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Tuesday, September 24, 2024
UP NEXT: TEC Exclusive Member Dinner
This is an intimate, invitation-only event intended to foster conversation and learning of a variety of pressing topics facing technology executives.
To learn more about joining the CNBC TEC, visit: cnbccouncils.com/tec.
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Learn more and apply to the TEC
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2024 Event Calendar
Members-Only Event Series
From town halls to our flagship annual member summit, members of the CNBC Technology Executive Council have access to an assortment of events throughout the
2024_TEC_Events_Calendar2024 Event Calendar
Join TEC to access this private event series.
About The Council
The CNBC Technology Executive Council is a members-only group of technology executives, who meet to discuss high-priority, breakthrough technologies that solve problems and power growth, while also addressing the challenges presented by these innovations. Joined by CNBC journalists, the council is made up of CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, and CISOs from leading technology firms convene to connect with peers, collaborate, discuss pressing and complicated issues, and ultimately, share relevant, actionable insights.
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IN THEIR OWN WORDS
The discussions make the experience. I’ve been able to take some of the research and conversations and implement right back into the company … the quality of the people and the level of conversations is just fantastic.”
[During the TEC sessions and events,] I feel like we’re all in this together. Everything is new. No one has experienced a pandemic before. … Whether it’s big companies, small companies, whatever sectors, and we’re all kind of in that same space.”
I’ve been a member for about three years now. I think all of the events are really amazing. We get to network with a lot of other CTOs and CIOs and it’s just so informative and great to talk to others … It’s been a lot of great programming too, so introducing us to a lot of good thoughts and bringing things into our own companies and organizations as well.”
Council
Members
Cynthia Stoddard
Adobe Inc.
Cynthia Stoddard
As senior vice president and chief information officer of Adobe, Cynthia Stoddard oversees Adobe’s global Information Technology & Cloud Operations teams. In her leadership role, Cynthia spearheads a global strategy for delivering services and operations that form the mission-critical backbone for the company. This includes providing always-on systems and enterprise applications; resilient and reliable end-to-end operations; productive employee experiences; and data services for real-time decision making and personalized customer experiences.
Cynthia is an IT industry veteran, with more than 25 years of business experience and IT expertise leading large global organizations in supply chain, retail, and technology development. Before joining Adobe in 2016, she was chief information officer and senior vice president at data storage and management company NetApp, where she led the company’s traditional IT functions while also expanding focus on innovation, customer-facing programs, and strategic partnerships. She previously held a number of information technology and technical leadership positions at supply chain, retail, and technology companies including Safeway Inc. and APL Limited.
Cynthia was honored with the CIO Hall of Fame award in 2019 for her contributions to business and technology. Additionally, she is a recipient of the CIO 100 Award in 2017 and 2018 for Adobe IT’s innovative ways to deliver business value. She was named among the top Women of Influence by Silicon Valley Business Journal and was recognized as one of Huffington Post’s Top 100 Most Social CIOs. She is a founding member of Impact100 East Bay, whose mission is to raise funds to meet the needs of the local community.
Cynthia holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Western New England University, from which she graduated cum laude, and an MBA from Marylhurst University.
Azfar Shamsi
Akerman
Azfar Shamsi
Azfar Shamsi serves as Akerman’s Chief Information Officer, overseeing all aspects of the firm’s information technology strategy, architecture, and management. Azfar works closely with firm leadership to ensure technology initiatives and capabilities align with our clients’ objectives and security requirements. He has over 20 years of experience working across various industries, and has held technology leadership positions in several AmLaw 100 firms.
A registered patent lawyer with a background in computer science, Azfar has an established record of creating and leveraging innovative solutions to transform and simplify business processes to deliver measurable benefits to both end users and clients.
Bharat Guruprakash
Algolia
Bharat Guruprakash
With more than 20+ years of product and engineering experience, Bharat leads Algolia’s product organization and provides customers with an expansive platform of APIs to create composable applications that empower them to deliver rich, personalized, and dynamic digital experiences in real time to end consumers. Prior to Algolia, Bharat was at cloud communications platform leader, Twilio. Most recently, he served as general manager of Twilio account security, the upstack authentication and verification business for Twilio. Bharat also held leadership roles at Bitcasa, Samsung and Digit International.
Hakan Kardes
Alignment Health
Hakan Kardes
Hakan Kardes is chief technology and experience officer for Alignment Health, a tech-enabled Medicare Advantage company championing a new path in senior care.
In this role, Mr. Kardes oversees data, technology, artificial intelligence (AI) strategy and execution, stars and consumer-centric operations, delivering best-in-class patient outcomes and experiences. He brings 13 years of experience leveraging data science and technology to drive business outcomes.
Before joining Alignment, Mr. Kardes was vice president of data science and advanced analytics at Cambia Health Solutions, where he headed up the Data Science, Engineering, Product, and Analytics division. He provided strategic direction for Cambia’s data strategy and contributed to its transformation from a traditional health plan to a consumer-centric total health solutions company. Before joining Cambia, Mr. Kardes was a principal data scientist at Intelius and was responsible for building their proprietary data and insights engine that powers over 80% of the people's background search market in the United States.
Mr. Kardes holds a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Bogazici University in Turkey and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Nevada, Reno. He has published over 15 papers and holds several patents.
Sathish Muthukrishnan
Ally
Sathish Muthukrishnan
Sathish Muthukrishnan was named chief information, data and digital officer for Ally Financial Inc. in December 2019. In this role, Muthukrishnan is responsible for advancing Ally's technical and digital capabilities, including cyber security and infrastructure, and accelerating the company's growth and evolution as a leader in the digital financial services sector. He is based in Ally's Charlotte corporate center and reports to Ally CEO Jeffrey J. Brown.
Sathish has held a number of senior technology leadership roles with substantial scale and global reach, and previously served as the first chief digital and information officer for Honeywell Aerospace, a nearly $14 billion revenue business within Honeywell International. He brings to Ally more than 20 years of technology leadership experience in complex businesses with high availability and reliability requirements on their technology, ten of which were spent in financial services with American Express prior to joining Honeywell.
Sathish graduated from the University of Madras with a degree in engineering specializing in computer science. He is a member of the Advisory Board of WIT International and was the recipient of the Chairman's Award for Innovation for several years at American Express. Muthukrishnan has over 25 filed patents in the manufacturing, payments, and digital technology space.
Alan Lee
Analog Devices
Alan Lee
As Chief Technology Officer, Alan Lee develops and leads ADI’s long-term technology strategy for applications across the company’s end markets, working closely with ADI's global business units and manufacturing operations to drive ADI's competitive advantage. Alan is responsible for identifying, sourcing, and cultivating new business, technology, and research opportunities, as well as developing foundational technology capabilities in support of the current and future needs of our markets and customers.
Alan is a highly accomplished executive with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. Most recently he served as the Corporate Vice President of Research and Advanced Development at AMD. During his tenure at the company, he founded AMD Research where he oversaw the company’s worldwide research and advanced technology labs, university engagements, and external research contracting. Alan also led extreme-scale computing technology at AMD, where he drove the software and hardware engineering efforts to build the world’s fastest platforms for machine learning, industrial, and scientific applications.
Previously, Alan was CEO of a privately held company creating technologies for high-frequency trading and quantitative financial analysis. Moreover, he developed expertise in large-scale, multinational engineering and technology projects through his previous work at Intel and IBM.
Alan currently chairs the CTO Committee for the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the CTO Council for the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA). He has served on the Board of Directors for the Semiconductor Research Corporation and the Board of Trustees for the NSF Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics. An ardent supporter of education, he also volunteers his time to multiple non-profit educational programs.
Sriram Thiagarajan
Ancestry
Sriram Thiagarajan
Sriram Thiagarajan is the Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Ancestry responsible for ensuring Ancestry’s customers have the best product experience. As part of Ancestry’s executive management team, Sriram leads the overall vision, strategy and execution for all aspects of Ancestry’s product engineering, technology architecture, AI/ML services, platform development, cloud operations, cyber security, and corporate systems. Sriram is a seasoned, growth-oriented technology executive with 25+ years of experience at public, venture and private equity backed companies, where he has helped scale several B2B and B2C businesses.
Prior to Ancestry, Sriram served as SVP & Chief Information Officer at Infoblox, where he was responsible for Information Technology and Cybersecurity. Before Infoblox, Sriram was the Global Head of IT & Corporate Engineering at Twitter, where he helped architect and scale
corporate infrastructure, enterprise systems and integrations with ad serving platforms and help prepare the company for its IPO. Prior to Twitter, as VP of eCommerce services & Corporate Systems at Yahoo, Sriram led the monetization of premium services offerings, and managed product, engineering & operations teams in addition to the enterprise systems organization. Earlier in his career, Sriram held leadership roles at Verisign and Ernst & Young.
Sriram holds a Master of Engineering degree from Florida Atlantic University and Bachelor of Engineering degree from Anna University, India.
Benjamin Lyon
Aptiv
Benjamin Lyon
Benjamin Lyon is senior vice president and chief technology officer of Aptiv, a position he has held since December 2022.
In this role, Mr. Lyon is responsible for ensuring that Aptiv remains at the forefront of emerging and disruptive technology trends and prioritizing longer-term technology and business model opportunities in mobility and adjacent markets. In addition, Mr. Lyon is responsible for the technology leadership of the global engineering organization, which includes more than 19,000 technologists located in 12 major technical centers across the globe.
Mr. Lyon has over two decades of experience in senior engineering, developing technology, commercializing products and executing program launches at leading technology companies.
Most recently, Benjamin served as Chief Engineer and Executive Vice President of Engineering and Operations of Astra Space, Inc. since 2021. In this role, he successfully deployed 22 satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO) and launched the Astra Space Engine Hall-Effect thruster product line.
Before that, Benjamin served at Apple Inc. for over two decades, developing and productized sensors, displays, high-performance compute, and safety / security critical technology for scale. While at Apple, he also cofounded their autonomous systems effort.
Mr. Lyon received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
Stephen Boyer
Bitsight
Stephen Boyer
Stephen Boyer is Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer for Bitsight.
Julie McPherson
Booz Allen Hamilton
Julie McPherson
Executive Vice President Julie McPherson leads Booz Allen’s Digital Solutions business, one of Booz Allen’s fastest growing segments focused on transforming the nation’s top agencies with innovative digital applications and services.
Julie and her team deliver digital strategies and user experiences, modern software development, as well as cloud and data platform implementations. She also drives the firm’s functional strategy to scale, deepen, and retain digital talent through affiliation and development programs.
Julie has led several technology and transformation initiatives, including:
- Recreation.gov a modern, e-commerce platform that provides citizens access to federal recreation opportunities at national parks and waterways
- Implementation of large-scale technology programs in support of the Federal Drug Administration’s regulatory programs
- Development of a data hub to support the evaluation of new models of healthcare
Previously, Julie led a team to reinvigorate Booz Allen’s culture of innovation by standing up an innovation ecosystem to make ideation and problem solving come to life across a diverse, global network of experts.
For more than 25 years, Julie has led IT transformation efforts across the defense and federal markets and has been recognized as a top leader transforming how the government uses technology. In 2021, she received Consulting Magazine's Women Leaders in Technology award. Julie holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and an M.S. in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Jason Birmingham
Broadridge Financial Solutions
Jason Birmingham
Jason joined Broadridge in June 2019 to serve as Chief Technology Officer for the company’s GTO (Global Technology and Operations) segment. In this capacity, he leads engineering, quality assurance, and architecture globally across Capital Markets, Wealth, and Asset Management. Prior to joining Broadridge, Jason had an extensive career including more than 12 years with Fannie Mae, where he served as the Head of Capital Markets and Finance Technology, as well as various management consulting roles at PwC and Navigant.
Matt Olson
Burns & McDonnell
Matt Olson
Matt Olson is the chief innovation officer for Burns & McDonnell, a $7.4 billion global engineering and construction firm. In his role, Matt leads the innovation office, dedicated to creatively helping clients solve their toughest challenges.
A futuristic thinker, Matt has the unique ability to see what’s next and identify key growth drivers and trends. He excels with identifying new technologies, determining how to create efficiencies and assembling the team to execute.
He is known in the electric utility industry as a pioneer, thought leader and visionary in telecommunications, automation and grid modernization. He led some of the largest mission-critical network deployments in North America, with an understanding of technology that is both broad and deep. His 20 years of experience includes development of industry-leading documentation systems allowing for fast, cost-effective and holistic document management.
Matt is an electrical engineer specializing in telecommunications systems and carrier network design, converged network architecture, and network management systems.
Prior to his current role, Matt served as vice president and managing director of the firm’s Telecom Group, helping utility clients develop networks supporting their entire organization. This included helping them understand how to manage information; design systems in 3D models; and design multimillion-dollar, utilitywide fiber networks.
He joined the founding national board of the Utility Broadband Alliance, a collaboration of utilities and ecosystem partners dedicated to championing the advancement and development of private broadband networks.
