Combining some of my favourite pastimes: meeting new people, exploring different cafes, enjoying a hot drink and talking practical challenges and innovations in data governance.  This is one of the first digital cuppa in this series so the café is my home.

This week’s feature is Diane Hicks, who leads Data Governance at Essential Energy—one of Australia’s most unique and critical infrastructure providers. Diane’s not just steering data governance; she’s doing it across a state-owned corporation that supplies electricity to 96% of NSW’s geography—snowfields, deserts, small towns and all. 

What stood out most was Diane’s no-nonsense, boots-on-the-ground leadership. Over the past five years, she’s turned a compliance obligation into a full-blown enterprise data governance capability—introducing data stewardship, business glossaries, information classification, and metadata management where previously there had been very little. And she did it in a highly regulated and highly technical environment, all while building a culture of ownership and accountability across the business. 

Diane’s take? Governance isn’t red tape. It’s the foundation of trust, safety, and operational excellence—especially when you’re responsible for keeping the lights on (literally) across a massive portion of the country. I learned a lot in this chat and I’m looking forward to round two. 

Thanks for the cuppa and connection, Diane! 

If you want to be involved in our next coffee chat…

Register Here: https://dgx.group/data-governors-in-cafes/