Data Masters Podcast
Data Masters is the go-to place for data enthusiasts. We speak with data leaders from around the world about data, analytics, and the emerging technologies and techniques data-savvy organizations are tapping into to gain a competitive edge. Our experts also share their opinions and perspectives about the hyped, or overhyped, industry trends we may all be geeking out over.
Cracking the Code: AI Integration Strategies for Business Success with Elena Alikhachkina, Data and Technology Pioneer, Global Data Power Woman
December 14, 2023 • 36 MIN
In this episode of the Data Masters Podcast, your host, Anthony Deighton, welcomes Elena Alikhachkina to discuss the intricate world of AI and its profound impact on business. As AI quickly becomes a part of everyday life, business leaders grapple with challenges in effectively aligning it with their strategies. Elena sheds light on dispelling AI myths and emphasizes the pivotal question guiding AI journeys in the enterprise.
From Jargon to Insights: A Guide to Effective Data-Driven Collaboration with Joel Shapiro, Associate Professor of Data Analytics at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management
November 30, 2023 • 30 MIN
Join Anthony Deighton and Joel Shapiro as they discuss the challenges and opportunities for data teams to become more effective and valuable within their organizations. Joel covers a wide range of topics related to successful collaboration between business and data scientists including, problem spotting and problem scoping, the challenge of working with imperfect data, and the impact of AI on decision-making.
The Future of AI and Data-Driven Technologies: Insights from Randy Bean, founder and CEO of NewVantage Partners
November 16, 2023 • 33 MIN
Join Anthony Deighton and Randy Bean as they discuss key trends such as data-driven transformation, the challenges organizations encounter in becoming data-driven, generative AI, and the future of AI and data technologies. Randy, an advisor to Fortune 1000 leaders, brings you into the boardroom to share what’s top of mind for CEOs regarding AI and the evolving role and expectations for CDOs. You’ll only hear it here!
Exploring the Modern Data Stack and AI: A Conversation with David Jayatillake, Co-Founder and CEO of Delphi Labs
November 2, 2023 • 33 MIN
Join Anthony Deighton and David Jayatillake in this engaging podcast as they discuss the modern data stack, the power of AI in data analysis, and the future of data interfaces. Discover how data teams can ensure clean and curated data, and explore the exciting possibilities of accessing and analyzing data in a seamless and efficient manner. Don't miss out on this insightful conversation!
The Future of Data and Analytics Teams: Insights from Misha Advena, Head of Analytics at Miro
October 19, 2023 • 29 MIN
Join Anthony Deigthon for this insightful episode as we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of data and analytics teams with Misha Advena. Gain a deeper understanding of the strategies and approaches that can shape the future of your organization, ensuring it remains agile and data-driven in an increasingly complex environment.
Unveiling the Secrets of Effective Data Collaboration with Mode’s Benn Stancil, Co-founder & CTO
October 5, 2023 • 27 MIN
In this episode of the Data Masters podcast Anthony Deighton speaks with Benn Stancil, co-founder and CTO at Mode, who challenges common ideas about data collaboration. Benn emphasizes that effective collaboration isn’t about using Google Docs-like tools but understanding data visualization evolution for smooth collaboration. The conversation also explores how collaboration varies with different types of work, providing valuable insights into the true nature of successful data collaboration. Don’t miss these expert insights!
Bayesian Optimization for Databases: A Conversation with Dana Van Aken, co-founder and CTO at OtterTune
September 21, 2023 • 23 MIN
In this episode, we welcome Dana Van Aken, co-founder and CTO at OtterTune. Their SaaS solution leverages AI to streamline database tuning, addressing configuration challenges and enhancing the performance of PostgreSQL and MySQL—all while reducing costs. Join us to delve into the challenges faced by database administrators and explore the exciting future of database management with advancements in machine learning and language models.
Ethical, Responsible, and Trustworthy AI
August 4, 2023 • 25 MIN
In this episode of the Data Masters podcast, Anthony Deighton interviews Dr. Eva-Marie Muller-Stuler, a partner in Data and Analytics at Ernst and Young. They discuss how the advent of advanced language learning models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Bard, and others, requires new thinking in ethical, responsible, and trustworthy AI.
