Answer
Data governance is the practice of managing the availability, usability, integrity, and security of revenue-related data across systems and teams, defining who owns what data, how it's used, and how it's kept clean, compliant, and consistent. Effective governance starts with establishing clear data ownership and stewardship roles.
Data owners are senior business leaders with ultimate accountability for a data domain, while data stewards are tactical experts responsible for day-to-day management including data quality monitoring, metadata management, and compliance. Establish governance goals, determine access hierarchies so teams have appropriate CRM access levels, define policies for collection, storage, use, protection, archiving, and deletion, and ensure data can only be accessed by those who need it. Embed governance processes into daily GTM workflows rather than adding friction, and run enablement sessions teaching why it matters and making it practical and ongoing.