VIDEO | 84.51° Chief Data and Technology Officer: We Want Speed, Flexibility, and an Environment With Less Friction

(US and Canada) Todd James, Chief Data and Technology Officer at 84.51°, speaks with Steve Kleinmann, Industry Practice Lead for Master Data Solutions at Moody’s Analytics, in a video interview about his approach to being agile and leveraging data across the board to offer better customer experiences. 

According to James, a key goal is to achieve speed and flexibility, creating a work environment with less friction. He says turbulence creates opportunities for companies and society. The industry is going through a “once-in-a-lifetime global re-platforming” where data and analytics are leveraged to help drive better decisions. To stay agile, he offers the following suggestions:

• Ensure composable architectures and provide technical flexibility to enable business flexibility to launch new product lines, acquire new businesses, and divest enterprises.

• Ensure data quality and remove any excuse for the company not using the data asset. Constantly look for ways to advance data science to drive more informed decisions.

• Have more agile operating models and bring work to cross-functional empowered individuals.

James shares how the company helps partners leverage data to drive better customer experiences and how he has helped customers improve their supply chain efficiency. Kroger has made significant investments in analytics-enabled improvements in operations and supply chains that are as minimally disruptive as possible to stores. Additionally, he mentions the need to streamline routing in stores for e-commerce, which impacts both customers and the economy.

James concludes that the organization is changing the way it uses data across the board to make people's lives easier, whether it's a customer, a partner, or a Kroger store associate.

CDO Magazine thanks Todd James for sharing his insights and data success stories with our global community.

See more from Todd James

We Use Data To Make People's Lives Easier