What CDAOs are Talking About in Early 2024

In the last six months, Evanta’s CDAO communities have come together 24 times across North America. Of these gatherings, Evanta hosted six in-person Executive Summits where CDAOs and their teams took a day out of the office to collaborate, network, learn and share. 

The agendas at each summit were carefully crafted with input from the Governing Body - meaning all of the topics, speakers and sessions were specifically tailored to each community’s unique priorities. While different communities face nuanced challenges depending on geographies and industries, broad themes included balancing the risk and execution of AI, elevating the D&A function and aligning data strategy to business outcomes.  

Here is a recap of some of the most popular sessions at CDAO Executive Summits this spring:

Responsible AI — Navigating the Risks and Opportunities of AI for the Enterprise at the Washington D.C. CDAO Executive Summit

This keynote, delivered by Pryon CEO Igor Jablokov, explored how CDAOs should balance the power and potential of AI with the risks posed to the organization. Igor explained how to navigate issues with AI like data leakage, hallucinations and legal ramifications while still driving innovation and keeping the organization competitive.

Attendees remarked:

Loved this session. Most educational for me so far for learning about how AI works and all the potential pitfalls.”

Outstanding presentation. Very interesting and easy to understand.”

A great speaker - entertaining, very knowledgeable and accomplished. Very much enjoyed this keynote.”

Harnessing Generative AI for Competitive Advantage at the Boston CDAO Executive Summit

Driving technological innovation with AI in a large, non-digitally native organization requires a different playbook. Matt Griffiths, VP and CDO shared how Stanley Black and Decker is harnessing the potential of GenAI to not just compete, but lead in a digital future.

Participants who joined the breakout session said:

This was the most insightful and actionable presentation of the conference.”

Great topic and real world implementation”

Telling Your Data Story at the Dallas CDAO Executive Summit

With a self-identified fear of not public speaking, Scott Taylor (known as The Data Whisperer) started the day off with a hearty dose of humor and levity. Passionate about helping CDAOs focus on business alignment instead of technical details, Scott injected plenty of tangible tips and tricks alongside his signature ‘data puppets’ video.

Those who joined his keynote said:

Scott made a dry topic interesting. Clear call to action for everyone.”

I really enjoyed the presentation and laughed many times with the correlation between his points and the reality in our business.”

Amazing content, and what a superb way to tell a story about telling a story!!!”

Elevating to Change Agent — How Data & Analytics Leaders Can Level Up at the Southern California CDAO Executive Summit

Zoher Karu, CDAO at Blue Shield California delivered an insightful lunch keynote on how he has empowered the business through data, shifted his team’s mindset to become business enablers and created cultural change through data. His story served as inspiration for fellow CDAOs to level up and become strategic business leaders.

Those in the audience commented:

Great! Direct, to the point, clear, engaging and thought provoking.”

Love the short and precise set of tenets for leveling up as D&A leaders.”

Thanks for emphasizing that we are here to solve business problems.”

Gaining Finance Buy-In and Proving Value for D&A Initiatives at the New York CDAO Executive Summit

With the buzz around AI comes the pressure to perform and prove ROI – and fast. Murli Buluzwar, Head of Analytics US Personal Bank at Cit and Ceci Dones, Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School discussed how D&A leaders can build a coalition across senior leadership to gain funding, buy-in and elevate the function to a critical business driver.

One executive who joined the session noted:

Excellent insights and thoughtful considerations, especially regarding upward and peer communication about the business goals and objectives, customers, opportunities.”

Law & Order — Unveiling AI's Legal Boundaries at the Minneapolis CDAO Executive Summit

While AI technologies move at a breakneck pace, the laws, regulations and ethics governing them can become an afterthought. AI, cybersecurity and IP law expert Eran Kahana shared how CDAOs should proactively implement effective AI policies and procedures to ensure trustworthy, safe and ethical AI use.

The session received rave reviews with participants commenting:

This is one of the best sessions I’ve attended across all conferences since the pandemic. Excellent and so relevant, with content and pointers I can use and can build on immediately.”

Excellent overview on what AI is, where the risks are, and why governance is needed!”

Great set of legal-related principles and topics around AI and data to take into consideration going forward.”

After spending time in these sessions and more, participants summarized their experience:

The personal interactions are very valuable. You can't get this at larger events.”

Wonderful, and one of the best in Data Analytics events.”

This program is amazing. The audience selection is spot on, featuring individuals with impressive backgrounds and roles in meaningful corporations. Combined with a friendly environment and the right audience size, it makes it easy to establish meaningful connections, network, learn, and grow together. The feeling of being part of a great data community really shines through. Truly outstanding!”
 

Evanta CDAO Community members are continuing to plan innovative agendas and topics for Executive Summits starting in October, with more opportunities to connect virtually and in-person taking place year round. To find and register for an upcoming community event, sign in to MyEvanta, or if you have not yet joined an Evanta CDAO Community, apply to join here for access to Evanta community gatherings.