Driven by Data: The Podcast

Welcome to the very first episode of Data Debrief, the companion show to Driven By Data: The Podcast, where hosts Kyle Winterbottom and Catherine Dowden-King sit down every Thursday to unpack Tuesday's episode, share what's been on their minds, and discuss what's really happening across the data and AI market.

In this debut episode, Kyle and Catherine reflect on Tuesday's conversation with Kevin Cassar, diving deeper into the themes that sparked the most discussion, and a few that didn't make it into the main episode.

They cover:

• Why the data conversation is shifting from delivering ROI to accelerating it, and what that means for data leaders still stuck in output-factory mode
• The growing pressure on organisations to be seen doing AI, regardless of whether it's actually delivering value, and why the optics of inaction are now costlier than wasting budget
• The internal land grab between CDOs and CIOs over who owns AI, and why the answer is often more cultural than technical
• Why rolling out enterprise ChatGPT to an entire bank doesn't necessarily mean your organisation is embracing AI
• Kevin's people-first philosophy, and why understanding where your team actually sits on the AI adoption curve matters more than having an aggressive strategy
• The evolving role of the data professional: from coder to builder, from report-puller to AI quality controller

Plus, in their new Thoughts of the Week segment, Catherine raises a question that's hard to shake: are we over-optimising our downtime? From boiling water taps to washing up, she makes the case that friction isn't always the enemy, and that some of our best thinking happens precisely when we're not being productive. Kyle agrees and admits most of his best ideas arrive at 3am or are written on a shower panel.

Like and subscribe wherever you listen, and if you've got a question or topic you'd like Kyle and Catherine to cover, email the team at [email protected]

In Episode 1, of Season 7 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Kevin Cassar, Chief Data Officer at TalkTalk, where they discuss how to accelerate the speed of value delivery, which includes;

• Why speed to value is becoming as important as ROI itself
• The macroeconomic and GenAI forces increasing pressure on delivery timelines
• How TalkTalk’s data strategy is focused on profitability, trust, and customer satisfaction
• The “triangle of value”: data, business action, and financial outcomes
• Why federated data operating models can accelerate adoption and execution
• The balance between experimentation and implementation at scale
• How governance should act as an enabler, not a blocker, to faster delivery
• The pyramid framework linking ExCo priorities to data products and models
• Why culture, psychological safety, and upskilling are critical to speed
• The five pillars of organisational readiness for faster value creation
• Real examples of reducing delivery from 12 months to under 8 weeks
• Kevin’s three practical leadership principles: vision, collaboration, and investing in people
• Why ExCo maturity and sponsorship are the hidden drivers of speed to value
• How direct CEO access materially reduces time from idea to production
• Why poor data foundations still kill speed, regardless of AI ambition
• Why adoption velocity, not just build velocity, determines realised value

For our final episode of the Driven by Data Dilemmas spin-off show, Catherine is joined by Kyle Winterbottom as they talk through their favourite parts of season six, and what's to come on the Driven by Data Podcast as it resumes next week with season seven!

Listen wherever you get your podcasts!

Today on the Driven by Data Dilemmas Show, host Catherine Dowden-King is joined by Alexandra Sidgreaves, Chief Data Officer for Zurich Insurance

Today's theme is all about 'Transformation the right way' - together, Alex & Catherine talk about the errors of forgetting people in great big transformations, how AI is shaking up the entire world, not just data teams and importantly, how to avoid getting someone fired on your first day!

Listen wherever you get your podcasts!

Remember, you can send your own dilemmas to [email protected], and Catherine will gladly read them to our expert guests to answer and provide their own insight on.

Driven by Data Dilemmas is the spin-off show from the Driven by Data Podcast, released every Thursday. Catherine Dowden-King is joined by some of our best-loved senior leaders in the data, analytics and AI space to ask them to share their experiences, advice and thoughts on data dilemmas.

Today on the Driven by Data Dilemmas Show, host Catherine Dowden-King is joined by Steve Janoo, Chief Data Analytics Officer & Global Digital Technology SVP for Diageo! Together, they talk about Data Leadership Sink or Swim!

In a special IRL recording, Steve talks through his thoughts on what allows a data leader to swim freely towards success, and what causes them to sink. There's politics, exec buy-in and the evolution from player to coach.

Remember, you can send your own dilemmas to [email protected], and Catherine will gladly read them to our expert guests to answer and provide their own insight on.

