Aparna DesaiChief Data Officer · Essays & perspective

Field notes / Aparna Desai

Chief Data Officer · India · Global perspective

Dispatch 01 / India · Global perspective

Data governance2 min read

Data ownership must resolve a real problem

Naming an owner is only useful if that person can make the decisions needed to keep information fit for purpose.

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Portrait of Aparna Desai
Aparna DesaiIndia · Global perspective
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The work behind the notes.

Explore the career →

  1. 2020 — Present

    Chief Data Officer

    Aldermoor Group

  2. 2016 — 2020

    Vice President, Data & Analytics

    Fairhaven Holdings

  3. 2013 — 2018

    Head of Analytics

    Westmoor Housing Finance

  4. 2008 — 2013

    Lead Data Scientist

    Lumen Payments

The journal

Further reading.

  1. 02

    Responsible AI3 min read

    Analytics delivery includes the decision routine

    An analytical output can be accurate and still fail to influence the work it was intended to support.

  2. 03

    Decision intelligence2 min read

    AI evaluation starts with purpose and exposure

    An AI use case needs to be assessed in the context of the decision or task it supports.

A leadership conviction

Trusted data becomes valuable when people can use it responsibly in a decision. I connect ownership, quality and analytical capability to business purpose, with explicit limitations and human accountability for consequential uses.

Trusted source of truth
1
Replacing 37 conflicting reports
Value from analytics
₹410 Cr
Verified by finance, year three
Models governed
220
Under one responsible-AI framework
Time to decision data
9 days → 4 hrs
For the executive committee

Beyond the page

The record behind the perspective.

Recognition

  • Data Leader of the YearThe Applied AI Forum · 2024
  • Responsible AI AwardThe Technology Leaders Review · 2023

In conversation

  • “Governing 220 models without slowing the business”The Applied AI Forum · 2025
  • “The board's role in responsible AI”The Boardroom Review · 2024
  • “Episode 120 — Data people can trust”The Leadership Ledger podcast · 2023

Formation

  • PhD, StatisticsEastgate Institute of Technology · 2007
  • M.Sc, MathematicsKingsgate University · 2002
Made our data trustworthy enough to bet decisions on — and honest about where it was not.
Hannah ClarkeChief Executive, Westmoor Housing Finance
The full record ↗

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