# Charles Holive — full profile
Source: https://www.charlesholive.com · Updated: 2026-10-05 · Structured data: https://www.charlesholive.com/profile.json

## Summary
Charles Holive is Chief AI Officer at BNP Paribas Corporate & Institutional Banking. Previously SVP, AI Solutions & Platforms at PepsiCo and Managing Director, Global Head of Applied AI/ML at JP Morgan CIB, he has spent 20+ years in data, analytics and AI, turning them into P&L impact.

## Biography
Charles Holive is Chief AI Officer at BNP Paribas Corporate & Institutional Banking, where he leads BNP Paribas CIB’s global AI strategy — embedding AI as a sustainable engine of value creation, operational excellence, and competitive advantage. He is a member of the CIB Business Forum, reporting to Olivier Osty, Deputy COO of BNP Paribas and CEO of CIB.
Charles brings over two decades of leadership in data, analytics, and AI. As SVP, AI Solutions & Platforms at PepsiCo (2024–2026), he led PepsiCo’s enterprise agentic and GenAI strategy, solutions and platforms ($92B company, 200+ countries). He built the agentic AI “Brains” platform, with a nine-figure EBITDA pipeline and thousands of FTE-equivalent hours returned, and forged strategic partnerships with Microsoft, AWS, Google Cloud, NVIDIA, ServiceNow, Salesforce, SAP, OpenAI, and Anthropic. Earlier, as Managing Director and Global Head of Applied AI/ML, GenAI & Digital Tools Services at JP Morgan Corporate & Investment Bank (2021–2024), he led 250+ data scientists, engineers and product leaders and delivered a 7× increase in impact, to $150M+ EBIT uplift plus $60M+ annualized cost savings.
Before that, Charles was Chief Monetization Strategist & MD at Sisense (2018–2021). He spent 2003–2018 at GE Healthcare, ending as GM & VP, Analytics & AI, where he created the “Applied Intelligence” brand. He is also Founder & CEO of stealth ventures in AI multi-agent systems and music/tech. He holds a Diplôme d’Ingénieur (Master’s in Engineering & Business) from École Centrale de Lille.
Charles writes and speaks regularly on agentic AI, responsible adoption, and what it takes to move enterprise AI from experimentation to industrial-scale execution.

## Perspective
Charles advocates for AI as a sustainable engine of value creation, fully embedded in the operating model rather than confined to labs and POCs. He argues the 2026 inflection point for institutional AI is the shift from experimentation to industrialized, P&L-impacting agentic systems with rigorous governance and model risk management.

## Career
- 2026 – present — Chief AI Officer, BNP Paribas CIB
- 2024 – 2026 — SVP, AI Solutions & Platforms, PepsiCo
- 2021 – 2024 — Managing Director, Global Head of Applied AI/ML, GenAI & Digital Tools Services, JP Morgan CIB
- 2018 – 2021 — Chief Monetization Strategist & MD, Sisense
- 2003 – 2018 — GM & VP, Analytics & AI (created the “Applied Intelligence” brand), GE Healthcare
- Founder & CEO, Stealth ventures in AI multi-agent systems and music/tech

## Education & nationality
École Centrale de Lille, Diplôme d’Ingénieur (Master’s in Engineering & Business)
Nationality: French-American

## Recognition
- Named to Constellation Research’s 2026–2027 AI150 — top 150 global executives shaping the future of AI. Inducted September 24, 2026 at the Harvard Club, NYC. (https://www.constellationr.com/artificial-intelligence-150-2026-2027)

## Expertise
- Enterprise AI strategy
- Agentic AI
- Generative AI
- AI in financial services & regulated industries
- AI governance, model risk & responsible adoption
- AI operating models for global banks
- Data monetization
- Hyperscaler & frontier-model partnerships

## Frequently asked
### Who is Charles Holive?
Charles Holive is Chief AI Officer at BNP Paribas Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB), based in New York and appointed in 2026. He is a member of the CIB Business Forum, reporting to Olivier Osty, Deputy COO of BNP Paribas and CEO of CIB. He was previously SVP, AI Solutions & Platforms at PepsiCo (2024–2026) and Managing Director, Global Head of Applied AI/ML, GenAI & Digital Tools Services at JP Morgan Corporate & Investment Bank (2021–2024).

