Target roles
CDO, CDAO, Chief Data and AI Officer, EVP or SVP Data and AI, and senior Data, AI and Transformation leadership with genuine authority.
Title-agnostic, screened on remit and economics.Mauro Flores
Chief Data & AI Officer / CDAO. Enterprise transformation and business value through data, AI and engineering.
"You cannot AI your way out of data you don't trust."
I help enterprises turn trusted data and AI into value the business and its customers can feel, and I lead the change in how a company decides so it lasts. An engineer who has done the work, not just sponsored it.
Most recently EVP, Data Democratisation at Virgin Media O2. Now open to select CDO, CDAO and EVP Data and AI conversations, in the UK and internationally.
EVP, VMO2 (£10bn) · 300+ data org · 11,000+ enabled · £23M attributed, circa £500M enabled · British Data Awards 2026 winner
Watch the 3-minute story
EVP, Data Democratisation
Enterprise Data & AI Transformation Remit at VMO2
Enterprise Data & AI Transformation Remit at VMO2
Board-level proof
The Customer Trust Indicator, a CEO priority, runs on the data foundations my team built.
The Consumer team owns the survey and the concept. I co-led, and my team built, the Experience Trust Indicator measurement on the enterprise data foundations we created, turning hundreds of real-world signals into a trusted score. It is now one of the company's most important customer measures.
“One of the most impactful leaders I have ever worked with. His vision and leadership helped democratise data at scale, and he combines strategic thinking with genuine care for his team.”
Terry Glenning · Leader of Change & Transformation, Virgin Media O2
Searches where I fit best
Chief Data & AI leadership
CDO, CDAO, Chief Data and AI Officer. Enterprise-wide remit over data, AI, governance,
platform and commercial value.
EVP / SVP / VP Data, AI & Transformation
Senior functional leadership where the role needs engineering depth, operating-model
change and real adoption, not just reporting.
Data & AI value creation
PE-backed, scale-up and enterprise roles where the brief is to mature data and AI and
convert it into measurable commercial outcomes.
Title-agnostic, remit-led. The same senior role is called Director, Senior Director, Head of, VP or Chief in different companies. I do not screen on title. I screen on scope, authority and total compensation, so please do not hold back a strong search because the title does not say Chief.
01 / Search Snapshot
Everything you need to assess me for a longlist, in one view.
Built so a researcher or partner can lift the essentials straight into a brief. The detail behind every line is in the CV and the public evidence below.
Sectors and environments
Telco, technology and SaaS, financial services, PE-backed mid-market and large enterprise. Strongest where data and AI are central to value, not a back office.
Comfortable in regulated and complex estates.Geography and work model
UK-based, with a global operating background across the UK, Europe, the US, LATAM and APAC. Permanent roles, hybrid or remote, and open to the right relocation case.
Global operator; British and Mexican national, no UK sponsorship needed.Scope I lead well
Enterprise transformation and operating-model change that turns data and AI into business and customer value: trusted foundations, AI adoption, governance and data products, with commercial accountability.
Engineering foundation through to ExCo influence.Availability
Moving to my next executive challenge and open to the right permanent leadership role. Responsive to credible executive searches, and every conversation is handled discreetly.
Discreet, structured executive search.Compensation
Best suited to senior executive remits (EVP, CDO, CDAO) in enterprise-scale or PE-backed businesses, where base, bonus and long-term incentive reflect enterprise ownership. Total compensation is the gate, not title.
Remit and economics screened together, in confidence.02 / Track Record
Proof the work moves beyond strategy slides.
The consistent pattern: turning fragmented systems, unclear ownership and low-trust data into trusted capability the business uses, with the commercial outcomes to show for it.
Agentic automation and AI adoption
Problem: teams needed to move from insight requests to delivery faster, without losing trust, quality or control.
Intervention: I led governed adoption of data agents that connect metadata, trusted business layers and workflow tools, so teams can go from a request to a drafted requirement, user stories and a working prototype, with privacy and quality controls built in. I set the framework and governance; my engineering teams built it.
Result: faster, governed delivery on trusted foundations, with the operating model and controls to scale AI adoption safely.
VMO2 Data Democratisation
Problem: fragmented reporting, weak ownership, manual workarounds and inconsistent definitions.
Intervention: operating model, governed business layers, 250+ certified data products, self-service, support and culture, including Tableau to the Techs for 2,000+ field technicians and Martian Frontier as a data-culture mechanism.
Result: contributed to circa £500M in business value across data-led initiatives, for example more than £250M in fraud prevention and £100M+ in network investment optimisation, with at least £23M directly attributed since July 2024 on a conservative basis. Launched 300+ Tableau dashboards and enabled 11,000+ colleagues to self-serve trusted data.
