Modernizing the boardroom to steer data and AI

The expertise provided and methods proposed by boards of directors of the past are outdated and inadequate for today’s standards of quality, ethics, and responsible use practices. Leadership roles for boards and executives must evolve significantly, extending well beyond merely maximizing profits or maintaining organizational stability. The emergence of everyday AI has broadened responsibilities, introducing ethical dilemmas, bias mitigation, and a much deeper understanding of data management intricacies and execution.

This seismic shift extends beyond mere technological adaptation; it permeates every facet of an organization with the board of directors playing a pivotal role in orchestrating this transformative journey. As organizations grapple with the colossal task of integrating AI, a boardroom metamorphosis is inevitable. Embracing this change requires a deep introspection of the status quo; an understanding that AI adoption...

The offense and defense of data

When it comes to corporate organizations, you have functions that often play an offensive or defensive role within the business. If you think about physical data as an American football, the role of a CDAIO is to ensure the ball is effectively managed and moved to meet your strategic objective—in football’s case, a touchdown. The players on your offensive team represent your offense business functions (sales, customer success, marketing, product, etc.). There is also a defensive aspect to data; you don’t want your competitors or the bad guys to get your data, and you definitely do not want them to score with it.

With this concept in mind, you can think about data strategies often having offense and defense aspects.

An offensive strategy may be to determine how to enable go-to-market (GTM) insights to ensure new customers, industries, or geo sales. Or how do you set up event triggers that collect customer journey details...