Marketing leaders increasingly recognize analytics and measurement as strategic imperatives, yet often rely on IT for its data management. In this session, I’ll explore the concept of data as knowledge and one of marketing’s core assets. I challenge the common practice of delegating data management to IT – which typically lacks the specialized expertise in marketing-specific use cases like attribution, strategic analysis, and activation – and outline why achieving the transparent, clean, and unified data warehouse desired by CMOs requires direct marketing involvement. Finally, I’ll provide guidance on building and operating such environments and highlight ways to effectively leverage data for improved marketing outcomes.