Tackling Challenges With Data Governance
MIT Sloan Management Review|Fall 2024
Akira Bell is senior vice president and CIO at Mathematica, a research and data analytics consultancy. Bell was a finalist for this year's MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award in recognition of her work at Mathematica to spearhead the launch of the data collaboration platform Mquiry, a turnkey system for onboarding and working with clients' data securely. MIT Sloan Management Review spoke with Bell to understand her role and how leaders should be thinking about their data. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Tackling Challenges With Data Governance

Can you tell us about your role as the CIO of Mathematica?

Mathematica is a company of subject matter experts-social scientists, data scientists, economists and technologists who have a deep understanding of policies, practices, and data that impact public well-being around the world. Because of this, we're able to help our clients reimagine how they collect, analyze, and apply data to solve today's urgent social challenges.

My role at Mathematica spans what we consider the traditional CIO role, in that it has all of the internal responsibilities for infrastructure, security, network, communications, enterprise resource planning, policy, and so on. But we also have some of the backbone for the client-facing teams, where technologists from my team sit in with the business units and they work in concert. Our platforms for hosting client data and solutions are managed by our team as well.

How does Mathematica advise its clients on data governance?

Denne historien er fra Fall 2024-utgaven av MIT Sloan Management Review.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra Fall 2024-utgaven av MIT Sloan Management Review.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEWSe alt
Ask Sanyin: How Do You Build for an Unpredictable Future?
MIT Sloan Management Review

Ask Sanyin: How Do You Build for an Unpredictable Future?

While the pandemic was a wild ride of uncertainty for me and many of my peers in leadership, it feels like we never regained our footing.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2025
What You Still Can't Say at Work
MIT Sloan Management Review

What You Still Can't Say at Work

Most people know what can’t be said in their organization. But leaders can apply these techniques to break through the unwritten rules that make people self-censor.

time-read
7 mins  |
Winter 2025
Make Character Count in Hiring and Promoting
MIT Sloan Management Review

Make Character Count in Hiring and Promoting

Most managers focus on competencies when evaluating candidates but it’s character that will transform the DNA of the organization. Here’s how to assess it.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2025
Why Influence Is a Two-Way Street
MIT Sloan Management Review

Why Influence Is a Two-Way Street

Managers achieve better outcomes when they prioritize collaborative decision-making over powers of persuasion.

time-read
10 mins  |
Winter 2025
Know Your Data to Harness Federated Machine Learning
MIT Sloan Management Review

Know Your Data to Harness Federated Machine Learning

A collaborative approach to training AI models can yield better results, but it requires finding partners with data that complements your own.

time-read
9 mins  |
Winter 2025
How Integrating DEI Into Strategy Lifts Performance
MIT Sloan Management Review

How Integrating DEI Into Strategy Lifts Performance

Incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion practices into core business planning can provide a competitive edge.

time-read
9 mins  |
Winter 2025
The Myth of the Sustainable Consumer
MIT Sloan Management Review

The Myth of the Sustainable Consumer

Companies that understand the different kinds of consumers for sustainable products can market to them more effectively.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2025
A Practical Guide to Gaining Value From LLMs
MIT Sloan Management Review

A Practical Guide to Gaining Value From LLMs

Getting a return from generative AI investments requires a systematic approach to analyzing appropriate use cases.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2025
Improve Workflows by Managing Bottlenecks
MIT Sloan Management Review

Improve Workflows by Managing Bottlenecks

Understand whether process or resource constraints are stalling work.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2025
Craft Schedules That Work for Everyone
MIT Sloan Management Review

Craft Schedules That Work for Everyone

Business leaders can improve retention and business performance with schedules that make sense for workers’ lives.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2025