Chad Sanderson: Fixing Broken Data Culture, One Contract at a Time

Data breaks. AI models go crazy. Downstream teams scramble to put out the fire.

In this episode, I talk with Chad Sanderson, CEO and co-founder of Gable - a startup rebuilding data quality and governance from the ground up. We dive into the “shift left” philosophy: why upstream engineers must own their data outputs, how data contracts create accountability in AI systems, and what it takes to drive real cultural change across an organization.

We also zoom out into Chad’s journey - from martial arts and journalism to leading data teams at Microsoft and Convoy. Along the way, we unpack why upstream ownership unlocks downstream speed, why the future of AI depends on mapping data flows end to end, and how a mission rooted in truth and transparency ties it all together!

A must-listen for anyone navigating the messy intersection of product velocity, data integrity, and organizational scale - the foundation needed to truly unlock AI’s potential.

https://www.gable.ai/

https://dataproducts.substack.com/