Robert Abate is a global multi-industry data and analytics leader and experienced CDAO who delivers visionary solutions via strategic collaboration with partners and customers and a focus on synergistic team execution. His talents lie in combining a deep technical understanding of leading-edge tools, technologies, and architectures to impact competitive edge, empower decisions, and improve business agility through data ecosystem management, data storytelling, data democratization, data regulatory compliance, and ethical utilization. He is a member of the board of the ISCDO and a planning committee member for the 2022 CDOIQ Symposiums (US and Europe). He is credited as one of the first to publish on Services Oriented Architectures (1996), and the Abate Information Triangle (2004). He is currently the Founder & CDAO of Band Jam LLC, an entertainment data engagement corporation; and CEO of Info Immersion LLC, an immersive and collaborative VR/AR data storytelling consulting organization. Previously, he was Kimberly Clark’s Global Director of Enterprise Information Management & Analytics, and prior Walmart’s Director of Enterprise Information Architecture -where he and his team architected and delivered the first huge data integration, visualization and analytics immersion environment for the business (called the “Data CAFÉ”) which received the Wal-Mart Technology Project of the Year in January of 2014.  Robert has a BS in Electronic Engineering from Monmouth University and studied toward a MS in Computer Engineering at Rutgers University. He is a Certified Data Management Professional [CDMP] and a Certified Business Intelligence Professional [CBIP].