Introduction

This chapter explains why the CDO needs a team, who is needed in that team and the skill sets that are required. The shape and size of the data team are discussed, and the balance in the team between science and arts.

The basics of the team

Let's assume that you have the right support structure in place, such as any administrative or project support roles. We think those roles are pretty well documented, so you probably don't need us to tell you what works for you in that area. Equally, there are already well-documented descriptions of what makes up an information security or data protection team, or what you need in order to focus on records management, so we have focused only on the new roles that complement the CDO area and form the core components of what could be a new team to the organisation.

We know that right now there are different types of CDO, which we have labelled first and second generation (we discuss those again later in the book), but, for now, imagine the first generation is focused on being risk-averse and the second generation is focused on value-add. In this chapter we are talking about what an FCDO needs to form their team and what a generation SCDO needs on top of that structure.

The basics that you need to put in place are the same for both teams. Only you can decide the balance of people you want in each role across the team, but our advice would be to start small, make sure you have coverage of each of the following areas and then grow at a pace that works for your business.