### What does Charles Holive do at BNP Paribas?
As Chief AI Officer of BNP Paribas CIB, he leads BNP Paribas CIB’s global AI strategy — embedding AI as a sustainable engine of value creation, operational excellence, and competitive advantage across global markets, global banking, securities services, coverage, IT and Operations.

### What did Charles Holive do at PepsiCo?
As SVP, AI Solutions & Platforms (2024–2026), he led PepsiCo’s enterprise agentic and GenAI strategy, solutions and platforms ($92B company, 200+ countries). He built the agentic AI “Brains” platform, with a nine-figure EBITDA pipeline and thousands of FTE-equivalent hours returned, and built strategic partnerships with Microsoft, AWS, Google Cloud, NVIDIA, ServiceNow, Salesforce, SAP, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

### What did Charles Holive do at JP Morgan?
From 2021 to 2024 he was Managing Director, Global Head of Applied AI/ML, GenAI & Digital Tools Services at JP Morgan Corporate & Investment Bank. He led 250+ data scientists, engineers and product leaders and delivered a 7× increase in impact, to $150M+ EBIT uplift plus $60M+ annualized cost savings.

### What is Charles Holive’s view on agentic AI in financial services?
He argues the 2026 inflection point for institutional AI is the shift from experimentation to industrialized, P&L-impacting agentic systems with rigorous governance and model risk management. He advocates for AI as a sustainable engine of value creation fully embedded in the operating model rather than confined to labs and proofs of concept.

### What is Charles Holive’s view on token-maxxing?
He calls token-maxxing a “vanity metric.” AI success should be measured by outcomes — revenue, productivity and customer impact — rather than tokens consumed. His teams set explicit revenue or productivity assumptions per AI project and track KPIs monthly or quarterly; token consumption is monitored to control cost, alongside a “value-per-token” lens that matches model capability to task complexity (Business Insider, June 2026; BNP Paribas CIB, July 2026).

### What is Charles Holive’s six-pillar framework for agentic AI?
A methodology for moving from isolated pilots to enterprise-scale agentic workflows in a regulated organisation: (1) business-led strategy with flagship programs and committed targets, (2) technology orchestration — agent registries and observability, (3) data as a curated product with lineage, (4) automated governance — policy engines with an auditable trail for every AI decision, (5) people and culture, and (6) FinOps and value-per-token economics.

### What is the BNP Paribas and Google Cloud partnership?
Announced in September 2026, a five-year partnership giving BNP Paribas access to Google Cloud infrastructure, Gemini models and Gemini Enterprise. In CIB it supports AI agents for targeted workflows such as corporate credit memo preparation, and the integration of Gemini into LLM@CIB, the generative AI assistant used by more than 65,000 employees. Charles Holive: “Our approach to AI starts with the business need.”

### What awards or recognition has Charles Holive received?
He was named to Constellation Research’s 2026–2027 AI150, which recognises the top 150 global executives shaping the future of AI, selected through peer nominations and industry recommendations. He was inducted on September 24, 2026 at the Harvard Club, NYC (constellationr.com/artificial-intelligence-150-2026-2027).

### What are Charles Holive’s areas of expertise?
Enterprise AI strategy; agentic and generative AI; AI in financial services and regulated industries; AI governance, model risk, and responsible adoption; AI operating models for global banks; data monetization; and partnerships with hyperscalers and frontier-model providers.

### Where has Charles Holive spoken recently?
On May 28, 2026 he gave a keynote at Mistral AI’s AI Now Summit in Paris (“Agentic AI for large organisations: beyond token-maxxing”), spoke on the panel “The Institutional AI Shift: Capital, Strategy, and Execution” at the Milken Institute Global Conference (May 2026), and opened the 9th BNP Paribas AI Summer School (August 2026) for 10,000+ colleagues.

