What is a chief data officer? A leader who creates business value from data

The chief data officer (CDO) is a senior executive responsible for the utilization and governance of data across the organization. While the chief data officer title is often shortened to CDO, the role should not be confused with that of the chief digital officer, which is also frequently referred to as CDO. “The chief data officer is the senior person, with a business focus, who understands the strategy and direction of the business, but their focus is on how to underpin that with data,” says Caroline Carruthers, director at consulting firm Carruthers and Jackson, former chief data officer of Network Rail, and co-author of The Chief Data Officer’s Playbook and Data-Driven Business Transformation: How to Disrupt, Innovate and Stay Ahead of the Competition.