VP, Enterprise Data Governance

OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE YOUR CAREER - It’s about exceeding your potential.

Korn Ferry is seeking a highly strategic and experienced Vice President, Enterprise Data Governance to lead the development, implementation, and oversight of a comprehensive enterprise data governance framework. This role is critical to ensuring the integrity, security, and effective use of data, which is foundational to Korn Ferry’s work in delivering transformative consulting services and business insights. 

Reporting directly to the Chief Information Officer, the Vice President will partner closely with senior business leaders, technology teams, privacy, risk managers, and client service professionals to establish an enterprise-wide framework that supports high-quality, trusted data as a strategic asset. This leader will be instrumental in shaping the future of data governance at Korn Ferry, enabling solutions to business problems involving product/service enrichment, commercial execution improvement, internal/ external Artificial Intelligence (AI) deployment, retention cost reduction, and minimization of legal/regulatory liabilities as well as cyber theft.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Data Governance Framework & Leadership

• Design and implement Korn Ferry’s enterprise data governance framework in alignment with the organization’s business priorities, client commitments, and regulatory obligations.
• Establish and lead data governance councils and steering committees to promote executive engagement and accountability.
• Define policies and standards that ensure data is consistently defined, trusted, and effectively leveraged across the enterprise.

Data Quality, Stewardship, and Integrity

• Develop and maintain robust data quality programs, including metrics, dashboards, and remediation protocols to monitor and improve data integrity.
• Define and oversee data stewardship models, ensuring clear ownership, accountability, and processes for resolving data issues.
• Collaborate with operational and client delivery teams to embed data quality practices into core workflows.
• Champion a full data lifecycle management approach—governing data from acquisition through archival and disposal—to ensure responsible and efficient use of information assets.
• Establish and enforce data minimization principles, ensuring that only the data necessary for specific, documented business purposes is collected and retained.
• Define data retention and destruction schedules aligned with privacy/legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements, in partnership with privacy/legal, compliance, and information security functions.

Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management

• In collaboration with the privacy organization, ensure compliance with evolving global data privacy and protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA), as well as industry-specific standards.
• Partner with privacy/legal, cybersecurity, and internal audit teams to assess data risks and establish controls.
• Lead the development of governance documentation, audit trails, and reporting capabilities to support regulatory reviews and client inquiries.

Client Data Protection and Ethics

• Establish governance policies specific to the lifecycle of client data, ensuring confidentiality, appropriate use, and adherence to contractual and ethical standards.
• In collaboration with the privacy organization, co-lead the evaluation of third-party data sharing and integration processes to ensure client data protection.
• Promote a culture of responsible data use and transparency to reinforce client trust and brand reputation.

Technology, Tools, and Enablement

• Evaluate, select, and implement data governance technologies including data cataloging, lineage tracking, metadata management, and data quality monitoring tools.
• Champion data literacy and organizational adoption through training, communications, and change management strategies.
• Work with enterprise architecture, applications, analytics, and data platform teams to embed governance and drive effective master data management.
• Work with commercial product owners and to embed governance into the digital product ecosystem.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS

• Effective communication, collaboration, and change leadership skills and experience applying them in a global, multi-business unit organization.
• Extensive experience in data governance, data management, information governance, or a related discipline, with a strong preference for experience in professional services, consulting, or financial services environments.

• Proven leadership in building enterprise data governance programs from the ground up or scaling existing frameworks.
• Experience supporting data-related aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) enablement.
• Deep knowledge of data protection laws, regulatory environments, and data risk frameworks.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional teams, managing senior stakeholders, and influencing C-level executives.
• Strong understanding of data technologies (e.g., data catalog, MDM, metadata, lineage, and quality tools) and how they integrate into enterprise systems.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Management, Business, Computer Science, or related field required.
• Master’s degree or relevant professional certification (e.g., CDMP, CIPP, DGSP) strongly preferred.