Driving Strategic AI — A CDAO’s Roadmap to Success

According to our 2025 CDAO Leadership Perspective Survey, artificial intelligence (encompassing both traditional and generative AI), remains the foremost priority for data leaders for the second consecutive year. CEOs are increasingly focusing on AI initiatives to enhance efficiencies and secure a competitive edge, and consequently, Chief Data and Analytics Officers (CDAOs) are challenged with establishing the groundwork for these initiatives and aligning their strategies with the business' evolving digital requirements.

While AI presents remarkable opportunities for businesses, CDAOs face numerous challenges in driving substantial impact, including ethical dilemmas, regulatory frameworks, resource constraints, and operational issues. To address these complexities, CDAOs from the Toronto Community recently gathered for a Town Hall to deliberate on the current AI landscape and identify actionable strategies to implement within their organizations.

The program was moderated by Paul Pallath, VP of Applied AI at Searce. Glenn Waine, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at TransUnion, served as the Governing Body Host. The event featured esteemed discussion leaders, including Alex Tait, US CDAO at BMO; Dr. Shweta Shah, Chief Data Architect - Global at Sun Life; Kiren Handa, Executive Director of Institutional Research and Data Governance at the University of Toronto; Daniel Liu, Managing Director of Enterprise Risk Management at TMX Group Ltd; Viola Dessanti, Director of Data Management & Strategic Analytics at TSSA; and Nitin Mathur, AVP of Data Platform & Cloud Engineering at Definity Financial.

During this interactive virtual town hall, data leaders engaged in small group discussions to explore strategies for generating ROI from AI initiatives, balancing innovation with ethics and risk, and implementing robust data governance frameworks to support AI adoption. Here are the key takeaways from the discussions.
 

Key Takeaways

Stakeholders Involvement: There is considerable hype around AI capabilities, and CDAOs recognize the need to better manage expectations, particularly regarding the groundwork required before delivering AI-driven solutions. One CDAO noted, "They need to know what we need to set up before we can deliver on AI." Another data leader emphasized the importance of involving the right stakeholders from the onset to set realistic expectations and ensure a smooth AI transformation.

ROI from AI Initiatives: CDAOs discussed the importance of developing comprehensive frameworks for identifying ROI, emphasizing that it should extend beyond financial metrics. One CDAO shared, "A key theme around ROI is that it doesn't need to be around dollars. Measure with customer experience or productivity." Another data leader added, "We need to give context that we may not need to hire more because of the efficiencies we create with these investments."

Transparent Leadership and Change Management: A recurring theme during the discussion was the importance of addressing the human aspect of AI integration. Many CDAOs highlighted that transparent leadership and effective change management are crucial to alleviating employee concerns and driving adoption. One CDAO shared, "Our group talked about transparent leadership and clear communication. A lot of people fear that if a company spends on AI, their job is on the line. That’s a lack of transparency from leadership." Another stated, "It’s not a human replacement. People need to be part of the journey all along. It’s about productivity and managing change for the people using AI."

Innovative Approaches to AI Adoption: Traditional IT strategies may not suffice for effectively adopting AI tools. CDAOs discussed how sharing best practices and developing standardized metrics for evaluating AI's impact could help organizations, especially those slower to change, to better capitalize on AI opportunities. A data leader in the public sector shared their experience, stating, “The traditional IT approach of acquiring tools is going to hold us back. I appreciate people who are in the private sector who can push the boundaries to create a roadmap so that some of us who are slower to change can use their best practices.”

CDAOs can continue this discussion with peers at an upcoming in-person Inner Circle or Executive Summit. Members can sign in to the Gartner C-level Communities app to find events and register with one click. If you are not yet a member, apply to join your local CDAO community to connect with peers on your mission critical priorities.
 

by CDAOs, for CDAOs™

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