Case Study: Transitioning to a Data-Centric Financial Services Organization

Fulton Financial Corporation (FFC) weathered the 2008 financial crisis in great shape by managing their core business properly. By 2014 it became apparent that Data Management required attention. Like many banks, their core systems were managed by vendors, including their Data Warehouse. As regulations and compliance became more critical, and a move was made to best of breed solutions, Fulton found that they needed to make some major changes.

Starting with a newly created Office of the Chief Data Officer, the organization built out a Data Governance team and augmented their DBA and Database Development staffs. The first goals addressed regulatory-related challenges that would enable FFC to be more compliant. The next steps were to implement Data Architecture and Quality functions and create repeatable processes. Integrating data streams from new sources and responding to business needs in a timely fashion were enabled through this process. This case study addresses:

How the team was assembled through in-house selection and outside recruiting
How the organization addressed the immediate critical issues
How the team gained the credibility it needed to become integrated with the business

Ray McGlew is a senior Data Management leader with experience in Data Architecture, Data Warehousing, Team Leadership, Data Governance, Metadata Management, Project Management, and all phases of Data Life Cycle development. He created his first integrated Data Mart in 1981 for non-IT professionals to use and is focused on helping his teams to make good Data Management a part of the business, not strictly an IT function. He has taught IT and Data Management concepts and implementation at the undergraduate level and has spoken at local and international conferences. Ray has addressed Data Management challenges in the Pharmaceutical, Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production, Manufacturing, Services, Aerospace, and Financial organizations. Ray currently leads the Data Architecture team at Fulton Financial Corporation, a regional Financial Services organization in Central Pennsylvania.