Seeing that delivery, not just tech, was the gap

A regional financial services group was preparing a major data and analytics bid with a consulting partner. On paper, the technical side looked solid: around 26 roles across data engineering, analytics, governance and privacy could be sketched quickly.

But something was missing. The Chief Data Officer wasn’t worried about whether they could find data engineers or analysts. The real concern was delivery: who would actually run the programme, manage the moving parts, and keep regulators and senior stakeholders informed when things got messy?

The group needed clear, credible candidates for three roles: Programme Manager, Change Lead and PMO. People who had actually run complex data programmes before—not just overseen isolated projects. Calimala’s task was to identify those leaders and present them alongside the technical staffing model so the board could see a complete picture, not just a headcount list.

Defining delivery leadership for a data and analytics programme

Calimala started by clarifying what these roles really needed to own in a financial services environment. Together with the CDO and consulting partner, we defined:

• A Programme Manager with real authority over scope, roadmap and cross-team delivery, accountable for mobilising the programme, keeping it on track, and bringing it to a stable run state.

• A Change Lead focused on adoption: preparing business units, aligning processes, handling communications and making sure data and analytics changes actually land in day-to-day work.

• A PMO function to coordinate governance, reporting, RAID logs, vendor management and regulatory touchpoints.

We mapped how these roles would interact with architecture, data governance, risk and business units so responsibilities were clear from the start. Programme leadership would coordinate the overall journey; architects and governance leads would define technical and control standards; business units would own outcomes with visible support.

Experience thresholds were set deliberately high: only leaders who had previously run multi-country or multi-business-unit data programmes, ideally with regulatory components, were considered. Expectations around travel, on-site presence and language skills were agreed upfront so no one was surprised later in the process.

Finding leaders who can run data programmes end to end

With scope and authority defined, Calimala searched across Europe, MENA and Asia for delivery leaders with a track record in complex data and analytics initiatives in financial services or similarly regulated sectors.

Shortlisted candidates had to demonstrate:

• Ownership of large-scale data or analytics programmes from mobilisation through to stabilisation—not just one phase of the lifecycle.

• Experience leading mixed teams of employees, contractors and vendors, often spread across countries or business units.

• Strong communication with senior non-technical stakeholders, including risk, compliance, and regulators, with examples of steering committee and board-level engagement.

• Structured evaluation notes summarising delivery style, strengths, and potential red flags, so the CDO and consulting partner could see not just what candidates had done, but how they operated under pressure.

Calimala then packaged these leadership profiles together with the broader technical staffing plan. Instead of a disconnected slide on “we’ll hire a programme manager,” the board saw a coherent delivery structure: who would run the programme, who would manage change, and how the PMO would support governance and reporting.

What changed for the client

Going into the bid process, the group was no longer just talking about how many engineers and analysts it needed. It could show who might run the programme, how delivery and change would be managed, and how risk and regulatory engagement would be handled over the full lifecycle.

The shift was tangible:

• Programme and change leadership were considered early, at design stage, instead of being bolted on once technical hiring had begun.

• The board had stronger confidence that business impact, stakeholder alignment and risk would be actively managed—not left to chance.

• The client and consulting partner now had a clear starting point for live hiring once the programme is approved, avoiding delays between contract win and mobilisation.

• There was better alignment on delivery responsibilities, with both sides sharing the same picture of how leadership, technical teams and governance would work together.

By focusing on delivery leadership as seriously as technical roles, Calimala helped the financial services group turn a staffing list into a credible, end-to-end data programme—ready to run, not just ready to build.