Strategic leader transforming analytics to build a more ethical and inclusive future.
Innovative, collaborative leader with a passion for building high-performing teams with a growth mindset. Analytical and a creative problem solver with long-term strategic vision and hands-on tactical experience to define and build data-driven products. Curious, with a lifelong thirst for knowledge. Product-driven, macro thinker.
A ‘connector’ thrives at the intersection of people, business, and data. Passionate about translating business, technology, and data across silos and designing a more inclusive future with ethical use of data.
Please complete the following questions. We ask that you provide informative and succinct answers, and we reserve the right to edit responses for clarity and brevity.
What attracted you to data management or IT, and why did you choose to pursue this career?
Possibilities! I have always been fascinated by the possibilities with data and that attracted me to pursue a career in this field over two decades ago. Data is like a universal language across functions, roles, industries, and geographies.
In the last decade or so, our ability to generate, harness and utilize data has exploded. As the world continues to become increasingly digital, this will grow further because a digital world is built on a backbone of data. This creates even more possibilities, and I am excited about the future!
What has been your greatest career accomplishment so far, and why has it been important to your career?
There are so many interesting and impactful projects I have had the opportunity to be involved with over the years. I have worked in various sectors ranging from healthcare, life sciences, financial services to economic development and urban planning but I do believe my greatest accomplishment is yet to come and I am excited about the possibilities as the world becomes increasingly digital.
What are the two or three biggest challenges you face as a data management professional / CDO and how can we address them?
Organizations have made significant investments in their data assets but the ability to harness value from these assets is still a work in progress. Bridging the gap between data assets and realizing value for decision making and driving business is a significant challenge. There is wide recognition of this gap but to realize this value and truly transform how an organization operates with data requires systems thinking to build multi-faceted, structured, programmatic approach for sustainable change in data use.
To truly transform an organization is to think like and understand the old Japanese adage: “If you want to catch a fish, plant trees”. Trees shed leaves that decompose and decay into acid that bind into iron in the ground which gets washed into the ocean that fertilizes the plankton that then feeds the fish. Successful and sustainable transformations need systems thinking and a structured, cross-functional approach. Seemingly disparate activities are interconnected and moving different levers can create a long-term, sustainable transformation that can truly change how organizations realize value from their data assets.
How do you see data management / the role of the CDO / IT changing in the next 2 – 3 years?
As data assets continue to grow and technology continues to evolve, Chief Data Officers will play a bigger role in bridging the data value gap. Addressing the challenge of evolving from managing data assets to being an active cocreator in proactive value generation by harnessing value from data assets is going to be critical.
Being able to use data effectively to drive business is not going to be a differentiator but an essential component of competing effectively in an increasingly digital world. Data leaders will need to help organizations navigate the gap between what is possible and what is essential to do with data. There has been a lot of hype in terms of possibilities with data, understanding and explaining what is doable and important is going to be an important component for data leaders. This will require literacy to ensure common understanding and building trust with end users and decision makers.
Do you have any planned next steps for your career?
I am an explorer and seeker by nature. It’s the possibilities with data that has always fascinated me. Now as the world becomes increasingly digital, I am excited about opportunities to redefine and redesign an inclusive and more ethical future with data.
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?
Never underestimate the power of a strong team. Data is a team sport. As a leader, my job is to hire smart people and build a collaborative environment that empowers the team to excel at what they do. Surrounding myself with people I respect and learn from constantly is one the most enriching experiences for me. I truly believe in and try to live by the saying that if you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room!
Can you share something about yourself as a person that people wouldn’t know about you?
I love spending time in nature and reading about cultures, societies and how they change and evolve. I am very curious about what the story is behind what we see, how things got to now, as Steven Johnson called his book.
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