Introduction

This chapter explores the idea that the CDO is different to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or Chief Information Officer (CIO) and discusses the relationship that the CDO might have with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The key role of the CDO and data ownership is examined. This chapter is aimed at the business stakeholders.

There are more C-Suite roles than there used to be. The longestablished roles of Chief Executive and Chief Information Officer now have to compete for room at the table with roles like the Chief Information Security Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Finance Officer, Chief Customer Officer, Chief Digital Officer and, of course, the Chief Data Officer – it's getting a bit crowded around the table.

Key relationships

Relationship building is a key skill for the CDO. Working with the data means you, the CDO, are cutting across the silos in the organisation and therefore potentially messing around in everyone's backyard, so you had better be able to ask nicely before you do, or have some air cover for when an area feels pain for the greater good! While the CDO needs to form a working relationship with any other stakeholders in the company, not just the rest of the C-Suite, the one that causes the most concern is the relationship with CIO or CTO; it definitely generates the most questions at conferences. Of course these roles and their scope vary from organisation to organisation.

The difference between a CIO and CDO (apart from the words ‘information’ and ‘data’) is best described using the bucket-and-water analogy. The CIO is responsible for the bucket (the technology), ensuring that it is complete, without any holes in it, that the bucket is the right size, with just a little bit of spare room but not too much and it's all in a safe place. The CDO is responsible for the liquid (the data) you put in the bucket, ensuring that it is the right liquid, the right amount, and that it is not contaminated. The CDO is also responsible for what happens to the liquid; making it available when it's needed. In this analogy the CIO has a responsibility to make the water accessible to the CDO (the business).