AstraZeneca, a global leader in biopharmaceutical innovation, is reshaping how data and AI drive progress across healthcare. With a mission to revolutionize treatments in oncology, cardiovascular, renal, and rare diseases, the company continues to invest deeply in advanced analytics and responsible AI to accelerate scientific discovery and deliver better patient outcomes. In 2024, AstraZeneca reported more than $45 billion in revenue and has set an ambitious target to reach $80 billion by 2030 — underscoring the transformative power and scale of its data-driven strategy.

In the first installment of this series, Brian Dummann, Vice President of Insights & Technology and Chief Data Officer at AstraZeneca, outlined how the organization is democratizing AI, fostering readiness for next-generation innovation, and evolving governance to move faster — responsibly.

In this second part of his discussion with Nathan Turajski, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Informatica, Dummann delves deeper into how AstraZeneca is operationalizing responsible AI, decentralizing decision-making, and empowering every business leader to confidently leverage data and AI for impact.

Empowering business teams without bottlenecks

AstraZeneca’s decentralized approach to innovation ensures that decision-making power doesn’t rest solely in a central AI or data team. Instead, Dummann emphasizes empowering business leaders to decide which projects to pursue while maintaining consistent guardrails.

“There is no central group that determines what projects we will or won’t do,” Dummann explains. “The goal is to give our business leaders and their teams the ability to determine what they will or won’t pursue. We provide central guidance and process around governance, but not a bottleneck.”

This autonomy is supported by strong frameworks for responsible AI, ethics, and compliance.

“We were one of the first pharma companies to introduce thoughtful work around responsible AI and AI ethics,” Dummann notes. “We’ve equipped our business leaders with the right tools, though we’re still evolving how we manage risk and approvals. The journey now is about pushing more ownership into the business areas while the central team enables and supports.”

AI governance built on data governance foundations

When asked whether AI governance should exist as a separate function, Dummann shares that AstraZeneca made an early and deliberate decision to integrate it within its enterprise data governance framework.

“The first question we asked was: Is AI governance something separate from data governance?” he recalls. “Our answer was yes — it falls under data governance for risk. We’ve got our AI governance capability and strong talent sitting within our enterprise data office, leveraging the same structure and processes.”

AstraZeneca operates a federated model with data offices embedded across business units but aligned to a central enterprise data office that defines standards, tools, and policies.

“We tried not to make it another group or committee,” Dummann adds. “We have a separate AI and analytics standard within the company, but it fits hand-in-hand with our other data governance policies. The newest element of our data governance practice is the AI risk governance process.”

Measuring the business value of AI

For Dummann, measuring the value of AI isn’t about creating new frameworks. Instead, it’s about applying business logic consistently. “AI isn’t any different than any other business investment,” he explains. “You’re either going to minimize risk, reduce internal cost, or drive growth and efficiency.”

However, he points out that AI projects often demand deeper transformation than traditional IT initiatives.

“With AI, the path to value is often reimagining and rewiring an entire business process,” he says. “That means more business change management and readiness. Sometimes what’s technically feasible is constrained by new regulations or regional differences — you can deploy a model in one country but not another.”

To ensure consistency, AstraZeneca is equipping its business leaders with clear success criteria and shared learning loops.

“We’re helping teams understand what ingredients lead to success,” Dummann explains. “It’s about collaboration — stopping things that won’t work early and doubling down on what’s delivering impact.”

AI as a force multiplier for growth

AstraZeneca’s growth ambitions have fueled enthusiasm for AI across the enterprise. Dummann describes how a clear executive vision — from the CEO downward — has cultivated a culture that views AI not just as a technology, but as a strategic enabler.

“From our CEO on down, it’s been very clear that AI is a tool for innovation,” says Dummann. “Our leaders understand it’s not always easy, but they’re enthusiastic and realistic.”

He adds that AI is helping AstraZeneca scale efficiently while doubling its business size over just a few years.

“AI is a force multiplier,” he says. “If we can get this right, we can not only automate and supplement work, but fundamentally redefine it so that we can grow faster and smarter.”

The result, Dummann says, is an energized culture where business units are constantly identifying new opportunities for transformation.

“Every one of our groups has leaders pushing their teams,” he concludes. “It’s all about focus and continuous learning — the light bulbs keep going on as technology evolves.”

CDO Magazine appreciates Brian Dummann for sharing his insights with our global community.