As Volker Buscher, CDO and Senior Advisor at DataIQ, observed in a post-Guild Coffee Talk:
“The status quo is changing and as a CDAO, you’re the catalyst dealing with all of those changes. You don’t have a P&L, but you have this big charter. You’re almost a leader without that kind of positional authority, but you’re guiding through reputation and influence.”
That conversation, hosted by Dael Williamson, EMEA CTO at Databricks, alongside Volker Buscher and Catherine Taylor, Senior Director of Enterprise Data & Analytics at Elsevier, was a continuation of the Guild dialogue, offering a rare, unscripted insight into the real challenges and breakthroughs facing modern data and AI leaders.
With Databricks continuing as strategic partners of Guild in 2025, and Dael a consistent voice across both years, his perspective brings together the technical horizon and the human journey of leadership bridging the gap between the promise of AI and the operational realities on the ground.
“This is a complicated new dawn,” Dael remarked during the talk. “As somebody who sees the manifestations of these AI initiatives every day, I know there’s a lot of work to be done. But it feels like those CDAOs who are far more in command of their emotional state and who have the ability to be balanced and grounded, they’re actually helping their organisations do the same.”
The Future of the CDAO is in Motion
This year, our agenda reflects how far the conversation has moved. We’re not debating whether the role should exist. We’re unpacking how data and AI leaders are evolving to meet the challenges of a tumultuous environment, where change is accelerating and the imperative to guide organisations through enterprise-wide transformations is pressing upon CDAOs.
From small group peer discussions on critical C-suite relationships to provocations on AI governance, partnership ecosystems, and operating models for scaling value, Guild 2025 focuses on what comes next. Not just for AI. For you.
Specifically, we’ll be exploring:
The ascent of CDAOs into business leadership: how CDAOs are turning uncertainty into strategic advantage with data and AI, reshaping roles and building key partnerships.
Creating an AI-first organisation: the urgency for CDAOs to embed AI at scale and drive their organisations towards sustainable, enterprise-wide value.
Architecting value – the strategic catalyst: how CDAOs are focusing on demonstrating tangible value, proving themselves as strategic partners by aligning data and AI capabilities to organisational goals.
To preview the tone of Guild, we’ll be launching a new three-part blog series exploring some of the insights and themes that will shape the room again this year: real leadership, no posturing—just open, strategic, and deeply human conversations about what it means to lead through complexity and create value at scale.
Together, these blogs explore what it truly takes to lead—not just manage—in a data-and-AI-first world.
Interested in joining the conversation?
Guild is an invitation-only event for senior data and analytics leaders. This year, it takes place from 17th to 19th June in Brihuega, just outside of Madrid, Spain.
If you’re interested in contributing your voice and experience to this unique think tank, contact us here.
