Honor for the past, present, and future of data is a foundational principle for Jan Sheppard, the Chief Data and Analytics officer at ESR, a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Viewing data as having its own “life force” as Jan does, puts a bit more weight on the ethics of how it is used, stored, and interpreted. Learn more about the unique questions and problems that ESR is working to help solve for New Zealanders and other Pacific Island nations through data in this episode.
Most Recent Episodes
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 at the end of the day, fancy AI models and algorithms will only perform as well as the data that goes into them.
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 across business verticals. Finally, in his book, Effective Data Storytelling, Brent Dykes compels readers to think carefully about the way they craft the message or narrative around the data they’re interpreting.
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. Her challenge? To seamlessly operate at the complex intersection of our online and offline worlds, balance the interests of Dashers, businesses, and consumers, and make the right tradeoffs to keep customers happy. Tune in to this episode to learn how she weighs these tradeoffs, how she collects data to create a 360-degree view of what’s happening on the platform, and what striking the right balance between privacy and personalization looks like.
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 the largest, most impactful financial services firms in the world.
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 more of Victoria’s takes on how data can 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.
How has the Chief Data Officer role changed? Heidi Lanford, CDO of Fitch Group, shares that “it’s gone from stewarding and protecting data to monetization of data.” She explains how CDOs can be effective by working together with other company leaders and communicating simply. Learn from Heidi why there can be great career value in being willing to be uncomfortable.
