Three common data organization models

The roles you need should be determined by what you need to achieve. Truly, there are endless possibilities for how an organization could and should structure its team for success, and only you can design the right team for your unique situation. However, in the following pages, I will outline four types of data functions you may need to lead and suggest a few different organizational structures that will enable the four types to deliver successfully. It is your job, as the leader of the data function, to select which of the four types is appropriate for your organization’s objectives.

Establishing the office of the CDO

Regardless of your company’s data and analytic needs, organizations should have at least a small, central function. I will refer to this central function as the office of the CDO. Depending on your organizational structure selected, you may have a larger size and scoped office or a smaller size and scoped office...