Meet our Founders

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AI Innovator, Proven CDAO
& Digital Transformation Leader at Red Hat/IBM, Fitch Group, Avaya

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Heidi Lanford is a Chief Data and Analytics Officer with over 30 years of global strategy and operations leadership experience. Most recently, she served as the Chief Data Officer at Fitch Group (a Hearst company), one of the big three credit ratings agencies. In this role, she led their digital transformation to provide next-generation data and AI products for clients, including their first ESG offering.

She joined Fitch from Red Hat (IBM), where she was Vice President of Enterprise Data & Analytics, leading strategy and execution across analytics, business intelligence, data science, AI/ML, data literacy education, data architecture and governance. She previously held executive-level positions with Avaya and WPP.

She was an advisor to HearstLab, which provides investment and services to early-stage, women-led technology startups. She is a frequent keynote speaker on data strategy and its top/bottom line impact, data literacy, applied analytics/data science and women in STEM. She was named in 2023 to CDO Magazine's "Global Data Power Women" for the third year in a row.

She serves on the advisory board for the School of Data Science at the University of Virginia, the editorial board for CDO Magazine, an advisor to Domino Data Lab, and is a founding board member of the Data Leadership Collaborative, which connects like-minded leaders who are building data-driven organizations.

AI Innovator, Proven CDAO
& Digital Transformation Leader at Verizon, Federal Reserve, Goldman Sachs

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Known as a highly commercial data visionary and technology pioneer across her career, Linda has held the role of CDAO for almost 9 years. She has extensive experience in the integration of AI to drive business transformation with large returns. Most recently at Verizon, Linda built and led a high impact data science and engineering organization spanning an AI Center, Data Governance & Engineering, AI/ML Industrialization, and transformational business partnerships across the enterprise.

As the first Chief Data Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank Of New York, she cultivated the use of well-governed data and  AI/ML in economics, the management of the financial markets, and the supervision of financial firms.

Recent Awards

2022 Forbes 9 Inspirational Women Leaders in AI Shaping the 21st Century

CDO Magazine’s 2021 & 2022 lists of Global Data Power Women.

Chosen by DataIQ as 6th most influential person in the 2022 USA #DataIQ100

2019 CDO of the Year by the CDO Club

Professional Affiliations

AI for the Planet, Enterprise Data Management Council Board Member, Domino Data Labs, Modal Learning, Notable Systems Advisor, Analytics 50 Member

Data Strategy & Business Continuity Leader at Federal Reserve, Author, Professor

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Maria is a high energy, high impact business leader, innovator, and educator with a deep background  in data, technology, product strategy and business continuity. She had a varied 30+ year career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In her latest role, as Deputy Chief Data Officer, she led the design and deployment of an expansive data strategy and governance framework to empower the Bank’s abilities to oversee the financial markets, and the supervision of financial firms.

Throughout her career, Maria has fostered a dynamic to harness both the power of the individual and the collective to be their most creative and productive selves.

She currently teaches at the graduate level “Storytelling with Data” at Parsons School of Design. She is a master facilitator, and has developed programs for organizations as varied as the media conglomerate Univision and the Paris business school Ecole des Ponts. She also develops and runs workshops with the global firm, Architects of Group Genius, which is based in Milan.

Maria is an accomplished, published writer. Her latest screenplay has won multiple awards including best screenplay at the Milan International Film Festival.