Whether we talk about digital transformation or big data,   statistics and data science have been in the spotlight. In this talk I will share my thoughts on why this is an exciting time for the statistics profession and why we must address many challenges to stay ahead in the data science era. I will discuss the fast-changing landscape for statistics research and education, and describe some of the important data challenges and research problems that may define our profession in the years ahead.   The discussions are aimed at any faculty and students who are interested in the future of statistics.