Data Management Consultant | Data and Technology Consultant | Data Forensics
A 24-year veteran in the data and technology space, Joseph Santos is a Principal Consultant on the Dun & Bradstreet Data Advisory Services team providing strategic guidance on data initiatives to organizations, large and small. Joseph was a long-time practitioner working in the trenches as a data leader at several high-tech companies. His extensive experience and expertise allow him to deliver strategic solutions on Master Data, hierarchies, customer data management, data governance, data stewardship, and data forensics.
What attracted you to data management or IT, and why did you choose to pursue this career?
While in university, I realized that data management is the language that links technology and the business together. Data technology and methodologies are the collection of keys necessary to unlock their potentials. It was the challenge of being able to swim in both lanes that made me pursue this career.
What has been your greatest career accomplishment so far, and why has it been important to your career?
Provided SME direction for a multi-year Master Data Management implementation. This experience provided me the platform to deploy strategies and engage the theories of modern enterprise data management. Not only was its success acknowledged by the organization but also gave me a vast amount of knowledge and experience to fuel future engagements. I still tap into those learnings today.
What are the two or three biggest challenges you face as a data management professional / CDO and how can we address them?
The exponential growth of data can be quite an issue. Being able to curate them and get to the truth can be challenging. Setting definitive business goals and abiding by data strategies to support them should provide the necessary guiding principles to not be overwhelmed.
How do you see data management / the role of the CDO / IT changing in the next 2 – 3 years?
Currently the role of the CDO is still fast evolving. In the next 2-3 years, their roles and responsibilities will begin to be more distinct than overlapping and a strong dependence and partnership will be a result.
Do you have any planned next steps for your career?
I joined Dun and Bradstreet recently and it was a career change. I was in data operations and development for a couple of decades. Now, I’m looking forward to the whole new world of data strategy consulting.
What is the single best piece of advice you have received in your data management / IT career so far? Why has it been so important to you?
Data management is not a one-time thing. It’s a journey and constant discovery. This truly resonated with me because of the perspective it offers. Technology changes constantly, as well as economics, the market and even our standards. Data management means riding these waves to scale the transformation of data to decision making information.
Can you share something about yourself as a person that people wouldn’t know about you?
I enjoy finding patterns be it cloud formation, bubbles in soda, or data analysis. There’s something I find soothing about patterns.
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