From a Data Modeler To Chief Data Officer

Topics discussed in this episode:

Consolidation in 2020 to focus on execution in 2021 at LSE (03:00): Not all organizations are all at the same state on digital transformation and London Stock Exchange is ahead on a digital transformation but needed someone to put a wrapper around all initiatives. Diane joined LSE to do that.

One step backwards but 10 steps forward (07:30): Took a job as a data modeler and a pay cut back in the ‘90s. But that paid a lot of dividends over the years. 

Data in the backburner to the forefront now (09:00): Management used to forget to invite data management folks in the past as they are the backoffice. Now, Data is front and center. People really acknowledge the importance of data nowadays. 

Why technology takes initiative instead of business (12:00): IT takes leadership when there is a leadership vacuum on business/data strategy.  Ideally, technology should be solutioning to the business strategy and business requirements. But when there is a vacuum/gap on biz strategy, technology takes the lead with good intentions. 

CDO as a Chief Requirements Officer (CRO)(14:00):  CDO journey should be seen as a maturity journey. Depending on where an organization is, different skills of a CDO are needed. It may not be the same for every prg or the same stage. Dr. Richard Wang and Dr. Lee’s article lays out a good structure for looking at this.

Similarities & Differences in Data prep Vs. Data Analysis across companies (19:44): Similarities across different companies that Diane worked are about data prep (70 to 80%) time versus data analysis (20-30%). So the challenge is about efficiencies and effectiveness of data accountability. People, processes, technology challenges are the same. The differences are about the actual data (mortgage vs. stocks).

Data student even as a CDO (22:37). Diane got her Collibra data steward certificate recently when she was in a senior position. Reason is that Diane is a data student, humble to know she doesn’t know everything about data, and eagerness to know about her audience.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Podcast website: https://DataTransformersPodcast.Com