BUILD THE CULTURE, SYSTEMS, PROCESSES AND AI THAT MAKE DATA VALUE INEVITABLE
BUILD THE CULTURE, SYSTEMS, PROCESSES AND AI THAT MAKE DATA VALUE INEVITABLE
Agenda Day 2
8:00 am - 8:30 am
REGISTRATION & COFFEE
8:30 am - 8:40 am
OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
Louise Maynard-Atem -
Deputy Director for Data, Insights, and Fraud,
Government Digital Service
Louise Maynard-Atem
Deputy Director for Data, Insights, and FraudGovernment Digital Service
8:40 am - 8:45 am
LIVE POLL
8:45 am - 9:30 am
PANEL | TALENT THAT EVOLVES (WITH) YOUR BUSINESS - COMMERCIAL + TECHNICAL, NOT EITHER/OR
Michail Vamvakaris -
Head of Data Science and MLOps,
William Hill
Kyriakos Tempriotis - Head of Data & Technology - Global Legal & Compliance, Haleon
Gareth Powell - Group Data Officer & Partner, Irwin Mitchell
Athena Zitrou - Head of Business Analytics, Scottish Water
Louise Maynard-Atem - Deputy Director for Data, Insights, and Fraud, Government Digital Service
Teams don’t just need coders; they need business drivers who grasp run-costs, vendor trade-offs, and how value lands with the board. Great outcomes come from data leaders who speak P&L and business strategy, but can also design, build, and ship dependable systems. "Hybrid" talent is however hard to find. Do you hire? Do you develop internally? If internally, do you upskill your business analysts, or your data team? Hiring often surfaces strong technicians who can learn the business faster than the reverse, yet assessing EQ and “explain-the-why” skills remains a blind spot. Developing the next generation of data leaders, entails both the hard and soft skills needed to survive today's tough job market. The talent that outpaces AI replacement, will be the data professionals who not only crunch numbers but also share a compelling story and drive business value.
• Decide where to grow hybrids: upskill technical staff with business exposure and translation practice, or pair business “translators” with technical squads to bridge faster.
• Evaluate for EQ and “downstream sense”, not just coding tests; change hiring and promotion signals accordingly.
• Bridge roles and rewards to business KPIs to identify and reward hybrid talent.
Louise Maynard-Atem
Deputy Director for Data, Insights, and FraudGovernment Digital Service
9:30 am - 10:00 am
PRESENTATION | FROM SPREADSHEETS TO SCALE – HOW CDO’S TURN ESSENTIAL DATA INTO MEASURABLE VALUE
Jane Smith -
EMEA Field Chief Data & AI Officer,
ThoughtSpot
Paul Cumming - Head of Product Strategy, Grant Thornton Advisors
As organisations move beyond fragmented tools towards enterprise data platforms, the CDO’s role is evolving from governance and reporting to value creation and business enablement. Anchored in Grant Thornton Ireland’s journey from Excel-based processes to a globally scaled data platform, this session explores how a strong focus on data harmonisation, common data models and clear value definition created the foundation for adoption at scale. Discussing practical lessons on narrowing data to what truly matters, embedding enablement to drive usage, and partnering closely with business to translate data into efficiency, growth and insight, learnings that apply to CDO’s across all industries.
• Explore how the CDO role is shifting from governance and reporting to driving measurable business value and enablement.
• Learn about moving from excel-based processes to a globally scaled data platform.
• Discover strategies to focus data efforts on embedding enablement to drive adoption, and learning how to transform data into efficiency, growth, and insight.
Sponsored by: ThoughtSpot
10:05 am - 10:35 am
THINK TANK | THE EVOLVING CDO - FROM DATA CUSTODIAN TO BUSINESS DRIVER
Masood Alam -
Chief Data Architect,
The Scottish Government
As AI advances and replaces many of data leaders’ admin work, the CDO role is shifting from stewarding data to shaping business results. It also signals a fear in the job security of data leaders. 2025 was a brutal year for CDOs, with organizations downgrading the influence of data leaders. Influence and authority doesn’t come from producing more reports, but from setting a cadence of visible wins that compound into credibility – and ultimately a seat at the board. The skills you’re being measured on today are change management, storytelling, and business acumen. CDO influence only grows when projects move the needle, projects demonstrate real value, and wins are clearly defined -not when reports accumulate.
• Discuss what makes a CDO relevant at a time of automation
• Determine the 5 characteristics of a CDO that make the role board-worthy, and how to communicate that value
• Theorize what the CDO role might look like in 2030.
10:05 am - 10:35 am
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
10:40 am - 11:10 am
COFFEE & NETWORKING BREAK
10:40 am - 11:10 am
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
11:15 am - 11:45 am
DEBATE | DIFFERENT WAYS TO WIN THE CDO SEAT
Louise Maynard-Atem -
Deputy Director for Data, Insights, and Fraud,
Government Digital Service
Not all data leaders come from the same backdrop, and there are ultimately several ways to becoming a data leader. Business acumen, technical data skills, and leadership skills all matter equally. We've invited a panel of CDOs, can you guess their background?
