metamorworks - stock.adobe.com
Data governance responsibilities now belong in the C-suite
To improve business outcomes, leadership must move beyond IT controls and adopt a playbook that treats data as a shared enterprise asset with clear roles and policies.
Technology-led data governance programs are no longer viable. To improve data quality, security, management and stewardship, the entire C-suite must get involved.
Many organizations still run data governance through IT, going system by system. In early 2024, executives at professional services firm BDO USA recognized that a holistic, business-led approach to data governance was more effective and created a 45-member data governance team of data stewards, business owners and data trustees. According to Mike Gerhard, the chief data and AI officer at BDO, these are executives who provide guidance to achieve company objectives.
"We knew we needed data to do a lot of what we wanted to do and to innovate, so we saw the need to transform [the governance program]. We had to change our mindset to see and govern data as a shared commodity," Gerhard said. "Governance today is a team collaboration to make sure we're doing the right thing for the firm and for our clients."
To stay competitive, the C-suite must drive data governance and create a culture of shared responsibility in which each function works toward measurable results.
'Every executive is a data leader'
The 2026 Executive Benchmark Survey from technology company Workiva found that 79% of business leaders are prioritizing data automation and governance. Moreover, 96% of survey respondents said the CFO, CIO and CSO must unite around a shared data governance strategy, and 96% said better access to shared data improves the likelihood of achieving optimal business outcomes.
The results confirm what Gerhard and others are seeing: in a data-driven economy, data's strategic value elevates it to a critical asset that demands attention across the C-suite.
"We're now in a world where every executive is a data leader," said Scott Beale, CEO of ISC2, a nonprofit member organization for cybersecurity professionals. "We have to ensure there is shared ownership of data governance and that everyone is aligned on risk, strategic goals and ethics."
Beale added that this process is always evolving and improving.
"Even organizations that are doing it well could do it better," he said.
How to foster shared responsibility
Creating an enterprise culture of shared governance within the C-suite isn't easy, experts said. However, organizations can overcome this challenge when the board and the CEO establish the practices and policies that distribute accountability across the leadership team.
"It starts with selling a strategy and making sure that strategy is clear," Jon France, CISO of ISC2, said. "It comes with that strategy spark at the top."
Beale said chief executives and boards are already doing that work. Leadership is working to mature their data governance programs because it's essential for automation, analytics and AI.
Similarly, Gerhard noted that BDO's business-led collaborative approach provided the firm with more reliable data, which in turn drives more automation and AI efforts. That result has put a brighter spotlight on data governance across the enterprise.
"Every CEO now recognizes there is no separating the data strategy and business strategy," Beale said. "They're making sure data is governed in a way that allows the organization to be as competitive as possible and protects trust and enterprise value. They recognize that means data can't live in silos."
Beale said that it starts with top enterprise leaders establishing clear rules and a strategy for the C-suite to work together. Leadership must set expectations and determine KPIs so each team member is accountable for performance.
The executives might also want to establish a steering committee to guide the organization, help identify gaps in data ownership and responsibility, and foster an enterprise-wide data governance mindset, said Tom Levi, director, field CISO and cyber strategy at cyber exposure management company CYE. He also advises executives to work through governance scenarios in tabletop exercises to practice a collaborative approach.
Gerhard said BDO built its data governance program on the belief that the entire firm owns the data, not any single department. While the firm owns the data, business leaders are accountable for data attributes within their functions, reinforcing a culture of shared responsibility.
Along these lines, experts said it's important to note that shared data governance responsibility doesn't make the chief data officer unnecessary. They stressed that the CDO still oversees data governance even with a team approach.
France compared a mature data governance program to financial governance. For example, the CFO is responsible for the organization's financial health, strategy and risk management, even though all executives must be good financial stewards. The same is true for CDOs with data governance.
Challenges to creating shared responsibility
Leadership might find that creating this culture is easier on paper than in practice. The following are common challenges that leadership might encounter:
- Silos. Sometimes technical or business structures create data silos, which hinder the ability to share responsibility and accountability across the C-suite, Gerhard said. In such cases, organizations might need to restructure these things to facilitate change.
- Personalities and motivations. In other cases, egos and individual priorities can hinder shared responsibility efforts. "Each C-level person brings in their own incentives, priorities and perspectives," Levi said.
- Data hoarding. Board members and executives might not recognize the value of a collaborative governance approach. France said some executives or managers might hoard data. Those business leaders might fear that sharing could affect data use and their ability to succeed in their business objectives.
- Resistance to change. And in still other cases, an unwillingness to change is a major obstacle. "There may be an executive who has been around for years, and they want to continue to do things their way," Levi said. "Those cultural elements can inhibit the organization from catching up with the market."
Mary K. Pratt is an award-winning freelance journalist with a focus on covering enterprise IT and cybersecurity management.
