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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowTechPoint is launching a new cross-sector networking initiative aimed at bringing together top data officials from across the state to help problem solve and innovate within Indiana’s tech economy.
The CDO Network, which seeks to bring together chief data officers and other high-level data and analytics leaders, will officially launch at an Aug. 14 kick-off event at the 16 Tech campus west of downtown Indianapolis.
It’s a more robust version of the existing Indianapolis Chief Data Officer Forum, a concept that grew out of discussions and roundtables spearheaded by CDO Magazine during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizing committee of the Indiana initiative is helmed by Bill Kemerer, vice president of global data and analytics for Allegion, and Karen Hyman, vice president of data governance, defense digital and information technology for Rolls Royce.
“It’s about building your network,” Hyman told IBJ. “Who realized all of these data people were here in Indianapolis?”
The forum, and now the networking group, seeks to connect these data officers and leverage their experience and knowledge to answer questions facing Hoosier businesses, such as: What data governance do you have in place? Are your analytics helping drive good business decisions? Is your data ready for artificial intelligence?
“We’re all at different parts of our journey,” Hyman said, “so we all continue to learn from each other.”
Currently, the forum has anywhere from 25 to 50 members on its mailing list–depending largely on attendance at recent meetings, Hyman said. By partnering with TechPoint, Hyman said she and other forum leaders are hoping to gain a larger audience.
Ginger Lippert, vice president of marketing for TechPoint, said they hope to replicate the formulas they’ve used with other networking groups they’ve sponsored. TechPoint’s CIO Network, open to chief information officers, has more than 400 members, she said. The AI Innovation network, open to artificial intelligence practitioners at any level, launched earlier this year and has already grown to more than 200 members.
“(We’re) getting all of these top-level leaders together in one space where they’re really with their peers and can really try to solve around challenges that they might not want to just go to their team members with,” Lippert said.
The content and topics will be largely dependent on members’ needs and current issues and events. Meetings could include a panel discussion, a single speaker or even a hands-on case study analysis for members to work their way through big-picture questions on topics such as AI, cybersecurity and more.
Every meeting will have an in-person and virtual component, opening it up to professionals across the state. Lippert said that while the initial meetings will be held in Indianapolis, organizers hope to expand the in-person meetings to other locations around the state.
Meetings are scheduled through the end of the year on a bimonthly basis: after the Aug. 14 kick-off, members will reconvene on Oct. 23 and Dec. 9. Meetings will continue at a similar pace through next year, Lippert said.
“We’re really working to grow Indiana’s digital economy, and in order to grow with AI and other emerging technologies, we have to have good data,” Lippert said.
Indiana CDO Network Launch
When: 8-9:30 a.m. Aug. 14
Where: 16 Tech, Innovation Building One, 1210 Waterway Blvd., Room 1037
Details: Inaugural speaker will be Darshan Shah, executive vice president of data and AnalytiXIN, part of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership
Cost: Annual network dues are $2,500 for non-members, free for TechPoint members. Sponsorships are available.
More information: techpoint.org/indiana-cdo-network
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