Privacy Talk with Vivian Zhou, Co-founder at Karlsgate: Why did you start and how did you work in the data and digital industry?
“This interview has been recorded on 6th May 2024 and discusses privacy technology, and data management”
- Why did you start and how did you work in the data and digital industry?
- The history of the Karlsgate establishment and provision
Kohei: Thank you for everyone joining the Privacy Talk. I’m so glad to have Vivian from Australia. She is an excellent leader data and digital space. So Vivian thank you for joining the interview today.
Vivian: Thank you for the invitation.
Kohei: Before jumping into the agenda, I would like to introduce her profile.
Vivian is a data science leader and entrepreneur, with extensive experience in data strategy, technology and data solutions across multiple industries. She held APAC regional lead roles with Accenture, Aegis/Dentsu and Acxiom.
Vivian has a deep understanding of the data and digital ecosystem, possessing a wide partner network globally. Vivian is gifted at bridging vision with day-to-day solution design and execution.
So that’s great to have a Vivian conversation today.
Vivian: Thank you.
- Why did you start and how did you work in the data and digital industry?
Kohei: So now get us to start our agenda. First of all, I’d like to ask about your history and you are leading in this industry for a long time, the great careers until the moment. So why did you start and how did you work in the data and digital industry? Could you tell us about it?
Vivian: Thanks, that’s a great question. Um, I started my career in the financial services industry, working for companies like GE Capital, Discover Financial Services and OCBC. This industry of how to fully utilize the data for things like CRM or risk management.
Afterward I work at Accenture and other global data companies across different regions. This experience gave me a first hand look at how data is collected, used and monetized throughout the whole digital ecosystem.
And the rise of GDPR in 2018, sparked a turning point for me. So witnessed that impact on the data industry. I left my job at Acxiom/LiveRamp which is a very big global data company.
So I actually noted consumer data monetization practice and those uncontrolled proliferation of PII, which is personal identifiable information, convinced me a new approach was essential.
Consumers basically, I feel consumers, which is the rightful owner of their data, lacked the control of its use. So however as a data person, I also believe data is powerful.
And it can improve lives if it’s used properly. So I noticed that that is very interesting. Data sharing, particularly in APAC, wasn’t always effective, due to lack of a trust, not just a privacy limitation, and that sparked the idea.
I could find a solution that makes the data accessible, but protects the privacy, respecting consumer rights and ensuring transparency
Kohei: That’s a brilliant your work in this industry. So maybe you have the work in a global brands a global company, especially for like Accenture and Dentsu that are a part of the strong advertisement divisions.
So what was the big impact since the data protection law has evolved then can that be some of the threshold for the industry so how do you feel about these new transitions for the industry?
Vivian: For industry, media advertising.
Kohei: Yeah, media advertising industry.
Vivian: Oh, it’s a huge I think, you know, like I will say, when GDPR came to the market, which industry can have the biggest impact? I will say that media and advertising. Cause we all know the way they manage and attract consumer data.
There are already a lot of questions around that right that is why we see the application of third party cookies. And there were tons of PIIs flowing around and this whole ecosystem because that’s the nature of this business.
So-called personalization basically is able to track the consumer everywhere, regardless your online or offline. And then you’re always tracked and measured for the ads.
（Movie: How to Achieve Personalization at Scale with Machine Learning）
So when the new privacy law comes to this market. That means every organization involved need to rethink how they are going to collect the data, store it, and use it, because if you look at the GDPR , all those privacy rules, include two important parts.
Number one is to redefine what is considered personal information. Because once it’s defined as personal information, then that comes along with a data subject rights.
That means that you always need to get a very specific agreement from the consumer for how you collect, use and share their personal information..
So the rights like, right to be forgotten, which is the right to delete data, I guess, all of that come into place, then organizations really need to think through so how they’re going to responsibly manage that information, but at the same time, still be able to enable those key use cases because at the end of the day, that’s their business, right?
So that is why when you see the thing like a cookie deprecation, which is I believe a big thing for this industry. Every organization is talking about the first party data, because that’s the most effective alternative on the table.
But that first party data is the PII organization collecting directly from consumers, which always triggers the concern of security, privacy protection and also their business. What is the right way to manage PII, and how to do that effectively.
That’s really the biggest focus and what industry is talking about today. Also that is why you see a lot of PETs, the privacy enhancing technologies are coming into the discussion like data clean room.
So I see the impact for this industry is from multiple different angles,involving a lot of changes and technology is just one part of it. .
Kohei: Thank you for sharing, I suppose it’s a very big impact not just only for the industry move but also societal changes, maybe just in the next decades. As you mentioned about the PETs, it is one of the innovative approaches.
Now the media advertisement industry, and you are leading a very innovative startup at this moment. Could you tell us about your startup and history establishment. What and what are you providing on the startup?
- The history of the Karlsgate establishment and provision
Vivian: Thank you. Yes, I’m very interesting, actually. My company is called Karlsgare but actually before Karlsgare, my first attempt involved blockchain technology. I tried to solve this data sharing challenge and to empower consumers.
Because in the very beginning I thought consumers should be in the center of this value chain, because they are the true owner of the data. Well, that being true, but the venture didn’t work out very well.
And it actually revealed a more effective approach, really focusing on the data controller side. Data controller, we all know it is an organization, directly providing services or products to consumers and along the way collecting data from the consumers.
So I think if those organizations can build a trust, and the responsible way to utilize data, and that can actually benefit consumers. It is a win-win solution for everyone.
So that is why, when I failed my first attempt, my ex-colleague from Acxiom, who is also the CEO and founder of Karlsgate, Brian Mullin reached out to me and shared his innovative technology.
I immediately saw the potential. I said yes, let’s do it. We share exactly the same vision and founded Karlsgare in 2020.
And just that year, we quickly signed out a big client. A Mexican telco company, with a leading global data company for is a cross border enrichment project. Today, we have a diverse client base across industries and have secured funding from Microsoft and the Motley Fool Ventures.
In terms of what we provide, Karlsgare provides a lightweight privacy enhancing data management tool for modern data governance that empowers data controllers to regain control, unlock the data potential and enable secure privacy centric data access and sharing across internal and external silos.
Kohei: That’s a very important challenge to change the industry, the privacy protection. So next question about the transitions. As you mentioned in the previous part, you said about the industry has changed since data protection is involved. It’s been very emerging, and it’s been impactful.
So my question is: How has the privacy perception changed among the industry? Of course, data protection legislation is part of the elements. Do you have any ideas for that?
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