Matt is a licensed professional engineer and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering, both from the University of Tulsa.
Shane Eleniak
Calix
Shane Eleniak
Shane is chief product officer at Calix. In this role Shane is responsible for all of Calix’s products – Access, Premises, Cloud and Ecosystem and leads the teams responsible for Product Strategy, Product Management, Engineering, Cloud Operations and Technology. He has more than 30 years of experience creating cloud, software and networking innovation. Prior to joining Calix, Shane was the Group Vice President of the Advanced Broadband Solutions (ABS) business unit at CommScope, responsible for their edge, access and CPE products.
Earlier in his career, Shane was EVP of Marketing and Business Development for Alloptic where he was the corporate officer responsible for all product and commercial operations. Shane previously held several key executive management positions in marketing, product management, business development and engineering at such industry leaders as Corrigent Systems, Alcatel-Lucent, and Telus.
Shane holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta.
Dan Gill
Carvana
Dan Gill
Dan Gill has served as Carvana's Chief Product Officer since March 2015, overseeing all technology functions, as well as strategic partnerships for the business. Prior to joining Carvana, Dan spent his career in both enterprise software and consumer internet businesses, including as the founder and CEO of Huddler from 2007 until the company's acquisition by Fandom in 2014.
Kapil Lahoti
CBRE
Kapil Lahoti
Kapil Lahoti is CDTO, GWS for CBRE.
Brian Kirkland
Choice Hotels
Brian Kirkland
Brian Kirkland is Chief Information Officer for Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world’s largest hotel companies. In this role, he oversees the company’s Information Technology organization, and is responsible for leading overall IT strategy, infrastructure, development, all aligning with Choice’s business objectives.
Mr. Kirkland joined Choice Hotels in 2015, where he led engineering development and operations at the company’s Phoenix-based technology headquarters. Mr. Kirkland notably guided Choice’s efforts to successfully design and launch the industry’s first new global reservation system in 30 years, choiceEDGE. Subsequently, he kicked off a multi-year cloud transformation and migration strategy for which Choice Hotels is the first major hotel company to commit to going all-in on the cloud with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Recently, leveraging cloud capabilities Mr. Kirkland is leading Choice’s innovation and modernization in technology.
Prior to joining Choice Hotels, Mr. Kirkland held key leadership positions at leading technology companies, GoDaddy and Media Temple (acquired by Go Daddy in 2013), most recently serving as vice president of engineering. There, Mr. Kirkland helped integrate the company’s IT structure as well as directed engineering. Earlier in his career, he held various software development positions at Hewlett-Packard and Intel.
Mr. Kirkland earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in business administration from Arizona State University. He is currently a member of Arizona’s Information Technology Authorization Committee (ITAC) and Arizona State University’s Executive Council for the Department of Information Systems. He also serves on the Executive Leadership Group for Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG).
Shailaja Shankar
Cisco
Shailaja Shankar
Shailaja Shankar is the Senior Vice President, Engineering of Cisco Security Business Group (SBG). A respected and transformative leader with strong executive management skills and deep technical experience, Shailaja oversees engineering, threat research and intelligence, and architecture.
As Senior Vice President of Engineering for the Security Business Group, Shaila leads a team of experienced cybersecurity experts and accomplished engineers that deliver a world-class portfolio which offers end-users the best experience to securely access their applications and data. Her team is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the Cisco Security Cloud Platform, including the delivery of some of the most innovative solutions like Cisco Secure Access, Extended Detection and Response (XDR), Multi-cloud Defense, and the Cisco Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assistant for Security.
With domain expertise in enterprise software, cloud services, cybersecurity, and networking, Shaila has held numerous leadership positions within the security business, including General Manager of the organization where she oversaw strategy, portfolio, and architecture. Shailaja was also Senior Vice President and GM of the Cloud and Networking Security business entity, where she focused on leading Cisco through major technology shifts in cloud, network, and workload security through SASE, SSE, and a Zero Trust approach.
Shaila has been recognized for her executive leadership within the IT industry and named among 10 Women Making a Difference in Cybersecurity by CRN. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for BorgWarner.
In addition to her deep technical product and portfolio development experience, Shailaja also prides herself on being a champion of diversity, mentoring next generation of technical women. She is a global advisor with How Women Lead, and Executive Sponsor of Women in Tech and Women in Cybersecurity at Cisco.
Abhas Ricky
Cloudera
Abhas Ricky
Abhas, an electrical engineer by training, is a seasoned strategy & ops executive, innovative general manager and a passionate entrepreneur. An experienced advisor to CXOs of the world’s largest FTSE 100 organizations he has lived in 6 countries and been to 63! An ardent innovator, he holds an inimitable experience of incubating a Digital start-up, and successfully growing it as a lean alternative growth engine bringing in revenues in excess of $50M.
Currently he heads Global Strategy, Corporate Development, Product Innovation and Sales at a fast growing tech firm and mentors multiple other tech start-ups as a growth hacker/advisor. He helps early stage startups with angel Investments, product prototyping, affiliate partnership strategy, marketing and loyalty biz-stream creation and sustainable 360 degree growth, across both sides of the Atlantic.
Beyond his day job, he spends time with his nonprofit that helps underprivileged children to go to school, and is involved in manifold leadership roles across a host of organizations to bring about a positive change in the society. Passionate about addressing poverty and education inequality, he has spoken at numerous conferences around the globe.
He was selected as a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum, '100 Visionaries under 30' alongside the likes of Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai by the Real Leaders Magazine, and a Founders of the Future under 35 by the Founders Forum; he aims to touch the lives of 1 million+ underprivileged children during his lifetime, by leveraging Ed-tech solutions that digitize education platforms.
Andrew Toy
Clover Health
Andrew Toy
Andrew Toy is the President and Chief Technology Officer at Clover, where he is responsible for overseeing engineering, data science, product, IT and security, as well as driving the vision for how technology and analytics can improve the lives of Clover's members. Andrew joined Clover from Google, where he coordinated enterprise activities for the Android team and ran Machine Learning, Enterprise Search and Analytics for the G-Suite team. Before that, he was the CEO and co-founder of Divide, a company focused on creating a split between work and personal data on mobile devices, which was acquired by Google in 2014. He earned his BS and MS in Computer Science from Stanford.
Manesh Prabhu
Columbia Bank
Manesh Prabhu
Manesh Prabhu was appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer of Columbia Bank in October 2022. In this role, Mr. Prabhu is responsible for Columbia Bank’s information systems and digital banking. Mr. Prabhu has over 20 years of experience at leading institutions including People’s United Bank N.A. Most recently, he held the title of Chief Technology Officer where he led the IT strategy and technology transformation for People’s United. Through his nearly 20-year tenure and senior leadership roles at People’s United, Mr. Prabhu led enterprise architecture, data architecture, IT governance, business intelligence, marketing analytics, and data quality with a heavy focus on digital transformation. Mr. Prabhu holds an MBA from Thiagarajar School of Management (TSM) – Madurai Kamaraj University in India and a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology (RIT) - Mahatma Gandhi University in India.
SK Panda
Comcast Business
SK Panda
SK Panda is a Tech Operations & Sales Executive with expertise in building and running Enterprise Business. SK has a strong background in technology which is the foundation of his experience in Global Tech Operations, Service Assurance, Global Sales, Customer Engagement, Global Business Operations, Infrastructure Engineering and leading Complex Delivery teams for Edge Compute, PaaS, SaaS, IaaS, Cloud, Data Center, Network, Security and Voice Contact Center Platforms. He has a strong ITIL Managed Services Delivery and Professional Services background in Global Infrastructure with a good track record in enhancing Customer Experience (CX).
Kelly Goetsch
commercetools
Kelly Goetsch
Chief Strategy Officer at commercetools. Technology guru, author of four O’Reilly books, owner of three patents, and co-founder plus chairman of the MACH® Alliance. Dedicated to promoting MACH® architecture as the foundation for the future. Father of two, husband and fitness junkie.
Ryan Peterson
Concentrix
Ryan Peterson
Ryan Peterson is Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Concentrix. A transformative and empathetic leader with a wealth of in-depth product, data, and AI experience, Ryan leads global product and technology strategy and oversees a growing portfolio.
Prior to Concentrix, Ryan led the Amazon Web Services customer experience application, Amazon Connect, and prior to that, led AWS Storage. Ryan drove significant growth in both businesses and gained substantial experience leading go-to-market, sales, business development, solution architectures, technical innovation, and directing product teams. His experience also includes more than a decade building and running data management companies, a critical skillset in the deployment of AI. He holds 8 patents in the data storage and security space.
John Rogers
CoreLogic
John Rogers
John Rogers holds the role of Chief Innovation Officer for CoreLogic and is responsible for the R&D. From driving new solutions that understand the impacts to the real estate economy due to climate change, to ground-breaking models that identify suitable land for affordable housing development, the R&D group tackles major housing issues and works with many clients across the housing industry to drive growth and mitigate risk on their book of business.
Prior to joining CoreLogic, John was a Partner with IBM Global Business Services where he focused on the delivery of large multi-million transformational programs for the financial sector both in the United Kingdom and Australia. Prior to this, John worked as a consultant for Itim Consulting, a boutique management firm based in London. John’s primary role was as a program manager on a number of assignments delivering global solutions within retail, pharmaceuticals, logistics and information services industries.
John earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Glasgow, United Kingdom in Aerospace Engineering.
Lori Wittman
Cox Automotive
Lori Wittman
Lori Wittman is President of Retail Solutions for Cox Automotive overseeing the growth and strategic direction of powerhouse brands Autotrader®, Kelley Blue Book®, Dealertrack®, Dealer.com, Esntial Commerce®, VinSolutions and Xtime.
Her focus is on building retail connections through the power of the tech and service giant’s data and people., to further the company’s commitment to transforming the industry by creating vehicle access, business success and a more sustainable planet for everyone.
Prior to current role, she held the position of Senior Vice President of Dealer Software Solutions at Cox Automotive for six years, where she led and built client-value driven connections across four brands: VinSolutions, Xtime, Dealer.com, and Dealertrack DMS, representing more than $1Billion in annual revenue. Lori has led significant growth across these and other Cox Automotive brands, including leading VinSolutions as it doubled its number of clients in five years.
In 2015, just two years after joining the automotive industry, Lori was recognized by Automotive News as one of the 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry, a prestigious list compiled every five years to recognize top female executives at automakers, suppliers, and dealerships, nationwide. In 2016, she was also recognized by the Kansas City Business Journal as a “Women Who Mean Business” honoree.
Before joining Cox Automotive in 2013, Lori had more than a decade of experience as a consultant leading large technology projects for Accenture. Before that, she led Field Technology at H&R Block, and she served in several roles of increasing responsibility at Freightquote, including the general management of one of their acquisitions, Rockwell Transportation. Lori holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration from the University of Kansas.
Marianne Johnson
Cox Automotive
Marianne Johnson
Marianne Johnson is EVP & chief product officer at Cox Automotive, where she leads the company’s product, engineering, data, security and technology teams, as well as the new product innovation discipline.
In her role, Johnson partners closely with the Cox Automotive executive team to deliver innovative solutions that create opportunities for the company’s clients while driving sustainable growth for Cox Automotive. Johnson led Cox Automotive’s technology and data transformation to become cloud-native and data-first. As a result, our DRiVEQ data intelligence engine enables Cox Automotive’s breadth of data-driven AI solutions.
As a 33-year veteran in the FinTech field, Johnson has helped shape the space, both through a technology and product innovation lens, and is applying her wealth of experience across the Cox Automotive ecosystem.
Before joining Cox Automotive, Johnson was at First Data where she was head of product innovation and technology for the network and security solutions line of business and senior vice president of enterprise commercialization.
Prior to First Data, Johnson was an executive vice president at Elavon, a U.S. Bank company, where she led global product innovation. Before Elavon, she served as a key driver of strategic growth at Equifax as senior vice president of U.S. growth and operations where she successfully delivered new product innovation that resulted in significant revenue growth and served as an impetus for future innovations.
Johnson is a well-respected and awarded member of the technology industry, and she embodies the Cox spirit through her commitment to community. She recently stepped into the role of co-chair for Cox Automotive’s “Empow[HER]” employee resource group. She has been named one of the top Chief Product Officers in the 2024 CPO Awards, presented by Products That Count, one of the top chief product officers driving business transformation in 2024 by CIO World, one of the top Women Worth Watching® by Profiles in Diversity Journal® and Woman of the Year by The Technology Association of Georgia. She was also honored in 2011 as a Turknett Leadership Character Award Nominee. She’s expanded her community involvement to include supporting the United Way and WIT – Women in Technology.
Dag Liodden
Crisp
Dag Liodden
Before co-founding Crisp, Dag also co-founded Tapad, where he served as CTO. Dag oversaw Tapad’s notable breakthroughs in delivering targeted advertising across platforms. Prior to Tapad, Dag was co-founder and CTO of Giant Leap Technologies AS, the premier business mobility solutions provider in the Nordic region.
