Episode 1: The Big Medallion Architecture Debate
Pragmatic Perspectives on Layering, Trust, Ownership, and Real-World Architectures
Join renowned O’Reilly author Piethein Strengholt and Actian’s Chief Evangelist Ole Olesen Bagneux for a live conversation on the relevance of medallion architecture in today’s evolving data ecosystem.
Date: July 10, 2025
Time: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM CEST | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT
Format: Live Webinar (with audience Q&A)
Reserve Your Spot Today!
This is the first episode of Data, Explored, a new thought leadership webinar series by Actian. Each session brings together leading voices to unpack critical ideas, challenge assumptions, and deliver actionable insights for data leaders.
Medallion Architecture isn’t new—but it remains deeply relevant.
While data products and contracts promise clean inputs and clear expectations, the reality in most organizations is far messier.
In this session, we’re joined by Piethein Strengholt, author of Building Medallion Architectures (O’Reilly, 2025), to explore why this layered design pattern still matters. We’ll examine how medallion architectures serve as a practical foundation for enabling trusted, AI-ready data—even in organizations pursuing modern paradigms like data contracts and federated ownership.
We’ll also explore what it means to “shift left” in the context of data governance—how theory often contrasts with practice, and how teams can begin embedding trust earlier in the data lifecycle without relying on perfect contract compliance.
Finally, we’ll introduce how Actian’s Data Observability capabilities can complement these patterns by bringing visibility and reliability across the architecture.
Expect an honest and pragmatic conversation on what it really takes to build scalable, governed, AI-ready data platforms.
Who Should Attend
- Data architects and platform teams.
- Metadata and governance professionals.
- Enterprise data strategists and product owners.
- Anyone building or maintaining AI-ready data platforms.
Featured Speakers
Piethein Strengholt
Enterprise Data Architect and O’Reilly Author
Piethein Strengholt is a seasoned expert in data management with significant experience in chief data officer (CDO) and chief data architect roles. He has a strong track record of collaborating with CDO executives at large enterprises, where he focuses on driving community growth and aligning strategies with business goals. Piethein is also a prolific blogger and a sought-after speaker who regularly addresses the latest trends in data management, including data mesh concepts, data governance, and scaling strategies.
Ole Olesen-Bagneux
Chief Evangelist, Actian and O’Reilly Author
Ole Olesen-Bagneux is a globally recognized thought leader in metadata management and enterprise data architecture. As VP and Chief Evangelist at Actian, he drives industry awareness and adoption of modern approaches to data intelligence, leveraging his extensive expertise in data management, metadata, data catalogs, and decentralized architectures. An accomplished author, Ole has written The Enterprise Data Catalog (O’Reilly, 2023). He is currently working on Fundamentals of Metadata Management (O’Reilly, 2025).
