Chief data officers believe they'll be a 'pivotal' force in in the C-suite within five years

""While over half of CDOs currently feel less influential than other C-suite leaders, there's a powerful shift on the horizon," said Andy Whitton, data, privacy and analytics partner at Deloitte."

""Organizations are clearly doubling down on data, rapidly increasing their data maturity and literacy to gain crucial competitive advantage," said Whitton."

""This is positioning the CDO role as a pivotal and increasingly influential force across the C-suite, helping to drive sustained growth.""

Chief data officers often report less influence than many other C-suite executives, but a substantial share expect parity by the end of the decade. An increasing proportion of CDOs now report to CIOs or COOs, rising from 39% to 57%. Nearly two-thirds anticipate team growth next year, with average increases around 27%. Budget and data spend are rising, with 43% seeing budget boosts and 56% reporting higher data investment. Half of CDOs carry accountability for AI or generative AI, and roughly three-quarters have AI deployments or experiments underway. Data governance and AI are top priorities, varying by sector.

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