Harnessing the Power of Data Analytics for Business Innovation: An Interview with Adam Wilson, SVP and GM at Alteryx Analytics Cloud
July 20, 2023 • 28 MIN
In today's highly competitive business environment, the key lies in discovering new and interesting data, seamlessly onboarding it, and stitching it together to form training sets that generate powerful algorithms. Accelerating this process goes beyond operational savings. It's a game-changer, allowing you to outpace your competition, deliver unparalleled customer experiences and capture greater market share. Join us today as we welcome Adam Wilson, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Alteryx Analytics Cloud and former CEO of Trifacta before its acquisition by Alteryx in 2022. In this interview, Adam shares his expertise and insights on harnessing the potential of data analytics to fuel business innovation
Navigating the Frontier of AI-Language Models
July 6, 2023 • 35 MIN
This thought-provoking podcast episode delves into the fascinating world of GPT's large language models and neural nets. Join us as we explore the impact of adding a chat interface to GPT and how it has taken off, captivating the public's consciousness. Our guest, an expert in the field, shares insights on the divergent opinions surrounding large language models and neural nets in relation to language. Welcome to another episode of DataMasters. Our guest today is Dean Abbott, founder and president of Abbott Analytics. Since March 1999, Abbott Analytics has led organizations through applying and integrating leading-edge data mining and machine learning methods to marketing, research, and general business endeavors. Abbott Analytics has been dedicated to improving efficiency, ROI, and regulatory compliance through machine learning. Before founding Abbott's Analytics, Dean worked as Wonderkind's chief data scientist and co-founder of Smarter HQ. Our guest will answer critical questions surrounding GPTs, including the following: 1. What are the strengths and limitations of GPT's chat interface? Can it generate content with creativity and style? 2. How does trust play a role in interacting with language models like GPT? Can we blindly rely on their output? 3. What distinguishes GPT from traditional search engines in terms of generating authoritative information? How does the concept of truth come into play? 4. What are the challenges associated with the data input for generative models? How does data quality affect the success of these models? Join us for this captivating conversation as we delve into the world of GPT, large language models, and the complexities of language processing in the age of neural nets. Gain valuable insights and challenge your preconceptions about the future of AI-powered language technology.
Navigating the Evolving Role of the Chief Data Officer
June 21, 2023 • 29 MIN
Unlocking the true potential of data and transforming it into invaluable insights is the hallmark of a Chief Data Officer. In today's data-driven world, the role of a CDO extends beyond traditional data management. The most successful CDOs recognize the power of data products in overcoming the challenges of messy, incomplete, incorrect, and siloed enterprise data. We spoke with Salema Rice, founder and CEO of CDO Today, a membership-based organization that offers mentorship, advisory, and thought leadership to data and analytics professionals. With experience as a Partner, Global Managing Director, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Accenture, and Global Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Bain Capital, Salema is well-versed in the common mistakes and pitfalls to avoid when implementing a data product strategy. Tune into this episode of Data Masters for insights and best practices from a seasoned CDO on quickly seizing opportunities to deliver the promise your organization's data holds. www.tamr.com
Osmo is Giving AI the Ability to Smell
June 8, 2023 • 23 MIN
After spending time in college researching neuroscience, this episode’s guest found that we really don’t know much about smell or how to quantify it despite smell being such an integral part of our lives. That’s why he’s made it his mission to incorporate smell with technology.
Turning Up The Volume On Silent Data Bugs
November 24, 2021 • 38 MIN
Anthony sits down with Kevin Hu, CEO and co-founder of Metaplane, a new data observability company. The two discuss whether bugs exist in data, what Kevin learned from Y Combinator, and what the kids are studying these days.
How To Help End-Users Truly Be Data-Driven
October 29, 2021 • 38 MIN
Anthony sits down with Trifacta’s CEO Adam Wilson to talk about changes to the data landscape, why we need to pay more attention to how we people become “data-driven”, and how Tamr and Trifacta work in harmony to deliver transformative data initiatives.