Dag began programming at 6-years-old and has a Master’s Degree in Science, Industrial Economics and Technology Management from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. In his spare time, Dag tinkers with electronics and 3D printing and enjoys fishing with his family on the weekends.
Favorite grocery store product: Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves.
Salumeh Companieh
Cushman & Wakefield
Salumeh Companieh
As Chief Digital & Information Officer, Sal Companieh is responsible for providing solutions that improve Cushman & Wakefield’s operations, enhance client service and drive new business. Sal has over 20 years of consulting experience in process and technology transformation and has led the firm through numerous acquisition integrations as well as implementations of global platforms.
Sal joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2011 as Vice President, Global Applications, and since that time has held technology leadership positions across the business, most recently as co-Chief Information Officer (CIO). She also previously served as CIO, Corporate Solutions, where she was responsible for building processes that collect, curate and optimize enterprise, client and property data, and as CIO for the firm’s facility services business, C&W Services. Prior to joining the firm, Sal was an independent consultant at Covidien and held senior technology positions at IBM and Lindt & Sprüngli.
Sal is an active mentor of colleagues throughout the organization and has proven success fostering diverse, high-performing, cross-functional teams who lead digitization of business-critical workflows while elevating data maturity. She is a member of T200, whose mission is to foster, celebrate and advance women’s leadership in tech. Sal holds a B.S. in Industrial Distribution Management from the University of Illinois.
Nicole Eagan
Darktrace
Nicole Eagan
Nicole Eagan, Chief Strategy Officer and AI Officer for Darktrace, has responsibility for formulating and communicating Darktrace's AI strategy. Ms. Eagan has both a hands-on and advisory role that ensures that strategic initiatives. Given the foundational importance of AI within Darktrace, Ms. Eagan is involved in the governance aspects of responsible, ethical use of AI in its products and compliance with its policies.
Prior to Darktrace, Nicole’s extensive career in technology spans 30 years.
Bob Howland
Dawn Foods
Bob Howland
Dawn Foods is a global leader in bakery ingredient manufacturing and distribution. Bob is the Chief Digital Officer and this role reflects the growing importance that modern technology has for Dawn’s customers and team members. Bob has been a pioneer in helping companies adopt digital ways of working and build remarkable customer experiences.
Gregory Wilson
Docupace
Gregory Wilson
Gregory Wilson is a United States Air Force veteran and the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Docupace.
Prior to joining Docupace, Wilson served as the Chief Information Security Officer at Pioneer Natural Resources and was the Head of Information Security at 1st Global. Wilson led the IT Compliance and Security function at TPG Capital and the IT Compliance and Security group at Lehigh Hanson.
Wilson serves as an Advisor for Menlo Ventures, YL and Vation Ventures and on EveryIncome, LLC corporate Advisory Boards and Dallas Innovation Advisory Council. Wilson also serves on several professional and community boards, including Dallas CISO Executive Committee and SecureWorld Dallas.
Wilson graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Nebraska and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Oklahoma. Wilson holds a certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School cyber security executive program and holds the CISSP, CISM, CGEIT, CDPSE, PSM and PMP certifications as well as his Series 7, 24 and 66.
Dannie Combs
Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN)
Dannie Combs
As Senior Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer, Dannie Combs has overall responsibility for cybersecurity, global data privacy, and IT Governance, Risk, and Compliance for Donnelley Financial Solutions (NYSE: DFIN).
Prior to joining DFIN, Dannie was senior leader responsible for overall network security for U.S. Cellular, the fifth-largest U.S.-based wireless operator supporting over 20 million mobile subscribers. Before this, he held several senior leadership and consulting roles with a number of organizations to build and mature technology security programs and organizations as interim CISO, security architect, and more.
Most notably, Dannie is 10-year veteran of the United States Air Force where he served as a cyber threat specialist. During his time serving his country, he managed cybersecurity operations and information risk activities for military and governmental organizations as a member of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, National Security Agency, and Air Intelligence Agency, participating in missions ranging from homeland defense to offensive operations around the world. He served in the Balkans during the Yugoslav conflict, assisted with national defense efforts in South Korea and supported intelligence and counterterrorism missions around the globe, including working in conflict zones such as Iraq and post-9/11 Afghanistan.
Dannie an advisory board member of ReliaQuest, FishtechGroup, and the Boy Scouts of America.
He is based in Chicago.
Katrina Redmond
Eaton
Katrina Redmond
Katrina R. Redmond is executive vice president and chief information officer for Eaton, a global intelligent power management company.
Since joining Eaton in 2021, Katrina has been responsible for the enterprise information technology strategy and execution. With an extensive background in business analysis, process improvement, and strategic planning, she has demonstrated exceptional leadership in streamlining operations to boost productivity and profitability.
Before Eaton, Katrina spent over 18 years at GE, holding various leadership roles, including COO, CIO, and Quality Leader. She played a pivotal role in significant M&A activities, such as the $11B divestiture of GE Plastics and the $11B acquisition of Alstom. Katrina also served as CIO at ABB and later as Vice President and CIO at Hubbell.
Through her various roles, Katrina has had the opportunity to live abroad in China, India and France, immersing herself in the culture and gaining a deep appreciation for the global teams that she leads. Known for her process-centric leadership and expertise in digital transformation and operating excellence, Katrina is a proponent of Lean principles in all her endeavors.
Katrina holds Bachelor of Science degrees in biology and psychology from the University of Georgia and a Master of Science degree in industrial engineering from Southern Polytechnic State University.
Amrit Jassal
Egnyte
Amrit Jassal
As CTO and co-founder of Egnyte, Amrit is responsible for the overall technical direction of the company. He has extensive experience in building large-scale, highly available systems all over the world. In the past, he has deployed such systems at Cisco, Fujistu and Sun Microsystems. Prior to Egnyte, he served as the CTO of Valdero. He received his BS in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He also holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Diogo Rau
Eli Lilly and Company
Diogo Rau
Diogo Rau is senior vice president and chief information and digital officer of Eli Lilly and Company. He leads Lilly’s information technology, cybersecurity, digital health, and advanced analytics and data science functions.
Diogo joined Lilly in May 2021. Prior to joining Lilly, he led information technology for retail and online stores at Apple, Inc. During his 10 years at Apple, he led the development and implementation of the technology supporting the Apple Online Store and Apple retail stores, including the e-commerce platform, mobile point of sale, the Apple Store App and systems used by store team members.
Prior to joining Apple, Diogo was a partner with McKinsey & Company, where he led the North America IT organization and governance practice. Diogo began his career as a consultant at A.T. Kearney and later founded GiftGateway, a software company that brought rewards and recognition online.
Diogo graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in computer science and a master's degree in industrial engineering and engineering management.
Dr. Jason Ruckert
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
Dr. Jason Ruckert
Dr. Jason Ruckert is Vice Chancellor & Chief Digital Learning Officer for Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
Jamil Farshchi
Equifax
Jamil Farshchi
Jamil Farshchi is the Chief Information Security Officer of Equifax (NYSE: EFX). From breach response to business transformation, Farshchi has spent his career leading teams at some of the world’s most recognized brands.
Farshchi joined Equifax in 2018 and led an unprecedented transformation of the company’s security and technology capabilities in the aftermath of one of the most consequential data breaches in history. Good security is good for the bottom line and, in 2020, Equifax achieved record revenue of $4.1 billion -- up more than 20% during his tenure.
Prior to Equifax, Farshchi was Chief Information Security Officer at The Home Depot, where he led the security turnaround for the Fortune 50 company following a high-profile breach.
He also previously served as Chief Information Security Officer of Time Warner, where he defended the company’s premier networks such as Warner Bros., CNN, and HBO; Vice President of Global Information Security for Visa, where he secured over $7 trillion of payment card transactions annually; and Chief Information Security Officer of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he protected some of the most sensitive national security and nuclear weapon assets in the U.S. Farshchi began his career at NASA protecting emerging technologies, eventually becoming the agency’s Deputy Chief Information Assurance Officer.
Farshchi serves on the Board of Directors for the National Technology Security Coalition as well as the Institute for Information Security and Privacy at Georgia Tech.
Carmine Fantini
Equitrans Midstream Corporation
Carmine Fantini
Carmine is an innovative data, cybersecurity, and technology leader in energy and technology. With over 30 years of experience, he has a proven ability to deploy transformative solutions that improve productivity and achieve business objectives.
Currently serving as Chief Information Officer at Equitrans Midstream, Carmine develops and executes Equitrans Midstream’s technology strategy and is also responsible for information and operational technology security.
Raj Sharma
EY Global Managing Partner – Growth & Innovation
Raj Sharma
Raj is a visionary technology strategist and global business executive with a career spanning over 25 years at the forefront of commercial and financial services, executing strategic growth initiatives and leading complex transformation projects.
As the EY Global Managing Partner for Growth & Innovation, Raj is focused on building deep next-generation capabilities to support at scale, AI-powered transformations for evolving client needs across managed services, differentiated alliances, sustainability and more.
Previously, as the Vice Chair for EY Americas Consulting, Raj steered an US$11 billion enterprise, leading 40,000 consultants across the Americas.
Raj's profound understanding of technology is rooted in his academic achievements. He holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from the University of Miami, complemented by a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science from the Birla Institute of Technology, India.
Jason Carolan
Flexential
Jason Carolan
As Chief Innovation Officer, Jason leads a team focused on defining, assessing and providing direction on the changing technology and industry landscape of Flexential’s business and customers. He and his team are responsible for developing insights on what is next on the horizon to further position Flexential as a hybrid cloud, and network-enabled data center leader. Jason also runs Flexential’s emerging Edge computing platform and the customer advisory council, among other alliances and partner programs. He joined the company in 2011 and has held various roles in product, operations and technical management, including CTO and Chief Cloud Officer.
Jason has over 25 years of experience in leadership positions in customer engagement, systems architecture, software development, and technical sales and support across a variety of companies, including Sun Microsystems/Oracle where Jason was honored as a “Distinguished Engineer,” in cloud and network innovation, VMware and the Mayo Clinic.
Jason was the lead author of “Building N1 Grid Solutions,” one of the first books highlighting the combined use of virtualization and automation. He also has several patents in networking, data center resource management, virtualization, and security.
He attended Luther College specializing in management information systems.
Eric Tan
Flock Safety
Eric Tan
Eric Tan is CIO & Chief Security Officer at Flock, a public safety operating system that helps eliminate crime and keep communities safe. With more than 20 years experience in the tech sector, Eric is responsible for creating Flock's technology strategy, scaling operations and ensuring security of its platform. FlockOS processes more than 1.8 billion images a week (That's more than Instagram!)
Eric previously served as Chief Information Officer at Coupa Software, a global Nasdaq listed fintech company that tracks $4.8 trillion of enterprise spend. He led the company through significant growth, a public listing and over a dozen acquisitions. In 2023. Coupa was sold to private equity firm, Thoma Bravo for $8B. Prior to Coupa, Eric held multiple leadership roles at global consulting firm PwC where he founded the firm's Cloud Computing and Digital Trust practices.
Eric has been featured discussing technology, cybersecurity and AI/ML related topics on the Wall Street Journal, CIO.com, Techcrunch, Diginomica and other major media outlets. Eric sits on CNBC's Technology Executive Council.
In 2023, Eric was named by the Wall Street Journal as "Technology Decision Maker from the World's Most Influential Companies". He was selected as an ORBIE "CIO of the Year" finalist for his outstanding leadership and value created through innovation. He holds a Masters in IT and a Bachelors in Accounting.
Bill Rocholl
FORMERLY CCC Intelligent Solutions Inc.
Bill Rocholl
Bill is CCC Intelligent Solutions, Inc. (CCCS) Chief Information Officer, leading the organization through digital, cloud and operational transformations as we evolved from a private company to a public company.
Joining in September 2013 as the SVP of IT Technology and Operations, Bill’s teams enabled growth through world class operational delivery, security of our products and services, and the development and delivery of our business enabling applications and services.
Bill has over 25 years of technology experience, with a broad set of technical leadership experiences including strategic consulting, solution architecture, and leading operational organizations in high transaction industries and scale.
Former organizations include The Royal Bank of Scotland (formerly ABN AMRO), Aon (formerly Hewitt), Aviva, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratories, RR Donnelley and Bell Laboratories.
Ramon Richards
Formerly Fannie Mae
Ramon Richards
Ramon Richards is Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer for Formerly Fannie Mae.
Scott Spradley
Formerly Tyson Foods
Scott Spradley
Scott Spradley is Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer for Formerly Tyson Foods.
