Introducing the AI Global Council: JoAnn Stonier

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the world at warp speed. Impacts are felt in business, education, government, and everything in between. That’s why the AI Global Council was formed. This group of leaders from varied backgrounds and experiences has united to think through the implications of advancing AI technologies, policies, and ethics.

Each AI Global Council member brings a unique and necessary point of view to the conversation. Today, we’re introducing JoAnn Stonier, chief data officer at Mastercard.

JoAnn’s one thing on AI

We asked each of the AI Global Council board members to share one piece of advice in the AI space. JoAnn focused on the importance of surrounding yourself with diversity of thought for two key reasons.

“Surround yourself with diversity of thought, both for the opportunity that AI brings, but also to balance out the risk,” she said. “Make sure your teams, both on the innovation side and all those other disciplines around legal, privacy, information security, and data quality are also up for the task ahead as we begin to innovate with this new technology.”

A little about JoAnn

In her role as executive vice president and chief data officer at Mastercard, JoAnn is responsible for enterprise-wide data strategy and management to ensure the organization maximizes the value of its information assets. JoAnn and her team of global professionals identify the opportunities associated with Mastercard’s information assets and assist in the development of the tools, processes, policies, and standards necessary to enable their use.

Previously, JoAnn was executive vice president and chief information governance and privacy officer for the organization. In that role she was responsible for worldwide privacy and information governance, leading those teams as well as leading regulatory engagement in this area. Prior to joining Mastercard in 2008, JoAnn was the chief privacy officer for American Express Company. She also held various roles of increasing responsibility at American Express, including chief operating officer, American Express Tax & Business Services; vice president, Acquisition Integration; and vice president and assistant to the chairman. JoAnn has worked at Waldenbooks, Inc., PepsiCo and started her career as an auditor for PriceWaterhouse Coopers.

In addition to her work at Mastercard, JoAnn is an adjunct professor at Pratt Institute where she teaches business strategy and international business in the design management master’s program.

JoAnn received her law degree from St. John’s University in Queens and bachelor’s degree from St. Francis College. She is a member of the New York and New Jersey state bar associations. JoAnn has been recognized as a leader in data and privacy by several organizations including the Aspen Institute, the United Nations, and the Information Governance Initiative and has served on the board of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the Center for Information Policy Leadership, and the Information Accountability Foundation. She is a well-regarded speaker at industry events and often addresses the need for balancing data innovation and privacy. JoAnn is based in Purchase, New York.

Explore more about the AI Global Council

The AI Global Council is focused on taking amorphous and challenging topics and sharing a balanced and holistic perspective that can move everyone forward.

To explore more about the AI Global Council, follow along on LinkedIn or reach out at findoutmore@credera.com.

• Data Science, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
• Artificial Intelligence
• AI Global Council