For years, organizations have recognized data as their most valuable asset. But, as AI, intelligent automation, and predictive analytics move from experimentation to enterprise data management execution, many organizations still lack a clear strategy for how to manage, govern, and activate data as the foundation of insight and innovation.
The technology is ready. The opportunity is massive. But who is actually orchestrating the data that fuels it all?
That’s where the Chief Data Officer role comes in. Once viewed primarily as governance or compliance leaders, today’s Chief Data Officers are emerging as strategic power players responsible for enabling access to trusted data, defining ethical guardrails, and unlocking competitive advantage across the business. All signs point to 2026 being a breakout year for Chief Data Officers.
The Evolution of the Chief Data Officer: From Restriction to Enablement
When Chief Data Officers first appeared, the role was often synonymous with security, compliance, and governance. In many organizations, they were seen as the people who said “no,” centralizing control, restricting access, and serving as the gatekeepers of enterprise data management. Important? Absolutely. Strategic? Not always.
But the landscape has changed dramatically.
The rise of AI, intelligent automation, and predictive analytics has elevated enterprise data management from a supporting asset to a core business requirement. At the same time, traditional systems of record have also evolved. ERP platforms—long considered the gold standard for structured, governed data—are now increasingly connected to AI-enabled capabilities across the enterprise that may not have the same data cleanliness and management.
Modern ERP, CRM, and next-generation technologies are now tightly interwoven, making data quality and governance more essential than ever.
As a result, the Chief Data Officer role is no longer about restriction. It’s about enablement with guardrails.
Today’s Chief Data Officer is part strategist, part business leader, and part technologist, responsible for ensuring high-quality, well-governed data is available across the enterprise and usable at the speed of innovation. And the data confirms it.
A recent Deloitte survey found that Chief Data Officers are driving tangible business outcomes, with 64% reporting a direct improvement in the impact of data initiatives on driving the use of AI and analytics.
Chief Data Officers now have the mandate, visibility, and organizational influence to shift data from an IT concern to a true business asset. One capable of driving growth, operational excellence, and AI readiness.
Syntax – From AI First Thinking To Data First Reality
Why the Chief Data Officer Belongs at the Business Table
As organizations move faster and adopt more advanced technologies, centralized data models have become bottlenecks rather than accelerators. Organizations are shifting toward a new model of decentralized data in which business domains own and manage their data while still operating under centralized governance. This federated approach enables faster decision‑making, better data quality, and the agility needed for AI‑driven innovation.
But decentralization without structure creates risk. That’s why the Chief Data Officer is critical.
The modern Chief Data Officer enables this shift by establishing frameworks and guardrails that allow teams to move quickly without sacrificing governance, trust, or accountability. The Chief Data Officer must architect an operating model that:
- Treats data as a strategic asset, not merely a technical one
- Decentralizes access so innovation can happen closer to the business
- Establishes guardrails without creating bottlenecks
- Empowers responsible use of AI, intelligent automation, and analytics
- Aligns data policies with speed, agility, and enterprise scale
As business strategy and technology become fully intertwined, the Chief Data Officer becomes the connective tissue that keeps the ecosystem functioning. That is why the role can’t sit on the sidelines. The Chief Data Officer must have a seat at the business table.
Many organizations have made progress in positioning the role at the top. However, influence doesn’t always follow reporting structure. The same Deloitte survey highlights this tension: despite 87% of Chief Data Officers reporting directly into the C-Suite, 54% say they are currently less influential than other C-Suite stakeholders, but most expect that to shift, with influence increasing over the next five years.
The Chief Data Officer’s Role in AI, Intelligent Automation, and Analytics
Zooming in further, organizations today are operating far beyond traditional ERP data that is typically structured, governed, and well understood. As companies push innovation closer to the business, they introduce significantly more unstructured, inconsistent, and rapidly growing data sources.
Simultaneously, the pace of innovation in AI, intelligent automation, and analytics has outstripped the pace of data maturity. As organizations move from pilots to production, they often discover painful realities:
- Unclean data increases hallucinations.
- Inconsistent data breaks models.
- Siloed data prevents enterprise‑wide insights.
- Undocumented data makes governance impossible.
These aren’t technology failures. They are data leadership failures. And the modern Chief Data Officer is uniquely positioned to solve them.
By standardizing governance, cleaning and connecting core datasets, and aligning IT initiatives to measurable business outcomes, Chief Data Officers ensure that AI, intelligent automation, and analytics technologies deliver results that are accurate, reliable, and actionable at scale.
The rise of new technologies has exposed what many organizations have been missing: a cohesive data strategy, a mature governance model, and a leader who can bridge business priorities with technology execution.
Unified Data Through Syntax Digital Innovation Center of Excellence and DnA³
For decades, Syntax has helped organizations understand and optimize the structured data at the heart of their business: ERP data. Over time, we’ve expanded our capabilities to help customers tackle the broader data landscape, including AI, intelligent automation, and analytics.
At the heart of this approach lies Syntax DnA³ (Data, Analytics, Automation, and AI): our Digital Innovation Center of Excellence designed to empower companies and guide Chief Data Officers and their teams to turn data strategy into measurable business outcomes.
Syntax DnA³ helps organizations build trusted data foundations, modernize governance frameworks, and accelerate the adoption of AI, analytics, and intelligent automation across enterprise ecosystems. Syntax enables Chief Data Officers to orchestrate data with confidence, transforming it from a compliance challenge into a competitive advantage that drives smarter, faster, and more resilient business operations.
Syntax DnA3 – Digital Innovation Center Of Excellence
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If you’re ready to accelerate your digital transformation journey, contact us today.
Author
Kevin Dattolico
Chief Executive Officer Americas at Syntax
Kevin Dattolico is the Chief Executive Officer Americas at Syntax, where he leads the company’s global mission to orchestrate complex technology challenges and empower customers to achieve transformative business outcomes. With over two decades of leadership experience across enterprise technology, cloud services, and digital transformation, Kevin is passionate about helping organizations harness the power of data, AI, and automation to drive innovation and long-term growth.