In Episode 1, of Season 4, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Barry Panayi, Chief Data and Insight Officer at John Lewis Partnership, where they discuss the myths about the role of the CDO and why tenure is so short, which includes;Why no two CDO roles are the sameWhy the majority of CDOs are hired for the wrong reasons How the people making those decisions don’t understand the role or what it should do for them How the CDO role isn’t a transitional one and shouldn’t be about delivering projectsWhy the narrative around the CoE being an internal consultancy is damaging Why D&A teams haven’t been good enough at articulating both direct and indirect value The ways to book and track value generated Why we’ve been guilty of wrongly beating up IT over the years The relationship between technology, the role of a CDO and why it’s become a grey area If culture, literacy and adoption are related to the tenure of the CDOWhy 'culture change' and 'literacy' aren’t helpful terms Why we need to be more prescriptive to change behaviours and culture across the organisationThe importance of comms teams in a chief data office The benefits of "selling" indirectly Why reporting lines and operating models play a role in the success of a CDOWhy you need to understand the trade-offs within your reporting line The benefit of owning insight within the CDO office and the differences in Insight skillsets The relationship between how organisations utilise consulting firms and the impact it has on a CDOHow hype and buzz have helped move data up the value chainWhy the data conversation is starting to stagnate What the CDO needs to do to have more success Thanks to our sponsor, Dufrain:Dufrain is a market leading pure play data and analytics delivery consultancy empowering enterprise organisations to discover the value and potential in their data. To truly become data-driven and drive competitive advantage. At Dufrain, Data is our passion. Our highly experienced data consultants deliver data solutions and real business outcomes across the entire data landscape helping businesses to meet their strategic objectives. Led by Joseph George CEO, we draw on a wealth of expertise, experience and knowledge to deliver innovative solutions to data challenges. Leading brands trust us and partner with us to deliver value and to support and enable their teams for the long term. Our highly experienced data consultants deliver comprehensive services across the entire data landscape from data management and governance, BI and analytics through to shaping data transformation strategies. Take your steps to become data-driven, visit www.dufrain.co.uk and connect with us.

What do Data Modelling, Delivering £500m in value through Data & Analytics, and building a Data Academy have in common?They all feature in the most listened-to episodes of Driven by Data: The Podcast, ever!After recently concluding Season 3 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, we thought we'd bring you a compilation bonus episode of some of the most listened-to episodes ever, to keep you tide over until the launch of Season 4 in a couple of weeks, which we promise will be the biggest and best yet.This episode features;S3 | Ep 4: The Resurgence of Data Modelling, with Kelly HumeS3 | Ep 16: Delivering £500m in Value with Clive (Benny) Benford S3 | Ep 21: Building a Successful Data Academy with Hannah Davies

After concluding Season 3 of Driven by Data: The Podcast last week, we thought we'd bring you a compilation bonus episode of some of the most listened-to episodes ever, to keep you tide over until the launch of Season 4 in a couple of weeks, which we promise will be the biggest and best yet.This episode features;S3 | Ep 1: Valuing Data as an Asset with Davin Crowley-SweetS3 | Ep 3: Data; A People Sport with Liz HendersonS2 | Ep 1: Becoming Data Literate with David Reed

In Episode 50, of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Joseph George, CEO at Dufrain, where they discuss the seven sins of data transformation, which includes; The differences between being an employee in a big corporate to running a business The realities of the Data Science hype cycle in 2017/18Why the good work is only done in pockets and silosResearch that suggests that only 27% of organisations are ready to achieve benefits from AIWhy they commissioned their ‘State of Data’ Report and some of the key findings Why most organisations believe they’re significantly more data mature than they actually are Why data is important but not urgent How most organisations can’t tie their D&A work to any increase in profit /revenue The reality of how organisations are still using data within an organisationHow organisations are suffering from the “streetlight effect”Why most data and analytics projects still don’t deliver the desired benefits How most of the blockers are non-technical The seven sins of data transformation Why data is an afterthought in most transformation programmes The lack of good programme/project management on most data and analytics initiatives The importance of understanding what success and ‘completed’ is for different stakeholdersWhy many agile projects aren’t actually agileThe three lenses of collaboration and why the lack of it negatively impacts many D&A projects Why everyone needs to think and act commercially and speak in business language Why it all ties back to revenueWhy we all have to look in the mirror The importance of being able to articulate the benefit of any data initiative Why the CIO is being chosen over the CDO for having responsibility for AIYou can find The State of Data Report here; https://www.dufrain.co.uk/

In Episode 49 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Dr Christina Sandema-Sombe, Chief Data Steward at Nike, where they discuss the relationship between user acceptance and adoption and the role it plays in Data and Analytics success, which includes;How being better at writing has been a huge benefit throughout her career The 6 things that she owns as Chief Data Steward How to activate organisations to treat data as an assetWhy data is truly a team sport between business, data and tech The importance of knowledge management and change management Managing data within different teams at different levels of maturity The importance of user acceptance Why identifying the art of the possible causes disruption Why we often overinvest in new tools while not being mature enough to benefit from themWhy it should be behaviours first and technologies second Why most technology becomes expensive shelfware and how to avoid thatWhy D&A approaches the problem of change like it’s a brand new problem, when it’s not Why inter-disciplinary thinking is critical for combatting change Why driving change for D&A is like a merger and acquisition of two big giants The healthy balance between carrot and stickWhy executive sponsorship is absolutely critical to success Why you have to be very intentional about educating Aligning data initiatives to business objectives Why top-down stewardship is more effective than bottom-up The role of the operating model and how team structure can be critical The relationship between knowledge management and adoptionWhy branding is super important to make it D&A interesting, exciting and accessible Her hilarious story related to Justin Timberlake 👀Thanks to our sponsor, Dufrain:Dufrain is a market leading pure play data and analytics delivery consultancy empowering enterprise organisations to discover the value and potential in their data. To truly become data-driven and drive competitive advantage. At Dufrain, Data is our passion. Our highly experienced data consultants deliver data solutions and real business outcomes across the entire data landscape helping businesses to meet their strategic objectives. Led by Joseph George CEO, we draw on a wealth of expertise, experience and knowledge to deliver innovative solutions to data challenges. Leading brands trust us and partner with us to deliver value and to support and enable their teams for the long term. Our highly experienced data consultants deliver comprehensive services across the entire data landscape from data management and governance, BI and analytics through to shaping data transformation strategies. Take your steps to become data-driven, visit www.dufrain.co.uk and connect with us.

