Summary of Diana Schildhouse‘s Work at Colgate-Palmolive
This article details Diana Schildhouse’s role and impact as Chief Analytics and Insights Officer (and later expanding to include Data and AI) at Colgate-Palmolive. Here’s a breakdown of her work and key takeaways:
Background & Role:
* Joined Colgate-Palmolive: April 2021 as Chief analytics and Insights officer, promoted in June 2025 to include oversight of Data and AI.
* Previous Experience: Extensive experience in consumer-facing companies including Mattel, Westfield, Merrill Lynch, and Disney.
* Reporting Structure: Reports to the Chief Growth Officer, collaborating with leaders in digital transformation, supply chain, innovation, marketing, strategy, and sustainability. This positioning is key to driving business impact.
Key Initiatives & Strategy:
* Building from the Ground Up: She was brought in to create an analytics and insights strategy for a global organization.
* Data Foundation first: Recognizes that accomplished AI and advanced analytics depend on strong data strategy and governance.
* Value-Driven Approach: Obsessed with demonstrating the impact of analytics solutions – ensuring they are used and deliver tangible results.
* Empowering Business Users: Focuses on providing teams with tools for faster, more informed decision-making, rather than just delivering solutions to them.
* Scalability: Develops frameworks to ensure solutions can be scaled globally.
Specific Applications of Analytics & AI:
* Revenue Growth Management (RGM): Developed an in-house tool for pricing and trade promotion analysis, scaled globally, and tracked for effectiveness. This was a key initial success.
* Promotion & Calendar Optimization: Expanded analytics into this area based on business user feedback, piloting and refining a tool for improved analysis.
* Product Innovation (using GenAI):
* Insights hub: Created with Market Logic,allowing marketers to query data using natural language.
* digital Twin: Developed an in-house digital twin to rapidly test product concepts with specific demographics, ensuring a “human in the loop.”
* Omni-Demand Generation: A current priority, integrating RGM, media, marketing, and e-commerce analytics to better meet consumer needs.
Overall beliefs:
* Business-First: Technology is deployed to solve specific business challenges.
* Iterative & Collaborative: starts with understanding business needs, pilots solutions, tests, refines, and scales based on results and user feedback.
* Focus on Predictive, Diagnostic, and Prescriptive Analytics: Moving beyond simply reporting data to providing actionable insights and predictions.
In essence, Diana Schildhouse is driving a data-led transformation at Colgate-Palmolive, focusing on building a strong data foundation, empowering business users, and demonstrating tangible value thru innovative applications of analytics and AI.