Gemini Enterprise, conversational analytics and data agents
Problem: business teams needed a trusted, governed way to start using AI with data.
Intervention: I set the framework and product roadmap and managed the Google partnership, governance, privacy and adoption while my engineering team built. Consolidated nine BI and data platforms into a modernised stack along the way.
Result: 2,500 of 5,000 Gemini Enterprise licences deployed, plus conversational analytics and data agents on governed data, with £13M+ TCO reduction from the platform consolidation.
Commercial scale and enablement, Salesforce and MuleSoft
Problem: enterprises needed to adopt integration, data and AI platforms and turn them into value at scale, across a global footprint.
Intervention: I led architecture, enablement, training and certification, and automation across regions, part of the leadership that scaled the MuleSoft EMEA business through its IPO and the Salesforce acquisition.
Result: the MuleSoft EMEA business grew roughly tenfold over that period, with 6,000+ people trained and a certification and enablement engine that scaled customer adoption.
If you are scoping a senior Data and AI leadership hire, I would welcome a confidential note.
Email Mauro confidentiallyHow I operate at scale
I move data from fragmented, low-trust platforms toward governed business layers, self-service adoption and commercial value, and I lead the change across mindset, capability, systems and structure, not just the technology.
Business ownershipDomains, definitions,
value cases and senior decision rhythms.
Data Mesh patternsDomain ownership,
federated governance and reusable products where scale needs it.
Trusted foundationsBusiness layers,
governance, quality, privacy and access controls.
Reusable productsCertified data products,
Tableau, Atlan, dbt and support patterns.
Adoption modelMindset, capability, systems and structure working together.
Adoption systemTraining, office hours,
communications, communities and data culture.
AI readinessData agents, safe adoption,
vendor management and risk controls.
Value trackingCommercial outcomes, usage,
adoption and delivery accountability.
03 / Public Evidence
Independently verifiable, useful for your due diligence.
Public signals you can check without taking the CV at face value: customer stories, interviews, speaking profiles and industry recognition from the data and cloud ecosystem.
Main-stage Keynote
See the Anaplan Connect London 2026 event
Anaplan Connect London 2026 customer keynote
I gave the main customer keynote at Anaplan Connect London 2026, where I made the case that "you cannot AI your way out of data you don't trust", on transforming a large enterprise to decide and create value with data and AI. Named Transformational Leader 2026 in the Anaplan Customer Awards.
Enterprise Case Study
Read the Tableau VMO2 case
study
Virgin Media O2 and Tableau customer story
The public Tableau customer story says Virgin Media O2 helped prevent £250m worth of fraud and blocked 92m+ malicious texts.
Executive Feature
Read the Interface
Magazine feature
Interface Magazine feature
Executive feature on data democratisation at Virgin Media O2, framed as a cultural movement rather than a reporting programme.
Google Cloud Next Speaker
See the Google Cloud Next
speaker profile
Google Cloud Next 2026 speaker profile
Public speaker profile connected to enterprise AI, modernisation and human-centred transformation.
Ecosystem Insights
Read the Atlan VMO2 data
context case
Atlan, Gartner and ReGovern coverage
Public ecosystem references around data context, governance and enterprise adoption at Virgin Media O2.
Executive Podcast
Listen to the C-Suite
Podcast episode
C-Suite Podcast
Conversation from Google Cloud Next on agentic AI, modernisation and human-centred transformation.
Industry Awards
See the British Data Awards
result
British Data Awards 2026, Data Team of the Year
Winner, Data Team of the Year (20+ people), plus finalist for Data Transformation of the Year. Judged by independent panel across the UK data and analytics industry.
Flagship Speaker
See the Women in Data Flagship 2026 post
Women in Data Flagship, main-stage speaker
Main-stage speaker two years running at the Women in Data Flagship: 2025 "CTRL + ALT + INCLUDE: Resetting Bias in Data and AI" and 2026 "From Data Curious to Data Confident", separate from the Women in Data 2026 finalist recognition.
Advisory & Policy
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
UK Government DSIT Roundtable
Represented Virgin Media O2 at a Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) roundtable with Ian Murray MP (Minister for Digital Government and Data) and senior executives from Unilever, Experian, GSK and RELX, advising on enterprise data-value creation, data exchanges and the regulatory safe spaces required to enable compliant data and AI innovation.
The 3-minute story
A short version of the career throughline: engineering foundations, enterprise data scale, AI adoption, and the kind of leadership these searches are hiring for.
If the embedded video is blocked on your network, open the video directly. In three minutes it covers the throughline from engineering and SaaS platforms to enterprise data leadership, practical AI adoption and the kind of executive role I am ready for next.