In Episode 48 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by, Andy Moore, Chief Data Officer at Bentley Motors, where they discuss what it takes to define, build and execute a Data and Analytics strategy in a 100+ year old organisation, which includes;Understanding the corporate strategy Having a fully electric vehicle line-up by 2030The focus on sustainability The importance of executing a gap analysis of the corporate strategyTheir Data Dojo Data Literacy programme The relationship between the strategy and the people Building and executing a Data Strategy from scratch in an 100+ year old organisationHow data has evolved over the last 23 years in that organisation Setting the strategy and building the capability The challenges and opportunities of building a team from a blank canvass Balancing the team in relation to experience when hiring The demand from younger generations to get into our industryUsing apprenticeships to develop the skills you'll need in the future Why workforce planning is critical How to increase the flow of fresh, young talent into our industryThe benefits of having a truly diverse team like Bentley’s D&A team is Being a recovering Chief Digital Officer and what the future of the Chief Data Officer looks likeThanks to our sponsor, Dufrain:Dufrain is a market leading pure play data and analytics delivery consultancy empowering enterprise organisations to discover the value and potential in their data. To truly become data-driven and drive competitive advantage. At Dufrain, Data is our passion. Our highly experienced data consultants deliver data solutions and real business outcomes across the entire data landscape helping businesses to meet their strategic objectives. Led by Joseph George CEO, we draw on a wealth of expertise, experience and knowledge to deliver innovative solutions to data challenges. Leading brands trust us and partner with us to deliver value and to support and enable their teams for the long term. Our highly experienced data consultants deliver comprehensive services across the entire data landscape from data management and governance, BI and analytics through to shaping data transformation strategies. Take your steps to become data-driven, visit www.dufrain.co.uk and connect with us.

In Episode 47 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by, Rachel Keane, Founder of DigData, where they discuss the need to connect the industry with education to raise the profile of Data & Analytics as a career option much earlier, which includes; What DigData is and why it exists The talent shortage in the D&A industry Why there is so little being done to raise awareness at an earlier age The need to attract students from different educational backgrounds and interestsThe consequences organisations are seeing and feeling The core challenges with how data is positioned within the education systemWhat more can be done to raise the profile of our industryHow can we quantify successWhat data "means" in educational institutions Why the tenure of the CDO plays a part How to make junior/graduate talent more accessible to all companiesWhy our obsession with tech is negatively impactingConnecting industry with education The relationship between this challenge and DEI

In Episode 46 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by, Ben Steele, Head of Data & Analytics at BMS Group where they discuss how to successfully engage your business leaders and what constitutes the perfect conditions for a Data Executive, which includes;Being the first data leader through the door Owning and implementing the first data strategy in an organisation Operating in low data maturity environments Generating between £50-100m in revenue through Data & Analytics Why it isn’t the job of a data team to define what value means for a business Why you can’t distil value down to one single meaning or metric Data use cases versus business use cases The importance of being comfortable having purely business conversations Why collaboration is the single biggest superpower of a Data & Analytics teamWhat you should expect to be measured by as a Data LeaderWhat business leaders, boards, shareholders, etc, view as “value” The importance of getting the balance of skills in a team correct Working effectively with other business leaders/peersHow to successfully engage a business leadership teamThe importance of Data Literacy to the success of the CDOThe perfect conditions for success in a CDO roleWhy talking about attribution of revenue is the wrong questionWhy the notion of a Data Strategy will hopefully become redundant

In Episode 45 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is rejoined by, Samir Sharma, CEO & Founder of Datazuum, where they discuss how to really understand business objectives and align a data strategy that you can operationalise, which includes;Defining, creating and operationalizing your data strategy The ‘Data Strategy Canvass’ and the purpose of existenceThe catalyst for creating itWhy business teams and data teams are talking different languages The reasons why data strategies don’t often align with business strategies Why asking the right questions is the critical component How recent research has shown that only 6% of data strategies made any reference to business value generation The 3 questions to answer about every use caseThe difference between benefits and outcomes Why many organisations don’t have clearly defined business strategies How you can understand what the business objectives really areWhy you don’t need to be at the decision-making table to aligning data strategy to business strategy  The 3 buckets that all value levers are tied to in the eyes of “the business”Why too many focus on data use cases and not business use cases The value discrepancy between business leaders and data teams Why most organisations don’t assess Data Leaders for the skills they actually need  Why reporting lines don’t matter The 7 steps to align a data strategy to business objectivesLink to Data Strategy Canvass: : https://www.linkedin.com/posts/samirsharma1_data-valuecreation-business-activity-7101161956320907266-GlNT?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

In Episode 44 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by, Dan Kellet, Chief Data Officer at Capital One where they discuss how to strike the balance between driving innovation while delivering day-to-day, which includes;The benefits of working in one organisation for 23 yearsHow a data and analytics journey evolves inside an organisation over that timeframe Why so many things are different but a lot of things are still the sameWhat innovation means in a global organisation The relationship between innovation and value Quick Wins V Innovation The benefit of having a clearly defined business strategy Why innovation is all about people Why relationship building is one of the most important skills to success The impact a team structure has on realising valueIf team structures play a part in being able to innovate The benefits and challenges of a centralised versus fragmented team structureHow to spend your time to strike the balance between delivery, innovation and value Advice on how to reprioritise with innovation in mind

In Episode 43 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, we’re sharing the conversation that Orbition Group’s very own Kyle Winterbottom and Catherine King took part in for the DAMA UK and BCS Diversity in Data Conference, hosted by Jenny Andrew, which includes; A snapshot of the Data & Analytics talent landscape today Current trends in Data & Analytics talentEncouraging more women into Senior Leadership How to create truly diverse teams  The importance of Non-STEM routes into Data The need to raise awareness at earlier ages Why we should be striving for diversity of thought How most organisations confuse DEI & representation The role of non-technical roles in diversity The importance of mentorship How to utilise events and external networking opportunitiesBattling Imposter Syndrome The impact job descriptions have on diversity What do companies mean by hybrid working in 2023Fixing a flawed hiring process Video link to conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzmE9P-JD0s&t=18s

In Episode 42 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by, Scott Hirleman, CEO and Founder of Data Mesh Understanding and host of 'Data Mesh Radio' podcast where they discuss, the current Data Mesh landscape and how that's been impacted by Generative AI, which includes; What Data Mesh is, and what it isn'tThe current state of play in the Data Mesh landscape What has worked in relation to extracting value from Data MeshThe organisations that have been very successful in implementing Data Mesh The common use cases that make it applicable If Data Mesh is right for your organisation, or notWhy you would consider taking the Data Mesh route The impact of agility and speedThe struggles of implementing at scale What to do and what not to do Why Data Mesh has been drowned out by Gen AIThe relationship between Data Mesh and Gen AI Why the D&A industry is obsessed with chasing the "new shiny" How to prevent ourselves from doing so How to leverage our businesses' enthusiasm for the "new shiny"