More importantly, what can we learn from their experience?
• Learn where technical depth matters, and where it doesn’t.
• Challenge assumptions about what it takes to be a successful data leader.
Louise Maynard-Atem
Deputy Director for Data, Insights, and FraudGovernment Digital Service
11:15 am - 11:45 am
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
11:50 am - 12:35 pm
ROUNDTABLE 1 | THE DATA DEMOCRATIZATION BLUEPRINT – WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT, AND WHAT COMES NEXT?
Marcos Monteiro -
CEO & Co-Founder,
Veezoo
Models drift, hallucinate, or rack up hidden costs once live. This roundtable explores how to set SLOs for accuracy, latency, and spend, monitor for drift, and act quickly without killing trust. Peers will share lightweight playbooks and metrics that keep AI predictable, reliable, and defensible long after launch.
Sponsored by: Veezoo
11:50 am - 12:35 pm
ROUNDTABLE 2 | TURNING AGENTIC AI POTENTIAL INTO MEASURABLE OUTCOMES WITH RELIABLE DATA
Sharing data across borders and industries is essential for innovation but is also a legal and regulatory minefield. This roundtable explores the challenges of global data sharing and provides practical guidance on how to navigate the complex web of regulations. You'll learn how to build a data-sharing framework that is both compliant and effective.
Sponsored by: Informatica
11:50 am - 12:35 pm
ROUNDTABLE 3 | PRACTICAL INSIGHTS: BUILDING A METADATA-DRIVEN DATA FABRIC
Robyn da Silva -
Account Manager,
Ab Initio Software
Agentic AI is the next big thing, but it's hard to separate the hype from the reality. This roundtable provides a no-nonsense look at the current state of agentic AI, exploring what's real, what's hype, and what's next. You'll get a clear understanding of the technology and its potential applications, and learn how to make informed decisions about where to invest.
Sponsored by: Ab Initio
12:40 pm - 1:10 pm
COFFEE & NETWORKING BREAK
12:40 pm - 1:10 pm
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
1:10 pm - 2:10 pm
LUNCH
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm
THINK TANK | CROSS-INDUSTRY PERSONALISATION YOU CAN STEAL - FIND COMMON GROUND, AND ADOPT BEST PRACTICES
Fay Churchill -
Head of Data Science,
ITV
Personalisation is a key driver of customer engagement and loyalty, but it's not a one-size-fits-all solution. What resonates in one region or market can flop in another. This "personalisation station" will bring together leaders from across different industries to share insights and experiences in personalisation. You'll learn what's working, what's not, and how to adapt best practices from other industries to your own unique context.
• Discover how to separate global patterns from local truths.
• Compare how different sectors approach personalisation and uncover tactics you can adapt to your own customers.
• Learn how to measure real customer uplift, not vanity metrics.
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
2:45 pm - 3:15 pm
PRESENTATION | THE ART OF DATA VALUE STORYTELLING - WIN HEARTS AND BUDGET IN THE BOARDROOM
Kirsten Levermore -
Scientific Storyteller,
Scientific Storyteller
Your data is only as valuable as the story you can tell with it. To win budget and buy-in, you must translate complex insights into a compelling narrative that resonates with a non-technical, C-suite audience, Board, and other stakeholders. Data teams often fail to deliver the strategic storytelling boards love. Boards fund outcomes they understand. Roles are being created to bridge this communication gap, regaining trust, budget, and influence to data leaders. No need to overcomplicate complex data - simple before/after, honest baselines, and finance KPIs turn noise into approval.
• Translate data experiments into business-level metrics the board respects, focusing on revenue gained and cost avoided.
• Develop a simple, reusable "value ledger" to publish wins and build momentum for future funding requests.
• Learn how to frame initiatives around clear business outcomes, honest timelines, and hard metrics that finance understands and respects.
3:15 pm - 3:45 pm
PRESENTATION | WHAT DOES HIGH-IMPACT MEAN IN 2026’S THIN MARGIN MARKET?
Shashank Kidiyur Sathish -
Head of Data & Analytics,
Amazon
In today's economy, every penny counts. But that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice innovation. Thin margins force tough decisions – what this means in 2026 is that every investment must prove fast, visible impact. Funding flows to fast payback bets while prestige projects are deferred. So let’s talk about frugal wins: pilots that run lean, contracts that flex, and processes you can replace without tears. Success is about securing this year’s numbers while keeping next year’s options open.
• Discover strategies for making smart modernisation choices that deliver maximum value for your money at a time of reduced profitability.
• Develop frameworks for building business case for your data initiatives that demonstrates a clear ROI.
• Learn how to prioritise quick-win projects that protect today’s budget while keeping flexibility for tomorrow’s growth.
3:45 pm - 3:55 pm
CLOSING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
Louise Maynard-Atem -
Deputy Director for Data, Insights, and Fraud,
Government Digital Service
Louise Maynard-Atem
Deputy Director for Data, Insights, and FraudGovernment Digital Service