Driven by Data Dilemmas is the spin-off show from the Driven by Data Podcast, released every Thursday. Catherine Dowden-King is joined by some of our best-loved senior leaders in the data, analytics and AI space to ask them to share their experiences, advice and thoughts on data dilemmas.

Today on the Driven by Data Dilemmas Show, host Catherine Dowden-King is joined by Dan Kellett, Chief Data Officer for Carmoola! Together they talk about Leadership Legends vs Leadership Lows!

Dan walks through his thoughts on what makes a leader a legend, vs a loser! They discuss stories about candidates crying during interviews and team members making rookie errors.

Dan shares some candid experiences of when it all went wrong, and he needed to walk away from his desk.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts!

Remember, you can send your own dilemmas to [email protected], and Catherine will gladly read them to our expert guests to answer and provide their own insight on.

Driven by Data Dilemmas is the spin-off show from the Driven by Data Podcast, released every Thursday. Catherine Dowden-King is joined by some of our best-loved senior leaders in the data, analytics and AI space to ask them to share their experiences, advice and thoughts on data dilemmas.

Today on the Driven by Data Dilemmas Show, host Catherine Dowden-King is joined by Ines Ashton, Digital & AI Strategy Director (CIO), The Compleat Food Group. Together, they talk about how to avoid falling for FOMO!

Ines walks through her experience of staying laser-focused on her strategy, her role, and her priorities, avoiding falling for FOMO. They also discuss how to avoid falling for the "shiny object syndrome" in an AI-Powered world.

Remember, you can send your own dilemmas to [email protected], and Catherine will gladly read them to our expert guests to answer and provide their own insight on.

Driven by Data Dilemmas is the spin-off show from the Driven by Data Podcast, released every Thursday. Catherine Dowden-King is joined by some of our best-loved senior leaders in the data, analytics and AI space to ask them to share their experiences, advice and thoughts on data dilemmas.

Today on the Driven by Data Dilemmas Show, host Catherine Dowden-King is joined by Tim Lum, Global Chief Intelligence Officer, WPP | Ford | VML In this episode, they discuss three key stories surrounding when it all goes wrong. From deleting 11 years' worth of data, to a business unit causing the data servers to screech.

Tim walks us through how to manage data teams when it's all gone a bit pear-shaped.

Remember, you can send your own dilemmas to [email protected], and Catherine will gladly read them to our expert guests to answer and provide their own insight on.

Driven by Data Dilemmas is the spin-off show from the Driven by Data Podcast! Catherine Dowden-King is joined by some of our best-loved senior leaders in the data, analytics and AI space to ask them to share their experiences, advice and thoughts on data dilemmas.

Today on the Driven by Data Dilemmas Show, host Catherine Dowden-King is joined by Irina Mihai, Director of Data Foundations, Decision & Data Science function, adidas. In this episode, they discuss three key stories surrounding an AI Adoption or Anarchy. They discuss the how behind adoption, the wins organisations are seeing in real-time, and the final story offers an alternative perspective on the mass layoff fears.

Irina offers her candid views on how to tame anarchy and lays out some of her plans for adidas' AI adoption.

Remember, you can send your own dilemmas to [email protected], and Catherine will gladly read them to our expert guests to answer and provide their own insight on.

Driven by Data Dilemmas is the spin-off show from the Driven by Data Podcast! Catherine Dowden-King is joined by some of our best-loved senior leaders in the data, analytics and AI space to ask them to share their experiences, advice and thoughts on data dilemmas.

Today on the Driven by Data Dilemmas Show, host Catherine Dowden-King is joined by Lisa Allen, Director of Data, The Pensions Regulator. In this episode, they discuss three key stories surrounding a career crisis. They discuss how someone can come into the data world as entry-level talent, someone re-adjusting their role in the data space, and the challenges being seen in the data engineer market.

Lisa offers her advice on entering the market and how to be a competitive candidate, and words of caution to her fellow leaders.

Remember, you can send your own dilemmas to [email protected], and Catherine will gladly read them to our expert guests to answer and provide their own insight on.

Driven by Data Dilemmas is the spin-off show from the Driven by Data Podcast! Catherine Dowden-King is joined by some of our best-loved senior leaders in the data, analytics and AI space to ask them to share their experiences, advice and thoughts on data dilemmas.