Data and Information Management

Suppose you have decided to interview for a newly created position in your company (gov., non-profit, law firm, etc. or you can choose a company).

The position is Chief Data Officer. You feel that you have the vision and expertise to lead this effort in the industry that you know well.

In preparing for this interview comment on your response to the following questions:

First - set the stage - what company, size, some background on the company, etc.)

1. Why do you believe you would be the best candidate for this position?

2. Describe your "big vision" picture for this role and the high level strategy.

3. Why do you think it is important for the company to move in this direction?

4. Where do you see the strengths and weaknesses now in terms of data and information management? Do you see information as our most important asset?

5. How will you integrate your efforts with the CIO and Chief Digital Officer (if there is one)?

6. Security is a big concern for data management. How will you address the security issues?

7. What are the major obstacles in terms of buy-in for the organization, employees, and C-level executives? How will you address "change management"?

8. Describe the first areas you will focus on - where do you see the low hanging fruit and early wins? What are the critical areas to address early on?

9. Based on where the company stands today (in your opinion) where will we (the company) be in five years from a data / information management perspective under your leadership?

10. Who will you need to hire in the initial phase? Why and explain.

11. What is Hadoop? How does that fit in the scheme of things?

12. What question do you wish you had been asked in this interview?