The phrase “data is the new oil” has echoed across boardrooms and strategy decks for more than a decade. But Tracey Follows, CEO of Futuremade, offers a more visceral, and perhaps more accurate, analogy: data is the new blood. In my conversation with her at FinovateEurope 2025, Follows challenged financial services leaders to rethink how data flows, regenerates, and sustains our increasingly digital and AI-driven economy.
In a world where digital identity, embedded finance, and AI are converging at unprecedented speed, Follows argues that understanding the lifeblood of these systems– data– is critical to building trust, ensuring relevance, and preparing for what comes next. Her insights are a wake-up call for financial institutions that are still operating with a fragmented or overly transactional view of data.
“We hear that data is the new oil. We’ve been hearing that for 20 years. No. No. Data is the new blood. That’s the way I want people to think about it. That’s the metaphor that really does justice to the vital, intimate, personal nature of the kind of data that’s now going to be flowing into AI, and particularly agentic AI, to help it make decisions that encompasses our neurological functions, cognitive functions, physiological functions, alongside our financial decision-making.”
Tracey Follows is a globally recognized futurist, speaker, and author. She is the former Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at The Future Laboratory and has advised major brands such as Google, Telefonica, and Diageo. Her book The Future of You explores the intersection of digital identity, privacy, and personalization. Follows is a regular commentator in the media and was named one of the top 50 female futurists in the world by Forbes.
Follows is also the founder and CEO of Futuremade, a strategic foresight and futures consultancy that helps organizations anticipate long-term change and build future-ready strategies. With expertise in scenario planning, horizon scanning, and trend analysis, Futuremade supports global clients in sectors ranging from finance to media and technology. The firm’s work emphasizes ethical innovation, societal shifts, and the human implications of emerging technologies.
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