Why Flawless Foundational Data is the key to AI long term success and sustainability
This podcast episode features a discussion between Chris Detzel, Director of Customer Engagement and Community at Reltio, Manish Sood, the CEO and founder of Reltio, and Sharath Katipally, a former chief data officer at J.P. Morgan who previously worked at Amazon and SoftBank.
Sharath's Career Path:
- Started in data due to visa limitations, but found passion in the field.
- Worked in consulting, boutique firms, and large organizations like HSBC, Brightstar, Amazon, and J.P. Morgan.
- Gained diverse experience in financial services, retail, and tech.
Key Differences Between Companies:
- Amazon: High-touch, low-margin B2C business with rapid iteration and tech focus.
- J.P. Morgan: High-touch, high-value B2B business with slower pace and focus on regulatory compliance.
- Data Structure: Tech companies tend to be decentralized, while traditional institutions are more centralized.
Challenges as a Data Leader:
- Balancing regulatory compliance with innovation, especially in AI.
- Bridging the gap between tech-savvy and data-savvy leaders.
- Ensuring the quality and accuracy of foundational data for reliable AI outcomes.
Predictions for the Future:
- Data and AI will become inseparable functions.
- The focus will shift from the "four V's" (volume, variety, velocity, veracity) to the "four P's" (prediction, precision, productivity, personalization).
- AI success will depend heavily on accurate and well-curated foundational data.
- Continuous improvement, experimentation, and a culture of innovation will be crucial.
Sharath's Advice:
- Combine data and AI strategies for optimal results.
- Invest in modern data compliance and tool stack companies.
- Focus on data product innovation and rapid prototyping.
- Foster a culture of experimentation and justify its importance to stakeholders.
Overall in this podcast Sharath's career, leveraging data and AI strategically, issues to expect with AI adoption, and an AI startup he is advising. The key theme is the critical importance of high quality, trustworthy data as a foundation.
Creators and Guests
Host
Chris Detzel
Innovative and strategic Community Engagement Director with over 15 years of experience scaling communities and driving engagement within start-up environments and established companies. Proven track record of steering product strategy, driving growth through data-driven decisions, and thriving in high-pace, “0-to-1” scenarios. A flexible problem-solver known for a creative and tenacious approach to challenges, backed by robust analytical acumen and an entrepreneurial mindset.
Host
Manish Sood
Manish is the CEO, Founder and Chairman of Reltio, the first cloud-native, software-as-a-service (SaaS) data platform. An entrepreneur with a vision of the big-picture ways data can drive business and industry transformations, Manish founded Reltio in 2011 to help organizations accelerate the value of their data and deliver on business outcomes. Since its inception, Manish has led Reltio’s evolution from the concept stage to a high-growth company valued at $1.7 billion with more than $100 million in annual revenue (ARR).
Guest
Sharath Katipally
An experienced business-technology leader, board member and advisor with product and engineering background over two decades Experienced in building and managing highly scalable engineering products in varied leadership roles across Consumer Retail, Digital Advertising, Logistics, Investment Banking, Fintech, and Consulting domains. Experienced in leading high-impact teams globally, hire and retain diverse talent. In my two decades plus of technology journey, I've owned, operated, and scaled all facets of engineering, data and product teams to impact business outcomes. I collaborate effectively with business and technology to drive innovation, technology product roadmap, identify new market opportunities, GTM strategies through data driven signals, and uncover operational efficiencies. My experience lies in instrumenting and executing technology product vision through a deep understanding of data, engineering, machine learning and market research as my core strength. I'm passionate about learning through experimentation, building partnerships quickly with internal and external partners.