What would you consider as the biggest challenge faced by CDOs today?

Balancing stakeholder expectations that are increasingly shaped by their experiences with online/ mobile consumer technology companies, within the much more regulated environments that all of us have to live in

(“if I can do it in Google for free, why can we not do it in our own company even after investing in technology?”)

How do you think Big Data will impact your industry?

It is not ‘big data’ that will impact the banking industry in isolation. But yes, the ability to process structured and unstructured data in a seamless way will be a critical enabler of the transformation to the ‘digital’ bank.

In your opinion, do people, in general, in your organization appreciate the value of data in decision-making? What do you think can be done to improve the situation?

Yes they do

How would you explain the role of a CDO to a fresh graduate?

Two roles

Increasing the confidence on the data produced and used in the organisation (“protecting the bank”)

Driving business value from data (“Data as an asset”)

How do you see the role of CDO evolving in the next 3-5 years?

It will vary by industry. In banking, I see a slow but steady shift away from the defensive (A) to a more forward-looking, business partnering mode (B)

Putting up a credible data analytics infrastructure is always a cost issue? How would you justify this to your company’s CEO/CFO?

It is not a cost issue if it is positioned right, particularly in the context of ‘protecting the bank’. The trick in my view is to use A to also drive B