Improving the data management capability at a Dutch pension fund service provider

Data is the ultimate asset in the financial industry, representing people, relations, financial positions, etc. The list goes on and on. As a consequence of this growing importance, data management is becoming a more dominant capability. We take the position that data management is about (a) getting to grips with the complexity of data assets, in order to (b) be able to reap value from these assets. Furthermore, we take the position that most organizations already do data management, even if it is not formalized through formal roles, procedures, etc. In this paper, we present the case of improving the data management capability at a Dutch pension fund service provider. We present the starting position, the hypothesis of the approach to be taken on this journey, summarize two years of working, and present the mid-2020 position. We will reflect on this journey through the lenses of digital transformation, data management, and change management theory.