At French bank, Société Générale, providing the best customer experience in the modern digital world means rethinking everything about banking, including its corporate structure. Three years ago, Julien Molez, joined the bank’s leadership team to become the first Innovation Data & AI Leader. On this episode of The Data Chief, Julien addresses changes sweeping the banking industry, including higher customer expectations, tougher regulations, and the ESG revolution. He also reminds us that...

It is once again that time of year when our host, Cindi Howson shares her favorite data and analytics book recommendations. In this special annual episode, we feature three of the industry’s top data writers, thinkers, and fellow podcasters. Tim Harford comes to the conversation with his new book, The Data Detective, and big-picture ideas about how traits like curiosity serve data scientists so well. Zhamak Dehghani shares her concept of The Data Mesh, especially as it relates to sharing data...

Who’s hungry? Thanks to delivery apps like DoorDash, it’s never been easier for modern consumers to satisfy almost any craving in just a few taps. At the helm of DoorDash’s data organization is VP of Analytics & Data Science, Jessica Lachs. With metrics guiding every decision at the company, a key part of her decision-making comes down to properly quantifying the value of each possible tradeoff. Learn more about her decision-making framework, plus how her career in finance evolved into...

Swiss RE’s SVP of P&C R&D, Jerry Gupta is a firm believer in the revenue-generating potential and AI and machine learning. On this episode of The Data Chief, Jerry offers his view on innovative data model, frameworks for building and operationalizing these models, what makes a good data scientist, and why it will always be more challenging for data teams to maintain existing models vs. innovate new ones.

What keeps a data pro at one company for almost thirty years? On this episode of The Data Chief, Pascale Hutz, the Chief Data Officer and EVP of Enterprise Digital & Data Solutions at American Express, shares how her career at American Express has transformed over the years and what she’s learned along the way. Tune in to hear more about her latest cloud migration journey, why she’s on a  “mission to decommission,” and how she fights imposter syndrome even as a C-level executive in one of...

How can data be activated to create better healthcare outcomes? Dr. Victoria Gamerman, the Global Head of Data Governance and Insights at Boehringer Ingelheim, offers that part of the answer is that data is changing to be thought of as part of the broader healthcare “ecosystem.”  Listen in for how some of the philosophical frameworks concerning data can help to improve healthcare.

What does it take to turn a new position that never existed into one that delivers transformation for an entire organization? As the first Chief Data Officer at Prudential Financial and the initial Chief Data Analytics Officer at a prior career stop at State Farm, Kjersten Moody knows the answer. Tune in to learn how being a constant learner has consistently allowed her to see challenges as opportunities for growth.

How do you make innovation truly come alive at your organization? For Abhi Bhatt, the AVP, Technology, Data & Analytics at CarMax, innovation is about taking risks, seizing opportunities, and challenging yourself to get a little better each day . Abhi also describes his approach to upskilling teammates across the business, the role of third-party data in delivering better customer experiences, and how culture is helping companies win the war on talent.

Since the business relationship to data has changed, it definitely makes sense that the role of a Chief Data Officer has developed too. Our guest today, Heidi Lanford, CDO of Fitch Group, is seeing that evolution firsthand. She shares with us how CDOs can work effectively with other company leaders; in part, by communicating in simple, clear terms. Tune in to learn from Heidi why there can be considerable career value in choosing to be uncomfortable.

The data landscape is evolving in the life sciences and healthcare sectors. Murali Vridhachalam, the Head of Enterprise Data and Analytics at Gilead Sciences, and Mahmood Majeed, Managing Partner at ZS Associates, offer their compelling perspectives on digital transformation in life sciences and healthcare and how data can be used in these areas to improve patient outcomes. Plus, Mahmood and Murali share their takes on how to effectively reskill data professionals and the role of IT in...

Your data will never be clean and it will never be perfect. So how do we create meaningful models anyway? As Dr. Katia Walsh puts it, data leaders are facing a “tsunami of data.” But that tsunami shouldn’t stop you from testing, iterating, and moving quickly. Dr. Walsh is the Chief Global Strategy and AI Officer at Levi Strauss & Co. and today she shares how her team has leveraged a mindset of “think big, start small, scale fast” to create cutting-edge data models and digital capabilities...