In Episode 41 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by, Beth Bauer, Founder and CEO of PosiROI, where they discuss, the 4 key dimensions required to deliver innovation and value at scale, which includes;Why feedback loops are critical to driving innovation and a data-informed culture The importance of meeting people where they areWhy value means different people to different peopleWhy value always needs to translate to money eventually How the 1st steps of value creation are unlikely to be related to moneyWhy we need to recognise there are different value points Why having the data culture that we want can create power struggles The 4 dimensions that underpin the journey toward value creation Why Sales, Marketing and Speed define whether your innovation will be successfulHow innovation occurs in silos within the same organisationsThe ADEPT framework for strategies that assist with the acceleration of the 4 dimensions in a data-informed cultureWhy value of data needs to be measured against the number of use cases it can solve Why trust is the anchor to everything Why relationships will always win over data in building trust Building a high-performance team that creates value with dataWhy data is a team game and not just a data-team game To build a data-informed culture you need a sales and marketing capability

In Episode 40 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by, Deepak Jose, Global Senior Director, Head of One Demand Data Analytics Solutions at Mars Wrigley, where they discuss how to create a value-first mindset to break down organisational silo’s, which includes;Creating a single source of truth The ‘one-demand’ mindset How the concept of Ikigai led him to MarsHow to understand, identify and prioritise business problems that add valueMoving from reducing costs to creating profit and growth The importance of building relationships with functional leaders The 70, 20, 10 principle which dictates where investment and resource is directed Being “value-driven” despite the hype of being “data-driven”What constitutes valueThe concept of the 'balance scorecard' to create KPI’s that generate value The story of the Honduran Bridge and the relationship with Data Products White Box Building and Interoperability Investing in Change Management Why value-realisation is a team sport Why you need to build to adapt not build to last to break down silosBuilding a Gen AI Operating Model that drives a value-first approach The Gen AI Framework; do things, do things better and do better things The learnings of a 20+ year career of working at giants like Coca-Cola and MarsThe importance of challenging the status quoWhy you should be a Gazelle and not a Lion!

In Episode 39 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by, Allison Sagraves, Founding (former) Chief Data Officer at M&T Bank, and Board Advisor, where they discuss the role of the CDAO in the new era of AI and why they are set-up to fail, which includes;91.9% of firms report that they have achieved some measurable value from their investments in data and analytics,23.9% say they have created a data-driven organization20.6% of firms report having established a data cultureBetween 2012 and 2023, companies having appointed a CDO grew from just 12.0% to 82.6%Only 35.5% of major companies report that the role is successful and well-established Just 40.5% say that the CDAO role is well understood within their companyThe three generations of CDO to CDAO and the pending CDAIO roleThe functional evolution of the CDAO roleWhy the goalposts keep moving for the CDAOThe need for defined success metrics Why the Data & Analytics industry is always under construction Why we’re too glass half empty and there’s too much focus on what we’ve not achieved  The need to quantify what value is and communicate the value we’ve achieved The “build it and they will come” mentality How we no longer need to sell the simple concepts of dataIf you’re still having to convince people then you’ve got the wrong people in the companyWhether reporting line impacts the effectiveness of the CDAO role The hardest thing for any CDAO to figure out is identifying what problem you actually need to solve What’s wrong with the CDAO role as of todayWhat needs to happen to address those issuesMoving into the AI era as a CDAO The skills needed to be a modern-day CDAOLink tot he article discussed in the episode: https://hbr.org/2023/06/why-chief-data-and-ai-officers-are-set-up-to-fail

In Episode 38 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Sami Rahman, Head of Data Engineering and Data Platform at Penguin Random House, where they discuss how to build an MLOps capability that drives business benefit, which includes;His journey from Business Psychologist to MI5 reject to Data Leader Being told to give up because he would never work in data without a computer science degree Being unemployed for 1 year and receiving 326 rejections Building an entire MLOps system for £50,000Reducing the time to build models from months to days Reducing the time to productionise ML models from 5 months to minutes sGenerating a 200% increase in performance across all 12 measures of success Why MLOps forces you to think about how the model will drive valueHow MLOps can be beneficial across the whole D&A value chain The differences between MLOps and AIOps Why MLOps isn’t new DevOpsThe future of MLOps and the relationship with Genertaive AIChoosing the right MLOps tech and tooling Why you need to explain MLOps in less than 2 sentencesWhen you should start your MLOps journey The usual pitfalls both technical and business that people should be aware ofThe ethical considerationsAI Explainability - how to understand the outcomes in a business context Why we should build an “evil” AI to tackle bias The skills you need to execute successful MLOps

In Episode 37 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Lena Mass Cresnik, where they discuss how organisations can develop a Generative AI strategy, which includes;The 7 components of a Generative AI strategy Generative AI as human intelligence augmentationOrganisational ROI for using Generative AI toolsThe considerations of developing a Generative AI strategy and roadmapFinancial Services and Fintech Generative AI business use casesThe need for upskilling existing staff The role of organisational design and operating model in relation to Generative AIMeasuring the performance and impact of Generative AI models The level of expertise or skills required within the data team to successfully execute a generative AI strategyThe risks of Generative AIThe differences to consider across different sectors The increase in hyper-personalised content The role that Generative AI will have on the Data & Analytics job market Where Data Leaders should start

In Episode 36 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Andy Cotgreave, Senior Data Evangelist at Tableau, where they discuss the role of data visualisation in driving change and realising value, which includes;Why successful data analysts often have varied backgrounds Why communication is not a soft skillHow data visualisation is a language The impact that dashboards can have when presented effectivelyHow even the most average dataset is highly subjectiveHow it is so easy to tell different stories with the same dataHow the pandemic provided both examples of how you can strive to be neutral or enforce an opinion The art of creating effective dashboards The role of data visualisation in driving change and realising business value How, many executives use poorly presented charts in their keynotes Four practical tips for better presentation with data visualisation Why he disagrees with Seth GodinWhy you should think about changing your visualisations even if the data is the same Who should care about storytelling with visualisations The importance of aesthetics Why different audiences require different dashboards The impact of data democratisation and self-serve on data visualisation Some key people of influence to follow in this space