### What is Charles Holive’s background and education?
He spent 2003–2018 at GE Healthcare, ending as GM & VP, Analytics & AI, where he created the “Applied Intelligence” brand. He was then Chief Monetization Strategist & MD at Sisense (2018–2021) before JP Morgan. He holds a Diplôme d’Ingénieur (Master’s in Engineering & Business) from École Centrale de Lille, is French-American, and speaks English and French.

### How can I contact Charles Holive for speaking or media?
Email charles@charlesholive.com or connect on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/charlesholive. Approved bios and images are at charlesholive.com/press.

## Press coverage
- Sep 2026 · BNP Paribas (press release): BNP Paribas and Google Cloud announce new partnership on agentic AI and cloud innovation (https://group.bnpparibas/en/press-release/bnp-paribas-and-google-cloud-announce-new-partnership-on-agentic-ai-and-cloud-innovation)
- Jun 2026 · Constellation Research: Named to Constellation Research's 2026–2027 AI150 (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bnpparibascorporateandinstitutionalbanking_charles-holive-chief-ai-officer-at-bnp-paribas-activity-7470390850821447680-5M7A)
- Jun 2026 · Business Insider: An AI chief for one of the world's largest banks says tokenmaxxing is a 'vanity metric' (https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-chief-bnp-paribas-tokenmaxxing-vanity-metric-2026-6)

## Speaking
### BNP Paribas AI Summer School — 9th edition: Opening the 9th BNP Paribas AI Summer School
August 2026 · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/bnp-paribas-ai-summer-school-2026
Opened the 9th edition of BNP Paribas' AI Summer School alongside Olivier Osty (Deputy COO of BNP Paribas and CEO of CIB) and Group CDO Hugues Even, with 10,000+ colleagues across the Group joining over two days. The 2026 edition was dedicated to agentic AI, with speakers from BCG, Mistral AI, Anthropic, Cohere, H Company and others.

> "Success in the agentic era won't go to those who adopt the technology fastest. It will belong to those who lead a genuine business transformation, scaling the re-architecting of our business processes, responsibly and with ambition."

### Mistral AI Now Summit: Agentic AI for large organisations: beyond token-maxxing
May 28, 2026 · Paris, France · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/mistral-ai-now-summit-2026
Keynote at Mistral AI's AI Now Summit in Paris, challenging the industry's obsession with "token-maxxing" and presenting a six-pillar framework for scaling agentic AI in large, regulated organisations: business-led strategy, technology orchestration, data as a product, automated governance, people and culture, and FinOps / value-per-token.

The full video and a written summary are published by BNP Paribas CIB. Covered by Business Insider (https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-chief-bnp-paribas-tokenmaxxing-vanity-metric-2026-6).

### Milken Institute Global Conference 2026: The Institutional AI Shift: Capital, Strategy, and Execution
May 3–6, 2026 (Milken Institute Global Conference; exact panel day unconfirmed) · Beverly Hills, CA · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/milken-2026
Featured speaker at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2026 on the panel “The Institutional AI Shift: Capital, Strategy, and Execution.”

The panel explored how AI is no longer just a productivity tool but is becoming a structural driver of enterprise value, at the intersection of technology and industry transformation.

