What is Chief Data Officer (CDO)?
A chief data officer (CDO) is an executive in an organization who is responsible for data management across the organization. Although related, the roles of the CDO and Chief Information Officer are different. The CDO typically reports to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), the Chief Operating Officer (COO) or the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The CDO is responsible for a number of areas covered by data governance, such as:
- Information protection and privacy
- Data lifecycle management
- Data quality management
- Information governance
- Leveraging data resources to create business value
The role of the chief data officer has changed since its inception in 2007 in response to compliance regulations enacted after the 2007-08 recession. At the time, the CDO was primarily responsible for ensuring that corporate data met compliance requirements. The CDO's role now is to drive the realization in companies that big data is a business asset that can be used to identify potential revenue opportunities.
The Chief Data Officer is also responsible for ensuring that data received from various sources is protected and its confidentiality is maintained. In the past, companies had to deal with many legal proceedings because they were unable to protect the privacy of the data they were looking for.
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