{"id":40368,"date":"2026-01-27T17:45:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T17:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/?post_type=100-alumni&p=40368"},"modified":"2026-02-04T14:38:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T14:38:49","slug":"karen-dewar-chief-data-analytics-officer-natwest","status":"publish","type":"100-alumni","link":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/dataiq100\/karen-dewar-chief-data-analytics-officer-natwest\/","title":{"rendered":"Karen Dewar, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Natwest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Karen Dewar is Chief Data and Analytics Officer at NatWest, where she\u00a0<\/span>sets and\u00a0<\/span>leads the bank\u2019s data,\u00a0analytics\u00a0and AI agenda with a clear focus on improving customer outcomes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her career at NatWest spans more than 28 years and is best described in distinct chapters, each building towards her current role. Karen began on the frontline of retail banking, working in branches as a teller and customer adviser.\u00a0<\/span>This early experience, directly helping customers manage their finances, shaped a deep understanding of customer needs and\u00a0remains\u00a0the foundation of her leadership approach. She went on to manage teams delivering customer-facing services, reinforcing the importance of operational excellence and empathy. These formative roles not only anchored her commitment to customers, but also honed her ability to\u00a0anticipate\u00a0and respond to\u00a0emerging\u00a0requirements,\u00a0enabling her to proactively\u00a0identify\u00a0evolving customer expectations and adapt\u00a0strategies\u00a0accordingly, ensuring NatWest stayed ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing landscape.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the\u00a0<\/span>next\u00a0<\/span>phase of her career, Karen shifted focus to understanding the bank as an integrated system. She played key roles in large-scale transformations and group-wide reorganisations, gaining insights into how\u00a0different parts\u00a0of the organisation come together to serve personal,\u00a0business\u00a0and commercial customers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A turning point came through her work on customer experience. Karen was part of the team that redesigned how frontline staff were rewarded, moving away from incentive-led models, and helped\u00a0establish\u00a0Net Promoter Score across NatWest. This exposure to large-scale customer experience data drew her into marketing, customer insights and, ultimately, analytics\u00a0and decisioning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From there, Karen progressed to lead embedded customer analytics teams before becoming Chief Data and Analytics Officer. Across every chapter of her career, a single thread has\u00a0remained\u00a0constant: a commitment to serving customers and using insight to deliver better experiences at scale.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Karen framed effective data and AI leadership as a discipline grounded in listening, learning and team building rather than technical virtuosity alone. \u201cFirst and foremost,\u201d is \u201cbeing able to listen and understand\u201d,\u00a0whether that insight comes directly from customers, from \u201cpeople who serve our customers\u201d,\u00a0or from partners across the ecosystem.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Karen, the role starts with clarity on \u201cwhat are the problems that we\u2019re trying to address\u201d,\u00a0combined with an outward-looking mindset that continually scans how others are tackling similar challenges.\u00a0Closely linked\u00a0to this is the ability to act as a translator: helping different expert groups understand one another so that \u201ceverybody at least has clarity and improve[s] their capability around what we\u2019re able to deliver\u201d.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Karen is explicit that progression has always been guided by two questions: \u201chow does this help our customers?\u201d and \u201cwhat will I learn?\u201d That mindset\u00a0remains\u00a0active today. She described upcoming study AI through Oxford University alongside her peers, driven by a desire to \u201cnever stop learning\u201d and to stay ahead of emerging techniques so she can bring that knowledge back into the organisation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another key element of Karen’s philosophy is the importance of attracting and hiring the\u00a0very best\u00a0people. She emphasises that being recognised as a credible destination for exceptional talent is essential, not only for driving innovation but also for fostering an environment where ambitious individuals can thrive. By building a reputation for excellence and providing opportunities for growth, Karen ensures that her teams are made up of talented, energetic people who are motivated to help deliver meaningful impact.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The third skill is leadership through others. Karen is clear that impact comes from \u201csurrounding yourself with an excellent, talented, ambitious, energetic team\u201d and then fostering that environment so individuals can \u201cgrow and achieve their ambitions\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bringing it together, she summarises her approach simply: \u201clisten, understand, communicate well\u201d,\u00a0commit to continuous learning, and build teams that are supported to thrive. For her, those human capabilities are what\u00a0ultimately enable\u00a0data and AI to deliver meaningful, sustained value.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Karen advice is grounded in ambition,\u00a0energy\u00a0and enjoyment rather than caution. Her instinctive answer is simply: \u201cbe bold\u201d.\u00a0For Karen, boldness is not about bravado, but about the ability to \u201cset a compelling vision\u201d.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u00a0stated\u00a0that aiming high matters because \u201cit excites people\u201d and brings \u201cfire, energy and a really committed problem-solving mindset\u201d to the work. A bold ambition creates momentum, even when outcomes are uncertain. In her view, leaders are \u201cbetter to aim high and miss than not stretch yourself\u201d,\u00a0because the act of stretching galvanises teams and sharpens focus, regardless of where the landing point ends up. That willingness to set direction is particularly important in data and AI, where ambiguity is constant and progress depends as much on belief as on capability.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside boldness sits something more human: enjoyment. \u201cIt came down to either be bold or have fun,\u201d she explains, because leadership at this level demands \u201ca passion for what you do\u201d and clarity on the impact it creates. Without that, ambition quickly becomes performative rather than motivating. In the end, she chose not to separate them; she would \u201croll them together and say, be bold and have fun\u201d.\u00a0The combination matters. Boldness without enjoyment can burn teams out; fun without ambition can drift. Together, they create the conditions for sustained leadership impact and a vision that stretches the organisation, delivered by someone who genuinely cares about the work and the people doing it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Karen,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0the combination of skills and mindset that lifts leaders beyond technical ability, enabling them to set bold visions and drive meaningful change.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Karen Dewar is Chief Data and Analytics Officer at NatWest, where she\u00a0sets and\u00a0leads the bank\u2019s data,\u00a0analytics\u00a0and AI agenda with a clear focus on improving customer outcomes.\u00a0 Her career at NatWest spans more than 28 years and is best described in distinct chapters, each building towards her current role. Karen began on the frontline of retail […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":40802,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"100-designation":[1454],"100-search-term":[1456],"class_list":["post-40368","100-alumni","type-100-alumni","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","100-designation-100-brands-2026-europe","100-search-term-2026-europe-brands"],"acf":{"sort":"","rank":"","forename":"Karen","surname":"Dewar","fullname":"Karen Dewar","jobtitle":"Chief Data & Analytics Officer ","organisation":"Natwest ","introduction":"","content_2":"","content_3":"","content_4":"","100_thumbnail_image":40802,"affinoid":""},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-27 07:28:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"100-designation","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-alumni\/40368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-alumni"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/100-alumni"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40368"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-alumni\/40368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40803,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-alumni\/40368\/revisions\/40803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"100-designation","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-designation?post=40368"},{"taxonomy":"100-search-term","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dataiq.global\/devstage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/100-search-term?post=40368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}