### Webinar - Data Monetization Heroes - 10.20
Oct 29, 2020, 10:00 AM EDT · On-Demand Sisense Webinar · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/webinar-data-monetization-heroes-10-20
Thu, Oct 29 |

On-Demand Sisense Webinar

How Measuremen Improves Work-Life Balance and Drives Revenue With Data

featuring Vincent le Noble - Founder & CEO @ Measurement

### On-Demand - Data Monetization Heroes - 09.20
On-Demand · On-Demand Sisense Webinar · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/on-demand-data-monetization-heroes-09-20
On-Demand |

On-Demand Sisense Webinar

Driving Revenue from Data in the Utilities Industry

featuring Ron Howard @ DNV GL

Buy Tickets

## Time & Location

On-Demand

On-Demand Sisense Webinar

### On-Demand - Data Monetization Heroes - 08.20
On-Demand · On-Demand Sisense Webinar · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/on-demand-data-monetization-heroes-08-20
On-Demand |

On-Demand Sisense Webinar

How Data is Helping to Modernize Healthcare: Driving Revenue from Existing Data Assets

featuring Sumit Mahendru @ SAVI Group Inc.

Buy Tickets

## Time & Location

On-Demand

On-Demand Sisense Webinar

### Daily Video Series
Daily 2 min Video at 10am PST · Subscribe to the data monetization channel · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/daily-video-series
Daily 2 min Video at 10am PST |

Subscribe to the data monetization channel

Buy Tickets

## Time & Location

Daily 2 min Video at 10am PST

Subscribe to the data monetization channel

## Tickets

Ticket type

### The Analytics Apps Economy

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### Talking at Engage: Enterworks Annual User Conference
Oct 15, 2019, 11:00 AM · the Curtis Denver - a DoubleTree by Hilt, 1405 Curtis Street, Denver, CO 80202, USA · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/talking-at-engage-enterworks-annual-user-conference
enterworks.com (https://www.enterworks.com/engage/agenda/) Show More

### Webinar: Elevating the Chief Data Officer
Oct 03, 2019, 10:00 AM PDT · Online, https://www.sisense.com/webinars/elevating-the-chief-data-officer/ · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/webinar-elevating-the-chief-data-officer
sisense.com (https://www.sisense.com/webinars/elevating-the-chief-data-officer/) Show More

### Webinar: Winning with Analytics
Sep 24, 2019, 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM · http://bit.ly/2LFZA13 · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/webinar-winning-with-analytics
Tue, Sep 24 |

bit.ly (http://bit.ly/2LFZA13)

Webinar on 24th September from 11:00 to 11:45 CEST with Christopher Hols, Senior Consultant, Expert Inflight Services & Connectivity for Deutsche Telekom; Carson Booth, CEO of Snapshot and Charles Holive, Managing Director, Strategy Consulting for Sisense.

### HBMA 2019
Sep 12, 2019, 12:00 PM – Sep 14, 2019, 4:00 PM · Planet Holliwood, Las Vegas, NV · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/hbma-2019
hbma.org (https://www.hbma.org/content/education/meeting-calendar/hbma2019-schedule-at-a-glance/hbma-2019-session-details#Driving%20Business)

Driving Business Innovation Through Data, Analytics, and AI

Charles Holive, Managing Director of Strategy Consulting, Sisense

Session Description

Analytics and AI offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to re-invent every industry by shifting core businesses from selling product/feature/services into outcomes and value driven partnerships. Dormant data in many industries like Healthcare are only steps away from becoming true monetized assets. This session will discuss successful use cases of launching multi-million dollar analytics businesses, ways to drive innovation at scale across your organization, and development of BI to AI to drive incremental value to your customers.

Learning Objectives – By the end of this session, attendees will be able to: Show More

### Agility First: A Key Driver for Digital Transformation
Aug 22, 2019, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM · Online DM Radio, https://dmradio.dataversity.net/agility-first-a-key-driver-for-digital-transformation/ · https://www.charlesholive.com/event-info/agility-first-a-key-driver-for-digital-transformation
dmradio.dataversity.net (https://dmradio.dataversity.net/agility-first-a-key-driver-for-digital-transformation/) Show More

## Writing
### Agentic AI for large organisations: beyond token-maxxing
Published July 24, 2026 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/agentic-ai-for-large-organisations-beyond-token-maxxing · original: https://cib.bnpparibas/agentic-ai-for-large-organisations-beyond-token-maxxing/
Published by BNP Paribas CIB, based on Charles's keynote at the Mistral AI Now Summit in Paris. Includes the full video of the presentation.

