Naveen Gupta
Global Data Leader
IKEA
Naveen Gupta has served as the Global Head of Data Governance and Analytics at Archroma since February 2020. He specialises in multiple areas, including automation process mining, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
He has held multiple roles at Mettler-Toledo International, including Global Data Analytics Lead, Head of Data Governance Migration and Data Analytics Project Manager.
He holds a Bachelor of Technology from Kurukshetra University (2000 – 2004), among other academic accreditations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the George Washington University (GW).
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Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
My path was more of a lucky accident than a result of destiny. I began my career as an IT Lead, and during a project where I was leading the Development team, a Program Manager asked me to provide support on data topics in terms of quality, migration, and process setup. This was the start of my data journey.
Next, I took a data migration role at Mettler Toledo in 2012 where – in light of my analytical mindset – I took over as Global Data Analytics Team Lead. Continuing on my journey, I worked in fields such as visualisation, advanced analytics, AI, and RPA, facilitating various different business processes, such as sales and marketing, supply chain, service, procurement, and finance. Through these collaborations, I learnt the value of data for business strategies and operations.
After many years at Mettler Toledo, I took on the role of Global Head of Data Governance and Analytics at Archroma in 2020, just before the pandemic hit. Here, the focus was to set up data processes and governance, as well as advanced analytics, AI and process mining.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
‘Collaborative decision making’ is the chief principle for me. I believe that if we collaboratively decide on something, everyone will be clear on the bigger picture, knowing what needs to be done to achieve our goals.
With disruption being a key theme of the past few years, where do you see your role as a CDAO going in the next 1-2 years?
We talk a lot about the ‘data-driven organisation.’ This is more of a descriptive or best-case diagnostic analysis for me. In the coming years, my aim is to progress towards a ‘data science-driven organisation.’ This looks forward to predictive and prescriptive analytics, with the help of internal and external data, as well as future-proof technologies, like ML and AI.
With the rate at which data is expanding, there will be so much more we can draw on, particularly in the field of data science. Ultimately, the aim is to make Archroma a ‘data science-driven organisation,’ rather than just a ‘data-driven organisation.’
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the role as a CDAO?
Data is difficult to explain to most people, so start using business language supported by data, rather than data language itself. You will gain far more traction and support from business peers and colleagues.
Learn from other industries or players in the data field. This will help you develop a greater understanding of the common challenges, and confidence that you are not alone in facing them.
Ultimately, enjoy the journey. This is the only thing which keeps you going.
Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.
- I am a ‘movieholic’ – I can watch movies or web series for hours.
- I am a kids’ storyteller. I love making up fun-filled stories for my kids at any time, on any subject.
- Rather embarrassing one – I can fall asleep on trains and flights in 5 minutes. One time, the staff had to wake me up after the plane was on gate for 20 minutes.
What is the value of participating in a professional community through Evanta?
The Evanta community helps me to connect with peers from different industry sectors, which has two advantages. Firstly, data challenges are common across organisations, irrespective of the industries. Thus, it is beneficial to learn from each other.
Secondly, the Evanta community enables me to build connections with peers, where we can brainstorm ideas, learn from our failures, and together improve.
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