(US and Canada) Anthony Mazzarella, Director of Data Governance, Voya Financial, speaks with Michael C. Fillios, Founder & CEO, IT Ally, about his career in data management, data governance at Voya, and the need to be part of industry communities.

Mazzarella grew up around technology and computers. Technical knowledge and good soft skills allowed him to understand, visualize and articulate technology solutions. Hence, his technology profession happened naturally.

He started working in the financial services industry in analytics and eventually evolved to building a digital domain and moving to data governance. It was a great opportunity but also presented data government implementation challenges. Mazzarella describes his role as an enabler and a collaborator, pulling everything and everyone together and reducing barriers to entry for other parts of the organization.

Voya follows a federated approach, focusing a lot on supporting the data strategy. In its early cloud transition, the company focuses on metadata, the controls, and working with architecture to define the vision of having embedded governance and quality controls throughout the ecosystem.

Mazzarella maintains that while the organization is pro-regulation and puts customers first, it tries to protect their data.

Sharing his experience of being part of industry organizations like DAMA (Data Management Association) on a domestic and international level, he says that he wouldn’t trade that community experience for anything in the world. The organization plays an integral role in building bodies of knowledge by gathering data worldwide and sharing information, knowledge, and culture.