**Key ideas**

- **Beyond token-maxxing.** Success with AI is measured by business outcomes — revenue, productivity, customer impact — not by the volume of tokens consumed.
- **From Generative to Agentic AI.** Generative AI amplifies individual tasks; agentic AI "rewires" end-to-end workflows through autonomous agents that reason, act and collaborate under human supervision.
- **Trust is the differentiator.** With the same foundation models available to everyone, advantage comes from grounding agents in governed, proprietary data products and expert-designed workflows.
- **A six-pillar framework** for moving from pilots to enterprise scale: business-led strategy, technology orchestration, data as a product, automated governance, people and culture, and FinOps with a "value-per-token" lens.

> "If what got us here won't get us there, we must rewire the ecosystem from the ground up."

> "For our corporate and institutional clients, the transition to agentic AI is a structural evolution of their operating models. It requires strategic investment and a long-term view."

### Navigating the Evolution and Impact of Generative AI: Opportunities, Challenges, and Ethical Considerations
Published November 5, 2025 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/navigating-the-evolution-and-impact-of-generative-ai-opportunities-challenges-and-ethical-conside · original: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/navigating-generative-ai-evolution-pragmatic-charles-holive-d2wbe/
In my latest LinkedIn article, I explore the complex landscape of generative AI, examining its evolution and practical strategies for navigating this rapidly evolving field. The article offers a thorough overview of significant developments in generative AI technologies and their impact on various industries. By analyzing the historical context and current advancements, I aim to highlight both the opportunities and challenges associated with integrating these technologies into everyday applications.

## Key Topics Covered

Historical Context: An overview of the evolution of generative AI.

Current Advancements: Recent developments in generative AI technologies.

Opportunities and Challenges: Insights into the integration of these technologies.

Ethical Considerations: The importance of responsible AI usage.

Case Studies: Examples of successful implementations in real-world scenarios.

Additionally, I address the ethical considerations and underscore the importance of responsible AI usage, emphasizing the necessity for guidelines and frameworks to ensure effective and safe utilization. The article includes case studies that demonstrate successful implementations of generative AI in real-world scenarios, illustrating how businesses have used these tools to enhance creativity, streamline processes, and drive innovation.

## Call to Action

For a comprehensive understanding of these topics and to explore the practical strategies I propose for engaging with generative AI, I invite you to read the full article at the following link: linkedin.com (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/navigating-generative-ai-evolution-pragmatic-charles-holive-d2wbe/) . This piece aims not only to inform but also to inspire action and thoughtful consideration of the future of generative AI in our professional environments.

### How to Build an Outcomes-Focused Data Strategy
Published October 19, 2020 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/how-to-build-an-outcomes-focused-data-strategy · original: https://www.sisense.com/blog/how-to-build-an-outcomes-focused-data-strategy/
The first waves of digital transformation started decades ago and the ripples of this trend continue to be felt to this day. However, what exactly a digital transformation looks like varies widely from company to company. One common theme among many transformations, however, is trying to make better use of data, whether to..

read full article at: sisense.com (https://www.sisense.com/blog/how-to-build-an-outcomes-focused-data-strategy/)

### Unlocking Revenue Streams With BI And Analytics
Published October 19, 2020 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/unlocking-revenue-streams-with-bi-and-analytics · original: https://aithority.com/natural-language/unlocking-revenue-streams-with-bi-and-analytics/
In the current business environment, it’s increasingly vital to harness the power of data to develop actionable insights and boost revenue streams. Therefore, BI and analytics teams are increasingly important to empower everyone to explore data and use analytic apps to take data-driven actions, whatever their role...

see full article @ aithority.com (https://aithority.com/natural-language/unlocking-revenue-streams-with-bi-and-analytics/)

