I support the development of digital products and services in Aviva, particularly those that rely on innovative uses of personal data, to ensure we properly uphold the privacy rights of our customers and addresses other legal risks, such as licensing and intellectual property.
Working in-house really provides a fascinating insight into how regulation can impact the operations of the business and it’s great to be a part of designing strategic solutions.
Data-rich businesses that have collected significant volumes of data through the offering of digital services will have a different set of concerns to those that have been collecting large volumes of data over many years. The issues facing both will vary. For established financial services companies, GDPR is particularly difficult to implement due to data being held over multiple legacy systems not designed to support the enhanced customer rights introduced by the GDPR.
I am particularly proud of having built my team here at Aviva – they are the best thing about my current role. Looking back beyond Aviva, I am also proud of having initiated data protection compliance programmes at two international organisations, and supporting compliance by an international media agency with respect to their online behavioural advertising services when the changes to [the UK’s Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations] became effective in 2011.