In Episode 35 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Asheeka Hyde, Head of Trading Analytics and Data Science at Dunhelm, where they discuss tangible advice on how to be a better communicator to drive value, which includes;Having Data & Analytics as a key pillar of the organisation How to achieve executive alignment Why most executives are already bought-in Why it’s important for executives to actually experience the benefits of Data & Analytics How to demonstrate value as early as possible The importance of making data problems visible to the execs Why you have to truly inspire peopleWhy “quick wins” are often merely for winning trustUnderstand what we mean by “value”The importance of saying ‘No’ Why you need to change your communication depending upon the maturity of your organisation Why you need to get the execs to prioritise for you The differences to consider between organisations with a clear business strategy and ones without How there is more than one way of communicating and influencingWhy working with a comms professional changed her communication styleWhy consistency of communication is absolutely critical Understanding if you are the right person to communicate the message you want to deliverWhy your communication needs to be thoughtfulIf you want 80% of people to leave a room with the right message, you need to tell them 5 timesWhy you have to find different ways of saying the same thingThe importance of utilising internal comms teams The know, do and feel communication framework The importance of testing if your message is landing Why, if you don’t tell your story then people will create their own

In Episode 34 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Steve Pimblett, Chief Data Officer at The Very Group, where they discuss how to move data from a cost centre to a value creator, which includes;A transformation journey that has been ongoing for over a century Why some D&A teams are still seen as a cost centre and not a value-creating function Why demonstrating value creation is a primary responsibility of a Data Leader/CDOThe tangible things that Steve has done to be seen as a value-creating functionThe 4 key pillars of their Data Strategy and measuring the capability maturity The value-creation measurement framework they’re using and how that helps to communicate Why you have to connect data and insight to actionThe importance of talking in outcomes and the benefits of those outcomes, and not data Why it’s imperative to have an operating model that supports value-creationA Joint-Venture model to prove value and take to an investment board How they’ve used hastags to demonstrate the value of Data & Analytics as an enabler to the business functions in those JV’sWhy ‘data as a product’ has bridged the communication gap and acts as a client success manager Why PR has been critical in the success of the D&A team and how external validation has helped

In Episode 33 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Micheline Casey, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Siemens Energy, where they discuss how to create value-driven data products using design-thinking, which includes;Being the first CDO at the Federal Reserve Working in Senior Data Leadership at household names such as Ford, Maersk and now Siemens EnergyThe spin-off of Siemens Energy from Siemens and the challenges they’re tackling How there are close to a billion people worldwide who are under-served or don’t have energy How Data/AI is creating commercial value to the energy sectorThe sustainable energy transition movement The concept of design-thinkingHow to use design thinking to create tangible business value How to apply design thinking to create data products and artificial intelligence solutionsWhy it allows us to speak the right language to business stakeholdersWhy it allows you to get value iteratively and quicklySome real-life case studies in creating innovative data products that create business value The importance of slowing down to speed upConnecting design thinking to Data Strategy How design-thinking fits into the organisational design conversationEconomic modelling for valuation - hard benefits and soft benefits The importance of designing for component reusability to allocate value  

In Episode 32 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Diane Berry, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Phoenix Group, where they discuss the journey from devising a data strategy to executing that strategy, which includes;The importance of providing interim value while on your strategic journey Why to do anything at scale you’ll need to have a multi-year strategy Why building relationships with key stakeholders/business leaders is essential for successThe importance of validating your problem statement Why you need to develop a “front door process”The challenge of not being a P&L centre Why you need to tie the value of your work to key business projects Why it’s critical to align your data team to the business teams they’re serving Why your team need autonomyWhy the Data Leader shouldn’t own all the relationships with the business The benefits of having a multi-disciplinary team Being able to attract career changersHow to communicate your success and why you need to market yourself Knowing if you’ve got the buy-in of the business Measuring how you’re tracking against your data strategy Why you should never lose sight of the long-term The likely traps that can derail your data strategy The importance of your data teams ‘store front’The relationship between culture and buy-in

In Episode 31 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Taylor Culver, Founder of XenoData, where they discuss how Data Leaders can deliverable measurable value from their data strategy, which includes;Why ROI is a 'nice to have' for company executives, not a priority Innovation is what company execs and shareholders care about the mostFinance leaders don’t measure impact on ROI, but IRROrganisations will happily spend on capex but not an opex, and what that means for Data LeadersWhy culture and literacy aren’t the magic bullet, but good leadership isData isn’t an asset, and if it was, why it wouldn’t be a good asset to haveWhy Data Leaders need to focus on adding the enterprise value of a firmIf you’re being held accountable for ROI as a Data Leader then you’re already on the way out!Why Data Leaders already have everything they need to be successfulThe relationship between “value” and “ROI”Why innovation is what company execs and shareholders care about the mostWhy intangible value is far greater than the ROI you’ll generate Why finance leaders don’t measure impact on ROI, but IRRHow data leaders can quantify their impact The importance of languageCalculating the financial impact of data initiatives The differences between quantifying tangible and intangible benefitsHow ROI merely makes you more credible as a Data LeaderWhy organisations keep investing capital into data initiatives

In Episode 30 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Bethany Lyons, Chief Product Officer at Kawa Analytics, where they discuss the current data product landscape and what actually constitutes a data product, which includes;The fascinating story of Kawa and the problems it solves Delivering Data Products versus Data Projects The differences between product management principles applied to data and data products  Why most data teams operate like an IT Service Desk and why product thinking can change that Why you should start by applying product management to data before you try to build data products Why a product management approach forces value-driven thinking How we have ‘Data Product Managers’ who aren’t doing Data Product management Why there’s a better success measure for your data initiative than usage/adoptionWhere you should hire your first Data Product Manager Platform versus Feature Product Managers and why they’re rarely interchangeableHow data products differ from traditional products Why marketplaces will be the future of data productThe relationship between self-service analytics and data as a product What actually constitutes a data product The biggest unspoken challenge in the data-mesh discussion The impact of org structure and operating model on data product success Why too many businesses try to scale their data product before establishing product market fit What data product people should do to position themselves for the wave of incoming opportunity

In Episode 29 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Sally Bashuan, Executive Director; Head of Data Governance at Federated Hermes, where they discuss the role of data and analytics within ESG, which includes;The Importance of having a great LeaderWhy ESG is important to everyoneWhy companies and boards are paying attention to ESG How ESG will impact D&A teams Understanding the fundamentals of ESG from a data standpoint The current landscape of 3rd party ESG dataThe major challenges for Data teams The ESG data journey that Federated Hermes are onESG Strategies V Data Strategies The role of Data Literacy within ESGThe importance of ensuring everyone is talking the same language with ESGPros and Cons of ESG Data providersHow should data teams be structured to win at ESGThe commercial benefits of great ESG scoresWhy there is more to consider than just regulation The consequences of getting it wrong Formulating an ESG Data teamThe future of ESG

