Data and Analytics as a Key Business Capability in Focus at the 2nd Annual Chief Data Officer & Information Quality (CDOIQ) European Symposium

After an exceptionally successful debut of bringing the globally renowned Chief Data Officer & Information Quality Symposium (CDOIQ) to Europe last year, the CDOIQ Europe edition was back September 14, 2023, in full force on the University of Lausanne’s campus in Switzerland! 

More than 200 Chief Data Officers (CDO) and senior data leaders representing 20+ industries from 14+ countries came together for an invitation-only one-day program focused on “Data and Analytics as a Key Business Capability.”  

It was an all-day insight-packed event full of networking and experience exchanges on data topics running the gamut. It was a breath of fresh data (and analytics) to say the least.

Slideshow - click the picture below to enlarge.

The symposium was privileged to have Professors Tom Davenport and Richard Wang on premise as the esteemed keynote speakers who found that CDOs must create and demonstrate value from data (and analytics) to achieve visible success (and to make it past the 2.5-year average tenure of the role). Tom Davenport unveiled eight game-changing approaches for CDOs to bring value, adding approach 8.5 to allow for the acknowledgment of generative AI as it is fast becoming a most discussed trend. 

In their keynote titled “Data to Take Off,” Xavier Lagardère, Group Chief Data Officer & VP Innovation Management, and Christian Haude, Senior Data Strategy Manager, from Lufthansa Group unveiled Lufthansa’s approach to fostering innovation through effective data leadership. Lufthansa sees data leaders at the forefront as drivers for data transformation and has designed a dedicated program that empowers its leaders to steer the organization towards success. 

The day continued with three tracks. The highlight of track one, “Data Strategies and Transformation,” was the journey towards becoming a data-driven company as presented by Isabel Gomez Garcia de Soria, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at L’Oréal. In just 30 minutes Isabel gave a comprehensive overview of how L’Oréal developed the foundations ranging from data ownership to data platform to cultural change with a long-term vision in mind and all the while delivering value from day one.  

A recurring theme within track two "AI and Analytics for Business Innovation” was how to generate and measure value from AI and machine learning with impactful enterprise use cases. As one of the highlights, Alberto-Giovanni Busetto, Group SVP Head of Data and AI at The Adecco Group, explained how Generative AI is shaping the future of work and transforming HR practices. Generative AI facilitates not only personalized communication between recruiting teams and candidates, but also empowers candidates with interactive preparation tools, boosting their confidence and performance during interviews. 

The third track focused on “Data Ecosystems and Data Sharing.” Christoph Mertens, Head of Adoption at the International Data Spaces Association, demystified data spaces as a solution to gain back sovereignty over the digital infrastructure and at the same time enable the immense potential of data sharing across company and country borders. He presented five steps towards creating a data space and how to get involved, along with showing the data space radar with many data spaces and a use case example. 

The panel discussion in this track focused on the EU Data Act as a groundbreaking regulation that requires "Data Sharing by Design." The panelists - Bettina Goerner (Chief Data Officer at Centogene), Martin Wietkamp (Senior Counsel Digital Farming at Bayer), Christian Geckeis (General Manager DACH, Informatica), and Christian Haude from Lufthansa discussed the impact on various stakeholders and varying perspectives from B2B, B2C to government. 

And to wrap up the day, a data mesh keynote panel was moderated by Christine Legner, Professor at the University of Lausanne, with an expert line-up of panelists. At the forefront of data mesh in practice, Omar Khawaja, Global Head Data & Analytic / CDAO at Givaudan, and Alexander Borek, Director of Data & Analytics at Zalando shared their experiences and achievements. Emily Gorcenski from Thoughtworks noted data mesh has become a priority in many companies, while Tom Davenport still questioned the conceptual framing of the four data mesh principles. In practice, domain-oriented ownerships and data products are the most popular ones, with federated computational governance raising the most questions. 

With the growing number of CDO and CDAO appointments in Europe, this symposium inspires data leaders with cutting edge concepts and learning from their peers:

Alberto-Giovanni Busetto, Group SVP Head of Data and AI at The Adecco Group noted that the European CDOIQ is a great event to “mingle with data wizards, AI explorers and tech enthusiasts; fresh startups and corporate giants, all under one roof in Lausanne - the ‘who’s who’ of bytes and bots!”

Micheline Casey, SVP and Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Siemens Energy exclaimed the event is “one of the most joyful experiences I have is listening to and learning from my peers in other companies. Whether it is about strategy and execution, emerging technology trends, or enabling successful digital and AI transformation, there are always nuggets to reflect upon and get energized about.” 

Bettina Goerner, Chief Data Officer, Centogene, noted, “building on the success of the MIT CDOIQ Conference, the European CDOIQ Symposium in Lausanne quickly became the go-to spot for Europe's data community. With a great lineup and beautiful setting, it's a can't-miss event. It's already fantastic, and I see a bright future ahead!”

Kudos must be awarded to the organizing team for curating such a fantastic event: Richard Wang, Christine Legner, Alice Vaskova, and Sandro Saitta. For the next European CDOIQ, again to be held in Lausanne, Switzerland, the date is tentatively set for September 12, 2024, and all are welcome. 

The European, and global, community – and learnings – only continue to grow.