihood that the utility of AI will be maximized for the good of society and not just the corporate bottom line. A critical component of this includes quantifying the concept of ‘ethics,’ which Bill strongly advocates is not only possible, but is absolutely necessary.Beyond the topic of AI, Bill and Malcolm touch on some of the bigger challenges CDOs face daily, including the importance of connecting data investments to business outcomes and how to potentially solve the ‘value’ equation inherent to every data estate. For CDOs seeking inspiration about the future of data management in an AI-enabled future, look no further than this episode of CDO Matters.Episode Links & Resources:• Follow Malcolm Hawker on LinkedIn• Follow Bill Schmarzo on LinkedIn• Read Bill Schmarzo's new book, 'AI & Data Literacy: Empowering Citizens of Data Science'

Episode OverviewIn this 29th episode of the CDO Matter podcast, Malcolm has an engaging conversation with a long-established thought leader and noted author in the data and analytics space, Tom Redman. Malcolm and Tom discuss Tom’s recently published book, ‘People and Data,’ where Tom shares his thoughts on the necessity of engaging data consumers to address some of the bigger data-related challenges all organizations face, particularly data quality. Tom shares his recipe for engaging as many stakeholders “without data in their titles” as possible, and the need for CDOs to assert their leadership through an acknowledgment many legacy approaches to data management simply aren’t working, including data governance. Rather than seeing people as the core problem data leaders need to overcome, Tom makes a strong case that people are, in fact, the solution – especially those outside traditional data roles.Episode Links & Resources:Follow Malcolm Hawker on LinkedInFollow Tom Redman on LinkedInRead Tom Redman's latest book, 'People and Data'

Episode SummaryUnleashing the power of Data Products, and transforming CDOs into Product Visionaries.In this the 28th episode of the CDO Matters podcast, Malcolm explores the topic of Data Products and what CDO’s should know about them. Malcolm taps his expertise as a prior Chief Product Officer to explore the differences between data products as they exist within a Data Mesh architecture, versus the more general concept of data products outside a Mesh. Malcolm takes issue with the idea of a ‘bottoms up’ approach to defining data products, and instead advocates that CDOs take a more practical view of a data product as anything that a customer is willing to pay for. Malcolm urges CDOs who are curious about data products to ensure they first establish a business justification for their efforts – one which focuses more holistically on the benefits that can come from the integration of the discipline of product management into a data and analytics function. Malcolm shares his insights that data products should be treated as an output of a product management focus, and the many benefits that are realized when CDO’s embrace the discipline of product management.Lastly, Malcolm dives into the role of a data product manager, sharing details on the core responsibilities for these experts and how they would differ from the concept of a data ‘owner’. Along the way, Malcolm touches on the misguided idea of data literacy, and how taking more a product-centric approach to building and supporting data solutions could enable CDOs to completely transform their customer relationships.Episode Links & Resources:Follow Malcolm Hawker on LinkedIn