Land O’Lakes rewrites the rules of product-based data alignment

Lembeck’s response: “There’s always the possibility of ‘shadow IT.’ But if we’re doing our jobs building trust and keeping the conversation going, we can still shape outcomes even in a decentralized model,” he says. “And because architecture and technology decisions are federated to the teams, the people doing the work own the how instead of waiting for a central group to dictate it. That ownership is where the magic happens.”

He credits his boss, Land O’Lakes CTO Teddy Bekele, with shaping this approach: “Teddy’s taught me so much about the power of working horizontally. By talking to enough people across the business, you get a pulse on what’s working, what’s broken, and where to focus your energy.”

As for capability-building, Land O’Lakes has taken a page from Spotify. Lembeck established “guilds” for data engineers and data scientists, functional communities that share best practices across business units and help raise the bar on delivery quality. “They don’t just share what worked,” he says. “They share the scars too.”