Presentation given at Data Leadership 2015, London, November 26, 2015

1. PROFILES IN DATA
LEADERSHIP©
A study of Eight CEO Leaders who epitomize top-down
Data Leadership
Richard R. Lee
IMECS, LLC
“Profiles in Data Leadership” © 2015 IMECS, LLC
All Rights Reserved

2. THE TEMPLATE FOR MY PRESENTATION

3. WHAT IS DATA LEADERSHIP?
• I developed the Data Leadership Nexus as a Strategic Framework for use by
Organizations in becoming a Predictive Enterprise.
• It’s Central Tenant is “Top-Down Leadership” of “All things Data & Analytics”
• What does it take to be a Data Leader?
• “Leadership is Earned, not Learned”
• The CEO and Board have been “Missing in Action” for far too long when it comes to
their accountability for Data & Analytics.
 The vast majority of CEO’s & Boards are “Analytics Illiterate”
 You cannot Lead what you don’t understand
 Funding is not a Proxy for Leadership
 Filling this vacuum with “Chief Whatever Officers” is nonsensical and unhelpful.
• Accountability is essential to Effective Leadership.
 The Organization will not follow, much less Transform w/o The CEO and Board setting the
Tone & Direction
 The CEO cannot subordinate his/her accountability for driving all elements of the Core
Strategy to Success

4. KEY ELEMENTS OF THE DATA
LEADERSHIP NEXUS
• The Data Leadership Nexus is a pathway to Strategic Success when it comes to realizing
the disruptive power of Big Data & Analytics.
 This Power has been extolled by many, yet realized by few (until now!)
• The Data Leadership Nexus is the linchpin of your Strategic Plan for building and
sustaining “A Predictive Enterprise”.
 Evidence-based Decisioning from Front-Line to Boardroom
 Full exploitation of all Knowledge & Insights
 Optimized Operational Performance
• By Definition The Data Leadership Nexus is the intersection of;
 Top-Down Executive Leadership
 A Fully-aligned Organizational Culture
 The Use of Data, Information & Analytics as Core Competencies
• The Data Leadership Nexus is Your Pathway to becoming a Predictive Enterprise!

5. PRIVATE SECTOR DATA LEADERS
CEO’s who lead large multi-national companies

6. JIM SMITH - THOMSON REUTERS
• Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of
intelligent information for businesses and
professionals
• “The Singular Strategic Objective of our merger
was to operate as an enterprise rather than a set
of distinct portfolio businesses. We want to reap
the benefits of scale in order to better serve our
customers…..”
• “We’ve stepped up our data-driven innovation
initiatives to invest in new ideas which can be
leveraged across the business”.
Information as a Business President & CEO

7. ALISTAIR CURRIE – ANZ BANK
• An experienced international banker with a
track record in delivering business
transformation and high quality customer
outcomes.
• At ANZ he is responsible for Technology,
Services & Operations in 33 markets. He leads
their “Banking on Australia” Digital
Transformation program.
• ”At ANZ we want to fast track the change to a
digital culture. We need to embrace the
change in customer behavior that technology
brings, and to make sure we are offering the
best possible digital services.”
 Digital Transformation Leader  Group Chief Operating Officer

8. BRIAN CORNELL - TARGET CORPORATION
• “I am a dyed-in-the-wool data guy who
likes nothing more than nosing around a
store and getting a feel for what’s going
on”.
• “My first action as CEO was to move my
office down the hall a few steps away from
our global data nerve center”
• “We are using data to define the signature
categories we’re going to stand for, the
ones that can differentiate the brand going
forward”.
Data-Driven Retailer CEO

9. GLENN RENWICK – PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE
• “For the past 70 years, we've built our business by
building trust,” Renwick continues. “Trust that we will
do the right thing on behalf of our customers — every
day, every time.”
• “At Progressive we created long-term profitability
through accurate predictive insurance models, which
allowed the company to insure high-risk drivers.”
• Glenn is regarded by his staff and peers as a responsive
and accessible leader who welcomed new innovations
in technology and believed in truthfulness in business.
He rose from CIO to CEO based on these attributes
 Insurance Predictive Enterprise  Chairman, CEO & President

