"It is important that GDPR-related processes are continuously improved over time"

What's your name?

David Collins

What position do you hold?

Director, Management Consulting, KPMG

How long have you held the position?

3 years

What are your day to day responsibilities?

Aside from my engagements with my various clients, I also run the Data and Analytics competency in Management Consulting, so I’m responsible for the day-to-day management and strategic development of all of the consultants in my competency.

What is your professional background?

I have a degree in Information Technology from NUI Galway as well as an MBA from the Smurfit Business School. I’ve been with KPMG for the last 8 years, and previously I worked for 6 years with BearingPoint as a technical consultant and software developer. Before that I had a number of software development or IT management roles in industry.

Tell me about yourself away from work?

We have a one-year-old son at home who absorbs any and all spare time that I may have!

Tell us something very few people know about you?

When I was 7 I played the violin on RTE’s Saturday morning TV show “Anything Goes”.

You are speaking at our GDPR Summit in April. What are you speaking about?

With the GDPR coming into force in a matter of weeks, many organisations are nearing the end of their preparation and beginning to transition their GDPR compliance from a project to a “business as usual” activity. I’m speaking about how and why organisations should leverage their new capabilities in personal data management to commence a wider data governance journey, ensuring that all of their business-critical data, not just personal data, is properly governed.

What challenges do you see for organisations implementing the new regulations?

A lot of the current focus is on “getting ready” for the GDPR, but after May 25th organisations have to live by it and be in a position to demonstrate their accountability. This requires ongoing monitoring and controls to ensure that new or revised processes are followed. In our experience many firms have implemented short-term tactical solutions to meet their GDPR obligations, for example by implementing manual workarounds for data purging pending a longer-term technical solution. It is important that GDPR-related processes are continuously improved over time so that such tactical solutions do not become unwieldy, or worse, are ignored altogether by a busy workforce.

David Collins is appearing at The GDPR Summit. The agenda and further details for this important national event at Croke Park on April 12th, are available atwww.gdpr18.com