Shaping the Digital Enterprise: Key Takeaways from the 2025 American CIO & Cybersecurity Summit

The 2025 American CIO & Cybersecurity Summit returned to the West Coast on June 2–3 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport, bringing together top technology and security leaders for two days of high-impact discussion and collaboration.

With a focus on Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, and Data Management & Digital Transformation, the summit served as a vital platform for CIOs, CISOs, and senior IT executives to share strategies, tackle challenges, and explore the future of enterprise technology.

From keynote presentations to interactive panels and breakout sessions, the event fostered meaningful dialogue on how organizations can build secure, intelligent, and resilient digital infrastructures. As businesses navigate growing cyber threats and the rapid pace of innovation, the insights shared at the summit offered a timely and practical roadmap for leadership in the digital age.

We'd like to also give special thanks to our three summit emcees - Surinder Lall of Paramount, Grant Ecker of Ecolab, and Brian Chambers of Chick-fil-A.

Stay tuned as we dive deeper into the highlights, sessions, and key takeaways from this year’s event.

Opening Day Unveiled: Big Ideas, Bold Leaders, and a Glimpse at Tomorrow

The day kicked off with an inspiring keynote from Nathalie D’Hers, Corporate VP, Digital at Microsoft, exploring 50 years of IT evolution and Microsoft’s AI-centric transformation journey. From AI-enabled productivity to securing digital ecosystems, her session set the tone for a future-focused agenda.

Next, Jeff Roseman, Global VP of IT at Marmon Foodservice, took the stage for a plenary session on digital transformation strategy. He emphasized building IT roadmaps aligned with business objectives, integrating enterprise systems, and navigating M&A complexity through ERP and data-driven leadership.

Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer at ThreatLocker, followed with a gripping session on ransomware. He shared real-world breach scenarios, the evolution of ransomware tactics, and practical defenses including endpoint protection and zero trust frameworks.

Attendees then enjoyed refreshments, networking and pre-arranged 1-2-1 meetings.

Where Ideas Come to Life: Breakouts and Workshops in Motion

The mid-morning break gave way to stream sessions where attendees could dive deeper into specialized topics. Yousef Awad, CEO of Integrant, discussed how to transform software engineers into effective AI developers, highlighting AI readiness, training in prompt engineering, and architectural design. In parallel, Curtis Barker of Security Scorecard unpacked zero trust strategies and the role of AI/ML in real-time threat detection. Meanwhile, Mike Austin, CEO of MetrixData 360, explored the future of Software Asset Management (SAM), FinOps, and AI-driven cost optimization in IT.

The Lunch & Learn roundtables featured dynamic, peer-led discussions with executives from TraceLink, Tata Communications, Rubrik, Aptum, Threatlocker, Pomerol Partners, SONDA, DataBank IMX and Intelliswift. and more. Topics ranged from building AI-ready supply chains to simplifying network infrastructure for multi-cloud environments and decoding cyber resilience..

Insightful Exchanges: Executive Perspectives and Strategic Takeaways

After lunch, more sessions brought technical depth and hands-on insights. In the Cybersecurity track, Kapil Pruthi, Managing Director at TIAA, explored the evolving landscape of Agentic AI. His session, “TIAA’s Approach to Agentic AI in Cybersecurity: Balancing the Good and Bad,” addressed how AI agents can both strengthen and weaken security frameworks.

Switching gears to the AI & Machine Learning track, Nina D’Amato, Chief Technology Strategist at Lenovo, led a session titled “Maximizing Existing Resources to Optimize Emerging AI Investments.” D’Amato emphasized the need to fully audit and optimize current AI and ML programs before launching new ones.

Meanwhile, the Digital Transformation & Data Management track featured Anthony Sneed, Chief Technology Architect at Hilti, presenting “Engineering a Forward-Leaning Technology Roadmap.” Sneed shared how Hilti is building a unified enterprise architecture that simplifies complexity, supports agility, and scales innovation.

Afternoon sessions continued with another round of stream presentations. Lucy Deus of TraceLink explored how life sciences companies are accelerating digital integration for supply chains through agile, low-friction platforms. At the same time, Christopher Belford of EPI-USE walked attendees through a structured AWS migration and modernization journey. Joe Edwards of Tonic3 demonstrated live AI agent configuration, offering practical tips on deploying agentic AI and identifying workflow opportunities.

Later, Saurabh Atre, Chief Segment Officer at Intelliswift, delivered a powerful plenary session on revolutionizing business operations with agentic AI. He discussed redesigning workflows for autonomous execution, the value of reinforcement learning, and the importance of building AI governance from the ground up. Attendees then enjoyed a second networking break filled with refreshments and 1:1 meetings.

The evening wrapped up with two standout panel discussions. The Women in Leadership panel featured top voices from Microsoft, Lenovo, DIRECTV, Danaher, the City of San Francisco, and TIAA. These leaders shared strategies for fostering gender equity, supporting mentorship, and breaking barriers in tech leadership roles.

Finally, a cyber resilience panel brought together leaders from Ecolab, Security Scorecard, Home City Ice, City of Oakland, and United Parks & Resorts. The discussion focused on AI-powered threat detection, incident response strategies, and cross-industry approaches to strengthening cyber defense.

Day 1 concluded with a lively networking reception, capping off a content-rich agenda that pushed boundaries, sparked collaboration, and left attendees ready for what’s next in enterprise technology.

Day Two Highlights: Strategic Vision, Leadership, and Future-Focused Thinking

Day 2 of the American CIO & Cybersecurity Summit brought even deeper insights and practical strategies, as IT and cybersecurity leaders tackled the evolving landscape of AI, risk, and digital transformation.