In Episode 28 of Season 3, of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom joined by Jim Sterne, Board Chair Emeritus, Digital Analytics Association and Founder of Marketing Analytics Summit, where they discuss the rise of Generative AI and how organisations can leverage for success, which includes;How every person can have their own AI agent acting on their behalf How Generative AI has been 70 years in the making Why Generative AI will be as big as the birth of computers, the internet and the smart phone Why longtail content is now back Why Generative AI will completely change the world of SEO Why domain knowledge and branding will become the biggest commodity to success  How Generative AI will completely change your business and marketing strategy Why AI won’t take your job Why you should focus on training your entire organization to use the tool, and not focus on the people who can help you build them How companies will make Generative Ai a question machine, not an answer machineHow Generative AI will change the role of Data & Analytics teams Why the strength of your data is now genuinely what gives you competitive advantage How Generative AI will drive more focus to data stewardship, governance, management, etcWhy companies that offer data aggregation will see an increase in valuation Why everyone needs to learn how to use Generative AI Why Generative Ai is different than the Big Data and Data Science hypes of the past What Generative AI does to the role of Data Democratization and Data LiteracyWhy data literacy now becomes “business speak literacy”  Why the data dictionary becomes incredibly important Why the biggest skill now becomes; how to ask a great questionsKnowing what to questions to ask or not ask Why the winners will be who can teach Generative AI to act like an analyst Why the level of playing field has been raised and what that means for raw talent

In Episode 27 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Ben Boutcher-West, Chief Digitial Officer at Connected Kerb, where they discuss how data is fuelling the EV world, which includes;How data is fuelling the EV landscape Why it's now all about user convenience Why data is the glue that will help realise a reduced carbon environment Repurposing a Data Asset into a product and how it flows into the boardroom How data is helping to inform future policy around EV investment within both the public and private sectorWhy the EV sector is still somewhat of the ‘wild west’The balance between obtaining value now and being seen as the tip of the iceberg of innovation Making company targets and KPIs part of daily standards to inform value-generating activities The threefold role of any data/digital team to ensure they’re embedded into the business The role that data plays in helping shape a sustainable future How to ensure that your team is adding valueThe rise of the citizen developer Recommendations of people to follow for advice, hints, tips and tricks to start your own citizen developer journey The advantages and challenges of working in a start-up when it comes to DataHow different environments change the role and expectation of the CDOThe future of the EV sectorWhy there’s likely to be 50-60 EV software start-ups to be launched this year

In Episode 26 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Farouk Ferchichi, President Data & Analytics at Envestnet Inc, where they discuss how Data & Analytics is fuelling digital interconnectivity to help people live a more intelligent financial life, which includes;Being in the first playground of Chief Data OfficersThe disruption which means organisations should be investing heavily into data & analytics more than ever The pressure on the financial ecosystem after SVBThe importance of hyper-personalisation in both service and product offering What customers now want from their financial institution The challenges that FS organizations are currently facingThe Data & Analytics solutions that help address those challengesThe solutions to ensure that FS firms are meeting the constantly evolving needs of their customersHow they’ve built a global open-banking connectivity layer The importance of being able to show the customer a 360 view of their financial situation The creation of an anonymised national monetary database that holds roughly $5 trillion across 15-20% of US households  How Data Products are being leveraged to help people understand their current financial healthThe relationship between hyper-personalization and data productsThe benefits to the customer and the FS industryWhy large FS institutions are beyond chasing their digital competitors Why the operating model is integral for organisations to take advantage of this interconnectivity opportunity Why times of crisis provide an opportunity to simplify decision-making processes The combustion of financial literacy improvements with digital savviness The three things that all FS institutions should be considering to benefit the end consumer

In Episode 25 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Danny Gardner, Social Intelligence Lead at Haleon, where they discuss how to drive business value through the use of social intelligence, which includes;A fascinating career journeyWhy 80% of the data from social media is just noise Why there’s information that is good to know and then there’s information that’s actionable.  The typical use cases you see for social intelligenceWhat social measurements are valuableThe differences in Social Intelligence between B2B and B2CThe use case that he is the proudest of What you need to build a social intelligence capability The importance of community building The challenges that organisations face that prevent them from taking advantage of social intelligenceWhy more businesses aren’t actively working in the social intelligence realm The tools to use for Social Intelligence Initiatives How to execute a social intelligence strategy How different social media platforms provide different opportunities/challenges The challenges of tying it to the bottom lineHow the ROI has been up to 350%Why ROI doesn’t have to be positive or measurable How to use social intelligence to understand your competitors betterWhy social intelligence can protect your brand image/reputation 

In Episode 24 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Denholm Hesse, Chief Data Officer at BDO UK LLP, where they discuss what the first 100 days as a new CDO look like, which includes;The importance of knowing the mandate you haveUnderstanding what table you’ve got a seat atWhy you’ve got to be at the right table to be able to deliver value The 3 segments of the first 100 days Why you must be able to influence the way an organisation operates to be successful The importance of being able to operationalise the strategy The benefits and challenges of working for an LLPBeing the first CDO/Data Leader for an organisation Why big tech migrations are hard to prove ROI onWhy being easy to work with should be a priority Why you shouldn’t get distracted by looking for quick wins The 3 key things you need to understand before you can think about strategy and vision Why doing what you did in your last role won’t work What the ultimate job of the CDO is Why the tenure of the CDO role will increase The importance of a communications plan to share the excitement How you can gauge progress based on the questions the data team receives Why you need to be in control of the value you can createThe importance of getting the whole data team to be value-focused Why it’s imperative that you know how you’re going to executeWhy you should create a tangible ROI target for the data teamWhat Business Leaders should consider before hiring a CDOWhy you shouldn’t rush into a CDO role Why you should focus on the mandate, the remit and the table you’re sitting at

