March 25, 2025

S5 | Ep 17 | Behind The Curtain: The Self-Inflicted Barriers to CDO Success with Steve Green, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)

53 minutes

In Episode 17, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Steve Green, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) where they discuss the self-inflicted barriers to CDO success, which includes:

Transitioning from being a true technologist into a change agent.
Setting up a chief data office from scratch.
The 6 pillars of the data office.
Why he built an advisory team and how it delivers value daily.
The benefit of having a holistic view of the D&A industry from his time at the FCA.
The struggle to meet operational needs as well as the needs of the regulator.
Why data offices create problems by building point solutions.
Thinking 5 years ahead to balance long-term strategy with immediate needs.
Building to answer questions that you don’t yet exist.
To deliver value on strategic outcomes, you have to be in the strategy conversations.
How data teams are constantly delivering what businesses ask for but not what they need.
The lesson that most data offices are still learning, the hard way.
Navigating your way into the right conversations if you’re not already in them.
Setting the correct expectations with your business.
Why how you run the data office is more likely to dictate success than where it sits.
Why it can’t only be the CDO who’s capable of engaging with the business.
How the interview process should tell you what type of expectations the firm has.
The importance of building relationships with people before you need to engage with them.
Why learning how to make stuff happen beats generic data or leadership skills.
The importance of effective and intentional hiring.
Why data offices need to be better at blowing their own trumpet.
Pushing the boundaries of why data offices exist.
Transitioning from defensive to value generating.
Why many data offices create barriers for themselves and end up behind the curtain.

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By Orbition Group

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