---
title: "Great Data Debate: Why Your Data Governance Will Always Fail"
url: "https://atlan.com/virtual-event/great-data-debate/"
description: "Join a panel of data governance practitioners, founders, and AI experts to learn from past data governance programs and get AI-ready in 2025"
keywords: "atlan events, great data debate, data governance"
---

> Atlan is hosting Context Conference, bringing together the leaders and builders at the frontier of giving AI the context it needs to understand their business. It runs online on October 28, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM ET. Atlan co-founder Prukalpa Sankar opens and closes the day. Leaders from AstraZeneca, BNY and Verizon share why they invest in context and what they get from it. Registrants get early access to The AI Context Gap, a new study from MIT Technology Review Insights. Register: https://atlan.com/context-conference/

**Great Data Debate: Why Your Data Governance Will Always Fail.** A virtual, debate-style panel of data governance practitioners, founders, and AI experts on learning from past data governance programs and getting AI-ready in 2025.

- **Date:** Feb 27 (concluded; as shown on the page, no year listed)
- **Format:** Virtual event, Zoom webinar
- **Recording:** available after filling the form on the page: [Watch the recording](https://atlan.com/virtual-event/great-data-debate/)

## About the event

Data governance has a history, from enterprise afterthought to a foundational pillar supporting the implementation of AI. The panel set out to get to the bottom of:

- Why does data governance adoption fail?
- What is traditional vs modern data governance?
- How does AI impact the future of data governance?
- What works for top data governance programs now vs. in the future?

## Speakers

- **Brian Ames**, Senior Manager, General Motors
- **Sunil Soares**, Founder and CEO, YDC. Author of 13 books on how enterprises approach data and AI governance at scale.
- **Tiankai Feng**, Data & AI Strategy Director, Thoughtworks. Focuses on the human side of data governance, beyond rules and frameworks.
- **Sonali Bhavsar**, Managing Director, Accenture. Bridges traditional governance and GenAI readiness, with enterprise-scale expertise from Fortune 100 companies.
- **Bojan Ciric**, Technology Fellow Executive, Deloitte. Decades of advising global banks on why organizational commitment to data drives AI, innovation, and execution.
- **Austin Kronz**, Director of Data Strategy, Atlan. Former Gartner analyst turned Field CDO, partnering with Fortune 500 companies on their D&A maturity journey.

## Why attend

The Great Data Debate brings data leaders together to challenge ideas, break down industry myths, and share insights.

- **Learn from industry experts:** insights from data leaders shaping the future of data and analytics.
- **Get actionable takeaways:** real-world strategies and frameworks you can apply immediately.
- **Be part of a greater impact:** join hundreds of data professionals in conversations about how organizations think about data.
- **Engage in live debates and Q&A:** challenge ideas and ask questions.

## Past Great Data Debates

- [Future of Modern Data Stack](https://atlan.com/great-data-debate/future-of-the-modern-data-stack/): the founders of the modern data stack discuss the changing data ecosystem and what lies ahead.
- [Rebundling vs Unbundling of the Data Stack](https://atlan.com/great-data-debate/rebundling-vs-unbundling/): the question debated across Reddit, Twitter, community Slack groups, and data newsletters.
- [Future of Metrics Layer and Metadata](https://atlan.com/great-data-debate/future-of-metrics-layer/): two product thinkers on metrics layers (the 2022 trend) and metadata.