Derek Manky
Fortinet
Derek Manky
Derek Manky is chief security strategist and global vice president of threat intelligence at Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs. Derek formulates security strategy with more than 15 years of cyber security experience behind him. His ultimate goal to make a positive impact in the global war on cybercrime. He provides thought leadership to industry, and has presented research and strategy worldwide at premier security conferences. As a cybersecurity expert, his work includes meetings with leading political figures and key policy stakeholders, including law enforcement. He is actively involved with several global threat intelligence initiatives including NATO NICP, INTERPOL Expert Working Group, the Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA) working committee and FIRST – all in effort to shape the future of actionable threat intelligence and proactive security strategy.
Victor Fetter
Fortive
Victor Fetter
Victor Fetter is a board member and digital leader with proven success navigating through technology and business disruption. He has over 25 years of experience using technology to strategically grow and transform global businesses. His experience spans the financial services, manufacturing, high-tech, and professional services sectors.
As Fortive’s Chief Information Officer he is responsible for all aspects of technology supporting over eighteen operating companies which comprise this $6 billion industrial growth company. As a partner to the portfolio companies, he is developing the platforms of the future and deploying digital capabilities that enables a continued competitive edge.
Mr. Fetter is a board member of Horace Mann and serves on the Audit Committee and as the board’s Technology Liaison. He is a former Director at The Private Trust Company. He is a National Association of Corporate Director Certified Director (NACD.DC) and has completed the NACD Cyber-Risk Oversight program conducted by Carnegie Mellon University.
Previously, Victor stewarded the digital transformation of Vertiv, a provider of critical infrastructure. Prior to his role at Vertiv, Victor was Chief Information Officer at LPL Financial, a leader in the retail financial advice market that services approximately $535 billion in assets where he developed and executed a private cloud based digital strategy. Previously, as CIO of Dell’s online division, he led the digital transformation of a $20 billion e-commerce channel.
Victor holds a BS in Computer Information Systems and Business Administration from Spring Hill College. Victor is also a community advocate and previously served on the Board of Directors for three nonprofits.
Sven Gerjets
Gap Inc.
Sven Gerjets
Sven Gerjets is the Chief Technology Officer for Gap Inc., leading the company’s digital transformation, data science and technology portfolio.
With more than 30 years of technology leadership at seven Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries, Sven has a distinguished track record of leading strategic and cultural transformations in the technology landscape. He is a champion of building highly inclusive teams with an approach of continuous enhancement and strategic insight. The impact of his leadership has been recognized by CIO Magazine, Computerworld and Evanta.
Prior to joining Gap Inc., Sven served as Chief Technology Officer at Mattel, Inc., where he led a comprehensive modernization of their direct-to-consumer technology stack and launched multiple award-winning connected consumer products and digital experiences including Hot Wheels iD, Fisher-Price Smart Connect, and Mattel Creations. Previously, Sven has led technology organizations across multiple industries including AT&T Wireless, Time Warner, DIRECTV, Pearson and Symantec.
He received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Kennedy-Western University and completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
Naveen Krishna
Genuine Parts Company
Naveen Krishna
Naveen Krishna is EVP, Chief Information & Digital Officer for Genuine Parts Company.
Astin Thomas
George Kaiser Family Foundation
Astin Thomas
Astin Thomas is Managing Director for George Kaiser Family Foundation.
Santosh Nair
GEP
Santosh Nair
Santosh is responsible for GEP's customer growth strategy across procurement and supply chain platforms. Previously, he led GEP's professional services organization, deploying GEP's platforms to clients globally and enabling value from ongoing customer success.
He has 20 years of experience in driving digital transformation for global organizations, shaping strategy, and driving execution across cloud ecosystems, best-practice S2P processes, data management, platform deployment, change management, and ongoing digital innovation.
Santosh holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering.
Alexander Gutman
Gilbane Building Company
Alexander Gutman
Seasoned global technology and people leader with a passion for driving business transformation, innovation and impact at pace to achieve incremental successes throughout the transformation journey. Equally passionate about driving transformation through a high performing, diverse and inclusive team. Leadership experience spanning the Information Technology function within multiple industries and geographies; covering areas such as pandemic (COVID-19) crisis management and resilience, value generation, data management, process improvement, cyber security, emerging market strategy development, team development/motivation and senior leadership relationship management. Continuously learning and building a network of impactful and results oriented leaders.
Shannon Johnston
Global Payments
Shannon Johnston
As senior EVP and CIO of Global Payments, Shannon’s responsibilities include technology and digital business strategies, worldwide technology infrastructure and operations management, software engineering delivery, information security, program and portfolio management, analytics and artificial intelligence, and global platform integration. Shannon is a proven IT leader with demonstrated success leading global multinational teams specializing in technology transformation and delivery, and is known for business alignment and delivery of business value. Her responsibilities include driving technology strategies and operational excellence at global scale. She is proud to be the executive sponsor of the Global Payments Pride Network, and founder and executive sponsor of the Global Payments Mentorship Program.
Prior to joining Global Payments in 2016, Shannon had various c-level roles: CIO at Mspark, a results oriented advertising and marketing services company; COO at ShopVisible, a SaaS software company for B2B and B2C e-commerce; and CTO at Points of Light, a national non-profit organization focused on volunteerism and civic engagement.
Miloš Topić
Grand Valley State University
Miloš Topić
Miloš Topić is Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Digital Officer at Grand Valley State University. As vice president, Topić is the senior technology leader for the university and is responsible for the entire IT portfolio ranging from digital capabilities, infrastructure, security and application management across all of Grand Valley's academic and administrative areas.
Topić joined Grand Valley State University in August 2020 after serving as Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Saint Peter's University, where he was responsible for setting the strategic direction and overseeing the day-to-day operations of two divisions, information technology and operations. He has over twenty years of experience in positions of increasing responsibilities focused primarily on technology, innovation, strategy, operations and leadership. His experiences range from startups to Fortune 1000 companies to contributing across multiple public and private universities. Miloš’ responsibilities and experiences have included customer experience; business development and product design; project and portfolio management; information security; network and system engineering as well as programming and web development.
Miloš formal education includes a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in mathematics; Masters of Science in Information Systems; an MBA and a Ph.D. in Business Administration. His dissertation research was focused on the role of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in leading innovation within higher education. Additionally, Miloš is a frequent speaker on leadership, innovation, and building high-performing teams across a wide range of national professional networks and industries. Finally, Miloš has been advising corporate boards and C-suites on business strategy, digital possibilities, and innovation since 2008.
Gary Brickhouse
GuidePoint Security
Gary Brickhouse
Gary Brickhouse is the CISO at GuidePoint Security, and is responsible for all aspects of the company’s information security and technology program, inclusive of building and maintaining GuidePoint’s internal security architecture and control practices. This unique position allows Gary greater visibility into customer needs from an industry services perspective and also as a practitioner, addressing the same risks for GuidePoint.
Gary previously led GuidePoint's GRC Services consulting practice where he was responsible for the development and delivery of GRC service offerings to support the company's clients. Before joining GuidePoint, Gary was a Security and Compliance Architect for The Walt Disney Company, working on a large, multi-year business program where he served as the subject matter expert for compliance, data privacy, infrastructure and application security, as well as securing emerging technologies like RFID. Previous to working at Disney, Gary was an Information Security Specialist at Publix Super Markets, one of the nation’s largest retailers.
Gary host's GuidePoint's monthly webinar, The Brick House, is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and also a regular contributor to the media when they report breaking cybersecurity news stories. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida Southern College and holds the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
Adrian Stoch
GXO
Adrian Stoch
Adrian Stoch serves as Chief Automation Officer with global responsibility for establishing industry-leading automation capabilities to be deployed across GXO’s network and furthering the Company’s distinct automation advantage. Previously, Stoch served as Consumer Division President in GXO’s Americas & Asia Pacific region, where he drove record business wins and led significant automation expansion for an array of leading brands across many of GXO’s largest U.S. sites.
Stoch has more than three decades of experience across a range of industries, including omnichannel retail, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing. Prior to joining GXO, Stoch held senior Operations roles at Target, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Cardinal Health.
Kalyan Kumar
HCL Technologies Ltd
Kalyan Kumar
Kalyan Kumar B. (KK) is Corp VP & CTO of HCL Technologies, As the CTO he is actively involved in Product & Technology Strategy, Partner Ecosystem, Startup & exploration incubation and also supports the Inorganic initiatives of the for the company.
KK also has Line Responsibility as the Practice leader for Digital Foundation (Infrastructure & Ops Modernization), Digital Workplace and Cloud Native Services in HCL and also oversees the DRYiCE Software division of HCL. Additionally KK is the executive sponsor for strategically curated Ecosystem Partner Business Units in HCL.
KK is a member of WSJ CIO Network, CNBC Technology Executive Council and also part of WEF Global Future Council 2020 for Quantum Computing and also Serves on Board of Directors in two startups and a midsize Technology Company in Hybrid Data/Analytics domain.
KK also is a Trustee in a London based Charity driving the adoption of the game of Cricket in State Schools and continues to engage with community on wholistic development with sports.
Christopher Pendergast
Henry Schein
Christopher Pendergast
Mr. Pendergast joined Henry Schein in 2018 and is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. He is also a Member of the Company's Executive Management Committee and Technology Advisory Board.
Mr. Pendergast brings more than 30 years of experience leading large-scale global IT organizations for companies experiencing growth through acquisition, global expansion, and implementing new business models. His expertise includes leading organizations through transformational change, connecting IT to the needs of the business, converting digital complexity into strategy, and aligning IT costs.
Prior to Henry Schein, Mr. Pendergast held global leadership roles, including Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer, at VSP Global, which provides access to eye care and eyewear. During his 10 year tenure at VSP Global, he drove strategy and continuous transformation, optimization, and modernization initiatives. Prior to VSP Global, he served in roles of increasing responsibility at Natural Organics, Inc., IdeaSphere Inc./Twinlab Corporation, Rohm and Hass, and IBM Corporation.
Mr. Pendergast earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Computer Information Systems, and his Master of Business Administration from Hofstra University.
Mark Pellegrino
Insmed Incorporated
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Pellegrino is Chief Information Officer for Insmed Incorporated.
Virginia Suliman
Invitation Homes Inc.
Virginia Suliman
Virginia Suliman is a Chief Information & Digital Officer for Invitation Homes, Board of Director for Title Resources Group, and an angel investor. Virginia has spent decades solving hard technology and digital problems in both a hundred-year-old hospitality industry as well as a young, up-and-coming real estate industry. As the previous head of software development at Hilton Worldwide, Virginia helped take the industry from using antiquated airline technology as their distribution platform to scalable, hospitality-intentioned, smart technology which continues to power those experiences today. As the current CIDO at Invitation Homes she has pushed to distinguish the noise from the necessary, as a result she has delivered several industry-first technology advancements creating a better resident experience.
Virginia is an avid supporter for kids’ health, spending more than a decade on the St. Jude Children’s Hospital Digital and Innovation Advisory Board, including four years as chair, as well as an active volunteer at Cook Children’s hospital.
Bernardo Tavares
Kenvue
Bernardo Tavares
Bernardo Tavares is the Chief Technology & Data Officer for Kenvue. In this role, Bernardo oversees the Information Technology and Data Science groups and, as key enablers of innovation and growth, leads the data and technology agenda by scaling digital capabilities to better serve customers and consumers.
Bernardo brings together the power of people, technology and data to transform digital experiences for consumers, customers, partners and employees around the world. He sets the strategic direction and drives digital investments, empowering teams to work smarter, better understand consumer behaviors and innovate with speed and impact to meet consumer needs and improve health for all.
Under Bernardo’s leadership, teams are leveraging digital and data capabilities with proven science to optimize business technology and to deliver new and differentiated experiences and solutions across brands like Tylenol®, Neutrogena® and Zyrtec®. Bernardo has also been critical in modernizing the digital ecosystem, creating a culture and foundation for data excellence and insights.
Bernardo is an experienced global leader. Prior to being named Chief Information Officer of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health in 2018, Bernardo led the Consumer Health IT organization in Latin America, driving commercial innovation through innovative technology and data programs. He also led the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health and Consumer Medical Devices IT Portfolio and Project Office worldwide, where he was responsible for Business Technology strategy, portfolio planning, execution and value realization.
Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson in 2012, Bernardo served in several IT leadership roles driving consumer and technology innovation for Unilever and IBM around the world. He holds an Electrical Engineering degree from University of São Paulo with a specialization in Business Administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas in Brazil. He is also a Data Research Advisory Board member for MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR) and a member of the Hispanic Information Technology Executive Council (HITEC).
Bob Chylak
Kulicke & Soffa
Bob Chylak
Bob is currently the Vice President of Central Engineering and Chief Technology Officer, responsible for the research and development of packaging solutions across all K&S products.
He started his career at K&S in the 1980’s and has held many roles in the organization such as Wire Bonding Development Engineer, Equipment Development Director, and Vice President of Process Engineering. He was at the forefront of the technology development for Copper wire bonding. Currently, he is leading our R&D and pathfinding for advanced packaging.
