Career

Craig Napier is a senior data, analytics and AI executive with more than two decades of experience helping complex organisations turn information into trusted insight, improved performance and strategic advantage. As the inaugural Chief Data Officer at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Craig leads the organisation's enterprise approach to data, analytics, artificial intelligence, information asset management and performance evaluation.

Since joining UTS, Craig has delivered the university's enterprise-wide Data and AI Strategy and led the transition towards a self-service operating model for BI and analytics. His remit spans responsible AI adoption, data-related risk, information asset management and identifying opportunities to create value from information assets, with more than 60% adoption of BI and analytics tools across the organisation.

Craig brings a distinctive combination of data and technology expertise with commercial and financial discipline. A Fellow Certified Practising Accountant (FCPA), he began his career in financial systems, reporting and management accounting before progressing into business intelligence, analytics and executive data leadership. This foundation gives him a practical perspective on connecting technology and data investment with measurable organisational outcomes.

Role at Factor

At Factor, Craig brings an executive perspective on one of the central challenges facing organisations today: how to move AI from experimentation into responsible, scalable and valuable enterprise capability. His experience sits across the practical issues that determine whether AI initiatives succeed, from data foundations and operating models through to governance, adoption and benefit realisation.

Craig is particularly interested in the tension between innovation and control. He brings practical experience navigating the growth of shadow AI, understanding what tools employees are using and what organisational data is entering those environments, while developing guardrails that support experimentation without unnecessarily constraining innovation.

His advisory perspective also extends to the emerging economics of AI. Craig is focused on understanding and managing the cost of AI usage, including how organisations monitor consumption and make informed decisions about where AI creates genuine value. He is equally interested in the workforce implications of AI and how leaders communicate benefits beyond the bottom line to build organisational buy-in and enable meaningful adoption.

Key roles Craig works with include: CIOs, CTOs, CDAOs, Chief Data Officers, Chief AI & Digital Officers, Chief Analytics Officers, Chief Transformation Officers, and Board & Executive Leaders.

Previous Roles

Craig has served as Chief Data Officer at UTS since 2020, where he delivered the university's enterprise-wide Data and AI Strategy and established a new data and AI operating model. His responsibilities include driving responsible AI adoption, strengthening data management, monitoring data-related risks and enabling high-quality information to support organisational decision-making.

Before UTS, Craig held senior analytics and institutional performance roles at the University of Sydney, including Associate Director, Institutional Analytics and Planning and Program Director, Business Intelligence. He developed advanced analytics capabilities, established a modern cloud-based enterprise data environment using Snowflake, and built data science, data engineering and data governance capabilities.

Earlier at the University of Wollongong, Craig had numerous roles spanning Business Intelligence, Research Data Management, Analytics and Institutional performance before becoming the Director of the Performance Indicators Unit, leading the delivery of Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing and Analytics capabilities. He also lectured in Business Analytics, teaching the application of analytics to improve organisational decision-making and delivering intensive analytics programs internationally.

Craig began his career in financial, systems, reporting and management accounting, including roles with Boral Construction Materials, Boral Shared Business Services and Cairns Regional Council. This financial and operational foundation continues to inform his approach to data, analytics and AI, particularly around understanding investment, performance and measurable value.

Media Presence and Industry Contributions

Craig has been actively involved in the Australian data and analytics community, including serving as President of the Australian Chapter of The Data Warehouse Institute (TDWI) and Chair of the Data Warehouse, Business Intelligence and Analytics Special Interest Group at the Australasian Association for Institutional Research. He has facilitated specialist sessions and peer discussions across analytics, AI and data, and has supported senior professionals through knowledge-sharing and industry collaboration.

He has been recognised among Australia's leading analytics professionals, including being named one of the Top 3 Analytics Leaders in Australia by the Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia. Craig brings extensive experience facilitating conversations across data, analytics and AI, with a particular interest in emerging issues that organisations are still working to understand and operationalise.

Craig is a Fellow Certified Practising Accountant (FCPA) and is a board member of Wollongong CPA, bringing an ongoing connection to the professional accounting community. His combination of executive data leadership, analytics practice and financial discipline allows him to bridge technical, commercial and organisational perspectives when exploring emerging technology challenges.

Leadership Philosophy

Craig believes AI adoption is ultimately a people and organisational change journey, not simply a technology challenge. For AI to scale responsibly and create lasting value, leaders need to bring people with them by building understanding, trust and confidence in how AI will change work, where benefits will be realised, and what support, governance, data and operating foundations need to be in place.

He advocates for governance that enables innovation rather than restricting it. In areas such as shadow AI, data protection and responsible experimentation, Craig focuses on creating practical guardrails that give people room to explore while providing executives with sufficient visibility, accountability and risk management.

His approach is grounded in practical value. Craig believes leaders need to move beyond enthusiasm for new technology and demonstrate what it is actually delivering, whether through financial benefits, improved decision-making, workforce transformation or organisational performance. The goal is not simply to adopt AI, but to build the conditions in which it can be used responsibly, sustainably and at scale.