Our Cincinnati team recently sponsored the ComSpark CDO Midwest Summit, where Jeff Kanel delivered a keynote presentation titled “Three Waves That Will Affect CDO Success (And How To Prepare).”
Comspark’s CDO Midwest Summit is setting the stage to position the Midwest as the “technology and data corridor of America,” as around the world, companies are using data at an increased rate to drive strategy around understanding their customers, market sector and users in a more effective way.
With over 500 people in attendance, this year’s CDO Midwest Summit was one of the largest on record. The conference drew in data leaders from across the region, treating attendees to a day of panels, presentations and networking as they spent time with their peers discussing the future of data and analytics in business and technology.
Pictured left to right: Rob Urbanski, Liz Ponting, Mike Kaiser
Among those presenters was Jeff Kanel, our National Data and Analytics co-lead. During the lunch hour, as the event’s attendees gathered in the main conference room, Kanel delivered his presentation focusing on three trends affecting the success of CDOs: the process integration of data, a convergence of data and apps, and the reinvention of data engineering.
After talking about these three waves, Kanel suggested ways that CDOs can “surf” these waves to make sure they stay current when it comes to data. These suggestions included challenging your data team to keep innovating, broadening your data talent pool, and continually piloting minor incremental data initiatives that will drive success at your company.
In addition to Kanel’s keynote presentation, he also moderated a panel titled “Why Aren’t We Winning Yet With Data?” The participants on the panel included the Vice President of Data Strategy and Transformation from Farmers Insurance, the CIO of Fifth Third Bank, and the CIO of Dayton Children’s Hospital. During this session, Kanel and the other expert panelists discussed how shifting focus to value generation, establishing a partnership mindset with fellow executives and creating new opportunities through innovation can help businesses get their desired return on investment from their data programs.
Overall, the 2022 ComSpark CDO Midwest Summit was a great success in bringing the Midwest’s data leaders together to share ideas and hear new ones. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with groups, like ComSpark, that support technologists in our communities, and we can’t wait for the 2023 edition of the CDO Midwest Summit!
