Enterprise Data Architecture | Data and Analytics Program Leader | Consultant
Kevin Lewis helps large enterprises plan, implement, and continuously improve world-class data and analytics programs. He partners with clients to realize near-term business value in support of the company’s most important business initiatives while *simultaneously* building out a coherent organization and architecture piece-by-piece. One does not have to be sacrificed in favor of the other.
What attracted you to data management or IT, and why did you choose to pursue this career?
I became interested in IT first because my father was a programmer with IBM for many years, and second because I was fascinated with PCs when first made available. I sort of fell into data management, but I’ve stayed on this track because it provides a window into the most strategic initiatives in any organization. So, it’s always interesting and there is always a demand.
What has been your greatest career accomplishment so far, and why has it been important to your career?
I’m proud of the work we did at Publix to build out an enterprise data and analytics program supporting a wide variety of business-critical applications. I made some mistakes, but I believe we ultimately did it right. It’s been useful in my consulting career to reflect on long-term program development while advising clients in brief engagements across industries.
What are the two or three biggest challenges you face as a data management professional / CDO and how can we address them?
The biggest challenge is to make it clear that no tool or method will solve data management problems by itself. It takes hard work and discipline to deploy data coherently and meet the needs of the business at the same time. Another challenge is to convince data management leaders to align their work to the most important initiatives of the company, rather than building another silo with “data initiatives”.
How do you see data management / the role of the CDO / IT changing in the next 2 – 3 years?
On one hand, tools will improve to make data management easier – including embedding AI/ML directly into tools to help interpret data. At the same time, the need for much more careful attention to strategy and process will become clear again. Modern initiatives require more data integrity across domains, not less, and that requires human oversight and care.
Do you have any planned next steps for your career?
I just want to continue helping clients build and improve their data and analytics programs. The more I am directly involved with clients who are motivated to improve their enterprise data capability the happier I am.
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?
I don’t remember where I first heard it, but I was advised somewhere along the way not just to answer the client’s questions, but to get them asking the right questions. In every consulting engagement, I like to offer something the client wasn’t expecting. Those are the ideas that can lead to the most profound improvements.
Can you share something about yourself as a person that people wouldn’t know about you?
My kids are both in college now, so we’re officially empty nesters. We now have extra time to think about hobbies, so I just started oil painting again.
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