Dive deep into the evolving world of data governance, AI, and education in this enlightening episode featuring Mark Marshalek, a seasoned expert blending academic insights with real-world data governance expertise. Explore the intersection of technology, education, and data management as Mark shares his experiences teaching at Ohio State, the implications of AI and blockchain in the insurance industry, and the challenges of maintaining data integrity in today’s fast-paced digital environment.

Transcript

VZC Guest:

Mark Marshalek
Head of Data Governance
Farmers Insurance

Mark Marshalek is the Head of Data Governance at Farmers Insurance. He has over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, previously holding various data and analytics leadership roles at Nationwide Insurance for 30 years before joining Farmers. Mark is focused on enabling data utilization across the enterprise through governance, quality, and adoption of tools and technologies. He stresses adaptability, curiosity, and constant learning in order to keep up with the pace of change.

On the innovation front, Mark is exploring applications of AI, especially generative AI, within insurance. He also teaches courses on data governance at Ohio State University despite having no formal teaching background, showing his willingness to take risks and learn new skills outside his comfort zone.

VZC Host:

Mark Potts
Vice President of Global Services
VirtualZ Computing

Mark is VirtualZ’s vice president of global services, helping our clients leverage Lozen™, PropelZ, and Zaac™ to unlock business agility, value, and cost savings. Mark brings over 17 years of experience at Accenture to VirtualZ and focuses on helping our customers modernize their data access systems. Mark served as global managing director at Accenture, leading the comprehensive strategy for their mainframe modernization offering, including developing sales and delivery assets, developing capability, determining acquisition targets, and managing the global mainframe modernization pipeline. Prior to that, Mark led Accenture’s IBM and Red Hat partnership, working closely with the Accenture, IBM, and Red Hat senior leadership teams focusing on hybrid cloud, mainframe modernization, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and quantum computing. Mark also has over 15 years of software engineering delivery experience.