Barbara Forth is the inaugural Chief Data Officer for the College of William & Mary in
Williamsburg, VA leading Institutional Research and Analytics teams in the deployment of
analytics, data governance, and management infrastructure to generate insights to be used
to improve organizational decision-making and excellence. W&M aspires to data excellence
in the administration and support of teaching, learning, research, community action and
university operation.
Barbara has 30 years + of data management experience in the Financial Services industry.
She has held numerous executive and consulting roles at major financial institutions such
as Fidelity Investments, Capital Group, Experian Consumer Services, and General Electric.
She is an accomplished Information Management leader who has delivered a wide range of
IT solutions with a focus on Business Intelligence/Analytics, business and data architecture,
database technology research, and large-scale operations management. She has directed
teams of 120+ for large scale technical initiatives, ranging from $1.2 -$20M and budget of
$25M+. In her various roles she has overseen all aspects of how complex data is gathered,
managed, protected, and monetized.
Barbara founded B4th Consulting in 2018 with the idea of helping companies transform
digitally and build DATA capabilities into the core of an organization. B4th Consulting
identifies and removes impediments to Digital Transformation programs to improve speed
of adoption, revenue growth or business efficiencies. B4th Consulting helps young
companies grow with an eye to building DATA capabilities at each stage of growth.

Barbara is a recognized speaker on emerging data management trends, technology,
innovation, and tool adoption. She was a board member of ai4biz.org and a founding
member of the Orange County Chapter – Private Directors Association.