(US & Canada) Pascale Hutz, Chief Data Officer and Executive Vice President at American Express, speaks with Amy McNee, SVP, Solutions Architecture and Technical GTM at Informatica, in a video interview about her role, investing in data, retaining talent, building organizational data culture, and data literacy.

From being a modeler in the risk management division to serving a central role in the customer servicing division and eventually managing digital and data assets, to becoming Chief Data Officer (CDO), Hutz exhibits an exemplary career at American Express. She says that throughout these roles, the one thing that remained constant was the focus on analytics at the core.

With over 20 operating centers globally, AMEX is run on analytics, says Hutz. Further, her capability to manage complex functions was her path over to being a CDO.

When asked about investing in data, Hutz states that what was a nascent program four years ago, turned it into a larger program. Data is a skill, she says, and the organization ensured that the hired roles were of data stewards or data custodians. The process involved close collaboration with the recruiting team to find the right skill set to fill those roles.

When it comes to talent retention, Hutz notes that it takes a lot of energy and effort. Therefore, at AMEX, the focus has been on training programs and skill development. She also mentions encouraging moving people between departments to keep things fresh and interesting to them.

Additionally, AMEX brings in industry experts, hosts talks, and encourages leaders to participate in forums, which gives them the exposure and opportunity to develop talent.

Emphasizing building data culture and literacy at AMEX, Hutz maintains that the organization has been leveraging advanced analytics to run the business since its inception. Data is in the company’s DNA, and it is evident in the way senior leaders appreciate data.

However, it is a critical task to push out data literacy to all aspects of the organization, and there are a few different ways to do it, she adds. This includes a yearly summit where speakers from the data community are invited.

Apart from raising awareness, it is a great event that brings everybody together, says Hutz. Moreover, there is information available on internal web pages, and the organization also organizes learning sessions for people.

While there are many ways to increase data literacy, it is something that needs work and must be at the top of the mind, says Hutz. At AMEX, it is a part of the curriculum, and there is an entire workstream on data culture that keeps getting refined every year, she states.

In conclusion, Hutz mentions that the organization has a federated operating model and dedicated data-focused roles across the company. Delving further, she mentions business units having data offices that have data stewards and data custodians, and her team comprises data stewards, data policy owners, and data tooling owners.

CDO Magazine appreciates Pascale Hutz for sharing her insights with our global community.