The morning opened with a powerful keynote from Iain Mulholland, Global Head of Google Cloud Product Security at Google. His session, “Fortifying the Cloud: Advanced Security Strategies for Global Enterprise Resilience,” addressed how secure cloud environments are central to business continuity. He covered multi-industry compliance, privacy, and risk frameworks that scale across geographies—highlighting the strategic value of cloud-first, security-forward thinking.

Following this, Himanshu Kalkar offered a roadmap to accelerating AI commercialization. He emphasized building AI into the full product lifecycle and rapidly scaling enterprise-wide initiatives to extract real business value from AI use cases.

The theme of competitive transformation continued with Ben Gilman, CTO of Dualboot Partners, who explored how AI can build a durable business moat. His session included interactive discovery exercises and real-world examples of overcoming common AI adoption barriers..

Workshops and Networking: Hands-On Learning and Meaningful Connections

After our final round of 1-2-1 networking meetings, the summit split for more stream sessions.

Yaron Yaniv, SVP at GM Financial, discussed connecting architecture strategy to execution, breaking down silos between engineering and business teams. Concurrently, Roy Luongo of the U.S. Secret Service outlined AI’s role in evolving cyberattacks and the growing risk to national infrastructure. In Room 3, Brian Chambers, Chief Architect at Chick-fil-A, returned to challenge the status quo with his provocative talk: “Can’t We Just Use the Cloud?” He made the case for edge computing as a critical infrastructure component in powering AI, embedded systems, and real-time decision-making at scale.

Sessions continued with Tina Lampe from DIRECTV. She led a session on the double-edged sword of AI in cybersecurity, outlining how machine learning can both protect against and enable emerging threats like deepfakes and social engineering. Next door, Vishal Anand from Mastercard walked attendees through building enterprise-ready AI ecosystems—integrating MLOps, managing compliance, and fostering faster innovation cycles. A virtual session in Room 3 showcased Tony Ambrozie of CVS Health as he demonstrated how AI and data platforms are transforming pharmacy operations and personalized care.

Roundtables tackled urgent topics ranging from AI readiness in the enterprise to burnout and brain drain in cybersecurity. Leaders from Chick-fil-A, Paramount, CIRCOR International Inc., Tulane University, and the City of San Francisco facilitated candid discussions on aligning digital modernization with business resilience.

Closing Discussions: Cyber Resilience, Tactical Execution, and What Comes Next

Later, Kannan Venkatraman of Forbes emphasized AI-native threat detection and the role of GenAI in intelligent SOC operations. Throughout the day, panelists stressed that ethical guardrails and governance are crucial to AI deployment in cybersecurity environments. In Room 2, Surinder Lall of Paramount presented “AI, Ethics & Attack Surfaces,” delving into CISO responsibilities in the generative AI era. He covered AI governance, insider risk, and regulatory readiness in a world shaped by autonomous exploits and deepfakes. Additionally, Tony Batalla, CIO of the City of Oakland, shared best practices for building smart government systems with agile data governance and citizen-centric design

The final panel brought together an impressive lineup—including executives from Cisco, UNFI, TIAA, Ecolab, and Wonderbotz. The conversation centered on selecting high-impact AI use cases, improving collaboration between IT and business units, and building frameworks that ensure long-term innovation and measurable outcomes.

Setting the Stage for 2026 and Beyond

Across both days, the summit made one truth clear—enterprise resilience and digital leadership in 2025 depend on how effectively CIOs and CISOs integrate AI, secure their ecosystems, and transform organizational culture to stay ahead of emerging threats and innovation curves.

Stay tuned for the 2026 summit lineup and join the ongoing dialogue at cioamerica.com.

Testimonials

“The content and speakers were top notch and I really liked the one-on-one meetings with the vendors of my choice, made the experience more meaningful.”

Jason Newman, CISO, Redwood Trust

“This is the best IT leadership event of the year and it is very apparent in every session through the quality of executive attendees and the content shared throughout the event. The atmosphere is extremely professional and the sponsors add value and engage at the right altitude.”

Grant Ecker, VP of Enterprise Architecture, Ecolab

“Valuable experience networking with peers and vendors and sharing lessons for managing digital transformations.”

Anthony Sneed, Chief Technology Architect, Hilti

“Great tool to have in your toolbox as a leader in tech! Unlike other conferences, this one provides real content and resources to support our careers as IT leaders.”

Monica Parks, CIO, Bank3

“Engaging - lots of great conversations with industry peers and vendors.”

Keith Boyd, Senior Director, Microsoft

“Very educational, with practical takeaways. Great networking with other CIOs/IT Directors dealing with similar issues and concerns. Wonderful solutions and discussions by the vendors and in Lunch & Learn roundtables.”

Tim Dubois, CIO, City of Kalamazoo

"My experience at CIO America 2025 was very positive. The content was well-curated and covered a broad range of relevant topics across technology leadership, AI, IT and particularly cybersecurity. In addition to the high-quality sessions, the event provided a great platform for meaningful networking with fellow technology leaders. I appreciated the opportunity to exchange ideas and build valuable connections. Thank you for organizing such a thoughtful and impactful event."

Neda Parnian, VP of Innovation and Digital Transformation, Summit Interconnect Inc

Learn more about our fall 2025 North American events and secure your spot today:

Shaping the Digital Enterprise: Key Takeaways from the 2025 American CIO & Cybersecurity Summit

Testimonials

Rihana Alladina Rihana is a Digital Marketing Coordinator at Generis Group.