Master Data Management & Operations Director

As the Master Data Management & Operations Director , you will lead the build-out and ongoing operation of MassMutual’s Distribution Master Data Management (MDM) capability. This role is responsible for establishing the people, processes, stewardship routines, data standards, and technology partnerships needed to deliver trusted master data across critical business domains, including Product, Party, Advisor, Account, Contract, and related reference data. This is both a capability-building and operating leadership role. You will define the MDM strategy, target operating model, and roadmap while also ensuring day-to-day data stewardship, issue management, data quality monitoring, domain health reporting, and remediation processes operate effectively. As a hands-on leader of this newly established function, you will build and develop a high-performing team of data governance and stewardship professionals while partnering across Distribution, Data & Analytics, and Technology organizations to establish enterprise data standards, ownership models, stewardship practices, and MDM capabilities. The Impact You will help establish a new MDM and data support function that improves how Distribution defines, manages, monitors, and uses critical master data. Your work will strengthen confidence in the data used for reporting, analytics, planning, digital experiences, customer and advisor insights, and operational execution. Partnering closely with business and technology leaders, you will drive data quality, governance adoption, and MDM platform evolution to improve operational efficiency, support enterprise transformation initiatives, and advance the organization's data maturity.  By balancing strategy with operational execution, you will help move the organization from fragmented, manually reconciled data toward more consistent, governed, and business-owned master data. Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Organizational Leadership & Team Development Build, lead, and develop a high-performing MDM, data stewardship, and data operations team. Establish team priorities, operating routines, service expectations, and measures of success aligned to Distribution business objectives. Develop team capabilities across data stewardship, issue management, data quality, business requirements, governance operations, and stakeholder engagement. Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. MDM Strategy, Governance & Operating Model Define and execute the Distribution MDM strategy, roadmap, operating model, and adoption plan. Establish practical data ownership, stewardship roles, decision rights, standards, and accountability across core master data domains. Create repeatable processes for managing data definitions, source-of-truth expectations, hierarchy structures, reference data, domain inventories, and critical data elements. Partner with business leaders to resolve ownership conflicts, clarify data standards, and align MDM priorities to business outcomes. Data Stewardship & Master Data Operations Lead day-to-day stewardship activities across assigned master data domains, including Product, Party, Advisor, Account, Contract, and reference data. Oversee data issue intake, triage, root cause analysis, exception management, remediation planning, and business escalation. Maintain stewardship procedures, business glossaries, data standards, domain documentation, ownership records, and operational playbooks. Coordinate recurring stewardship reviews, domain health reporting, issue management routines, and operational performance tracking. MDM Platform & Technology Partnership Partner with Technology, Architecture, Engineering, and implementation partners to define business requirements, data models, matching rules, survivorship logic, hierarchies,