Today’s business intelligence (BI) and data leaders are experiencing a seismic shift in their roles. As data leaders are no longer behind the scenes at the back of the enterprise looking at data infrastructure or reporting, they are now at the forefront of implementing enterprise-wide data strategy and innovation strategy with AI-led value, essentially tying technical teams to real business outcomes. Globally the impetus on data focused leadership has never been greater, 98% of organisations are increasing their investments in data and AI, but there is also immense pressure to be able to drive value. 84% of enterprises have appointed a Chief Data or Analytics Officer responsible to create and implement this agenda, yet less than half consider their CDOs to have been “very successful” to this point. This represents one of the challenges that data leaders face: as data leaders begin to rise strategically, they must prove their worth with speed, otherwise their positions will be short-lived, with over 53% of CDOs around the world serving less than 3 years. Tomorrow’s BI & Data leader will be the intersection of technical understanding, business intelligence, and leverage of a leadership influence for them to survive and thrive in this rapidly changing landscape.

At the same time, whether you live in Europe, the USA, Africa, or Asia, disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, automation and generative AI are restructuring the competitive landscape. Almost every business in the world is embracing these technologies; over 77% are using AI or using AI in some capacity – Africa is certainly following suit. African organisations are catching up fast: globally over 40% of AI organisations have started to deploy AI solutions (including advanced analytics and even generative AI); and over 85% should be investing in AI by 2029. While African firms are behind the best of the global leaders in frontier applications (generative AI) (27% of African companies are using generative AI vs ~32% globally), this gap is closing very fast.

Ultimately, the next-gen BI & Data leader must evolve into a strategic business partner who can navigate fast-moving technology trends while keeping the organisations vision in focus. This talk will blend global trends with an African context, highlighting how Africa data leaders are innovating despite resource constraints and how they can leverage global best practices to leapfrog ahead.