CDOIQ Newsletter, January 2026 Volume I | | Celebrate 20th Anniversary with CDOIQ! | |
A Message from Dr. Richard Wang, Founding Executive Director of CDOIQ Program:
Greetings and Happy New Year! I am delighted to very cordially invite you to attend the 20th Annual CDOIQ Symposium to be held in Cambridge, Massachusetts from July 21-23. With over 330 senior Data and AI executives already registered, this symposium is shaping up to be an exciting event to bring together industry executives, DoD and federal agency directors, and leading academics. The symposium offers a unique opportunity to share insights, case studies, and strategic dialogue on today’s most pressing data and AI challenges, and helps define the global data and AI agenda. I look forward to welcoming you.
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Sponsorship Opportunities | CDOIQ Symposium sponsorship packages offer many high-impact opportunities to elevate your brand at the world’s longest-running data leadership conference. Sponsors gain exclusive access to senior data and AI executives, including speaking engagements, complimentary registrations, and sustained visibility across the global CDOIQ network. Email team@cdoiq.org if interested. | |
Invitation to Shape CDOIQ's Future | | |
As we look beyond the 20th anniversary, we’re launching new opportunities to meet challenges of rapidly changing data and AI landscape. These opportunities are evolving, and we invite you to help define what comes next. Below are example initiatives:
- Thought-leadership contents for the CDOIQ Newsletter.
- Collaboration opportunities for executive-focused publications.
- Monthly or recurring thought-leadership roundtables.
- Short-form, modular versions of CDOIQ certification courses for broader reach
- An expert advisory panel offering 1:1 or small-group guidance.
Interested in contributing ideas, expertise, or support? Email team@cdoiq.org.
| | Highlight 2026 Symposium Speakers | | |
Keynote: Innovation Insights
From Two Decades of CDOIQ
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Prof. Stuart Madnick, MIT Sloan School of Management
For two decades, the MIT Chief Data Officer & Information Quality Symposium has been more than an event—it has been a movement shaping the future of data leadership. In this keynote, Prof. Stuart Madnick reflects on the journey of CDOIQ—its pioneering vision, transformative milestones, and enduring impact on global practice. He will share insights into how innovation in data governance, analytics, and organizational strategy has evolved, and how lessons from the past 20 years illuminate the path forward for leaders navigating the data-driven future.
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Achieving and Measuring Value from
Artificial Intelligence
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Thomas H. Davenport, Babson College
Achieving value from artificial intelligence initiatives has become not only important to individual companies, but also to the entire economy. Valuations of AI companies are often described as too high, in part because customer companies don't generate enough value from their products to justify the high valuations. In this presentation Tom Davenport will provide an overview of the value issue, describe how it varies by the type of AI technology involved, and make recommendations for AI value management. He will also present the results of a survey on AI economic value and a maturity model for achieving, aggregating, and reporting on AI value.
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The CDO Role: 20 Years Later - Why Organizations Need a Chief Data, Analytics, & AI Officer | |
Moderator: Randy Bean, noted author, speaker, senior advisor, and former industry CEO | Data & AI Leadership Exchange
Panelists: Katya Andresen, Cigna
Franziska (Fran) Bell, Ford Motor Company
Chandhu Nair, Lowes
Bhagyesh Phanse, Starbucks
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the CDOIQ Symposium, this will be the 12th annual CDO panel moderated by Randy Bean on the ongoing evolution of the Chief Data Officer role since its inception in the decade of the 2000’s. While only 12% of leading firms had appointed a CDO by 2012 when the CDOIQ Symposium was still in its formative years, that number had exploded to 85% by 2025. The CDO role has become ubiquitous, but now will the acceleration of AI advancement reinforce this direction or lead in new directions? A panel of leading CDOs will explore this question and discuss where the CDO role evolves next in an AI future.
| | The Actual Data, Analytics, and AI Practices of High-Performing Organizations | | |
Doug Laney, Data Strategist & Author
Moises Dueñas Muñoz, EY
This session shares findings from a global study that compares how organizations actually use data, analytics and AI with how well they perform relative to their peers. The research highlights clear patterns that separate leaders from laggards, including how they govern data as an asset, operationalize analytics at scale, and embed AI into decision-making and data management itself. Rather than focusing on hype or isolated success stories, the study provides an evidence-based map of the practices that consistently correlate with higher strategic, operational and financial performance.
| | January 2026 CDOIQ Society Proseminar | | |
Title: Agentic AI: The Road to Fully Autonomous Organizations by Doug Laney
Date & Time: January 21, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:15 PM EST
The autonomous organization represents the next frontier in business transformation, moving beyond advanced analytics, piecemeal AI, and single-function automation. We are on the precipice of true organizational “self-driving” capabilities which will redefine business models and economies. While many enterprises still struggle with basic AI implementations, leading organisations are poised to introduce intelligent systems that can sense, decide, perform, interact, and adapt across entire business functions at digital speed. Drawing parallels with the evolution of autonomous driving, Laney will define the seven levels of agentic AI – from early-stage chatbots to full business self-awareness and execution – and share new technology providers and business executives can prepare for this imminent inevitability.
| | Join CDOIQ Society As a Member! | | The CDOIQ Society is a professional community dedicated to empowering leaders in data, analytics, and AI through networking, access to best practices, and expert-led events. Membership comes with the following exclusive benefits: (1) Global Network Access, (2) Discount for CDOIQ Symposia, (3) Discount for Certified CDO (CCDO) Professional Program, (4) Special Discount for Symposium Proceedings, (5) Exclusive Participation in the Monthly CDOIQ Society Proseminar Series, (6) Access to session recordings and presentation decks, and (7) Receive one Continuing Education Unit (CEU) for every ten Proseminar sessions completed. | |
Upcoming CDOIQ Society Proseminars | |
February 2026 Proseminar
Date & Time: TBD | 12:00 – 1:15 PM EST
Title: TBD
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March 2026 Proseminar by Robert Abate
Date & Time: March 18, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:15 PM EDT
Title: Best Practices for the New CDO: The First 90-days and Roadmap
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Date & Time: April 15, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:15 PM EDT
Title: Master Data Management: Focusing on Your Most Important Data
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Date & Time: May 6, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:15 PM EDT
Title: TBD
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Date & Time: June 10, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:15 PM EDT
Title: TBD
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July 2026 No Proseminar (The 20th Annual CDOIQ Symposium)
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August 2026 Proseminar by James Meng
Date & Time: August 12, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:15 PM EDT
Title: Quantum Computing as Enabler and Accelerator for AI ML
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Be a Certified CDO (CCDO) Professional!
| | Apply to the 3rd Certified CDO Professional Program, a comprehensive, practitioner-led journey designed to elevate your leadership in data, analytics, and AI. Program highlights: (1) 4 Modules over 20 Weeks. Each module runs for 5 weeks, (2) Live online sessions every Tuesday, 4:30–7:00 PM ET, (3) Flexible tuition: Pay in full or per module, and (4) Earn 5 certificates of completion and 5 Continuing Education Units. Sign up below to receive a program briefing. | | | | |
