Colleen Tartow

About Colleen Tartow

Colleen Tartow, Ph.D. has over 20 years of experience in leading engineering, data, and analytics organizations. Her core experiences lie in building and leading diverse, global teams focused on generating business value and customer delight, with a focus on data. Adept at assisting organizations in deriving value from high-performing teams with a positive culture, Colleen has successfully scaled and led large engineering, data engineering, and analytics teams through the myriad stages of startup evolution. As a technical leader, Colleen has developed complex global data management solutions and architected front- and back-end SaaS and enterprise data systems focused on customer value. She is determined to make engineering organizations better for both humans and business through mentoring, leadership, and streamlining process. Her proven track record of building high-performing and technically creative organizations has led to the measurable revenue generation and innovation that is the hallmark of successful startups.Colleen\'s thought leadership work has led her to consulting and advising as a trusted resource on modern data and engineering tools, and her demonstrated excellence in data and engineering leadership makes her a key senior advisor among executive teams. Through her work on data, engineering, analytics, mentoring, and DEI issues, Colleen has been invited to speak at a variety of events and on many podcasts in the technology leadership and data thought leadership spaces. Moreover, Colleen is a prolific writer, having written several books and myriad bylines, blogs, and articles. She is currently Senior Director of Enterprise Data Engineering at Capital One, holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics, and lives in Massachusetts.

Experience

1. Senior Director, Enterprise Data Engineering

   Capital One

   Mar 2025 — Present

Education

• UC Santa Barbara

  Ph.D., M.A., Astrophysics

  1999 — 2005

• Colby College

  B.A., Physics

  1995 — 1999