Don Vu is a technology expert, change agent, and high EQ executive leader with 20+ years driving transformation and innovation across multiple trillion dollar industries and highly complex situations (Media & Entertainment at Major League Baseball Advanced Media/ BAMTech/Disney Streaming Services, Real Estate at WeWork, Insurance & Wealth Management at Northwestern Mutual). He has a unique ability to seamlessly shift altitudes, from leading strategic board level discussions to unpacking and solving the most tangled delivery challenges. 

Don is currently the Chief Data Officer at Northwestern Mutual, the #1 life insurance carrier in the US, a top 10 independent broker/dealer and a Fortune 100 company. Through a central data team of 400+ and partnerships throughout the enterprise, Don drives organizational transformation and enterprise data strategy across the company’s $34B revenue, $500B+ Total AUM business (Insurance, Wealth Management, Field Distribution, Managed Investments etc). As a transformation catalyst he has helped lead the digital transformation of NM’s underwriting business ($1.5B+ new business in 2021) using AI and automation. 

Don has a unique perspective on industry transformation, having worked at both incumbents disrupting an industry from within as well as high-growth, digital native challengers. As the top data leader at MLB, WeWork, and Northwestern Mutual, Don has led data-driven business strategies that have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in incremental revenue. He has driven corporate innovation through both venture efforts and academic partnerships throughout his career. 

Don is a D&I champion who has helped lead enterprise resource groups at both MLB and Northwestern Mutual. He is also a founding member of Stand with Asian Americans, a national organization of business leaders that was formed in 2021, raised over $1.7M in 7 months for non-profits, and organized national actions that put a spotlight on the challenges to the Asian American community amplified during the pandemic.