Cincinnati Data Leaders Delve into Key Data and Analytics Trends at CDO Magazine Dinner

CDO Magazine gathered leading data and technology executives to connect and exchange their experiences, perspectives, and lessons learned at its Cincinnati Executive Boardroom Dinner. With a spotlight on innovation, collaboration, and adoption, the event featured an insightful panel discussion on “Trends Most Impacting Enterprise Data & Analytics in 2024.”

The panel speakers were:

• Ryan Kean, Total Quality Logistics Chief Information Officer

• Rob Golden, Great American Insurance Group Chief Data & Analytics Officer

• Brett Starr, Cincinnati Insurance Companies Vice President, MLOps, Data Engineering & Intelligent Automation

The session was moderated by Nandagopal Jayaram, CEO of CoStrategix.

Speaking about the event, CDO Magazine Founder and Publisher Steve Wanamaker says: “It’s inspiring to get the leading executives in Greater Cincinnati together to discuss the enterprise data and analytics trends of the year. These trends are not only shaping the future but defining it. This gathering emphasizes the importance of collaboration and knowledge exchange in navigating the dynamic landscape of data-driven enterprises.”

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Sharing his take, panel speaker Golden says: “The event was a great opportunity to connect with data and technology leaders to share ideas, discuss challenges, and meet some really interesting people. The small table setting allowed us to engage in a deeper level of dialogue that isn't possible in most networking or conference events, which I found to be more meaningful.”

Speaker Kean thanks CDO Magazine “for a great event,” saying, “The conversation across our region’s data leaders was outstanding.”

Reflecting on his experience, panelist Starr says: “There is great value from collaborating with peers, many of whom have already been down a path you are just beginning. The lessons shared help us collectively make wise decisions as we forge ahead with our data and analytics agendas.”

Bhavna Mehta, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Assistant Vice President, Data and Analytics, shares her perspectives: “It was wonderful to meet leaders from around the city. I found the panel discussion very insightful as we talked about the importance of data foundations, self-service analytics and implementing a data mesh (which could have a broad range of implementation strategies), data literacy, as well as identifying value with Generative AI use cases.”

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Adding his insights, Nate Murray, Chief Data Officer at Fifth Third Bank, says: “Spending time with data/tech industry peers connecting on a range of topics is priceless. Numerous insights shared during the panel, as well as networking conversations, proved very meaningful as well. I especially like learning on the topic of AI governance, and the myriad approaches being pursued across the various industries. It was shared by several that data literacy/maturity continues to be a journey and varies widely by organization, with a continuum between fully centralized to fully federated.”

University of Cincinnati Vice President and Chief Digital Officer Bharath Prabhakaran, offers his key takeaways:

• Having a data strategy is a foundational step toward defining an AI strategy.

• Data literacy is key – Leaders need to be able to convey the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) to people around this and be able to find champions who will help spread the message.

• Regulations around AI are lagging and need to catch up to the speed with which things are evolving. As such, it is important to keep this in mind before jumping in with both feet.

• Different organizations are at different stages in their data maturity, and it was good to hear different perspectives from the speakers on their journeys.

• Data security and privacy remain huge concerns for generative AI (GenAI) deployment. Thus, we need to have solid policies and guardrails in place before implementing GenAI.

Summing up the event, moderator Jayaram says: “Our team thoroughly enjoyed the experience collaborating with CDO Magazine for their Executive Boardroom Dinner. It was an enlightening gathering marked by authentic exchanges, offering us a wonderful opportunity to discuss a range of topics and learn from one another.”

*Rob Golden, Ryan Kean, Brett Starr, Bhavna Mehta, Nate Murray, and Bharath Prabhakaran are members of the CDO Magazine Global Editorial Board.

Executives attending the CDO Magazine Cincinnati Executive Boardroom Dinner included:

Carl Adkins, Wells Fargo Advisors Managing Director, Investments; Bob Castellini, Wells Fargo Advisors Managing Director, Investments; David Dtttmann, Procter & Gamble CIO, Global HomeCare; Scott Dennull, NetJets VP, Infrastructure Services & Operations; Gabriel Garcia, Procter & Gamble CDO, IT VP; Steve Gatton, Fechheimer VP, Information Technology; Rob Golden, Great American Insurance Group CDAO; Jason Hightower, Hightowers Petroleum Co. CIO; Matt Hough, Cintas VP and CIO; Ryan Kean, Total Quality Logistics CIO; Matt King, Belcan Chief Security and Data Officer; Bhavna Mehta, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center AVP, Data and Analytics; Nate Murray, Fifth Third Bank CDO; Bharath Prabhakaran, University of Cincinnati VP and Chief Digital Officer; Randy Smith, Blue & Co. CIO; Brett Starr, Cincinnati Insurance Companies VP, MLOps, Data Engineering and Intelligent Automation; Cedric Wells, The Gorilla Glue Company Director, IT Infrastructure Services; Nandagopal Jayaram, CoStrategix CEO; Jaydev Karande, Senior Account Representative; Mike Grosser, CoStrategix VP of Business Development, Jeremy Henry, CoStrategix VP of Engineering; Greg Fritz, CoStrategix VP of Digital Solutions; Andy Losekamp, CoStrategix  VP of Sales; Steve Wanamaker, CDO Magazine Publisher; Camille Prado, CDO Magazine Global Editor.