In Episode 23 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Mathieu Lacome, Chief Performance & Analytics Officer at Parma Calcio 1913, where they discuss how Data and Analytics is being used to deliver success in the world of football, which includes;The journey from French National Team to PSG to Parma What he figured out about Football Analytics when co-authoring his book; "Football Intelligence: A hands-on guide to maximising your investments in data"The mindset towards data in football/sports is the same as in the corporate world How sportspeople aren’t used to working with data despite being surrounded by stats Why waiting 6 months to see results doesn’t work in footballThe importance of building your strategic assets despite needing quick wins Why scalability is critical The key use cases where data usually helps football clubsWhy data in football is all about allowing them to make strategic decisions to win matchesThe difference in data maturity between different football setups Why having lots of investment doesn’t mean you’ll be successful with Data & Analytics The importance of working towards a strategic goal What's included in Strategy Value Creation for football clubs Business Strategy; in football it’s winning trophies, just like in business it’s to make money The difference between a Data-Driven strategy versus a Data-Informed Strategy What does a data team in a football organisation look likeThe type of projects they deliver Why data in football is like most other industries - Literacy and AdoptionWhat they’re doing to drive literacy and adoption

In Episode 22 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Vin Vashista, Founder of V Squared and a LinkedIn "Top Voice", where they discuss how to deliver tangible ROI from your data and analytics initiatives, which includes; How Vin reached 160K Followers on LinkedIn and became a “Top Voice” by writing about data monetizationWhy he wanted to write a book that was a single blueprint in a book; “From Data to Profit” Why 70% of data teams are NOT delivering any returns for their organisationWhy genuine ROI will keep the hype and boom going  Why you need to hire differently to monetize data How to identify the first green shoots of value creation The biggest problem is that we don’t connect the technology to the strategy Why it’s imperative to get C-Suite sponsorship if you want to be successfulWhy you have to delvier ROI incrementally and not wait for a big bang If you let technology drive strategy you end up with more technology Why you need a prioritization framework Why the frustrations of data and C-Suite professionals is the same root cause Why you need an opportunity discovery framework that involves the whole businessWhy business teams know where the opportunities are but they have no way of articulating their needs Why data teams aren’t the best people to decide what the business should be doing How we confuse strategy and tactics Why we need to interrogate our data & analytics ideas like a shark tank pitch Why most C-Suite Leaders think the data team needs to be managed as it can’t be accountable for its own value creation Why you need a Data Monetization catalogue The 3 slide sales deck that Execs keep falling for The 9-figure ROI use cases Why there are so few people who can connect hype to revenue Why C-Suite executives are transfixed on ROI yet still invest in data projects that don’t deliver any ROI Why many Data Leaders are great strategic leaders yet most don’t actually lead the strategy Why to be a successful CDO you need to have come from a Data role/background, but shouldn’t be hands-onWhy we should train our technical people to be more than just more technical Why moving forward people who can’t prove ROI won’t have a place in the organisationWhy data teams will be the growth engine for most businesses over the next 5 years The misunderstanding that you can clean your way to valuable data  Why you need a product-first approach to data Buy-in = TRUST Why 'track record of success' is the  only way to C-Suite sponsorship

In Episode 21 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Hannah Davies, Head of Data Academy at Admiral Group, where they discuss what it takes to build an effective Data Academy, which includes; The importance of stakeholder engagement Why it’s always about people The journey of building a Data Academy community of 700 people Why a Data Academy is so much more than training Why the first hire into the Data Academy was an engagement and content officer Having the ability to remove silos Why data is the answer The force that brings together; literacy, adoption, upskilling, development, communityThe different ways of working with different sizes of data teams Being a great place to work for data professionals The importance of giving people a way to engage without forcing it on themThe 5 key pillars of the Data Academy Why the element of community is her proudest achievement What the community is made up of How to cater for different audiences Why many people have “taught fear”Removing the barrier of making a business decision with dataHow to change mindset and build confidence The difference between data training and data culture Tackling culture, adoption and literacy Things to think about if you’re in the process of building a Data Academy Upskilling, reskilling and retention  

In Episode 20 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Tiankai Feng, Data Governance Leader and former Senior Director of Product Data Governance at Adidas, where they discuss the importance of making data more fund and how to drive results through creativity, which includes; The importance of making Data more fun The steep learning curve and benefits of moving into governance from analytics Why ‘use-case thinking’ is the most exciting but difficult part of Data Governance How Data Quality is completely subjective based on usability Why creativity and data are often seen as a paradox Why creativity is all about mindset Why urgency and frustration led him to bring creativity into his data role How the enemy of creativity is common sense The benefits gained from bringing this level of creativity to the data team  Why there are always ways of doing things differently in Data & Analytics The value that creativity brings to communication How you can use unconventional formats to communicate the value of dataHow you can improve communication, collaboration and PR by being creativeHow you can increase literacy by thinking more creatively The area it has been the most effective in the organisation Leadership sponsorship and stakeholder advocacy Where you should start to think about where you can be different/creative How you can channel your inner creativity 

In Episode 19 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by CJ Anderson, one of the most recognised Data Governance advisors in the UK, where they discuss the importance of tackling Data Governance from the bottom up, which includes; CJ’s journey from a librarian to one of the most recognised names in Data Governance Why most legal organisations' clients are far more data mature than they are Why the role of Data Governance isn’t about enforcing policies Why you want the most junior people to be having the Data Governance conversation The importance of opening the lines of communication DG is about helping to change the perception of DataThe importance of the data sausage machine Why Data Governance is your Lego green mat The importance of using language that makes sense to your audience The challenges that most data-immature organisations face on their journey to data maturity How operational processes happen in silos and why cross-functional working isn’t commonWhy job titles matter Why you should start small and at the bottom Why data maturity is a marathon and not a sprint The two differing Data Governance approaches Why most organisations only have 1000 data points they truly care about The relevance of the Silk Road story in data stewardship Why Data Governance doesn’t work while sitting in IT

In Episode 18 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Sarah Schlobohm, Head of AI at Kubrick Group, where they discuss how not to do Machine Learning and why organisations are getting it wrong, which includes; The frustrations as a hiring manager in the ML space The most common mistakes organisations make when implementing AI The importance of engineering in MLWhy so many ML projects don’t make it into production Why you need to think about the whole lifecycle and ecosystem The different challenges from the technical side to the business sideWhy you don’t want to be a solution looking for a problem Why you should fail and do so fast The importance of knowing when to give up Balancing the business strategy and the hype of AI The signs that you’re not ready for AI/MLWhy you should do some analysis to identify relevant use casesWhy you should have the technical skills in the room before the ML decision is made The future of ML tooling Why the cost of ML is drastically underestimated and the impact that has on ROI Why the amount of time and effort that should go into Data Governance is underestimated The role of MLOps Why there’s no substitute for domain expertise The pros and cons of different reporting structures AI Ethics and the examples of where things have gone wrongThe practical steps that organisations can take to improve Diversity & Inclusion Why diversity is a cultural challengeWhy women shouldn’t be pushed into non-technical roles 