Bob has more than 30 years of experience in the semiconductor industry and has published more than 50 papers with multiple patents.
Bob holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University. He has also completed courses on Management Studies at Stanford University and MIT Sloan.
Michael Bradshaw
Kyndryl
Michael Bradshaw
Michael comes to Kyndryl from NBC Universal, where he spent nearly five years as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, leading the organization's global IT operations and overseeing NBC Universal's tech infrastructure, applications, and IT strategy. He previously served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Mission Systems and Training and Vice president of Enterprise IT Services at Lockheed Martin.
A native of Durham, NC, Michael graduated from the University of North Carolina with a BS in Business Administration and an MS in computer science. He sits on the board of governors for Temple University Hospital, serves on the Temple University Health System Audit Committee, and is also a member of the industry advisory group for the Institute for Business and Information Technology at Temple’s Fox School of Business.
Scott Bennett
Lear
Scott Bennett
Scott Bennett is Chief Information Officer for Lear.
Sai Yedavelli
LivaNova
Sai Yedavelli
Sai Yedavelli is Chief Information Officer for LivaNova.
Nirav Mehta
London Stock Exchange Group
Nirav Mehta
Nirav Mehta is Chief Technology Officer for London Stock Exchange Group.
Dave Ward
Lumen
Dave Ward
Dave Ward is Chief Technology Officer for Lumen. In this role, he is responsible for the development, integration and deployment of Lumen’s global network and the disruptive technologies we are deploying to expand the power of our network.
Dave has more than 25 years of experience reinventing and expanding the capabilities of networks and the value they bring to customers. He previously was the CEO of PacketFabric, a rapidly growing networking company that specializes in Network-as-a-Service (NaaS). Under his leadership, it expanded its portfolio and customer base, and grew its network to position the company among the largest network providers on the Internet. Prior to that, he served as a Senior Vice President, CTO-Engineering and Chief Architect at Cisco Systems, and served as a Fellow at both Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks.
Dave holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota.
Charles Carmakal
Mandiant
Charles Carmakal
Charles Carmakal, SVP and CTO, is one of Mandiant’s leading incident response experts. He oversees a team that has helped over a thousand organizations respond to complex security breaches orchestrated by foreign governments, organized criminals, and political hacktivists. Mr. Carmakal has 20 years of experience helping organizations become more resilient to cyber attacks.
Mr. Carmakal has significant experience helping Fortune 500 organizations build and enhance security programs to combat advanced attacks. He frequently provides strategic security guidance to executive leadership and boards of directors.
Mr. Carmakal has conducted television and print interviews by media organizations including 60 Minutes, Good Moring America, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, New York Times, Washington Post, and NBC News.
Prior to joining Mandiant, Mr. Carmakal served in various leadership roles within PwC in the US and Australia. He received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Decision and Information Sciences from the University of Florida.
Andreas Liris
Maple Leaf Foods
Andreas Liris
IT Executive with Global experience in leading Teams and delivering Enterprise Solutions.
Marco Galsim
MarketWise
Marco Galsim
Marco Galsim is the Chief Information Officer for MarketWise. Marco leads the development of innovative, robust, scalable, and secure technology infrastructure. During his time with the MarketWise, he spearheaded the full technology infrastructure transition into the cloud. Marco has more than 25 years of experience in the technology space, having held a variety of technology positions at the Videology Group, AOL, Stanley Black & Decker, and Manugistics. He holds a B.S. in industrial management engineering with a minor in mechanical engineering from De La Salle University.
George Maddaloni
Mastercard
George Maddaloni
George Maddaloni is Chief Technology Officer, Operations at Mastercard and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. In this role, George leads Mastercard’s Operations, Network, and Employee Digital Experience (ONE) organizations, the largest division within Mastercard Technology. The team supports every employee and application at Mastercard, powering secure, reliable, next-generation infrastructure services that are defining our tomorrow in payments.
George has developed his skillset through key experiences in the financial services and technology industries, I.T. strategy, and networking computing. George previously worked as Chief Technology Officer at AIG to deliver computing, cloud, network, employee, and identity access services to AIG businesses.
Before his role at AIG, George served as the Managing Director, Americas Infrastructure and Global Network Operations at UBS, and Vice President at AT&T, Global Managed Services and Outsourcing, running critical enterprise networks for AT&T Internally and several Fortune 100 Financial, Manufacturing, and Technology companies.
George’s leadership acumen garnered him a spot as one of the top 10 financial CTOs in The Financial Technology Report.
George earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, an M.S. in Technology Management from Stevens Institute of Technology, and an MBA in Finance from Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business. George is a member of the Technology Business Management Council Board of Directors, and a member of the Global Cisco Customer Advisory Board, and the Verizon Innovation Council.
Sai Koorapati
Mattel
Sai Koorapati
Sai Koorapati is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Mattel. He joined Mattel in 2024. In his role, Mr. Koorapati oversees all aspects of Mattel’s technology innovation and implementation, including shared platforms, software and hardware development, artificial intelligence (AI), and connected product design and creation. He also leads Mattel’s online security and privacy.
With over 25 years of technology leadership experience, Mr. Koorapati served as Chief Information Officer at Topgolf Callaway Brands where for the past 10 years he led a company-wide digital transformation initiative, resulting in significant growth acceleration, profitability gains, and enhanced risk management during a period of four major acquisitions. In this capacity, he also oversaw a high-performing technology team that delivered innovative solutions, including world-class ERP, e-commerce and analytics platforms.
Previously, Mr. Koorapati previously held leadership positions at TaylorMade Golf, Gathering Storm Group of Companies, and other technology and manufacturing companies. He has a strong foundation in technology and business operations, with international experience in India, Malaysia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
Mr. Koorapati holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Andhra University College of Engineering in India and received a Masters of Technology in Industrial Engineering from the National Institute of Industrial Engineering in India.
Ramnik Kamo
Mavenir
Ramnik Kamo
Ramnik is EVP, Corporate Group, CIO and CPO at Mavenir. At Mavenir, Ramnik leads a global organization across IT, Cyber Security, Human Resources, Marketing, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Procurement, Quality, Facilities, Travel and Administration. Ramnik also oversees Mavenir's integration programs, company processes, policies and plays the lead role in managing vendor partnerships and strategic cross functional programs.
Ramnik's career previously included C-Level and executive roles in Operations, Technology, Product, Sales and Marketing. Ramnik has also built and run a global Enterprise SaaS business as its General Manager. Ramnik has served on Advisory Boards and has founded an impactful 501(c)(3) Public Charity with his family feeding thousands of homeless people each year in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Ramnik's home base is Dallas and is married with three children.
Ramnik is an electronics and communications engineer with an MBA in Finance and Masters Diploma in Marketing. Additionally, Ramnik is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Ed Fox
MetTel
Ed Fox
Chief Technology Officer with a demonstrated history of success in the communications service and technology industries. Skilled in using new technologies to develop innovative solutions for global enterprise to digitally transform their businesses. Unrivaled skill for taking very complex technical concepts and applying them to business challenges and helping C-Level suite and board members understand those concepts and the benefits. Unique abilities to promote thought leadership and future technologies as well as focus on operational efficiencies and customer service.
Anand Bahl
Micron Technology
Anand Bahl
Anand Bahl is Chief Information Officer, CVP at Micron Technology, Inc. where he oversees the global technology teams supporting manufacturing and engineering solutions, enterprise applications and analytics, global security, infrastructure and operations, and other business-facing IT services and capabilities. Anand is focused on driving an enterprise-wide digital transformation at Micron to enable speed at scale.
He has more than 20 years of international and domestic experience in both IT and Finance in the chemical, textile, and technology industries. Immediately prior to joining Micron in July 2018, Anand led Vivint Smarthome's Finance and Supply Chain IT organization. He has also held various IT and Finance leadership positions at Symantec, Advanced Micro Devices, Koch Industries, and Dow Chemical (Rohm & Haas).
Anand received a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Operations and a Master of Inorganic Chemistry from Vanderbilt University.
Alla Whitston
MUFG Bank, Ltd.
Alla Whitston
Alla Whitston serves as Chief Information Officer (CIO) for MUFG Americas. As Head of Technology for the Americas, her responsibilities include supporting core technology functions such as strategy, applications, infrastructure, enterprise architecture, technology modernization, and IT governance. In addition, she oversees Enterprise Information Security, Program Management, and Technology Risk Management.
Alla most recently served as the Chief Information Officer for Silicon Valley Bank’s Global Commercial Bank and SVB Capital divisions. In this role, she led a team responsible for all technology platforms across a diverse range of businesses, including such areas as Digital Banking, Credit Onboarding, Lending, and Trade Finance.
Previously, she served as the Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President for CIT Group, where she was responsible for technology strategy and architecture, application development, infrastructure, end-user services, enterprise data, business intelligence and digital automation, and user and client experience. Alla has also held technology leadership roles at Bank of America, JP Morgan Investment Banking/Bear Stearns, and Goldman Sachs & Co. She has been actively engaged in women’s professional networks throughout her career and is a DEI champion.
She received her master’s degree in computer science with Honors from the Georgian Technical University in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Julie Orlando
Nanotronics
Julie Orlando
Julie Orlando began working for Nanotronics’ cofounders Matthew and John Putman at their previous company, Tech Pro, Inc. where she played a key role in hardware development, sales, and customer service. When Roper Industries acquired Tech Pro in 2008, Orlando went on to run a division of Duramax, leading projects for major industrial entities, defense contractors, and branches of the military. Orlando joined Nanotronics as employee number three, where she currently holds the position of Chief Product Officer. Orlando has published several papers in both domestic and international journals, which she has presented at material science conferences and symposia.
Steven Grossman
National Basketball Association
Steven Grossman
As Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer for the NBA, Steve is responsible for global cybersecurity spanning fan-facing, partner, broadcast, events, regional office, and corporate systems that support the NBA and its affiliated leagues, staff, and teams.
In his two decades at the NBA, Steve developed a cybersecurity operations team, provided the strategy for virtualization, containerization, hardware and software platform consolidation, and the public and hybrid cloud. With the objective of keeping the NBA ahead of the curve and a leader within the sports and entertainment industry, he has utilized these strategies and cutting-edge technologies to deliver secure best-in-class solutions.
Steve earned an M.S. in IT Administration and Security from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, an MBA from Saint Peter’s University, and a B.S. from Lynn University.
Nimesh Mehta
National Life Group
Nimesh Mehta
Nimesh Mehta is Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer of National Life. He focuses on all aspects of technology operations to effectively align business and technology strategy with a customer centric focus.
He was previously the Head of Life & Annuity Operations and also served as the Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Technology Officer at the company. His proven track record in developing transformative strategies within an emerging, fast paced organization brought him to the company in 2008.
Prior to joining National Life Group, Nimesh served in various leadership positions at Lincoln Financial Group for over 14 years.
He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering with specialization in Chip designing from Case Western Reserve University. He has since received an MBA from Case Western Reserve University concentrating in Marketing and Finance.
Joshua Foltz
NerdWallet
Joshua Foltz
Joshua Foltz is Chief Information Security Officer for NerdWallet.
Mohit Kapoor
NielsenIQ
Mohit Kapoor
Mohit Kapoor was named NielsenIQ’s Chief Technology Officer in March 2021. In this role, he oversees all aspects of technology and operations for the company.
Prior to NielsenIQ, Mohit was Chief Information and Technology Officer for TransUnion, where he was responsible for all aspects of technology including strategy, security, applications, operations, infrastructure and delivery. Additionally, he served in several senior roles at HSBC, including CIO of South America and Global Head of Software House, where he oversaw all aspects of technology related to global systems that supported Corporate and Retail customers. Mohit has also served in other roles of increasing responsibility with HSBC, Accenture, Coopers and Lybrand and EDS.
Mohit holds a Bachelor of Science in CIS and Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Jacksonville State University and a Masters in Accounting Information Systems from Arizona State University.
Lookman Fazal
NJ TRANSIT
Lookman Fazal
Lookman Fazal is a senior executive who specializes in large-scale information technology strategies and digital transformations with the goal of helping IT evolve to meet the emerging needs of the business. Credited with building high-performing teams and pushing change throughout the organization, Lookman is a visionary who seeks to lead innovation and technological advancements.
With over 25 years of executive management experience in IT, Lookman has been recruited by NJ TRANSIT to modernize and drive the cultural changes necessary to innovate and implement a new era of IT-enhanced public transportation. By bringing private-sector sensibilities to one of the country’s largest public transit systems, Lookman has implemented an intra-departmental digital transformation that includes onboarding top-tier talent and utilizing innovative technologies across multiple platforms to rebuild the customer journey for a modern age.
Lookman is the recipient of the 2020 StateScoop GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year Award and the 2020 HMG Strategy Global Technology Executives Who Matter Award. He serves on the boards for the Intelligent Transportation Society of New Jersey (ITSNJ) and Junior Achievement of New Jersey (JANJ), and is an Ambassador with CXO Global 100. Lookman has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Ramapo College, a master’s degree in Management from Stevens Institute of Technology, and a mini-MBA for Technology Executives from Boston University.