It takes a multi-pronged approach to be a Chief Data Officer in the modern day, and its trailblazers like Cara Dailey who have helped mold the position into what it is today. Cara is the EVP and CDO for LPL Financial with previous roles at companies like Nike, Bank of the West, and Silicon Valley Bank. A veteran in the world of data, she joins The Data Chief to discuss data governance vs. data enablement, how to balance data defense with offense, the role of technology in data-driven...

Data is a key asset for any organization undergoing transformation. Together, Vandana Khanna, Deeksha Singh and their teams work across continents, brands, and cultures to infuse data into every decision at Unilever. But like any major business initiative, digital transformation is a journey. The challenges and opportunities that exist are vast, varied, and endless. Tune in to hear how this dynamic duo are improving data literacy at every level, eliminating manual reporting and data...

Over the last two years, Afterpay has more than doubled its consumer base from 7 million to 19 million by giving consumers more opportunities to make big-ticket purchases using its simple, pay-over-time platform. Their ever-growing success in the crowded payments market is what led the company to be acquired by Block, the parent company for such brands as Cash App, Square, and TIDAL. Now, as part of the Block family, Afterpay Senior Director of Data Engineering & Governance, Nitish Mathew...

As the Managing Executive Officer & CDO at Rakuten, Takuya Kitagawa’s charter is both varied and complex. For the past four years, he has guided the digital native through accelerated expansion into multiple industries, including online banking, shopping, mobile communications, and travel, in order to deliver customers a more integrated and affordable service experience. Takuya dives into the concept of ‘digital twins’ and how the company is using tight data integrations to enhance...

As the first CDO at Etsy, Chu-Cheng Hsieh offers a unique perspective on helping build a data-driven organization from the ground up. Chu-Cheng shares how he’s fostered a culture of experimentation that has led to rapid growth and transformation within the company. He also dives into trends such as machine learning and data observability, and explains some of the most helpful mental frameworks he’s learned in his life and career.

Jay Riola, SVP of Strategy and Innovation for the Orlando Magic, and Charlie Shin, VP of Data Strategy and Analytics for the Indianapolis Colts share how they’re using data and analytics to enhance fan experiences. With perspectives from both the NBA and the NFL, Jay and Charlie explore the evolution of mobile ticketing, challenges with identity management, the importance of building fan trust, and the most surprising insights they’ve ever discovered within their data.

Iwao Fusillo, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at General Motors, explains why domain expertise is not a precursor to a successful career in data and analytics, how to scale remote and hybrid teams, and how to implement a data literacy strategy within a legacy company.

Vijay Kotu, SVP of Data and Analytics for ServiceNow, discusses how he is building a high-growth “mathematical enterprise” where frontline workers are empowered to make smarter business decisions with data and AI. He also details the impact of ecosystems within the industry, and why being intentional about analytics use cases is essential.

On this episode of The Data Chief, top data and analytics executives from DataRobot, Databricks, and Google join Cindi to discuss trends shaping the future of analytics and provide bold predictions for the upcoming year.

We are back with more episodes! In the coming months, you’ll hear from executives and data leaders from companies like Databricks, Google, General Motors, Etsy, ServiceNow, and more. Our guests cover topics like cloud acceleration, ethical AI, data fluency, scaling data teams, the trends that matter as we enter 2022, and much more! You won’t want to miss these upcoming episodes, so be sure to subscribe to The Data Chief on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Plus, you can dive...

The data and analytics field is evolving rapidly. As is the role of the modern data and analytics leader. To keep pace with new trends, organizational best practices, and technologies, leaders need to make learning a priority, whether that’s reading or podcasting — or both! In this episode, Cindi is joined by four authors and thought leaders who are writing the next chapter of our industry. Randy Bean, Founder and CEO of New Vantage Partners, shares the value of experimentation and failure....

Daniel Seymore, Head of Business Intelligence at South Africa-based financial services company, Investec, covers best practices for building successful teams, upskilling the next generation of IT professionals, and why domain experience is the prominent skill needed for all data and analytics leaders.

JoAnn Stonier, Chief Data Officer at Mastercard, explains data’s impact on people, how CDOs lay the groundwork for strategic innovation, and the progress that’s been made toward building responsible AI

Sol Rashidi, Chief Analytics Officer at Estée Lauder Companies, discusses the importance of understanding and learning from past failures, the need to take a product-centric approach, and why your product roadmap should be technology agnostic.