In Episode 17 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Colm O'Grada, Director of Data & Analytics at Tines, where they discuss the differences in building a high-impact Data & Analytics capability between a large (Google) and small (Tines) organisations (Tines), which includes; The key differences between building teams in big organisations to small teams The journey from Google to TinesContrast with ‘adopting’ teams in larger companiesThe pro's and cons of having a much smaller benchBeing the first data hire in a growing organisationWhy you need to be more versatile in a smaller company The importance of being hyper focussedFocusing on breadth versus depthWhy trends don’t really matter for most companiesWhat trends might mean for data workersOrganisational structure of data teams The cynicism around the current tech layoffs Why being invited to meetings is a sign of someone who’s doing their job well The importance of data in times of uncertainty Why all data functions aren’t built equally Getting the balance right between generalist V specialist roles

In Episode 16 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Benny (Clive) Benford, Chief Data Officer, Formerly of Jaguar LandRover (JLR), where they discuss the journey to realising £500m in commercial value through data and analytics, which includes; The journey of building a Data & Analytics function at JLRHow they unlocked and realised £500m worth of commercial benefit and value How to ensure the data team is consistently delivering valueThe importance of having a process of engagement How to prioritise the workload and the value the potential return of each project How to allocate/attribute value The mission statement of creating £1m of value per team member, per year Transforming decision-making across an entire enterprise Why it’s important for senior data leadership needs to wait for the right career opportunity Why the conditions are so important to successWhy most business users/leaders don’t view data as something that can provide “value” Making the business case for large-scale investment Why you need to agree on the value before you commit to any project The impact of the hype in Data & Analytics Why there are so many instances where organisations are tech-first and value-lastWho’s to blame for a lack of ROIWhy it’s so important to have a range of skills and not just data/technical skills Why over 1/3 of the team didn’t have a technical skillset Why everyone underestimates the level of change required to deliver value The importance of a communication strategy and how to utilise it well How they quantified that if they could deliver all projects, there would be £1.2b of value The importance of your people knowing why they’re doing the workHow they built an apprenticeship programme of 700 people (15-17% of all data apprentices in UK) Where the responsibility of the data team endsWhy it’s better to start without the big infrastructure projectWhy they received funding to invest in people but had the technology budget cut

In Episode 15 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Paul Evangelista, Chief Data Officer at United States Military Academy at West Point, where they discuss how the armed forces are using Data & Analytics to drive innovation, which includes; The role of Data in the current US Military Academy How Data has played a role in the military since the early 1900’sThe maturity journey of Data and Analytics in the US military The trackers used to measure adoption and usage of Data & Systems What the success metrics look like in that environment The importance of empowering leaders at all levels The importance of culture and executive support Why becoming 'data-centric' is second on the priority list of the US ArmyHow the armed forces innovate Examples of how Data was used in the World WarsWhy the US Government is hiring leaders from the world’s biggest tech players How the US military has a culture of innovation of change The role of data on the war in Ukraine How they calculate ROI in their field Why we need to focus on decision literacy not data literacy The gap that exists in the D&A industry

In Episode 14 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Chun Schiros, SVP of Enterprise Data Science Group at Regions Bank, where they discuss the role of responsible AI in organisational transformation, which includes; What data innovation in a traditional industry sector looks like The role of speed in data innovation The opportunity for partnerships between traditional banks and digital banks Why scalability beyond individual use cases will be the differentiator for success with AI solutions The importance of integration to become an AI-driven organization The core challenges of achieving scalability with AI solutions The mindset shift of being able to multiply the impact The prioritization tradeoff between benefit and costThe importance of being truly customer focused The guardrails that create a balance between innovation and ethics The role of DEI in responsible AIWhy failure with AI Innovation is absolutely guaranteedThe excitement around AI versus the fear of things going wrong The importance of having a culture where failure is acceptedWhy you shouldn’t think in terms of offense versus defenseWhy buy-in is directly related to the ability to demonstrate how you can help the organisation to meet strategic goals  Shifting culture to adopt Artificial Intelligence Prediction on AI trends over the next 12 months

In Episode 13 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Leanne Fitzpatrick, Director of Data Science at Financial Times, and Andy McMahon, Head of MLOps at Natwest Group, where they discuss the current MLOps maturity, which includes; The maturity of MLOps over the last 12 months Why getting ML into production is no longer the challenge Why the Ops component is now the major challengeWhat best practice actually looks like Why ML is more software than Data Science Why thinking about MLOps as products is helping the industryWhat does MLOps actually mean to business leaders The resiliency and risk elements Why design and processes are really what make or break MLOps Why we need rules of engagement Why we don’t have enough practitioner expertise The challenge of building scalable MLOps solutions The differences and similarities to software engineering Why companies will need to change their operating models to support their MLOps maturity The importance of domain expertise for successful MLOps The current tooling landscape The role of vendors play in the journeyBuild versus BuyPredictions for next 12-24 months

In Episode 12 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Greg Freeman, CEO and Founder of Data Literacy Academy, where they discuss how to build a data literacy programme at scale, which includes; The reason the Data Literacy Academy exists What the business is, who it’s for and who it’s not for How they’ve raised over half a million in funding to grow the organisation Why Data is a “taught fear” in business Why everyone doesn’t need to be a Data Scientist The importance of finding a champion in the C-SuiteThe importance of understanding what level of literacy each individual requires The three types of literacy profiles within an organisationWhy most organisations fail to realise that literacy is a Change Management initiativeThe spectrum of understanding of the data literacy problem Why organisations that treat data as a transformational change tend to do better Why the remit of a CDO goes beyond just data The importance of mapping the strengths of your stakeholder relationships Why the starting point for a Data Leader should be to ensure that people understand the value of dataYou can’t avoid data but you can certainly avoid engaging with it Why teaching hard skills is only relevant at a certain level of maturity Why data people need to improve their business literacy Why being more business literate will help data people to progress in their career The importance of saying “no”, without saying “no” and knowing what to say “no” toWhy there are only two gaps; knowledge and communicationWhy every Data Leader needs to be a Salesperson The importance of having a PR/Communication strategy

