#779: Denodo CMO Ravi Shankar on why good data is critical to AI success

The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX

The Agile Brand

Business, Marketing

5 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if the multi-million dollar AI initiative you're championing is being silently sabotaged, not by a competitor, but by your own data infrastructure?Agility requires more than just fast decision-making; it requires a data foundation that can deliver insights at the speed of business, without the traditional delays of moving and duplicating information. This ability to access and act on real-time, comprehensive data is what separates brands that lead from those that follow.Today, we're going to talk about the silent killer of AI projects. While everyone focuses on the glamour of AI models and algorithms, the reality is that most enterprise initiatives stall or fail at the data layer. We’ll be discussing why even modern data warehouses can create new roadblocks, and how a different approach to data management can make your enterprise data truly AI-ready.To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Ravi Shankar, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Denodo. About Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar is the Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Denodo. He is responsible for Denodo’s global marketing efforts, including product marketing, demand generation, field marketing, communications, social marketing, customer advocacy, partner marketing, branding, and solutions marketing.,Yes,This will be completed shortly Ravi Shankar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravishankardevaraj/ Resources Denodo: https://www.denodo.com/en/document/analyst-report/denodo-lakehouse-roi This episode is brought to you by Denodo. Powered by logical data management, the Denodo Platform accelerates data integration, management, and delivery for all your business’s data needs. Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/ Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.showCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Agile brand.
0:03.0	Welcome to Season 7 of the Agile brand, where we discuss the trends and topics marketing leaders need to know.
0:15.0	Stay curious, stay agile, and join the top enterprise brands and MARTEC platforms as we explore marketing technology, AI, e-commerce, and join the top enterprise brands and Martec platforms as we explore marketing technology,
0:23.1	AI, e-commerce, and whatever's next for the Omnichannel customer experience.
0:27.8	Together we'll discover what it takes to create an agile brand, built for today and tomorrow,
0:32.1	and built for customers, employees, and continued business growth.
0:36.9	I'm your host, Greg Kilstrom, advising Fortune 1,000 brands on Martec, employees, and continued business growth. I'm your host, Greg Kilstrom, advising Fortune 1000 brands on Martec, AI, and marketing operations.
0:43.1	To make sure you always get the latest episodes, please hit subscribe on the app you listen to
0:47.0	podcasts on, and leave us a rating so others can find us as well.
0:51.0	Now on to the show.
0:59.0	This episode is brought to you by Donoto, powered by logical data management. The Denoto platform accelerates data integration, management, and delivery for all your businesses' data needs.
1:05.0	What if the multimillion-dollar AI initiative you're championing is being silently sabotaged, not by a competitor,
1:12.6	but by your own data infrastructure. Agility requires more than just fast decision-making.
1:17.8	It requires a data foundation that can deliver insights at the speed of business without the
1:22.4	traditional delays of moving and duplicating information. This ability to access and act on real-time, comprehensive data
1:29.8	is what separates brands that lead from those that follow.
1:33.7	Today, we're going to talk about the silent killer of AI projects.
1:37.1	While everyone focuses on the glamour of AI models and algorithms,
1:40.9	the reality is that most enterprise initiatives stall or fail at the data layer.
1:45.5	We're going to be discussing why even modern data warehouses can create new roadblocks
1:50.3	and how a different approach to data management can make your enterprise data truly AI ready.
1:55.6	Tell me to discuss this topic.
	...

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