Rex Davis, CDO, Royal Bank of Canada, speaks with Rehan Jalil, President and CEO of Securiti, about his approach to building data talent and his leadership mantra.

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than 100,000 employees worldwide.

When asked about finding and developing the right data talent, Davis states that the matter can be assessed from different angles. However, he is inclined towards growing data talent from people who possess a degree or experience in a relevant field.

Further, Davis supports developing talent from people who have originally worked on data or AI projects or have a coding background versus generic project managers.

Emphasizing the rapidly changing job titles and roles, he notes that the preferred approach to building the right data talent would be with people who have studied data instead of bringing in people from other fields.

Adding on, Davis says there will not be any talent shortage if focused on these. To support his statement, he mentions the incremental increase in the number of people related to data. For instance, he says, there are many U.S. universities with master's degrees in data science.

According to Davis, if organizations start focusing on that base of people who already have the skills, the talent issue will be resolved.

Commenting on his leadership mantra, Davis states that it boils down to curiosity with delivery. Highlighting the importance of curiosity with delivery, he maintains that people must be curious and ensure the delivery results.

Especially in the data domain, leaders need to let data scientists or data-related people not just be curious but also help them understand that the work needs to be done one way or another.

Davis concludes by stating that the mantra resonates with his personal life, as his curiosity led him to where he is today.

CDO Magazine appreciates Rex Davis for sharing his insights with our global community.

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