"The Data Knows" — Finding Answers To Drive Digital Health Innovation
September 29, 2021 • 29 MIN
Anthony sits down with Mike Alvarez, Director of Digital Services at Fuse by Cardinal Health, to talk about data innovation in the healthcare industry. They discuss leveraging data to help patients understand their best paths to care and better stick with treatments. Using data from points of care and external entities to help providers determine the best outcome and cost for value-based care. And, they tackle a popular question, “are dashboards dead?”
Fail Fast, Learn Faster
September 3, 2021 • 22 MIN
The author, Fail Fast, Learn Faster joins Anthony to talk about his new book, his love of literature, and how it connects to data, and shares some of his favorite stories from his career.
Finding the business value for moving data to the cloud
June 17, 2021 • 28 MIN
Anthony chats with Evren Eryurek, Director of Product Management at Google Cloud about what’s happening today with cloud migrations, and uniquely how Google is helping make the transition easy and helping to unlock the value of business data in the cloud. The two also discuss the Google and Tamr partnership, and Evren shares his advice for recent grads interested in a career in technology.
Mining data for gold medals
April 29, 2021 • 37 MIN
Gus Kaeding talks to Anthony about how the U.S. Ski & Snowboard teams are using data to improve team performance and win more medals. Gus explains where the similarities start and end with the famous “Moneyball’ approach to team selection. Why communication with coaches and athletes about data findings is just as important as the results. The challenges of starting a data program from scratch, and what’s next for the team as they approach the 2020 Winter Olympics.
Attacking data science with an "always learning mindset"
April 17, 2021 • 41 MIN
Shopify’s Ella Hilal tells us why effective data leaders need to instill an ‘always learning mindset’ and possess a willingness to reject conventional wisdom. Ella also talks about how the data organization continues to evolve at Shopify, the unique challenges of serving entrepreneurs from all over the world, and how data is being used to power growth and expansion at Shopify.
It’s about solving a business problem, not the data
October 15, 2020 • 44 MIN
Kathleen Maley was most recently Head of Consumer and Digital Analytics at KeyBank where she led a large team of analysts who used data and analytics to shape strategies. Before that, she spent more than a decade at Bank of America in a variety of roles that helped the bank use data in areas such as risk management and pricing. Kathleen shares why she stopped using the term data driven, why aligning around a business problem is key for data and analytics teams, the role language plays in communicating with business colleagues, and what she’s learned as a female analytics leader.
Dataops and the state of digital transformation
September 23, 2020 • 30 MIN
Andy Palmer is a serial entrepreneur who’s helped found or fund more than 50 companies, including Vertica, a pioneer in the database management industry. He’s currently CEO of Tamr, a data mastering platform that uses machine learning to do the heavy lifting around consolidating, cleansing, and categorizing data. Andy’s also served as CIO of Infinity Pharmaceuticals, a biotech startup, and ran data and software engineering operations at the research group of pharmaceutical company Novartis. Andy’s approach to data mastering involves dataops. This concept has emerged in recent years and shares traits with dev ops. He discusses what dataops is and how it helps companies with their digital transformation projects. He also talks about Tamr’s upcoming DataMasters Summit and how the event will provide people with practical advice on where to start their dataops journeys.” To find more information about DataMasters Summit 2020, including the complete list of speakers, and to register to attend, please visit: http://tamr.com/summit2020.
Data and the City
September 9, 2020 • 36 MIN
Stefanie Costa Leabo, Chief Data Officer for the City of Boston, talks about her non-linear career path (she considered becoming a political science professor at one point), the tangible connection between her work and what happens outside of city hall, and how sharing data helps Boston’s residents better understand what’s going on in their city.
The role empathy plays in data visualization
August 26, 2020 • 27 MIN
A key part of data is communicating it to others, and that’s where data visualization comes in. Nick Stepro, senior vice president of product management at Arcadia Healthcare, has made data visualization his career. He talks about how he got into data visualization, why you need empathy in design and how he manages to communicate the value of data without taking away from its meaning.
Overcoming COVID-19 data collection challenges
August 12, 2020 • 31 MIN
Data is critical to combating COVID-19. But challenges around COVID-19 data collection and sharing prevent this information from being fully utilized by federal and state governments. That’s the perspective of Paul Balas, who was previously the Chief Advisor Advanced Analytics at mining company Newmont. Paul shares how his analytics background gives him a unique perspective on the topic of COVID-19 data collection, what’s required to better align government stakeholders and how the private sector resolved similar data collection issues.