### Big Data, Better Healthcare (AiTHORITY)
Published April 24, 2020 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/big-data-better-healthcare-aithority · original: https://www.aithority.com/guest-authors/big-data-better-healthcare/
Honored to be published in AiTHORITY

aithority.com (https://www.aithority.com/guest-authors/big-data-better-healthcare/)

### The Goliath strategy: Enterprise vs. Startups on the analytics app economy
Published March 6, 2020 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/the-goliath-strategy-enterprise-vs-startups-on-the-analytics-app-economy
article recently published in medcitynews.com

The digital revolution has forever shifted the balance of power in the world of business innovation. Large enterprises were once viewed as the most innovative companies in the world, but in recent decades, startups have developed a reputation for their ability to out-maneuver established companies. This is particularly..

Read more:

medcitynews.com (https://medcitynews.com/2020/02/the-goliath-strategy-how-healthcare-enterprises-can-compete-with-startup-innovation/)

### Data Monetization Webinars - The rise of the CDO
Published December 16, 2019 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/the-rise-of-the-cdo-3-parts-webinar · original: https://www.sisense.com/webinars/data-monetization-creating-opportunity-from-your-data/
In 2019, I delivered a 3 part webinar on how to setup a CDO organization, build a solid data strategy, and convert data into a financial asset by winning the analytics app economy.

You can listen to them for free and on-demand:

#1 Elevating the Chief Data Officer and the Enterprise Center of Excellence

#2 How to Develop Your Enterprise Data Strategy

#3 Data Monetization

### Sisense at AWS re:Invent — Helping Enterprises Win in the Analytic Apps Economy
Published November 18, 2019 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/sisense-at-aws-re-invent-helping-enterprises-win-in-the-analytic-apps-economy · original: https://www.sisense.com/blog/sisense-at-aws-reinvent-win-analytic-apps-economy/
Blog on sisense.com here I review how Enterprise have a solid competitive advantage on startups when it comes to innovation. It's just a matter of going after it leveraging the right infrastructure to lower the cost to try, ie. Sisense + AWS

MEET US

#Sisense #AWS

### Invisible Analytics and Embedded Insights
Published October 11, 2019 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/invisible-analytics-and-embedded-insights · original: https://martechseries.com/mts-insights/guest-authors/future-business-intelligence-invisible-analytics-embedded-insights/
MarTechSeries recently published my article on Invisible analytics and embedded insights.

Value is created when a good decision is taken. That means insights should be provided at point of decision.

martechseries.com (https://martechseries.com/mts-insights/guest-authors/future-business-intelligence-invisible-analytics-embedded-insights/)

### The Analytics and AI Business Revolution
Published September 17, 2019 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/the-analytics-and-ai-business-revolution · original: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/analytics-ai-business-revolution-charles-holive/
Posted on linkedin: linkedin.com (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/analytics-ai-business-revolution-charles-holive/)

### Taking Smarter Risks to Monetize Your Data
Published September 5, 2019 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/taking-smarter-risks-to-monetize-your-data · original: https://www.sisense.com/blog/taking-smarter-risks-to-monetize-your-data/
Published on the Sisense Blog - recommended steps to innovate at scale:

Read here: sisense.com (https://www.sisense.com/blog/taking-smarter-risks-to-monetize-your-data/)

### Agility First: A Key for Digital Transformation.
Published August 28, 2019 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/agility-first-a-key-for-digital-transformation
Charles participted in this DM Radio podcast with CEO of The Bloor Group Eric Kavanagh.

Great conversations about the importance of empowering CDOs and building a data-driven business. (Charles comes on around the 10:45 mark, and again as part of a group conversation around 36:15) dmradio.dataversity.net (https://dmradio.dataversity.net/agility-first-a-key-driver-for-digital-transformation/)

### Your CDO must be on your CEO succession plan
Published August 20, 2019 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/your-cdo-must-be-on-your-ceo-succession-plan · original: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-cdo-must-ceo-succession-plan-charles-holive
Posted on LinkedIn: linkedin.com (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-cdo-must-ceo-succession-plan-charles-holive)

Let me know what you think!