Engineering foundation
Computer Systems Engineer, graduated top of the generation, with early depth in Java,
API architecture and enterprise platforms.
Enterprise transformation
Operating model work across Salesforce, MuleSoft, Peñoles and Virgin Media O2 to enable
governed business adoption.
Data and AI leadership
Trusted data foundations first, then AI adoption and commercial value, with the
authority and stakeholder reach a senior executive role needs.
04 / For Search Partners
Where I am a strong fit.
Written for retained partners and in-house hiring teams. The searches where I add the most value, and an open door for the ones worth a conversation.
Where I am a strong fit
- Permanent CDO, CDAO or Chief Data and AI Officer roles with enterprise-wide remit
- EVP, SVP or VP Data and AI roles with engineering, platform and transformation depth
- PE portfolio companies maturing data and AI ahead of exit or post-acquisition
- Telco, SaaS, financial services and large enterprises where data and AI drive value
- Roles reporting to the CEO, board or ExCo with genuine authority, budget and decision rights
If the remit is senior, value-led and the compensation is plausible, send it in confidence. I will respond quickly and, where useful, point you to a strong name.
Start a confidential conversation.
A short note is enough: the company or situation, what kind of role it might be, and location or work model if you know them. If the brief is still forming, send what you have. I read every message personally and reply within 24 hours.
CV Downloads
Pick the depth that suits your read.
Same facts, same figures, told at four lengths. The three-page is my recommended read for a search partner. All PDFs open in a new tab.
Fast teaser
Download the one-page profile
One-page profile
The essentials on a single page: seat, scale, headline value and the career arc, for a ten-second read.
Standard
Download the two-page CV
Two-page CV
The default executive CV: full career, selected highlights and recognition, sized for a retained-search read.
Recommended
Download the three-page CV
Three-page CV
My recommended read: the full track record with the depth and proof points behind every line.
Full dossier
Download the four-page dossier
Four-page dossier
The complete dossier for deep due diligence: every role, metric and public proof point in one document.
Career deep dive
The full career, role by role.
For deeper due diligence: the complete progression across each company, from engineer and founder to enterprise Data and AI executive.
Show the full role-by-role history
Virgin Media O2Aug 2023 - Jun 2026
- EVP, Data Democratisation Aug 2023 - Jun 2026
Led enterprise data and AI transformation across a £10bn regulated business, running a 300+ extended data organisation. Full detail in the track record above.
SalesforceJul 2018 - Aug 2023
- Sr. Director, Global Data Strategy & Intelligence Feb 2023 - Aug 2023
- Sr. Director, Global Data Strategy & EMEA Training Feb 2021 - Feb 2023
- Director, Global Data Strategy & Training and Certification Jul 2018 - Feb 2021
Built trusted data foundations and intelligence products used across the business, and led global learning-platform and certification operations with commercial and P&L discipline through the MuleSoft integration.
MuleSoftNov 2015 - Jul 2018
- Head of Global Data Strategy & EMEA Training & Certification Jan 2017 - Jul 2018
- EMEA Regional Lead, Training & Certification Nov 2015 - Dec 2016
Built the EMEA Training and Certification business from early-stage foundations to a scaled regional capability through MuleSoft's scale-up, IPO and Salesforce acquisition, owning the regional P&L, and founded the global data strategy capability (roughly tenfold growth over the period).
Infomentum2012 - 2015
- Senior Practice Lead, Oracle Middleware & Digital Transformation 2012 - 2015
Led Oracle middleware and digital transformation across delivery, pre-sales and R&D (WebLogic, WebCenter, ADF, SOA Suite, Java), helping the firm move from Gold to Platinum Oracle partner. Headhunted to the UK from Mexico.
Industrias Peñoles2007 - 2012
- Head of Digital Transformation 2007 - 2012
Led enterprise digital transformation for a mining and metals group of roughly 60,000 people, selecting Oracle middleware as the backbone, moving the programme from technology implementation into business adoption, and introducing enterprise BI capability.
Tecnológico de Monterrey2007 - 2008
- University Professor, Computer Systems & Software Engineering 2007 - 2008
Taught computer systems and software engineering, an early expression of the education and enablement thread that runs through the whole career.
Tahi Systems2002 - 2007
- Founder & CEO 2002 - 2007
Built a technology business from zero, delivering middleware, custom software, portals and data-centric enterprise solutions across government, higher education and commercial clients, owning full commercial delivery and P&L.
MBSystems2001 - 2002
- Senior Consultant, Networks, Software & Systems Integration 2001 - 2002
Started a consulting career across network solutions, software and systems integration with major enterprise clients.
At this level, success is not measured by the platforms we build. It is measured by the clarity we bring to decisions, the trust we earn with customers, and the confidence with which the business moves forward.