Don joins the 2025 DataIQ 100 North America as a data and analytics leader who brings the sharp edge of digital disruption to one of the most established names in financial services. As Chief Data and Analytics Officer at New York Life, he is shaping the company’s AI and data strategy to unlock long-term value in a highly regulated and customer-centric environment. With a background that spans startups, sports, big tech, and insurance, Don has a track record of translating business ambition into data-driven impact. His approach, rooted in experimentation, co-creation, and business integration, demonstrates how modern data leaders can build not just platforms, but the cultural and organizational readiness to make AI real.
I am a Fortune 100 Chief Data and Analytics Officer with more than 25 years’ experience leading teams and building data, AI, and ML solutions that drive business outcomes leveraging data, predictive analytics, qualitative research, and a customer-centric lens. My career has been spent working for industry-leading, digital native disruptors, traditional industry leaders, and I co-founded a couple of startups.
As SVP and Chief Data and Analytics Officer at New York Life I am responsible for driving the strategy and delivery of the company’s AI, data, and insights capabilities in support of its business strategy and objectives.
Before joining New York Life in October 2023, I was Chief Data Officer at Northwestern Mutual, where I drove the company’s digital transformation and reset the company’s data and AI strategy. I also co-led the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute, a partnership between Northwestern Mutual, Marquette, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Prior to Northwestern Mutual, I held senior data leadership positions at Major League Baseball, BAMTech (acquired by Disney) and WeWork.
I hold a Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and am on the school’s AI Task Force and the Advisory Board for the Center for Business Analytics. I am also an AI and Data Advisor to ICONIQ Growth, a VC in Silicon Valley.
The trends we have seen in the CDO and CDAO role shifting from defensive to value creation have only accelerated with the surge in genAI. The long pole in the tent for value is often people and process, inclusive of challenging areas like business process re-engineering. The modern data leader has to embrace AI as another activation channel that requires extensive partnership with the business to drive organizational and cultural transformation for its potential to be reached. This is especially critical as we move into the world of AI agents.