10. PUBLIC SECTOR DATA LEADERS
Chief Executives who lead National, State & Local Governments

11. BARACK OBAMA – UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
• Signed the Open Government Directive in
2009 (OpenData, OpenGov, FOIA, etc.)
• He established Data.gov, a one stop shop
for the data that is produced by the US Gov.
He made “open and machine-readable
data” the default for all government
information, and created performance
measure at the Federal level to monitor
over $70 billion in IT investments.
• He leads the Precision Medicine initiative in
the US
 Data-Driven Government Leader 44th President

12. MARTIN O’MALLEY: 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
• “Our story, Maryland's story, is the story
of better choices and better results”.
• “The “Stats Program” is a Top-Down
Leadership Strategy designed to use
data to product specific results at every
level of Government” – Robert Behn,
Harvard-Kennedy School.
• “Our Strategic Plans were driven by
data, insights & performance metrics.
All exceeded expectations”
 Data-driven Government Leader
(Citi/State/Bay-Stats) Governor, State of MD

13. NON-PROFIT DATA LEADERS
CEO’s who lead Charitable & Philanthropic endeavors.

14. MICHAEL BLOOMBERG – BLOOMBERG ORG.
• “I know how to make (data-driven) Decisions and
stand up to the Criticism every day”.
• The level of analysis done when you see how laws
are created (at all levels) shows that is more horse
trading than analysis.
• Developed >25 yrs. ago, the Bloomberg terminal is
a vital and ubiquitous tool in all Financial Markets
w/ >350,000 in use worldwide.
• Michael Bloomberg leads the “What Works Cities”
initiative where Mayors & City Leaders use Data &
Analytics to improve the life of Citizens.
Change Leader  CEO, Bloomberg Philanthropies &
Bloomberg L.P.

15. REBECCA RIMEL – PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS
• “We use the Power of Knowledge to solve
some of today’s most challenging
problems”
• Her career at Pew has taken her from a
Nurse & Researcher to CEO.
• Pew applies an analytical, fact-based
approach to improving policy, informing the
public, and invigorating civic life.
• Pew Research Center, an internationally
known public opinion research center, is a
subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Data-driven Public Charity President & CEO

16. IN CLOSING
 These Eight CEO’s have demonstrated Leadership Excellence over their
entire careers and are benchmarks for others to aspire to.
 They embraced data & analytics as Core Competencies early on and
have used them to create successful Strategic Outcomes & Impacts at
every turn.
 Data Leadership is an Accountability that must be accepted &
embraced by all CEO’s & Boards.
 Data Leadership is a Critical Success Factor in becoming a Predictive
Enterprises.

17. DEFINITIONS
 Core Competencies: “a defining capability or advantage that distinguishes an
enterprise from its competitors” i.e. the inherent intellectual capabilities & acumen
found broadly within the Organization and pervasively utilized across the entire
Enterprise.
 Organizational Culture: The shadow of the CEO (and Board). It is found behind every
door and felt down every corridor in the Organization. It is the single thread that ties
everyone together within any Organization.
 The Data Leadership Nexus: A strategic framework which connects Core
Competencies, Executive Leadership and Organizational Culture to create strategic
impact, deep competitive differentiation and enterprise value within every
organization striving to become a Predictive Enterprise.
 Predictive Enterprise: The pervasive use of predictive capabilities (data, information &
analytics) to optimize decision making, mitigate risk and exploit insights for
competitive advantage

18. FOR MORE INFORMATION
• Read my monthly columns in Information Age (UK) and my articles on the
IBM Big Data & Analytics Hub
 www.information-age.com
 http://www.ibmbigdatahub.com/blog/author/richard-lee
• Subscribe to my “The Data Leadership Nexus” blog:
www.infomgmtexec.me to learn more about the Framework and Predictive
Enterprises.
• Follow me on Twitter @InfoMgmtExec
• Invite me to meet with your CEO, Board & SET to discuss your pathway to
becoming a Predictive Enterprise.