Laura Deaner
Northwestern Mutual
Laura Deaner
A technologist, business executive, cyber security practitioner and mom!
Adam Barsky
NY Power Authority
Adam Barsky
Adam Barsky is the New York Power Authority's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, he joined the Power Authority in 2019. He is an accomplished senior executive who brings more than 30 years of dedicated experience in management, finance and public policy.
Adam previously served as Chief of Staff and Special Counselor at the Port Authority of NY and NJ. Prior to that he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of IDB bank NY from 2006 to the 2017. In that senior role, he oversaw all aspects of risk management for the bank including credit, market and operational risk, and strategic and reputation risk.
Adam has held numerous positions in state and local government including Deputy Secretary to the Governor of New York for Public Authorities, Financing and Housing and New York City Issues.
Before that, he served as Budget Director and Chief Financial Officer of the City of New York and as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations. Adam also worked as Chairman of the New York City Employees Retirement System, Chairman of the New York City Transitional Finance Authority, and Chairman of the NYC Municipal Water Finance Authority, Acting Commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance, and Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Adam graduated cum laude from the State University of New York, Albany with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He is also a certified public accountant and has also completed Columbia Business School’s Risk Management Executive Education Program. Adam was appointed as Chairman and a Director of the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority by former Governor Andrew Cuomo on March 1, 2016 and has served as a member of the board of directors of the New York State Job Development Authority since 2006.
Shiven Ramji
Okta
Shiven Ramji
Shiven Ramji is the President, Customer Identity at Okta, where he is responsible for the Customer Identity Cloud product, data, security and technology strategy, and execution. He believes in empowering developers as they are the new creators, decision-makers, tastemakers, and kingmakers. Before joining Okta through the acquisition of Auth0, Shiv served as the SVP of Product at DigitalOcean, where he led DigitalOcean’s products, pricing, and partnerships. Additionally, Shiv has held leadership positions at global brands including Amazon, NBCUniversal, and The Nielsen Company. In his free time, he enjoys being outdoors, watching Manchester United games, hiking, and biking to different boroughs in New York City.
Lowell Simpson
OUTFRONT Media
Lowell Simpson
Lowell Simpson has served as OUTFRONT Media\'s Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer since December 2018, and is responsible for leading the company\'s digital transformation through the use of information technology, application development, and engineering. Prior to OUTFRONT, Lowell served as the Global Chief Information Officer of MediaCom Worldwide where he was in charge of the development, marketing, support and management of all internal and client-facing applications as well as all trading platforms across all markets. Prior to that role, he worked at PriceWaterhouseCoopersas an advisory consultant in the Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications practice. He currently resides in Franklin Lakes, NJ with his wife Tara and 6 boys.
Jeff Hausman
PagerDuty
Jeff Hausman
Jeff Hausman is the Chief Product Development Officer (CPDO) at PagerDuty, responsible for the company’s product strategy, product management, engineering, design, and user experience of the PagerDuty Operations Cloud. Hausman joins PagerDuty from Samsara, where he was the Chief Product Officer.
Previously, Hausman served as ServiceNow Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Operations Management Portfolio - ITOM, ITAM, Security, Risk and ESG. He brings a proven track record of over 25 years leading product development as a senior executive across a wide range of products at McAfee, Symantec, Hewlett-Packard and Veritas.
Hausman received his MBA at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and graduated from Claremont McKenna College with degrees in mathematics and economics.
Dave Treat
Pearson
Dave Treat
Dave brings 27 years of expertise and industry leadership in technology, financial services, and strategic business transformation. He joins Pearson from Accenture where he most recently served as a Senior Managing Director leading their Innovation Incubation Group focused on helping clients implement innovative new technologies like Generative AI, Spatial Computing, Web 3, and Quantum Computing. Dave also served in other Accenture leadership roles including as Global Technology Lead for Capital Markets, Co-chair of the New York Fintech Innovation Lab, Global Technology Incubation Lead and Global Blockchain Practice Lead.
Dave helped to found and has served on several technology and industry boards including the Linux Hyperledger Foundation, Linux Open Wallet Foundation, Digital Dollar Project, and the Global Business Blockchain Council. Prior to Accenture, Dave was a Director at Deloitte and an Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank, working across technology innovation and transformation in both roles.
Dave earned a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Michigan and a degree in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jamie Jamieson
Primo Water Corporation
Jamie Jamieson
An IT Management Executive with over 25 years experience in executive leadership and information technology with over 20 supporting the Retail, CPG and Manufacturing environments. William “Jamie” Jamieson was appointed Global Chief Information Officer in April 2019. Prior to joining Primo, Mr. Jamieson served as senior vice president and chief information officer for GNC from 2015 to 2019, overseeing enterprise technology teams and platforms. From 2000 to 2015, he held various senior roles leading IT service delivery for Charming Charlie and Chico’s FAS, Inc., both fashion retailers.
Rob Lee
Pure Storage
Rob Lee
Rob Lee serves as CTO at Pure Storage, focused on global technology strategy, and identifying new innovation and market expansion opportunities for Pure. He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Engineering in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT. An avid scuba diver and marine life aficionado, Rob sits on the board of the Cordell Marine Sanctuary Foundation and brings his passion for the environment to his role as he evaluates the intersection of sustainability and technology, helping organizations reduce their carbon footprint and understand the critical role data plays in improving business outcomes.
Joe Atkinson
PwC
Joe Atkinson
Joe Atkinson, Vice Chair - Global Chief AI Officer, PwC US Joe is responsible for leading the firm through the next wave of digital transformation. This includes accelerating our growth in go-to-market products and digital solutions, as well as the firmwide technology capabilities. Previously serving as the Chief Digital Officer, Joe defined and executed the vision to digitally enable the firm, and better leverage technology and talent to bring greater value (and experience) to our people and clients.
Scott Likens
PwC
Scott Likens
Scott is the Global AI and Innovation Technology lead and oversees the Innovation Hub in the United States, With more than 30 years of emerging technology experience, he has helped clients transform their customer experience and enhance their digital operations across all aspects of their business.
Scott started his career in software engineering in the early days of internet technology, leading to more than 28 years of experience in digital strategy. He has worked across a variety of industries with some of the biggest multinational companies helping to transform their business by applying a local lens to global digital and emerging tech trends. He works to drive the firm's strategy around AI, Blockchain, VR and Quantum Computing, leveraging his diverse technology background including advanced analytics in many areas such as e-commerce, digital architecture, mobile technologies and social customer engagement.
During his career with PwC, Scott has lived and worked in China along with many cities in the USA, playing the role of a Global AI technology leader helping our clients and teams across key countries. He is a regular speaker at global conferences on emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI, Blockchain / Crypto, IoT, Quantum Computing and Advanced Robotics.
Ishpreet Singh
Qualys
Ishpreet Singh
Ishpreet Singh is a Global Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Qualys, Ishpreet Singh navigates a comprehensive portfolio of responsibilities, including the oversight of global corporate IT strategy, infrastructure, operations, enterprise applications and architecture, data integration, and IT security. His strategic purview extends beyond mere supervision, involving active participation in the implementation of digital transformation initiatives geared towards enhancing operational efficiency and extracting strategic benefits across diverse industries.
Drawing on his past experience as the Senior Vice President (SVP) of IT and business operations at Pluralsight, Ishpreet brings a unique CIO perspective to his current position. His notable achievements include steering the organization through a successful transition from public to private ownership under Vista, a move that reflects his capacity to align technology strategies with broader business objectives. As IT Leader, Ishpreet played a pivotal role in leading the digital transformation efforts, orchestrating the integration of a new technology stack across critical business capabilities, specifically in the Lead to Cash process.
With over two decades of executive leadership experience at companies like Imperva (Thales Group), Data.ai, Splunk, and Deloitte, Ishpreet’s perspective is shaped by a deep understanding of the intricate relationship between business operations and IT functions. This vantage point enables him to approach digital transformation initiatives with a holistic view, aligning technological advancements with overarching business goals.
Ishpreet Singh's academic background includes a bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Kalyani in India. Complementing this foundation, his multiple certifications in finance, strategy, and operations serve as a testament to his dedication to staying at the forefront of evolving technologies and business practices, a crucial aspect of his role as a CIO.
Danielle Conklin
Quility Insurance
Danielle Conklin
Danielle Conklin currently serves as the Chief Information Officer at Quility Insurance. Quility is a leading technology-enabled, independent provider of insurance protection and financial wellness solutions. She plays a key role in leading Quility’s platform evolution, leveraging cloud infrastructure, advanced analytics, and data science to drive transformative initiatives.
Prior to joining Quility, Danielle held a pivotal role as Vice President, Portfolio Owner within the Chief Data Office at Prudential. While at Prudential, Danielle was responsible for enterprise-wide analytics and data science programs, pioneering advancements in areas such as Long-Term-Care Fraud detection, Pension Risk Transfer capabilities, and Long-Term Disability Fraud detection, among various other strategic use cases.
With over two decades of experience, Danielle has held leadership positions focused on leveraging technology for impactful outcomes, shaping and advancing data ecosystems across esteemed companies like Honeywell, Dun & Bradstreet, Russell Investments, Bloomberg, and Merrill Lynch. Throughout her career, she has driven disruptive innovation and guided digital transformation efforts within both business and technology realms.
Beyond her professional achievements, Danielle is a dedicated advocate for fostering career growth among employees, with an emphasis on mentoring. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Rutgers University and resides in New Jersey. During her leisure time, she cherishes moments with her family, indulges in hiking adventures, and explores new destinations through travel.
Michael McNerney
Resilience
Michael McNerney
Mike McNerney is a technology entrepreneur and military veteran with a primary focus on cybersecurity. He currently works as the SVP for Security at cybersecurity insurance startup Resilience. Previously, he led the threat intelligence business at Arbor Networks and was the Co-founder & CEO of Efflux Systems, a cybersecurity startup focused on advanced network analytics (acquired by Arbor Networks).
Mike has also served as a Cyber Policy Advisor in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he drafted and negotiated key pieces of federal legislation through the congressional process and worked with defense industry, internet service providers and tech companies to develop cybersecurity programs. Prior to that position, Mike worked in the U.S. State Department, where he pioneered rule of law and economic development programs in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Mike is a veteran Air Force officer, an affiliate at the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation, the Chair & Co-founder of the Institute for Security & Technology, and a Board Member of Vets-in-Tech. He graduated from the University of California, Davis, and earned his J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law.
Aaron Gwinner
Reynolds American
Aaron Gwinner
Aaron Gwinner serves as Senior Vice President of Information and Digital Technology (IDT) for Reynolds American Inc. and the RAI group of companies.
Gwinner brings years of leadership experience and technical expertise to Reynolds. Prior to joining, he was the Global Leader of IT Transformation and Capabilities with The Coca-Cola Company. With more than 26 years in the IT industry, he led several global efforts and dynamic teams, in roles such as the CIO for Marketing, Digital and Public Affairs; CIO Eurasia, North Asia and Middle East (based in Moscow, Russia); and as CIO Global Customers.
In his current role, Gwinner leads a diverse team of IT professionals who drive best-in-class strategies and solutions to support the transformation of Reynolds and its parent company, British American Tobacco. He has led his team in accelerating Reynolds’ digital transformation and creating new capabilities, allowing the entire enterprise to operate stronger, faster and simpler as its business model evolves.
A native of Atlanta, Ga., Gwinner holds a master’s degree in business administration from J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University, bachelor of science degree in Information Systems from Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University and received his Global Business Management Certificate from the European Union. Gwinner also served with distinction in the U.S. Army and is a Gulf War Veteran who was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Achievement in Desert Storm.
Darlene Williams
Rocket Software
Darlene Williams
Darlene Williams joined Rocket Software in 2021 as interim CIO before assuming the full CIO role in 2022, bringing twenty-plus years of IT experience to the organization. Her expertise lies in optimizing business processes, spearheading digital innovation projects, and boosting financial outcomes across multiple verticals. With a proven history of providing strategic executive leadership to top-tier Fortune 500 firms, Darlene has held influential positions in large private and publicly traded companies, focusing on IT consultancy, business services, and mission-critical operations. Prior to her tenure at Rocket Software, she was the Operational Excellence Principal at Arisma Solutions, where her role included serving as an interim CIO for private equity portfolio companies.
Rex Booth
Sailpoint Technologies
Rex Booth
Rex Booth is Chief Information Security Officer for Sailpoint Technologies .
Shadrach Kisten
Sesame Workshop
Shadrach Kisten
Shadrach Kisten serves as Chief Technology Officer for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street.
As a member of the executive leadership team, he is responsible for managing all the multi-faceted technology engineering initiatives and solutions to meet the operational and business objectives of the company. He also partners with the executive team to integrate emerging technologies to shape and develop the organization's overall technology and engineering vision.
