Crafting a Lean and Effective Data Governance Strategy

Ghada Richani is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in data and technology strategy and project and program management. Currently serving as the Managing Director of Data and Technology Strategy and the Project Management Office at the Risk organization within Bank of America, Ghada plays a crucial role in implementing the organization's consumer data strategy. This involves aligning it with broader enterprise goals to enhance operational efficiency and risk management. Leading a team of experts, she oversees consumer product data and model development initiatives.

Ghada is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She actively contributes to initiatives like the Employee Diversity and Inclusion Council, focusing on fostering inclusive environments by leading conversations on unconscious bias. Ghada also leads a Women Power of 10 group, encouraging networking and connectivity among women across various sectors.

In her personal life, Ghada resides in Southern California with her family. During her leisure time, she enjoys outdoor activities, including hiking trips, camping, and geocaching.

Saurabh is a seasoned technology executive and is currently Chief Strategy & Revenue Officer at The Modern Data Company, formerly leading the Data Strategy & Governance practice at Thoughtworks. With over 25 years of experience in tech, data and strategy, he has led many strategy and modernization initiatives across industries and disciplines. Through his career, he has worked with various Internation Organizations and NGOs, Public sector and Private sector organizations. Before joining Thoughtworks he was the CDO/Director for Washington DC Gov., where he developed the digital/data modernization strategy for education data. Prior to DCGov he played leadership and strategic roles at organizations including IMF and World Bank where he was responsible for their Data strategy and led the OpenData initiatives. He has also closely worked with African Development Bank, OECD, EuroStat, ECB, UN and FAO as a part of inter-organization working groups on data and development goals. As a part of the taskforce for international data cooperation under the G20 Data Gaps initiative, he chaired the technical working group on data standards and exchange. He also played an advisor role to the African Development Bank on their data democratization efforts under the Africa Information Highway. Saurabh has also been a party of the startup community and advises/mentors several startup/founders. People are the key to sustain any large impactful change and he spends a lot of time focusing on team development, collaboration and opportunities to ensure the change is more sustainable. He lives with his wife, teenage daughter and dog in the DC metropolitan area and love traveling as a family and spend time exploring.