Una Shortt is Group Chief Data Officer and Senior Vice President at Schneider Electric, where she leads the company’s global data strategy and capability.
Her career spans more than 25 years. Una began in the late 1990s as an intern focused on manufacturing data quality, before progressing through software engineering and analytics leadership roles. This hands-on journey, from foundational data management to enterprise-scale analytics and AI, has shaped a pragmatic and outcome-driven approach to data leadership.
Una’s consistently emphasises business impact first, ensuring data initiatives deliver measurable outcomes rather than technical novelty. She places strong emphasis on trusted data at scale, with governance and quality forming the essential foundation, which are now more critical than ever as organisations embed AI.
Talent and culture are central to her leadership philosophy. Una advocates developing people through a balance of education, experience, and exposure, and actively seeks data talent at all levels of the organisation. She is a strong proponent of collaboration, believing that partnerships across industries are essential to creating real-world value from data.
Finally, Una champions hybrid operating models that break down silos and enable teams to deliver impact globally and locally. At Schneider Electric, she applies these principles to build a trusted, scalable data ecosystem that supports innovation, performance, and responsible AI adoption.
As a data and AI leader, which traits and skills do you think matter most, and which of those have been most influential for you in your current position?
“Being a data and AI leader requires a combination of skills and capabilities that far outreach that of pure data or AI competencies.
“On my very first assignment 25 years ago, I quickly discovered while my technical skills would serve me, equally important were stakeholder relationships, business fluency, marketing and selling, influencing and convincing, and programme and change management.
“I have discovered the value of knowing your stakeholder; understanding their business; the necessity of clear and simple communication; the criticality of on time delivery outcomes; and continued change management long past the go live moment, moving from pure strategy to operationalisation.”
Reflecting on your career, what is one non-traditional piece of advice (outside of technical skills) you would give to an aspiring data or AI leader aiming for the C-suite?
“Assure trust in your relationships and assure resilience in your demeanour.”
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