Ron Thompson’s Post

Excited to share that Ron Thompson has joined the Why Not I Advisory Board. Ron brings over 30 years of experience leading data and digital transformation across some of the world’s most advanced organisations, including serving as Chief Data Officer and Deputy Digital Transformation Officer at NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, where he helped shape the agency’s use of AI, data, and emerging technologies. His career has spanned senior leadership roles across the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Department of the Treasury, CENSUS, UNITED STATES BUREAU OF THE, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, each focused on leveraging data systems and innovation to transform how organisations operate and make decisions. As Why Not I continues to build a platform designed to prevent mental health decline in elite sport through daily, data-driven support, Ron’s wealth of knowledge in AI strategy, data governance, and ethical data use will be invaluable. With elite sport generating some of the most sensitive and high-impact human performance data in the world, Ron’s guidance will help us shape how that data is structured, protected, and used responsibly, to make the space a better, safer, and more intelligent environment for athletes and organisations alike. Among his many honours, Ron has received the Technology Lifetime Achievement Award (2023), been named one of the Top 100 Worldwide Data Activators (2022), and recognised as one of the Leading Data Executives (2021) by CDO Magazine. Having someone of Ron’s calibre and perspective join the Why Not I journey is a huge step forward, not just for what we’re building, but for the impact we’re determined to make. Welcome to the team, Ron. Excited for what’s ahead. We’re excited to have Ron join us on this mission and grateful for the perspective she brings to the Why Not I ecosystem. Ron joins David Andrew, Marie Burnham, Arun Cowan, Lydia Edgar, Michael Clohisy and Caragh McMurtry. #WhyNotI #AdvisoryBoard #AI #SportsTech #DataStrategy #MentalHealthInnovation #EliteSport