Carrie Cobb, Chief Data Officer at Blackbaud, speaks with ElectrifAi CEO Ed Scott, in a video interview about data as a differentiator, business value, leadership support, investing in employees, and celebrating change.
Blackbaud is a cloud software company that provides cloud software, services, expertise, and data intelligence for social good.
Cobb begins by stating that it is critical to tie every work done to its business value. As a CDO, she mentions having massive leadership support for data which is a differentiator for a CDO and also a unique skill set.
This differentiation comes from the technology and the CDO’s expertise around data science, says Cobb. Having the right business value and leadership that understands the value data brings to the table is game-changing, she adds.
Speaking about the winners and losers in technology, Cobb states that organizations that are willing to be curious and invest in empowering employees will be the winners. This includes enabling them on experimentation practices, asking questions, understanding the technology landscape, and training that meets the employees where they are in the journey.
Cobb asserts that like amplifying software users, the organization ensures amplifying employee impact as well. Further, she mentions Blackbaud’s training and empowerment program dedicated to AI.
For instance, she says that the organizational engineering excellence program has up-to-date persona-based training that meets the engineers and data scientists in their journey.
In continuation, Cobb urges organizations to create curated libraries for the employee base, that makes them comfortable with all the technology around. She also mentions the collaborative development programs that could be based on business intelligence, AI, or generative AI and anyone can experiment with changing a role or function by leveraging some technology.
Further, Cobb mentions having a peer cohort for employees to lean on, others who are experimenting at their own pace. She considers the training and empowerment program to be a fulfilling project for the data intelligence center of excellence.
When asked about the future of AI and ML, Cobb states that it will be interesting to see how the tools and technologies can change the world.
In conclusion, she asserts that organizations must celebrate change and enable employees to learn the skills needed to adapt while having the right tools to move forward.
CDO magazine appreciates Carrie Cobb for sharing her insights with our global community.
