The Future of Data, AI and Analytics is Bright and Exciting: A CDAO Sydney summary

We are pleased to have concluded another amazing Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO) Sydney with a fantastic speaker line-up, amazing sponsors and supporters, and an engaged audience!

CDAO Sydney, held on 7-8 May 2024 brought together data, AI, and analytics leaders, and experts from across New South Wales to navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape.

This annual event brought together the brightest minds in data, AI and analytics for two action-packed days of learning, inspiration, and connection on current topics like decentralisation versus centralisation, the realities of incorporating generative AI in business, data leadership and inspiring a data-focused culture, how the role of data is changing within the organisation, hiring and maintaining stellar teams, and much more!

Through engaging discussions, thought-provoking panels, and a vibrant network of peers, attendees unlocked the insights into what is shaping the future of data, not just in Australia, but also globally.

Here are the key takeaways that fuelled the minds of those who attended:

?·??????? Importance of hiring diverse educational backgrounds to avoid group think

·??????? AI is not magic, it is a high quality parrot that needs high quality training data

·??????? Hire for attitude, train for skill

·??????? Evaluating the pros and cons of centralised versus decentralized

·??????? Data is a business enabler - prioritisation needs to be done at a business level, not at the data level

·??????? Exploring the reality of applying AI in different industries and the importance of emphasising curiosity, data savviness, ethics and critical thinking in the workforce

·??????? Navigating the potential impact regulation will have in the AI space

·??????? Highlighting the importance of building data skills across the broader workforce, not only in centralised technology, data governance or engineering teams

·??????? Getting started in AI - start small, start now, and stay curious

·??????? Adaptability is key - the AI space is moving so rapidly that we need to be adaptable and make space to continually experiment, while solving tangible business problems

·??????? ‘Why’ the machine was built in the first place - aligning AI and technology with business guardrails is critical

?To our sponsors, we express our appreciation for your unwavering support in shaping the field of data and analytics – Qlik , 咨科和信 , Tiger Analytics , Snowflake , InterWorks , Dataiku , dbt Labs , Databricks , Securiti , SnapLogic , Tricentis , Confluent , Amperity , Dow Jones Billigence Solution BI Fivetran The Data School Down Under Altair StreamSets Tech Mahindra General Assembly

To our charismatic chairs – Michaela Shea and Gladwin Mendez , your experience in the subject matter bridged through each insight we hear from the speakers!

To our esteemed speakers, your invaluable insights and thought leadership enriched the discussions and inspired the attendees - Omer Hassan Suzie Cardwell Sonya Crosby Paul Robards Amy Shi-Nash, PhD Dan Chesterman Bradley Dixon Paul Wainwright Greg Nichelsen Shamin K. Nasca Peng Vasyl Nair Ash Nair Kate Carruthers Irina Chinenova Su-Ann Porter David Silvestre Ruben Alexander Keegan O'Shea ?? Mal Wanstall David Miller Andrew Saba Andy Sutton Simon H. Artak Amirbekyan, PhD Joe Chapman @jihad zein Anya FitzGibbon Mark Albert @simon joyce Steven Tuften BAppSc, MAAI(Prof), DTM Alex Vasilenko Andrew Spiegelman Mudit Srivastav Virginia Wheway Susan Gibson Lucy Tang Arvind Raghuraman Anshu Chaudhary Kristopher Lopez Oliver Dwyer Himanshu Anand Scott L. Aleena Delore (nee O'Neill) ?? Blair Hudson Tim Armstrong Allan McCay Shiva Storer Mathew Finch Jon Shen Rima Chaudhuri, PhD Tal Bergman Sandeep Mathur, PhD Will Liang Peter Ku Robert Curtis Durjoy Patranabish Brad Drysdale Anne Sophie Roessler Megan Carrabott Abhishek Pratap Singh John Cunningham David Colwell Sam Bessey James Gollan Paul Milinkovic

To our partners, thank you for your constant support – DAMA Australia , Data Science and Ai Association of Australia | DSAi , Venture Spark and She Loves Data , our Charity Partner Data4Good , as well as our media partners.

?And finally, to our delegates, a sincere thank you for your active participation, thought-provoking contributions, and unwavering commitment to driving innovation in the data landscape.

The conference left me brimming with inspiration and a notebook overflowing with ideas for CDAO Sydney 2025. I can't wait to see how the attendees apply what they have learnt from the past two days and I hope they will join us and share their successes at next year’s event!

We look forward to seeing everyone again in 2025, advancing data, AI and analytics success and innovation in business across Sydney and Australia!

A huge shout out to the Corinium team Siobhan Hady Alistair Clemett Megan C. Chris Beales Raileen Yamco Jenny Azores-David Claudia Peixoto Ryan Ciceron Malisa Mlinaric Kye Ling Gan @daniel Tran

#CDAOSYD #Data #AI #Analytics