The Highest-Rated Sessions from CDAO Executive Summits in 2023

That’s a wrap on Evanta CDAO community programs for 2023! We had a bustling year, conducting almost 70 gatherings across 13 regions in North America and Europe. During each Executive Summit, Town Hall and Inner Circle program, data and analytics leaders from the world’s leading organizations came together to form peer connections, hear thought leadership and gain actionable insights to shape their organizations for the future of business.

Community programs are built by and for CDAOs, and this year, they were based upon three recurrent themes: 

• Revising D&A Strategy with a Focus on Generative AI
• Enabling a Culture of Data Fluency through Psychological Safety
• Modernizing Data Governance with Evolving Business Objectives.

As 2023 concludes, we’re reflecting on some of the highlights from this year’s top-rated speakers, presentations and community-driven content:
 

Highly-Rated Practitioners

Keynote: Dashboards are Dead — Adopting Data Products
Speaker: Sharad Mathur, Global Head of Data & Analytics, Zoom
In this session, Mathur shared his take on why it’s critical to move from traditional dashboards to data products. With this approach, CDAOs can enable their organizations to drive action using rapidly evolving data insights. Mathur explored how data and analytics leaders can move away from dashboards to tackle business challenges, craft a data product strategy and secure long-term business benefits through data products.

Keynote: Deployment of Responsible, Scalable and Cost Effective GenAI — Considerations for CDAOs
Speaker: Dave Bhattacharjee, Head (Sr. VP), Data Analytics, Thomson Reuters
In this keynote presentation, Bhattacharjee stressed the importance of generative AI, as this cutting-edge technology enables CDAOs to lead with innovation at the forefront. However, many challenges to a successful implementation exist such as cost/functionality trade-offs, ethics, customization and scalable architectures. In this discussion, Bhattacharjee reviewed emerging industry frameworks.
 

Highly-Rated Generative AI Presentations

Breakout: From Theory to Practice – Successful GenAI Implementation
Speaker: Craig Butler, Americas Data & AI Specialist - Global Black Belt Team, Microsoft Corporation
Organizations around the globe are in a race to deploy generative AI successfully and innovatively. But while some are in active implementation, others are exploring the theoretical space. This session, led by Microsoft’s Craig Butler, Americas Data & AI Specialist - Global Black Belt Team, Microsoft Corporation, focused on successful approaches companies are using to incorporate GenAI into data strategy, no matter where they are on the journey. 

Keynote: Generative AI — Moving Beyond Hype and Hysteria
Speaker: Bill Franks, Director, Center for Data Science & Analytics, Kennesaw State University
While artificial intelligence has been around since the early 1900s, generative AI emerged in late 2022, captivating not only the AI and data science communities but also the wider public. In this session, author and Kennesaw State University’s director of the center for data science and analytics, Bill Franks weeded through sensationalism and misinformation, to offer a balanced perspective on generative AI.

Highly-Rated Guest Speaker

Keynote: Winning with Accountability — Strategies to Build a High Performing Organization
Speaker: Henry Evans, Best-selling Author, "Winning With Accountability"
Focusing on culture and strategy simultaneously can be a challenge for an organization’s leaders, but when leaders focus on becoming a high-performing organization with a high degree of trust, they create a competitive advantage. In this session, Evans challenged attendees to learn how accountability and emotional safety® together drive exceptional results, identify real-world challenges and adopt accountability tools to overcome, and explore a behavioral concept to create trust-building communication.
 

Gartner Research Preview

Breakout: Identifying the CDAO's Path to Impact
Speakers: Brian Foster, MVP, Research & Advisory, Gartner & Albana Theka, Sr. Director, Data & Analytics, New York City Health and Hospitals
Over the past 10 years, the role of the CDAO has evolved, but what does success look like in today’s digital landscape? In this session, Gartner’s MVP of Research & Advisory, Brian Foster, shed light on new Gartner findings that explain the factors that differentiate CDAO ‘winners’ vs. ‘losers.’ This session, guided by Foster and NYC Health & Hospitals’ Albana Theka explored critical practices that lead to success or failure within the D&A function, how to stress-test execution strategy, and accelerating the path to impact.
 

Most Popular Content

• Infographic: 2023 CDAO Leadership Perspectives
  Hundreds of CDAO community members shared their mission critical priorities and intended investment plans for 2023 in our annual Leadership Perspective Survey – this infographic summarizes their responses.

• Infographic: CDAO Community Pulse on Talent Strategy  
  We asked 150 CDAOs about their ability to hire and retain a skilled workforce and what their talent approach is for the year ahead – here are the results from our community survey.

• Blog: The CDAO Outlook for 2023: Three Key Themes
  Each year, we dive into 3 themes we expect CDAOs focus on in the year ahead – these were the themes that influenced community agendas in the first half of 2023.

• Executive Blog: 5 Tips for a Successful Data Mesh Implementation
  In this Executive Blog, Vishal Patel, Chief Data Officer & Head of Data Engineering at Webster Bank and Co-Chair of the New York CDAO Community, shares insight into the value of data mesh and how data leaders can achieve optimal results. 

• Peer Practices: Driving Long-Term Business Value through Data-Driven Culture at Ulta Beauty
  Krish Das, VP, Enterprise Data Officer at Ulta Beauty and Governing Body Member of the Atlanta CDAO Community shares insight into Ulta Beauty's cultural transformation along with key aspects of their strategy and execution.

• Podcast: What Should Enterprises Be Doing with AI? with Ellen Nielsen of Chevron
  In the final episode of our 2023 podcast series, Chief Data Officer of Chevron, Ellen Nielsen discusses the challenges and opportunities for AI at an enterprise level and how change management and culture play a significant role.
   

As we close out the year, Evanta wants to thank all the data and analytics leaders who participated on our agendas this year. They enable and grow our mission to be “by CDAOs, for CDAOs.”

As we enter the new year, the Evanta CDAO Community will continue to come together to build trusted peer relationships and address their mission critical priorities. In 2024, CDAOs will focus on the following themes:

• Foster a Strong Data and Analytics Function Through Leadership and Influence
• Restructuring Data Strategy and Governance to Responsibly Deploy Generative AI
• Enhance Data Literacy Across the Organization to Drive Business Value

Stay up-to-date with your Evanta CDAO community by applying to join your local community or finding an opportunity to connect with CDAO peers on our calendar.