Shadrach Kisten joined the Workshop in 2011 as Vice President of Information Technology, Infrastructure, and Operations. His position was elevated to Senior Vice President in 2015, expanding his role to incorporate digital media engineering functions. In 2018, he became the Chief Technology Officer, and his role was further expanded to incorporate the production technology function under a new technology and engineering group at Sesame Workshop.
Before joining the Workshop, Kisten spent nine years at NBC/MSNBC in various engineering and leadership positions. In his over twenty years in the media and entertainment industry, he has won multiple industry technical awards and recognition in engineering design and innovation.
Shadrach Kisten earned his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from City College, School of Engineering, City University of New York. He obtained his Master of Computer Science with distinction from Long Island University.
Stephen Carvelli
Sonic Automotive
Stephen Carvelli
Stephen Carvelli is the Chief Technology Officer of Sonic Automotive and EchoPark Automotive, a subsidiary of Sonic Automotive. Carvelli joins the company after most recently serving as the Vice President of Software Development Engineering for Comcast Corporation. He has over 25 years of experience in technology; having led a variety of technology strategy, implementation, and digital commerce functions at Lowe’s, Chico’s, and American Eagle.
Martin Davis
Southern Company
Martin Davis
Martin Davis is executive vice president of Southern Company Services and chief information officer of Southern Company, one of America’s most respected companies. Davis leads more than 2,000 technology professionals, supporting Southern Company’s subsidiaries.
Davis currently serves on the board of directors of the American Heart Association (Southeast Region), Piedmont Healthcare, and the South State Corporation. He formerly served on the board of trustees at Winston-Salem State University.
Davis has spent over 35 years leading complex technology organizations in highly regulated environments.
He served as head of enterprise information technology, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Wells Fargo. He was instrumental in the financial institution’s integration of Wachovia, leading the largest technology integration in the history of U.S. financial services. Davis has served in a wide range of technology leadership roles, including as Wachovia’s chief information officer.
He has been recognized as one of the “50 Most Important African Americans in Technology” by U.S. Black Engineers & Information Technology magazine and one of the “75 Most Powerful African Americans in Corporate America” by Black Enterprise. Most recently, Davis was named the 2021 TechBridge Ed Steinike CIO of the Year and featured in Savoy Magazine’s “Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America” in 2019 and 2020.
Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Winston-Salem State University and is a graduate of the Young Executives Institute and the Wachovia Executive Leadership Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Southern Company has been recognized as one of the 100 “Best Places to Work in IT” by IDG’s Computerworld for 15 consecutive years and top “50 Best Companies for Diversity” by Black Enterprise in 2018.
Ulrich Harmuth
Sportradar
Ulrich Harmuth
Ulrich Harmuth is Chief Strategy Officer for Sportradar.
Tej Patel
Stevens Institute of Technology
Tej Patel
Tej Patel joined Stevens in August 2020 as Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. A forward-looking leader with more than 15 years of higher education and corporate information technology experience, he is responsible for formulating a unifying IT vision and strategy aligned with Stevens' overarching mission.
Before coming to Stevens, Tej held several leadership positions at the University of Pennsylvania including Penn Nursing Chief Information Officer and IT director of systems and infrastructure service at the Annenberg School for Communications. At the University of Pennsylvania, Tej advanced the goals of the university’s strategic plan by aligning it with the IT strategic plan, which included developing and implementing digital exostructure strategy culture for IT including a four-year roadmap addressing governance, judiciously managing multiple multimillion IT budgets, and developing a successful team to digitally transform the organization. Tej implemented Online Learning and Teaching, Research-as-a-Service, Cloud First, Clinical Education Platform, and EPIC for Education programs for Penn Nursing. He lead programs to generate an external revenue stream while maintaining the education and research mission via a broad community in healthcare ecosystem. He provided IT leadership to a 50+million hospital and lead IT merger and acquisition efforts for the school. Tej also co-chaired the IT Roundtable for the University of Pennsylvania.
Tej has experience providing value with state-of-the-art IT services, enhanced customer-centric services, and complex problem-solving; and advancing cultures of innovation, digital product management, and change management skills for all enterprise IT services. Tej is a serial technologist deeply interested in building and leading IT organizations focused on advanced technology, technology strategy, and innovation; and delivering connected services and customer experiences.
Tej earned a bachelor of science in business administration with a concentration in management information systems from Montclair State University and is a candidate for a master of science in organizational dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Neda Nia
Stibo Systems
Neda Nia
As Chief Product Officer at Stibo Systems, Neda Nia is responsible for the Product Organization that consists of Cloud Operations, Product Management, UX, Innovation, and R&D.
With over 16 years of global experience spanning technology and commerce, Neda has deep knowledge of our market and has proven to establish product strategies that put the customer first. Before joining Stibo Systems, Neda has been a Managing Director at a global software and technology provider, where she defined a go-to-market strategy in North America, developed partnerships, participated in investment activities, and took part in the company’s global strategy exercises.
Neda holds a degree in Business Administration - Information Technology from Seneca College and has completed a Digital Transformation program from MIT as well as a Business Analysis program from the University of Toronto. As an agile enthusiast, Neda has obtained Scrum Master, Scrum Product Owner, and PMI Agile Practitioner certifications. She is a student at heart and continues to learn about emerging technologies to keep up with the fast-evolving market needs.
Carol Juel
Synchrony Financial
Carol Juel
Carol Juel is Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Operating Officer of Synchrony, one of the nation’s premier consumer financial services companies.
As a business leader and technologist, Carol is responsible for building Synchrony’s technology and operations strategy, including the company’s focus on end-to-end technology and operations solutions, creating seamless customer experiences, driving how the company will operate and modernizing engagement with millions of cardholders. During her more than 25-year career, Carol has played a significant role in the development of innovative Synchrony solutions for its partners, customers and employees. Carol is responsible for continuing to evolve new ways of working, including the company’s agile approach to promote speed and drive innovation.
Prior to being named Chief Technology and Operating Officer, Carol was Synchrony’s first Chief Information Officer leading the company’s overall information technology strategy and digital transformation focused on hybrid cloud and AI. She and her team also created leading payment and financing solutions for partners and customers.
Prior to Synchrony’s separation from GE in 2015, Carol served as Chief Information Officer of GE Capital Retail Finance. In her 10 years with GE, she held a variety of senior leadership roles in technology governance, security, business development, digital and marketing. Before joining GE, Carol was a technology consultant at Accenture where she focused on the financial services sector, developing technology initiatives that drove growth, and operational excellence for clients.
Carol is a passionate advocate for helping employees grow their careers, with a focus on advancing women in technology. Carol was appointed to board chair of Girls Who Code, a nonprofit helping to close the gender gap in technology. She also serves as the executive sponsor of Synchrony’s Women’s Network, one of eight Synchrony diversity networks which promote diversity, inclusion and belonging throughout the company.
She currently serves on the board of Brighthouse Financial and is a member of the Advisory Board for the University of Connecticut’s School of Engineering, the CNBC Technology Executive Council and the Fast Company Impact Council.
Carol was honored by American Banker as a Most Powerful Woman in Banking Standout in 2021, by the National Diversity Council as one of the Most Powerful Women in Technology in 2021, by ORBIE as the 2019 CIO of the Year and was named one of the most “Influential Women in Payments” by American Banker in 2016, 2017 and 2023.
Carol earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross.
Yang Lu
Tapestry
Yang Lu
Yang is the Senior Vice President of Global Commerce and Customer Engagement Solutions at Tapestry, Inc., the house of iconic accessories and lifestyle brands consisting of Coach, Kate Spade New York and Stuart Weitzman. Yang has over 25 years of digital and technology transformation experience. She has deep understanding of emerging technologies and market trends, and has spearheaded transformative initiatives throughout her career for global businesses to drive innovation and growth.
Billy Spears
Teradata
Billy Spears
Billy Spears is Chief Information Security Officer for Teradata.
Myra Davis
Texas Children's Hospital
Myra Davis
Myra Davis is the Executive Vice President and Chief Information and Innovation Officer at Texas Children’s, an internationally recognized health care organization for pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology, research center and teaching hospital affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine.
For 30 + years she has been in the profession of bridging the gap leading and communicating the opportunities and benefits of technology. Davis has served at Texas Children’s Hospital as the Director of Customer Support in Information Services; Assistant Vice President of Information Services; Vice President of Information Services and Sr. Vice President of Information Services. Prior to joining Texas Children’s her career included serving roles of software development; project management; leadership positions and various consulting roles where she has not only lead technology implementations but she’s had to influence the change management that’s often forgotten and required for adoption and acceptance of technology to be successful.
Davis was the 2023 Winner of the HoustonCIO Leadership ORBIE® , 2019 Winner of the Houston CIO of the Year Orbie Award and nominated as a CIO Finalist in 2018. She has was also nominated by peers and awarded the CIO of the Year in the Houston Business Journal 2017. In 2014, Texas Children’s received 2014 ComputerWorld Data + Award and Most Wired. In 2013, for the very first time Texas Children’s received Most Wired and Most Wired Innovation Award. Texas Children’s has been a recipient of Most Wired 6 consecutive years. In 2011, CIO magazine recognized Texas Children’s Hospital as one of most innovative organizations by naming the facility as winner of the CIO 100 award, which exemplifies the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology.
Davis served on the Board of Directors for CHIME (College of Health Information Management Executives) 2015-2018 - a professional organization for Chief Information Officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders. She is also a faculty member of the CHIME Educational Boot Camp. She was a member of Board of Directors for Genesys Works – a non-profit organization focused on giving underprivileged high school students the opportunity to work in corporate environments. Davis has also served on the CIO Advisory Forum of the Child Healthcare Corporation of America (CHCA), the Strategic Advisory Board of the Help Desk Institute (HDI) and the CIO Executive Council of the Executive Women in IT Steering Committee. She also is a member of the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
Davis has an B.S. Computer Information Management, Loyola University, New Orleans, La, and M.S. Software Development, St. Thomas University, Minneapolis, MN and is professionally certified in Medical and Healthcare Management, ITIL Foundation (Gartner Institute of Project Management), Facilitative Leadership, Consulting as an IT Professional, Negotiating as an IT Professional, Conflict Management, Advance Project Management and E-Business Rapid Technology Development.
Siobhan O’Hara
The Chemours Company
Siobhan O’Hara
Siobhan O’Hara is Chief Information Officer for The Chemours Company.
David Wong
Thomson Reuters
David Wong
David Wong leads the product management, editorial, content and digital teams at Thomson Reuters, where he oversees product strategy and delivery of the global software and business information services portfolio. This portfolio includes services and products for Legal, Tax & Accounting, Corporate and Government customers.
David brings more than 10 years of experience building business-to-business software and information services. Previously, David served as a senior product leader at Facebook, where he was responsible for building products for marketers to measure the effectiveness of their investments in Facebook’s ads and business products.
David is a leader in product methodology research and an inventor and innovator named on four patents. He has also held senior roles at Nielsen, as SVP of Product Leadership, leading their digital measurement business, and worked at McKinsey & Company as a management consultant.
David holds a degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto, where he specialized in applied physics and electrical engineering.
David is based in Toronto, the corporate headquarters of Thomson Reuters.
Ajit Naidu
TIAA
Ajit Naidu
Ajit Naidu is Chief Information Officer (Retirement, Marketing and Digital Client Technology) for TIAA.
Nicole Raimundo Coughlin
Town of Cary, NC
Nicole Raimundo Coughlin
Nicole Raimundo is an award-winning technology executive who serves as the chief information officer for Cary, North Carolina. She is the principal strategist and architect for information technology and digital marketing across the organization. Raimundo is at the forefront of the smart cities movement, creating a connected community through piloting and implementing IoT technologies in the public sector. By fostering partnerships both locally and nationally, she leverages her private-sector background to fuel civic innovation in ways not previously seen in local government. A self-described government rebel, Raimundo participates in numerous conferences and summits as a keynote speaker and panelist, and her work has been profiled in case studies as she continuously pursues new models of digital transformation for collaborative citizen-facing projects. Prior to her work in government, she spent more than 15 years in various IT leadership positions in the private sector, leading development teams in the U.S. and internationally.
Glenn Allison
Tractor Supply Company
Glenn Allison
Glenn Allison is Vice President, Enterprise AI Platforms and AI Solution Engineering for Tractor Supply Company, the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the United States with more than 2,200 stores in 49 states and 50,000 Team Members. In his role, Glenn is responsible for AI & ML Platforms, TSC & Me AI Platform, LLMOps and MLOps AI Engineering, Data Engineering & Governance, Cloud AI Platforms, Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure, Data Centers & Critical Facilities, Merchandising Systems, Product Information Management, SAP / Finance, Legal, Real Estate, HRIS.
Tractor Supply is frequently recognized as one of the best workplaces for IT professionals, including 2024 CIO 100 award for innovation with AI and Computerworld Best Places to Work in IT.