### Closer Than You Think: Data Strategies Across Your Company
Published July 1, 2019 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/closer-than-you-think-data-strategies-across-your-company
Blog and podcast recorded with Jack Cieslak on July 1, 2019

sisense.com (https://www.sisense.com/blog/closer-than-you-think-data-strategies-across-your-company/)

### CDOs Need To Change Their Firms, Then Change Jobs (*)
Published March 7, 2019 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/cutting-costs-maximizing-results · original: https://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/executive-insights-and-innovation/cdos-need-to-change-their-firms-then-change-jobs/a/d-id/1334102
If the chief data officer does their job right, they very quickly reach the point where they need to move up or out.

The best chief data officers (CDOs) shouldn’t keep their jobs for more than two or three years. And that’s not because they don’t add value to their organizations.

A CDO’s most important job is identifying opportunities to monetize data across an enterprise, and then activate them. The good ones start adding value to their organizations fairly quickly, and turn traditional cost centers into lucrative profit centers in the first 100 days of their tenure.

Do these data opportunities go away after two or three years? Of course not.

So, why does the CDO need to go away?

I give that non-scientifically determined timeframe because of the CDO’s second most important job: moving their companies towards a mindset of optimizing data-driven insights to add value with its clients, and also to make more money.

Once the CDO creates that mindset, and builds out the channels for actuating it, the firm itself should have embodied the approach well enough that the CDO is no longer required. It’s then that the talented CDO, after transforming their organization, should probably transform themselves to an employee of another company.

How Is A CDO Different?

Before we discuss what a CDO should do, let’s clarify what the role is - specifically, how it’s different from the two roles it’s most often mistaken for with non-technical businesspeople -- a CTO or a CIO.

The CDO is, or should be, the head of sales of the firm’s digital product, and its chief innovation officer. The CDO's customers are the firm’s customers.

The CTO has no customers; he or she is (or should be) a true technological visionary, looking two years ahead to see where the technology is going. The CDO, on the other hand, is not focused at the edge of the technology but, rather, the edge of customer demand for digital products.

The “customers” of the CIO are the internal users of data. Most CIO organizations are cost centers with the mission to drive operational efficiency, compliance and security within the company. Their success is measured by proper cost control, and operational excellence.

An argument can be made that strong CIOs may evolve into business leaders, but they would need to develop customer success, sales and marketing skills, something that, most of the time, is not in their DNA, but something core to the skillset of the CDO.

What Does the CDO Do?

In vertical focused businesses - say, manufacturing automobiles - the CDO essentially becomes a business unit separate from the others. If you’re selling into a horizontal - say, printers - then the CDO’s work is developing an overlay of monetizable insights based on usage of the product.

But what about a software business? In that case, the CDO is, or should be, the CEO.

The Critical Role of Analytics

Analytics is the platform that enables every company to activate and benefit quickly from a CDO. Indeed, they all manage some form of data, meaning they can all expand their focus into outcome selling by leveraging analytics and artificial intelligence towards incremental value for their customers and new revenue streams for their company.

Great CDO’s will create that analytics innovation platform and add a strong competitive advantage on their core market while expanding to adjacent markets.

As expectations grow from B2B customers (and also some B2C customers), to buy explicit ROI, it becomes crucial to add and augment every product and service with a solid set of analytics. This lets the customer monitor results and outcomes, as well as driving new behaviors using actionable insights.

Ultimately companies that leverage analytics, will outgrow and replace the ones that don’t.

The need for CDOs is becoming urgent. Companies are finally accepting the need for data and digital transformation of their businesses. According to Gartner, Digital initiatives topped the list of priorities for CIOs in 2019, with 33% of businesses now in the scaling or refining stages of digital maturity — up from 17% last year. (CIO Agenda 2019: Digital Maturity Reaches a Tipping Point).

