The annual A-Team Group Data Management Summit New York City (DMS NYC) is almost upon us, with a roster of leading companies and executives lined up to cast an expert eye over an industry at yet another pivotal point in its evolution.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is up-ending the way financial institutions use the data that informs and drives their operations. Not only that, but data strategies also continue to be reshaped by innovations in the cloud, machine learning and other cutting-edge technologies, all influenced by a global economy that is mutating around a transforming set of values and geopolitics.Amid such widespread change, it’s vital that organisations share their insights and best practices to help the financial industry navigate the choppy waters. DMS NYC has provided that role for more than a decade and this year’s event, our 14th, will be no different.
Hosted by A-Team Group president and chief content officer Andrew Delaney on 26 September in New York City, the summit will take a deep dive into how firms can harness the power of their data to prosper in challenging times.
“The A-Team Data Management Summit offers an unparalleled opportunity to gain valuable insights from fellow industry leaders and experts who are driving data management and architecture transformation,” says Brian Buzzelli, head of data practice at Meradia, who will be among a plethora of data management leaders to address delegates in a packed programme.
Keynotes
The full-day event will begin with a few opening words from Delaney and will close with a networking drinks gathering. Throughout the day, guests will be able to ask questions of the Summit’s line-up of experts and contribute to proceedings through regular polling.
Proceedings get going with the practitioner Innovation Keynote address. Entitled “Unlocking the power of AI for data-driven innovation, business growth and efficiencies at BNY” it see BNY Mellon chief data officer Eric Hirschhorn relate his experiences of building a data strategy at the banking giant.
He’ll discuss how AI is shaping that strategy and offer his thoughts on how the technology should be approached to ensure firms get the most value from it while also negotiating the potential challenges of its implementation.
John Carroll, chief operating officer at Datactics and a panellist in a later presentation, says AI is upper-most in data professionals’ minds.
“AI-powered tools from cloud hyper-scalers like AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud are reshaping data management by providing integrated infrastructure and governance at scale,” Carroll tells Data Management Insight. “As these capabilities evolve, firms may be forced to rethink existing architectures, leveraging the economies of scale offered by cloud-driven AI to stay agile and compliant.”
The next keynote of the day will be given by Mahesh Narayan, institutional asset management segment head at Arcesium. In his presentation, entitled “Leveraging modern financial data platforms for digital transformation”, Narayan will look at how firms can accelerate and future proof the digital transformation of many core investment management operations.
After the morning break, during which delegates will be able to network, the summit will return to the theme of AI with a keynote by Peter Ku, vice president and chief industry strategist for banking, capital markets and financial services at Informatica.
Ku will talk over the main challenges in managing and governing data in financial services using generative AI (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs). He will also touch on how the business value of those technologies can be measured in data management.
GenAI and LLMs will be the theme of TurinTech AI chief executive and co-founder Leslie Kanthan, who will explain how institutions can use these powerful tools to optimise the performance of their software to bring down costs and achieve environmental efficiencies.
Performance improvements will also be central to Stonebranch vice-president of solution management Nils Buer’s delivery before the afternoon break. In the final keynote of the day, Buer will look at the ways financial firms can streamline their data pipelines by applying the latest in automated techniques.
Panel Discussions
When it comes to drilling down into the core of a topic, there’s no better format than the panel discussion. Throughout the day a wide range of specialists and practitioners will be grilled by carefully selected moderators to surface new insights about the most pressing issues in data management.
The first discussion of the day will bring C-level individuals together to focus on AI – specifically how to mitigate the risks of using the technology. Julia Bardmesser, adjunct professor at New York University Stern School of Business, who will moderate the discussion, says that chief data officers are making huge adjustments to incorporate AI into their strategies.
Their “role is rapidly evolving in the AI era – it’s an intricate but intentional balance between business objectives, data governance and compliance”, Bardmesser, who is also founder and chief executive of Data4Real, tells Data Management Insight. “We have to catch our blindspots before they get in our way because we’ll be measured on tangible business value, not just for implementing new tools or getting the best data governance practice going.”
She will be joined on stage by executives from Nuveen, DWS Group, Hometap and Société Genéralé.
Meradia’s Buzzelli will oversee the next panel discussion, which will look at how firms’ data architectures can be simplified and modernised to enable the extraction of the most value from their data. Among the topics of discussion will be where financial institutions find themselves on the journey to data architecture modernisation. It will also consider the most significant challenges that financial institutions face in simplifying and modernising their setups.
“As we look towards the future, simplifying and modernising data architecture is crucial for unlocking the full potential of data and driving innovation,” panellist Thomas McHugh, chief executive and co-founder of FINBOURNE Technology, tells Data Management Insight. “Financial institutions are at varying stages of this transformation journey, but the key to success lies in overcoming challenges through the strategic use of new technologies and embracing emerging innovation.”
Before the lunch and networking break, A-Team Group’s Delaney will oversee a discussion on how to set up a data products strategy to deliver business value. Some of the key points to be discussed will be the drivers behind the creation of data products and how financial institutions should define and identify data products. It will also ask how CDOs can create the right environment, guidance and culture to enable business development of data products.
The first afternoon panel will look at the best-practice approaches to self-service analytics to empower users and unlock data democratisation. Moderated by A-Team Group editor Adrian Sharp, this panel will get into the weeds of the essential elements of a self-service analytics programme and look at the role that AI can play.
“With the advance of derivative uses of data beyond basic reporting and analytics, democratising data is no longer negotiable,” explains panellist Gorkem Sevinc**,** founder and chief executive of Qualytics. “We must bridge the chasm between subject matter experts and data ops teams to co-own data governance going forward, and must empower these users to do more now.”
Dessa Glasser, independent board member of Oppenheimer & Co, will lead the penultimate panel, which will consider regulatory reporting and how data management can be optimised to meet these legal obligations.
Datactics’ Carroll, who will be one of the panellists, says compliance officers’ approaches to the topic are in a state of flux.
“Firms are evolving from a defensive data posture — focused on compliance with post-global financial crisis regulations like MiFID II and Dodd-Frank — towards an offensive strategy, seeking to monetise data assets,” he says. “This transition brings new challenges around data quality, governance, and scalability, as the stakes for both compliance and business intelligence rise.”
Fellow panellist Catherine Sutcliffe, regulatory affairs director at DSB, says key challenges face compliance teams.
“With the growing demand for better quality and more granular data, standardisation and harmonisation are essential to enable consistent data interpretation and validation,” Sutcliffe tells Data Management Insight.
Closing out the formal business of the day will be Bardmesser, who will hear from representatives of global banks and data management providers on the most effective approaches to selecting the right technologies to organise, integrate and structure data to power up business with data-driven decision making.
With AI being the thread that links the day’s presentations, it is fitting that the opportunities offered by the technology will form the core of this final discussion.
“In today’s data-driven world, the journey to tackle data silos and create a comprehensive view of the data landscape is crucial,” one of the panellists, Rimes head of AI product Theo Bell, tells Data Management Insight. “High-quality data is the foundation for AI, but equally important is having a robust data model. This ensures that businesses can leverage their data to make informed and repeatable decisions efficiently.
“Join us as we explore how new tools and techniques are unifying disparate data sources and the best practices for implementing data observability to build a strong foundation for AI and data management.”
- A-Team Group’s 14 annual Data Management Summit New York City will be held on 26 Click here to register or sign up for attendance below.
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