How Data Keeps El Al Israel Airlines Airborne
July 30, 2020 • 28 MIN
Ido Biger, CDO at El Al Israel Airlines, shares how embedding himself in different El Al departments made him a better leader, what practices he brought to the airline from his previous jobs and what he teaches the next generation of data leaders as an adjunct lecturer.
An Introduction to Dataops
July 15, 2020 • 28 MIN
Data ops has emerged as a way for organizations to better manage their data pipelines. You’ll hear more about this concept from Chris Bergh, head chef, founder and CEO of DataKitchen, a software company that aims to help data professionals regain control of their data pipelines. He’ll talk about how his experiences in the software industry lead him down the data ops path, define what data ops is and why companies should give data ops a try.
Getting Data Mastering at Scale Right
July 1, 2020 • 31 MIN
What’s required to master large numbers of data sources? First, avoid approaches that require writing rules. Then use machine learning and cloud computing to efficiently handle the workload. That advice comes from Mike Stonebraker, a database pioneer who helped create the INGRES relational database system, won the 2014 A.M. Turing Award, and has co-founded several data management startups, including Tamr. Mike talks about common data mastering mistakes, why traditional tools aren’t right for the task, and shares examples of companies that have successful mastered data at scale.
The Entrepreneurial Approach to Data Management
June 17, 2020 • 32 MIN
As vice president of data management and operations at Thomson Reuters, Marc Alvarez applies an entrepreneurial approach to data management. During his career, he’s found that treating data less like an IT project and more like a business asset requires fundamental changes around data management. In this episode, Marc talks about what’s driving change around how companies use data, the role technologies like cloud computing and automation play in this shift and how organizations can get better business results from their data.
The State of the CDO
June 3, 2020 • 19 MIN
Success as a CDO increasingly means knowing how to use data to drive revenue. But at many organizations, data leaders are still figuring out how to work with their business counterparts. That's one takeaway from a survey of 300 C-suite executives on the topic of data and digital transformation. Conducted by NewVantage Partners since 2012, the survey includes the perspectives of leading Fortune 1000 companies including American Express, Capital One, Ford Motors, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, Mastercard, and Met Life. In this episode, Randy Bean, founder and CEO of NewVantage Partners, talks about the survey's results and looks at the overall state of the CDO. He discusses what makes a successful CDO, where the CDO should sit in an organization and why data initiatives need to be tied to business goals."
The Evolution of the CDO
May 20, 2020 • 31 MIN
Once responsible for data governance, companies increasingly want CDOs who use data to drive the business. Someone who not only saw that evolution but experienced it is Mark Ramsey, who held the title of CDO when the role was very new. Mark served as a data leader twice in his 30-year career. First as CDO at Samsung Mobile and then as Chief Data and Analytics Officer at GlaxoSmithKline. In this episode, Mark shares his thoughts on how the role has changed, what it’s like to be a company’s first CDO and if a company’s reporting structure is a factor in a CDO’s success. And he’ll talk about how data is used in sports car racing, a sport he’s passionate about.
Lights, Camera, Data
May 11, 2020 • 28 MIN
When you think about Hollywood, you probably think about movies, actors and scripts. But behind the scenes, tremendous amounts of data power a complex supply chain that shapes the movie trailers you watch and the release date of the next blockbuster. In this episode of Datamasters, Eric Iverson, who was the CIO of Sony Pictures Television and CIO and CTO at top talent agency Creative Artists Agency, or CAA, shares how data powers the media and entertainment industry. He talks about how data is leveraged in television and movie production, the role data plays in television show distribution, and the data transformation that the entertainment industry went through in recent years.
With Liberty and Data for All
May 11, 2020 • 31 MIN
As deputy CTO in the Obama administration, Nick oversaw the Open Data Initiative, which lead to government data being publicly released for use by the private sector. In this episode of DataMasters, Nick talks about the connection between government data and your favorite mobile apps, the technical challenges agencies faced as they catalogued and listed data sets, and how he created a data culture.