Prior to Tractor Supply, Glenn worked at Kellogg Company, where he led global architecture and engineering functions to support supply chain modernization. Glenn also previously held several leadership roles at W.W. Grainger, one of the largest eCommerce retailers in the United States.
Glenn received his MBA from the University of Chicago and Master of Science in Information Technology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
He currently serves on the CNBC Technology Executive Council, Technology Leadership Council for the National Retail Federation (NRF), Nashville Technology Council, and is a lifetime member of the FFA. Glenn was named to the “40 Under 40” list by the Nashville Business Journal in 2016.
Venkat Achanta
TransUnion
Venkat Achanta
Venkat Achanta has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology, Data & Analytics Officer for TransUnion since July 2023. Upon taking on this role, Venkat immediately launched a broad initiative to modernize TransUnion’s technology infrastructure. He brought together the assets the company built or acquired in recent years to streamline data access and maximize the speed and quality of analytics and the decisions they drive. To do so, Venkat and his team developed OneTru™, TransUnion’s solution enablement platform for managing, governing, analyzing and delivering data and assets. Ultimately, OneTru is the manifestation of the extensive technology transformation taking place at TransUnion.
Venkat joined TransUnion following the completion of the company’s acquisition of Neustar, Inc. in December 2021 where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Data & Technology Officer. He led data science, data strategy and technology teams across Neustar and helped lead the creation of the Identity platform and technology transformation across all products.
Prior to joining Neustar in 2016, Venkat was Chief Data Officer and Head of Data and Analytics at Walmart, beginning in 2014, leading all data and analytics delivery platforms across the company globally. While at Walmart, he spearheaded the data fabric, advanced analytics platforms and decision services groups. Prior to Walmart, Venkat was Global Head of Analytics and Big Data at AIG. Venkat also has held senior leadership positions in data and analytics at Capital One and Experian.
Venkat received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Andhra University in India and an MBA from UCLA's Anderson School of Management.
Hugo Sarrazin
UKG
Hugo Sarrazin
Hugo Sarrazin serves as chief product and technology officer of UKG. In his role, Hugo is responsible for the company’s overall product direction and technical organizations — including design and user experience, product management, engineering, cloud operations, security, risk, and digital services. He guides the development of UKG solutions that continuously advance the traditional definition of HCM, payroll, and workforce management technology for all people through a unique combination of operational and people insights.
Prior to UKG, Hugo managed McKinsey & Company’s Business Technology Practice in Silicon Valley, advising executives and business leaders on product development, cloud solutions and migrations, data science, and strategies to maximize technology investments for accelerated change, growth, and transformation. Managing the company’s tech talent team with thousands of employees across eight different tech guilds, Hugo also co-founded and led both McKinsey Digital Labs and McKinsey Design and served as senior partner and member of the Global Executive Committee.
Jeff Kase
United Therapeutics Corporation
Jeff Kase
Jeff Kase is Vice President, Chief Information Officer for United Therapeutics Corporation.
Sandeep Dadlani
UnitedHealth Group
Sandeep Dadlani
Sandeep Dadlani was named EVP, chief digital and technology officer for UnitedHealth Group in September 2022. He is responsible for leading technology and digital strategies across the enterprise to drive innovation and deliver exceptional experiences in health care. In his role, he leads Optum Technology, a leading technology delivery division of Optum, serving our broad Optum and UnitedHealthcare customer base.
Before joining the company, Dadlani spent five years leading enterprise digital transformation efforts at Mars, Inc., serving as their global chief digital officer. Prior to that, Dadlani held several leadership and growth positions at Infosys, a global technology consulting and services firm, where he helped grow the company from $300 million to $11 billion in his 17-year career. Before Infosys, Dadlani worked in investment banking at Citibank.
Dadlani earned his Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from M.S. University, Baroda, India and an MBA (in finance) from JBIMS, Mumbai University, India. Dadlani is on the board of Digimarc, a global software company.
Lynn Cox
Verizon
Lynn Cox
As Senior Vice President and Chief Network Officer at Verizon, Lynn Cox is responsible for all engineering and operations functions related to Verizon’s Radio Access Network. In this role, she is responsible for the planning, design, implementation and ongoing operations of Verizon’s fiber and wireless networks. She leads an organization of engineers in the continued expansion and operations of services including 5G, LTE, FiOS, MEC and the Intelligent Edge network. Cox is responsible for the largest telco capital investment program in the world, bringing new network technologies and capabilities to Verizon’s consumers and businesses.
Prior to her current role, Cox was Senior Vice President and CIO of the Network and Technology business unit at Verizon. In this role, she was responsible for deploying all of the operating systems that enabled the business to plan, build and operate Verizon’s networks, as well as provision and activate products and services onto the networks. These systems provide automation of major functions like inventory management, engineering and construction, service and infrastructure provisioning, service assurance, field operations and work process optimization.
Cox was also vice president - Network Operations and Engineering for Verizon Wireless. She was appointed to this role in 2012 and had responsibilities including management of all network planning, engineering, construction, performance and maintenance of Verizon Wireless's voice and data networks in the Northeast and Great Lakes Markets. She managed $3B in capital spend focused on deployment of new coverage solutions, capacity additions, network reliability and technology migrations.
As vice president - Network Field Operations, she was responsible for the central office, technical facility, special service, and CPE field operations across 42 US states and 22 countries, as well as national Federal field operations. She led a team of 4,500 management and associate employees who supported Wholesale, Consumer, Enterprise and Government customers. Her focus was on the provisioning and maintenance of Verizon's Wireline network, including construction and splicing functions for the Enterprise backbone.
Throughout her career at Verizon, Cox held multiple management positions in the Network & Technology group, including executive director - Engineering and executive director of Program Management leading our Fios deployment, and numerous director positions.
Cox holds an MBA degree from Rutgers University and a Bachelor's in Business Administration from James Madison University.
Debika Bhattacharya
Verizon
Debika Bhattacharya
Debika Bhattacharya, Chief Technology Solutions Officer, Verizon Business
Debika Bhattacharya is Chief Technology Solutions Officer, Verizon Business. She helps customers navigate the increasing number of complex technology options available to them and creates a seamless journey across the solutions lifecycle. She is responsible for ensuring a consistent technology experience from product development to design and operational enablement to implementation. Previously she held the role of Chief Product Officer, responsible for the company's product portfolio management and strategy.
As a seasoned global executive, Debika has extensive experience leading complex technology projects for Fortune 1000 clients, guiding successful IT transformations in healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and financial services. She has held a variety of executive roles within Verizon, including an overseas assignment in Europe. She was instrumental in the global expansion of Verizon’s communications network, as well as the deployment of breakthrough optical wave technologies.
Debika holds advanced degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the State University of New York. She holds a number of industry Board positions and is a frequent speaker on women in technology and leadership forums. She also serves as a liaison to the MIT community and participates in outreach programs aimed at increasing the participation of women and minorities in Science and Engineering.
Sal Visca
Vertex Inc.
Sal Visca
As Chief Technology Officer, Sal leads the company’s technology strategy, software engineering and innovation roadmap to accelerate growth.
He joined Vertex in 2021 after 30 years of technology and executive management expertise transforming and operating large-scale cloud software businesses.
Sal spent his early career at IBM as a software engineer, architect and then in executive roles developing the company’s e-commerce and middleware products. He has also held Chief Technology Officer roles at Elastic Path Software, Business Objects and SAP.
He holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in computer science from Western University.
Sanjay Macwan
Vonage
Sanjay Macwan
Sanjay Macwan joined Vonage in 2018 as SVP, Enterprise Engineering and Networks, leading Vonage's enterprise platform and engineering teams to drive innovation and new development in the Company's solutions for Enterprise customers. In 2019, in addition to his ongoing responsibilities, Sanjay was appointed Chief Information Security Officer. In this role, he is responsible for securing global service infrastructure and managing the Company’s information security and risk management programs, as well as its portfolio of compliance certifications.
With more than 20 years of experience in technology leadership, strategy and execution, Sanjay has built and led highly successful technology innovation programs that have delivered transformation, operational efficiency and a sustained culture of innovation across multiple industries.
Prior to Vonage, Sanjay was the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at NBCUniversal focused on driving innovation across all lines of business. He helped the company deliver next-generation content experiences leveraging emerging technologies including virtual reality, augmented reality, ultra-high definition, IoT and machine learning across various platforms.
Earlier in his career, Sanjay also led AT&T’s Technology Council in the Chief Technology Office where he was responsible for accelerating technology innovation for the company and its ecosystem. During many years at AT&T Labs, he also led large scale R&D in multimedia, mobility, information security and cloud.
Sanjay is the founder of The Holmdel Idea Summit (THIS) – a STEAM program connecting talented high-school and college students with accomplished innovators and local business leaders. Vonage is a proud sponsor of this community initiative, which was held for the first time in 2017.
As an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Sanjay teaches an Emerging Technology Ventures class. He is an inventor or a co-inventor on 41 U.S. patents in areas of mobility, multimedia, content, security, and cloud.
Vikram Nafde
Webster Bank
Vikram Nafde
Vikram Nafde is Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer of Webster Bank, a leading commercial bank with more than $70 billion in assets. Vikram is responsible for the strategy and execution of all of Webster’s technology, cybersecurity, data, digital and tech innovation.
Vikram has more than 25 years of experience in large-scale digital transformation, technology operations, strategic planning, and talent development and served as Senior Vice President, Head of Software Engineering, Digital Delivery and Agility at Webster since 2020 till assuming the role of CIO. During that time, he was responsible for shaping and leading all aspects of the Bank’s software development and the rollout of the Scaled Agile operating model.
Prior to joining Webster in 2020, Vikram held a variety of technology leadership roles across various companies including Bridgewater Associates, GE Asset Management, Genpact, and Starwood. Vikram earned his Electrical Engineering degree from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology and an MBA in Finance and IT from the University of Connecticut School of Business.
Carter Busse
Workato
Carter Busse
Carter is the CIO of Workato, where he leads business technology and best practice internal usage of Workato’s automation technology. His thought leadership has been quoted in Business Insider, Quartz, CIO Dive, VentureBeat, and more. As an IT executive, Carter has seen success in private and public companies with a career spanning 3 IPOs - Excite@Home, Salesforce, and MobileIron. He was employee number 70 and the first IT leader hired at Salesforce.com. His leadership expertise spans automation, business technology, security, and IT operations.
Rani Johnson
Workday
Rani Johnson
Rani Johnson is chief information officer (CIO) at Workday. She oversees the company’s global information technology organization, with responsibility for the internal deployment of Workday products.
Prior to joining Workday, Rani served as CIO at Cloud Software Group where she was responsible for developing the vision and overall business strategy of the IT organization. Preceding Cloud Software Group, she served as CIO at TIBCO, SVP and CIO of SolarWinds, and CIO at the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). Rani began her career interning at NASA Johnson Space Center and was part of a team that had code deployed on the International Space Station.
Rani holds dual degrees in electrical engineering and general engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Spelman College.
Mike Zachman
Zebra Technologies
Mike Zachman
Mike Zachman is currently the Vice President and Chief Security Officer (CSO) at Zebra Technologies, the market leader in rugged mobile computers, barcode scanners and barcode printers enhanced with software and services to enable real-time enterprise visibility. He has global responsibility for its enterprise-wide product security, information security, corporate security, and business continuity programs. Zachman is a globally experienced leader with extensive information security, risk management and information technology expertise. He has demonstrated proficiency in driving transformational change through leadership vision, collaboration, and execution. While at Zebra, he successfully stood up Zebra’s corporate-wide product and solutions security program, matured its cyber security program, and created its global business continuity program. Prior to Zebra, Zachman was the first Chief information Security Officer (CISO) at Caterpillar, the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. At Caterpillar, he led a multi-year transformation of its cybersecurity program, dramatically improving the company’s ability to protect, detect and respond to cyber threats. He was also the first CISO at Ecolab, a leading global provider of water, hygiene and energy technologies and services. Zachman holds an undergraduate degree in management information systems from Millikin University, and a master’s degree in business administration from Bradley University. He is a Certified Information Security Manager, Certified Internal Auditor and is Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT. He is an active volunteer with Junior Achievement and serves on the National Board for Easter Seals.
Jody Blanchard
Zimmer Biomet
Jody Blanchard
Jody Blanchard is currently the Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Zimmer Biomet. Here he manages a global Cybersecurity team for all operations including incident response, threat and vulnerability management, patch management, identity access management, product security, network security and application security. He has held this position since retirement from active US Army service.
Education:
CISO executive education certificate from Carnegie Mellon University
Masters of Science in Information Management from Syracuse University
Masters of Science in Cybersecurity from Bellevue University
Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Bellevue University
Certifications:
CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CISA, CASP, C|EH, C|HFI, C|NDA, E|CIH, E|CES, SSCP, SEC+, ITIL, PROJECT+, NCDA