Data Leaders Who's Who: Craig Napier

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Craig Napier

Chief Data Officer, University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Craig Napier is the Chief Data Officer at the University of Technology Sydney and is developing and collaboratively advancing a whole-of-institution approach to using data to drive evidence-based decisions. Craig has in excess of 20 years’ experience in data intensive environments both domestically and internationally and 15 years as a data and analytics executive in the higher education sector, and is well known for his collaborative approach. Craig was recognised by the Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia (IAPA) as among the Top 3 Analytics Leaders in Australia in 2020.

During this interview, Craig shares a wealth of information in answering the following questions:

How do you devise a data strategy? What sets apart the good from the bad?

A data strategy, like any strategy, is about how you move from where you are to where you want to be. Having developed a number of data strategies it is critically important to understand the environment in which you operate.

Having recently completed the UTS data strategy, I have found that one of the most important aspects is about understanding your current state and taking the time to talk to a variety of stakeholders across all parts of the business to uncover the challenges, opportunities and also to recognise what is working well.

I firmly believe that those who will have an ownership in its execution often are the best ones to develop a strategy. Otherwise, there is a risk that a strategy becomes an artefact that is only spoken about for what it did not deliver. The increasing importance of data requires the strategy to be a living, breathing document, a roadmap that guides the direction for your organisation and is responsive and adaptive to the changing environment. All without losing sight of where you need to be.

There is often a tendency when commencing a data strategy to be too aspirational, and to seek to invest in technology or major transformations without the foundational capabilities to execute and scale. This inevitably leads to falling painfully short of those aspirations.

Whilst there are many challenges, applicable across all industries, your areas of focus may be very different. At UTS our focus was on building capability within the team, ensuring we had the technology that would support the services required by the business and establishing and structuring a team designed to efficiently deliver the new and existing services.

Craig also shared his thoughts on:

• What are the essential qualities of a data leader?

• What work are you most proud of? (We’d love to hear about your use cases!)

• What have you found to be the key ingredients to making data analytics capability create an impact on business outcomes?

• How do you build an effective analytics organisation?

• What are some of the lessons learned you’ve encountered when getting AI products into production? Operationalising AI. How do you deliver AI at scale and get more models into production?

• What new technology and innovations do you see as being the most critical to the industry over the next 18 months?

• How do you ensure you are leveraging new tech for innovation, rather than tech for tech’s sake?

• How do you determine which projects to use AI for and how do you prioritise your projects?

• What legacy do you hope to leave behind you at your organisation?

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