Clearly, there’s a need for the CDO’s transformative skill-set. There was a need for it three years ago, also, but now, there’s a growing acknowledgement in business of both the necessity for change, and the lack of skills that exist in-house to tackle it.

Get Up or Get Out

Ultimately, once the CDO has achieved his mission to create a digital innovation platform that generates revenue and increases market shares, it is time for her to move on.

But, where does the CDO go?

The obvious choice is becoming the CEO of the newly digitally transformed company. That’s because they, more than anyone, understand the value proposition of each business unit, the outcomes generated to their customers, and the market dynamics. These former CDOs are also on the cutting edge of modernization, with a holistic horizontal perspective.

If they decide not to stay, that they move on, as those profiles are motivated by innovation, and should make it happen on a different industry or on a larger scale.

Either way, the role of the CDO is relatively short term. The need for the CDO, and the digital transformation that he or she brings, is now a permanent feature of business. Companies that embrace the CDO function can benefit greatly from new sources of revenues. Management at the ones that don’t need to get their houses in-order, or their resumes ready, as data becomes either an essential part of their product, or the product itself.

*Original posted on informationweek.com on 3/7/2019

#CDO #CEO #Analytics #Strategy

### DM Radio Interview
Published January 31, 2019 · https://www.charlesholive.com/post/dm-radio-interview · original: https://web.archive.org/web/20191115211614/https://dmradio.dataversity.net/data-fabric-deep-dive-a-foundation-for-the-digital-economy/
Had the pleasure to attend a panel on "data fabric", and you know me, couldn't help but to talk about "insights fabric", which is 1 step closer to creating value for your end-users.

dmradio.dataversity.net (via archive.org) (https://web.archive.org/web/20191115211614/https://dmradio.dataversity.net/data-fabric-deep-dive-a-foundation-for-the-digital-economy/)

Thank you Eric Kavanagh and DM radio for hosting me.

## Recent LinkedIn posts
- 2026-09-25 · Charles Holive: What a moment for BNP Paribas as we accelerate our transition into the #AgenticEra. A five-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud — integrating Gemini Enterprise into our LLM@CIB platform and equipping 65,000 professionals, within a robust and secure framework. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/charlesholive_bnp-paribas-and-google-cloud-announce-new-activity-7509249983431389184-nAj4)
- 2026-08-26 · Charles Holive: Opening the 9th edition of our AI Summer School with 10,000+ colleagues. Success in the agentic era won’t go to those who adopt the technology fastest — it will belong to those who lead a genuine business transformation. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/charlesholive_bnppaisummerschool-aiatbnpparibas-activity-7498312680852705280-cLpm)
- 2026-08-07 · BNP Paribas: How do we move beyond experimentation to create lasting business value? Charles Holive on the transition from Generative to Agentic AI, and why trust, governance and high-quality data are critical to scaling AI responsibly. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bnp-paribas_agentic-ai-for-large-organisations-beyond-activity-7491380166389325824-CxPK)
- 2026-07-30 · BNP Paribas CIB: Our Chief AI Officer Charles Holive on how agentic AI turns data into a strategic asset — watch his AI Now Summit keynote and a six-pillar framework for scalable transformation. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bnpparibascorporateandinstitutionalbanking_in-a-new-article-our-chief-ai-officer-charles-activity-7488514652994400256-SbaG)
- 2026-06-10 · BNP Paribas CIB: Charles Holive named in Constellation Research’s 2026–2027 AI150, recognising the top 150 global executives shaping the future of AI. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bnpparibascorporateandinstitutionalbanking_charles-holive-chief-ai-officer-at-bnp-paribas-activity-7470390850821447680-5M7A)
- 2026-05-11 · BNP Paribas CIB: At the Milken Institute Global Conference, Charles Holive joined the panel “The Institutional AI Shift: Capital, Strategy, and Execution” — AI as a structural driver of enterprise value. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bnpparibascorporateandinstitutionalbanking_miglobal-activity-7459637972473110528-RJ8O)

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