Data Governance in Retail, EU, and GenAI with Tiankai Feng

Data governance is crucial for managing data flow, ensuring quality, and facilitating data-driven decision-making within organizations, as highlighted by Tiankai Feng, a Principal Data Consultant at Thoughtworks. He emphasizes the importance of stakeholder collaboration and rebranding data governance to make it more engaging and less bureaucratic, even using creative approaches like music to shift perceptions. In industries like retail, standardizing critical data elements (CDEs) is essential for effective governance, allowing organizations to focus on high-value data points. The role of Chief Data Officers (CDOs) is evolving to become more collaborative and advocacy-focused, aligning governance efforts with business goals to secure support and resources. Tiankai notes advancements in data catalog and quality tools as platforms for collaboration, with AI-powered solutions offering promising automation capabilities. Looking forward, he predicts a shift toward federated governance models that balance autonomy and collaboration, empowering business units while maintaining alignment. Tools like Select Star are instrumental in streamlining data governance by providing modern data catalogs with features such as automated lineage and AI-driven discovery, underscoring the necessity of robust data governance in today's data-centric environment.