Simon Bligh, Chief Executive Officer at Dun & Bradstreet ANZ Named ANZ Chief Data Officer of the Year 2017 by CDO Club

SYDNEY and NEW YORK, March 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon Bligh, Chief Executive Officer at Dun & Bradstreet ANZ, today was recognized as the first-ever Australia and NZ Chief Data Officer of the Year 2017 by the CDO Club, the world's largest community of C-suite digital and data leaders.

Mr. Bligh was announced as the recipient of the award after a panel on Digital Leadership at today's second annual Sydney CDO Summit at Pier One in Sydney, Australia.

He was presented with the award by CDO Club founder David Mathison and Paul Rush, Partner at executive search firm Odgers Berndtson.

Mr. Bligh became CEO of Dun & Bradstreet ANZ in March 2016 and is significantly expanding their commercial and consumer database through organic growth and market innovations like Credit Simple as well as strategic partnerships and acquisitions. Dun & Bradstreet is Australia and New Zealand's longest established credit information bureau and helps businesses to make informed credit decisions, and consumers to access personal credit information.

Prior to leading Dun & Bradstreet, Mr Bligh was Chief Data Officer at Veda and was responsible for the fastest growing divisions and the sourcing, management and commercialisation of Veda's data. Mr Bligh has also held executive positions in Australia as Chief Financial Officer of Sydney Airport and AAPT.  Before moving to Australia, Simon spent 10 years working for AT&T in Europe, latterly in Paris as the European Chief Financial Officer responsible for more than 300 staff in 13 countries.

Mr. Bligh is a qualified Chartered Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand, who earned his Bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of Oxford in 1989.

"Simon has extensive knowledge of global data markets, and how data can be used to solve customer problems and uncover insights and meaning for businesses," remarked David Mathison, CEO of the CDO Club.

"Most importantly, given his ascension from Chief Data Officer to the Chief Executive role, Simon is an exemplar to his CDO Club colleagues and serves as proof that this career path is available to data and analytics leaders worldwide. Successful companies acknowledge the importance of data as the lifeblood of the online economy, and will continue to place executives like Mr. Bligh in leadership roles. I am delighted to name Simon as Australia's first-ever Chief Data Officer of the Year 2017," said Mathison.

The CDO Club is the only organization tracking CDOs who have become CEO or Board Director/Non-Executive Director. Since 2011, the CDO Club has identified more than 50 Chief Digital Officers who have become CEO: http://cdoclub.com/hall-of-fame

The CDO Club forecasts that more companies will add data and analytics experts to the C-Suite and to their Boards. For example, in 2013, Alibaba Chief Data Officer Jonathan Lu succeeded founder/CEO Jack Ma as Chief Executive Officer, and led Alibaba until 2015.

While this was the first-ever ANZ Chief Data Officer of the Year award, the CDO Club has been giving Chief Digital Officer of the Year awards since February 2013 when it named Teddy Goff, who served as Digital Director at Obama for America in 2008 and 2012, as the first-ever recipient.

About the CDO Club 
The CDO Club is the world's largest community of C-suite digital and data leaders. Its 3,000+ registered members receive access to breaking news, original research, career development support, and networking opportunities. Visit: http://CDOClub.com.

About the CDO Summit 
The CDO Summit addresses the challenges and opportunities arising from big data, the cloud, digital disruption, and social and mobile media. CDO Summit gatherings include the very best digital and data strategists and practitioners on Earth, speaking in intimate, collegial, and supportive environments designed to encourage networking, learning, and knowledge-sharing. Visit CDOSummit.com.

Media Contacts:
Michelle Oster 
Communications Manager 
CDO Club
Email: [email protected] 
Tel +1 516 488-1143

SOURCE CDO Club

Related Links

http://cdoclub.com