CDO Matters Podcast

The data and AI landscape shifted more in the last six months than in the three years prior and most data teams are still operating off roadmaps that predate it. Malcolm Hawker goes solo to give data leaders an honest read on where things stand and what to prioritize for the rest of the year.

📌 In this episode:

• Why Gartner's keynote message — that it's okay to be a late AI adopter — is advice Malcolm thinks is negligent, and why you don't have three more years

• How agentic AI and tools like Microsoft Foundry and OpenAI Studio are finally connecting the dots between data foundations (MDM, data quality, governance) and real AI business outcomes

• What SAP's acquisition of Reltio means for MDM customers and who should be paying close attention

• Profisee named a leader in the new Gartner Magic Quadrant for MDM: what it means and why it took four years to get here

💬 The takeaway: "If you don't have some idea of how you need to adapt your governance model to support AI, you don't have three years to figure it out because you already had three."

About the host: Malcolm Hawker is a former Gartner analyst, Chief Data Officer at Profisee, Editor-in-Chief of CDO Matters on Substack, and host of the CDO Matters Podcast.

🔗 Watch other episodes + read the transcripts on the CDO Podcast page

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For a hundred episodes, the data world has been told data is the center of the universe. It isn't — and three of the most credible voices in the industry are finally saying so out loud. Malcolm Hawker sits down with Scott Taylor, Juan Sequeda, and Samir Sharma for a milestone roundtable: why AI isn't Hadoop, why CDOs keep failing for the same reasons, and what it's going to take to survive what's coming.

For a hundred episodes, the data world has been told data is the center of the universe. It isn't — and three of the most credible voices in the industry are finally saying so out loud. Malcolm Hawker sits down with Scott Taylor, Juan Sequeda, and Samir Sharma for a milestone roundtable: why AI isn't Hadoop, why CDOs keep failing for the same reasons, and what it's going to take to survive what's coming.

Data science teams are delivering results — so why do so many projects never make it to production? Malcolm Hawker and Kristen Kehrer, founder of Data Moves Me and former data science leader, dig into the organizational failures behind the disconnect: governance that blocks data access, business stakeholders who hand scientists solutions instead of problems, and why product management may be the missing layer in your data org. They also get into what AI actually means for data science careers, whether junior roles have a future, and how staying relevant now means building things — fast.

The market for data leaders is growing - but the CDO role itself may be under pressure.

In this episode, Malcolm Hawker and Kyle Winterbottom explore why organizations are questioning data leadership value, how AI is reshaping career paths, and what separates those who advance from those who stall.

If you’re navigating your next move in data, this is a conversation you can’t afford to ignore.

In this episode of CDO Matters, Malcolm Hawker sits down with Yext Chief Data Officer Christian Ward to explore how AI is fundamentally reshaping the relationship between data and modern marketing.

As traditional playbooks built around search, SEO, and paid media begin to fracture, the conversation dives into what this shift means for CMOs—and why CDOs must step into a far more consultative and strategic role in guiding how organizations prepare their data for an AI-mediated customer journey.

The result is a thoughtful discussion on the emerging data realities behind AI-driven discovery, and what data leaders must do today to ensure their marketing partners remain visible, relevant, and competitive in an AI-first world.

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In this episode of CDO Matters, host Malcolm Hawker speaks with Samir Sharma about the idea behind the Data Strategy Canvas and how organizations can bring more structure to their data initiatives.

They discuss how frameworks can help leaders connect data strategy to real business priorities and improve alignment across teams. The conversation explores practical ways data leaders can simplify complex strategy discussions and move from vision to execution.

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In this episode of the CDO Matters podcast, I sit down with Microsoft’s Karthik Ravindran to unpack what it really means to be “AI-ready” in 2026, and why most organizations are still thinking about data the wrong way. 

We explore the collision of product management, governance, and platform strategy, and why AI success will be determined less by models and more by mindset, operating model, and the quality of the data fueling the engine. If you’re a data or analytics leader trying to translate AI hype into measurable business outcomes, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss! 

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In this episode of CDO Matters, Malcolm Hawker sits down with Sarah Levy, the CEO of Euno, to unpack why traditional data governance is collapsing under the weight of AI.

They explore how context, metadata, and probabilistic thinking are redefining what “AI-ready” really means - and why CDOs who don’t adapt quickly risk becoming irrelevant.

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In Episode 93 of the CDO Matters podcast, host Malcolm Hawker sits down with Eric Overby, Faculty Director at Georgia Tech, for a thoughtful conversation on professional development in data.

From building lasting skills to staying relevant as the field evolves, they explore what it takes to grow a meaningful, resilient career in today’s data-driven world.

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