In Episode 11 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Cornelia Schaurecker, Global Group Director AI & Big Data at Vodafone, where they discuss how to create commercial impact quickly and sustainably with Data and AI, which includes; Why it's all about peopleThe benefits of reporting to a commercial leaderHow they've delivered several hundred data-driven solutions/use casesThe driver to build once and deploy to many The starting point to ensure you’re creating commercial impact Why it’s imperative not to boil the ocean and how to prioritise to pick the right betsThe importance of answering the right questions Why a good use case is one that scales The importance of time to market, speed and scale The tools and tech they’ve built to address the scale and speed challenges Why you need more than just tech/tool to create scalable solutions The role of automation in scale How to use measurements to build transparency The steps taken in building a high-performance team Why the quality of your data assets plays a role in attracting talent Why “social good” helps to attract talent How to ensure that your data team’s work is visible, valuable and impactful How they created a menu by building a use-case library with all of their data assetsTheir "AI Everywhere" StrategyTheir journey to 1:1 personalisation Creating an AI Ethics policy The 3 components of driving a data culture

In Episode 10 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Nirali Patel, Group VP of Data Strategy at Liberty Global, where they discuss how to create change at scale to drive data transformation, which includes; The similarities/differences of operating across different sectorsWhy data transformation is merely a part of business evolution What good data transformation looks like The importance of scalability with change How to make wholesale change across an organisation Why most organisations fail to link the want with their whyHow to identify the why The importance of understanding your organisations operational metrics Understanding what “brilliant” looks like for your organisationSuccessful case studies of scalable change Why having a good personal relationship with data is imperative for transformation Aligning change with business objectives Why it’s often more a change of mindset and attitude towards data The importance of getting out into the business to understand how things get done Why POC’s don’t work Why you should look at other parts of an organisation for previously successfully delivered projects to improve adoption Why you should get comfortable in accepting that many won’t adopt Why all parts of your business do not need to have the same level of literacy/fluency The 5 questions to assess your organisations data literacy/fluency The relationship between change and return on investment

In Episode 9 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Ed Child, Global Head of Consumer Data & Digital Analytics at Costa Coffee, and James Miller, Product & Strategy Director at Carruthers & Jackson, where they discuss why customers should be front and centre of your data strategy, which includes; Why businesses are doubling down on data and analytics and the relationship with your customers Why data strategies have historically been dry, architectural documents  Why your customers should be at the heart of your data strategy  Why good businesses can articulate a really strong story about their customers  The importance of recognising internal and external customers  Why it’s important to be able to tell the story of data through the lens of the customer and/or consumer  Why many organisations don’t realise what they’re getting themselves into and underestimate what it’s going to take  Why the shiny objects rule the day  Why understanding the vision for a data strategy is critical  Why "customers" are a language that the business understands  Why the data product way of thinking helps to get closer to the customer  Why business buy-in is where many data strategies go wrong  How changes in customer behaviour and expectations affect the data strategy  The role of personalisation within the data strategy  Why a data strategy should be a process not a document  Why customers are now more aware of the value exchange of their data  How 1st and 3rd party data changes impact a data strategy Why organisations are now doubling down on untapped 1st party data  Why the days of having a 3-5 year strategy are gone  Why customer-centric and data-driven are one and the same    

In Episode 8 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Vijay Yadav, Director, Quantitative Sciences; Data, Digital & Analytics, at Merck, where they discuss what modern-day data leadership should consist of, which includes; The reality of why most data initiatives don’t start from the business objective, despite everyone knowing that should be the starting point  Why many Data Leaders don’t really understand what the business wants  Why ‘the business' should be in the driver’s seat, at least in the passenger seat, but not in the trunk/boot (where it often is)  Why Data Leaders are often guilty of mystifying data for business leaders/consumers  How he learnt the hard way by delivering many technical projects that failed  Why your success as a Data Leader is directly linked to the ability of the people you can attract and retain  Why ‘People’ trumps both ‘Process’ and ‘Technology’  The tangible benefits of putting people first  The fundamentals of retaining great people  What Data Culture really means  Why culture can’t be “changed” The relationship between culture and literacy  The role of internal data communities in building a great data culture  Practical tips on how to build one effectively   

In Episode 7 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Vlad Jiman, Director of Data at NBrown Group, where they discuss formulating a winning data strategy to secure investment for phase 1 data transformation, which includes;Being involved in the largest IPO on London Stock Exchange The overinvestment in Data Science The award-winning Data Transformation at Pets at Home In charge of one of the 5 key strategic pillars of a UK Top 10 online retail organisationThe heritage of NBrown Group and how they were the first organisation to send products direct to consumer via post How they moved Data from an enabler to a key strategic pillar within the PLCWhy you have to have a holistic approach, not a tactical one The three pillars of the data strategy that he has put togetherThe importance of speed Building a cloud native, end to end data platform Why most organisations are still paying lip-service to Data Culture Why everything has to start with “Why?”How data immaturity can mean investment in data has better returns than investment in other parts of a business Why most CEO’s no longer need to be convinced of dataWhy you can move a lot quicker than people thinkWhy the organisation will drive the transformation if done properlyWhy a breaking point in a transformation with new people can be a good thing Why the operating model should be the first priority to get right Why tech is one of the things that can help you outpace the competition if you know what you’re doing Why Data Governance is now done in a more sophisticated wayIdentifying Data Champions in the boardroomWhy there are so many issues with “Data Literacy” Data Culture = The trifecta of; curiosity, access, and knowledge The reasons why most Data Strategies fall down the hole The skillset/experience that Data Leaders require to succeed with Data Strategy and Transformation Faith, Fear and Finance; the 3 pillars of a business caseWhy data is likely to cost 10-15% across every transformational project

In Episode 6 of Season 3, of Driven By Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Randy Bean, Founder of NewVantage Partners (A Wavestone Company), where they discuss the struggles of the Chief Data Officer, which includes;The average tenure of the CDO TenureThe increase in organisations that believe the CDO role is established and successful over the last 2 years The future of the CDO role A shift from reporting into Technology Stats behind the challenges that organisations face in becoming data-drivenWhy businesses shouldn’t be making investments in data without being able to quantify the business value What CDO’s need to do to be effective What the most successful CDAO’s do The gap that most organisations have between the data capabilities and the ability to use them How the language you use demonstrates your credibility Navigating the risks of an economic downturn The role of lip-service in Data & Analytics Finding the balance between innovation and ethics Why data isn’t a substitute for human judgement Whether it's possible to quantify value that isn’t related to financial returns The skills businesses should look for in a CDAOWhy Data Leadership is an art, not a science The importance of organizational readiness Navigating reporting lines and organizational structures Advice for aspiring CDAO’sWhy operating in the C-Suite is an additional set of skills beyond Data & Analytics