UK & Ireland CDAO Executive Summit

Join this exclusive evening hosted by the Governing Body, this dinner is a can’t-miss opportunity to connect with your peers prior to tomorrow’s Executive Summit.

Outperforming competitors and understanding customer needs hinge on an organisation's ability to leverage data and analytics for better decision-making. Discover also how Vodafone – the winner of the British Data Awards 2023 for its Data Literacy programme - unlock the power of Data Literacy across the B2B sector resulting business value. This session will explain the principles of data literacy, current adoption levels, and its impact on organisations, emphasising the need for deeper integration across the enterprise.

3 take aways of this session:

• Understanding the importance of data literacy
• How to structure a data literacy program with return of experience
• Ensuring the success of a data literacy program with case study

Data quality and readiness is key for many organisations, but the MOD the stakes rise significantly, when the UK’s defence capability is on the line. In this session, we will explore the MODs D&A team's journey towards improving equipment readiness through the effective use of data and automation. You’ll learn the critical role of accurate and timely data plays in defining readiness and exploring the cultural challenges faced in capturing and utilising this data.

Join this session to discuss:

• Importance of accurate equipment readiness data — Understanding the state of equipment is critical for readiness and deterrence
• Overcoming cultural barriers — Shifting organisational culture to prioritise accurate data submission
• Harnessing automation for efficiency — Implementing an automated data platform to improve equipment readiness and enables an information age army

As organisations increasingly integrate digital capabilities into their operational frameworks, the role of the CDAO faces the risk of becoming an indistinct IT position with an overwhelming scope of responsibilities. The evolving landscape necessitates a strategic reassessment of the role.

Join the following session to discuss:

• Defining the role of your department
• Collaborating with new technology officers, such as Chief AI Officers
• Avoiding budget competitions with other departments

Whilst many organisations have improved the availability of data across their workforces, this alone doesn’t contribute to a data driven culture needed for organisations in 2024 and beyond. Data and Analytics leaders are making efforts to progress data fluency to improve efficiency, enhance decision making, and mitigate risk. However, engaging the entire workforce in data fluency can be more challenging when your business is not centered around technology. 

Join this Boardroom session to discuss:

• How are your peers designing data literacy programs to include the whole workforce, regardless of role?
• What impact has increasing data education had on maturity levels?
• How can you align data literacy programs with business objectives?

The CDAO journey entails surpassing the perception of solely being a technology leader and undergoing a transformation into a business leader. The question then arises: how can one transition from being a mere ticket taker to becoming a decision maker? In this session, we will engage in an open conversation about how data leaders can elevate their skills and role to be the data leader your organisation needs now and in the future. We will explore strategies for understanding what you need to be a successful CDAO, driving change and building a personal brand.

Join this conversation to discuss:

• The kind of CDAO leader your organisation needs and how can you meet those expectations
• The mandate and cause for change as a transformational leader 
• Navigating short and long term objectives

CDAOs struggle to communicate and measure the business outcomes of their initiatives, making it difficult for business leaders to view them as strategic. Using outcome-driven metrics (ODM) to link D&A technical outcomes such as data quality to business outcomes such as time-to-market improvements will enable D&A leaders to drive technology priorities and investments based on business benefit. Gartner is developing a new framework for outcome-driven D&A metrics and is looking for feedback from D&A leaders which metrics to prioritise.  

Join this session, hosted by Gartner, to discuss:

• The relationship between data and analytics operational metrics, ODM and business outcomes
• Candidate D&A ODMs in different zones of interest that are relevant for CDAOs
• Prioritisation and ideation of D&A ODM that may have high business impact

CDAOs need to boldly stake a vision for D&A that will drive business innovation and transformation. The 2024 Gartner CDAO Agenda Survey shows that with the acceleration of hype and investment in generative AI, among other D&A capabilities, the D&A role is under intense scrutiny to deliver value. CDAOs must reframe D&A’s potential for the enterprise or risk irrelevance.

Key takeaways:

• The CDAO role is new, not well understood yet the expectations on them are high. The role needs to continue to evolve, but 2/3s of CDAOs are not actively changing to be AI ready.
• The AI hype makes advocating for foundational investment more important, not less. High maturity governance practices correspond with 25% higher likelihood of adopting data-driven innovation
• CDAOs are not owning their opportunity to be transformational executives. Half of CDAOs do not even track value delivered to their enterprises.