Democratizing Data to Create Business Value: Alex Golbin

Alex Golbin, Chief Data Officer at Morningstar, shares the challenges of providing the data that drives the investment decisions of millions around the world

Investors today have volumes of data available to them. But part of the challenge for Alex Golbin, Chief Data Officer at Morningstar, is providing the right data to fulfill his clients' unique needs.

In this week’s Business of Data podcast, Golbin tells host Catherine King about the importance of developing a deep understanding of investor needs as he works to empower Morningstar’s investors through data democratization.

“We need to understand what our clients’ need no matter what happens to the markets, no matter what happens in the technology space. A client’s basic needs are unlikely to change; we need to find those constants and optimize around them,” Golbin says.

Key Takeaways

What’s in it for the client? Organizations are often approached by data providers who haven’t put thought into what an individual organization needs from them

Three pillars to support clients: Golbin uses three key pillars of value, rapidity, and usability evaluate the data needed to support investment decisions

Identifying high value data across datasets: What makes data a commodity is the unique story it tells. Sometimes, datasets need to be merged to paint a clearer picture