From June 12-13, 2024, we hosted our 6th American CIO & IT Summit at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport, CA! We'd like to thank everyone who attended for their participation and dedication in making the event a true success.
If you were unable to make it to the event or would like to take a trip down memory lane, we'd love to walk you through some of the highlights of the event!
Get the full Summit story: key takeaways, highlights, and a detailed agenda breakdown await in our comprehensive wrap-up.
We kickstarted the 7th annual American CIO & IT Summit with an energetic welcome from our co-chairs, Grant Ecker, Founder and President of the Chief Architect Network and Surinder Lall, SVP, Global Information Security Risk Management at Paramount Pictures!
We launched into the event with our opening keynote, Eric Firer, Chief Information Officer, North America from Kellanova. Eric took us through a detailed and engaging discussion titled Building Resilient Digital Infrastructures for Business Innovation and Continuity. This highly acclaimed session focused on empowering businesses to build resilient digital infrastructures that can withstand disruptions and support innovation.
He also explored key components like redundancy, failover mechanisms, disaster recovery planning, and cloud adoption tactics to create adaptable systems in order to equip businesses with the knowledge and tools needed to ensure continuity and foster innovation in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
Afterwards, we had the pleasure of hearing from Rohit Jain, CIO at the Harvard Business School Alumni Association who led a plenary discussion titled The Need for Progressive Organizational Culture within Tech Realms where he offered insights on fostering a growth mindset in organizations to successfully implement and navigate digital transformation. By fostering employee inspiration and encouraging workers to embrace change through digital behaviours, he highlighted the importance of upskilling and reskilling to adapt to new technologies.
We later launched into a plenary discussions led by Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer at Threatlocker who spoke on How to Create a Successful Malware and Defend with Zero Trust. The session focused on enhancing cybersecurity defenses against malware. He also discussed multi-factor authentication, deploying advanced endpoint detection and conducting security awareness training to proactively identify and respond to threats.
Following these engaging discussions, attendees took a much needed break and had the opportunity to connect with other leaders in the industry, network and learn from our esteemed solution providers. This was a great opportunity for leaders to forge new connections and business relationships during their 1-1 pre-scheduled meetings.
After the networking break, we started our first round of streamed sessions which focused on Cybersecurity and Digital Transformation. Attendees had the opportunity to hear from Ema Patki, SVP, Product & Platform Engineering and Diagnostics at Align Technologies as well as Matt Baker, SVP, AI Activation & Business Development at Dell Technologies. Ema led a discussion titled Organizing Technology Teams for Product Delivery while Matt discussed Accelerating the Adoption of AI, taking us through what it takes to leverage data effectively to unlock the potential of AI.
Afterwards we went into a round of workshops led by our esteemed sponsors, Argano and Intelliswift! In Room 1, Argano's Jennifer Stango, VP, Strategy and Growth and Mark Norton, their VP, Enterprise Integration both led an egaging workshop titled AI Acceleration: Driving High-performance Operations And Business Growth where we came to understand the power of data and actionable insights in driving AI adoption and capitalizing on new revenue streams among other insights.
Meanwhile in Room 2, we had the pleasure of hearing from Sanjay Karla, VP and Head, Digital Transformation and Alliances at Intelliswift who's workshop titled Guardrails And Innovations: AI-driven Secure Coding focused on Automated Vulnerability Detection, Context-Aware Code Reviews and Secure Code Generation.
We later transitioned into Lunch & Learn Roundtable Discussions where experts engaged in discussions about pressing tech and cybersecurity issues. We were thrilled to learn from our esteemed executives from Sonda, S/H/E Cluj, Zaelab, Threatlocker, Pomerol Partners, Harman, and Digicert!
Shortly after lunch, attendees heard an engaging plenary discussion from UC San Diego's Chief Information Officer, Vince Kellen who took the stage to discuss Democratizing Generative AI: Enabling Accessibility and Safe Use. The session highlighted important insights around making GenAI safe and accessible through cost-effective solutions and comprehensive training programs, user-friendly interfaces, and prioritized safety measures.
We then transitioned into another round of workshops for the day where in Room 1, we heard from Zaelab's CEO, Evan Klein who launched into an engaging workshop titled Navigating B2B Commerce Innovation To Prevent Disruption. Furthermore, in Room 2 Ajay Kummar Bajaj, Global Head of Enterprise Business Solutions (EBS) at Zoho Corporation shared insights on Enhancing Customer Experience: Driving Growth And Value With Digital Innovation.
Soon afterwards, we went into our second round of networking and pre-arranged 1-1 meetings where attendees and our solution-providers met to form valuable connections.
One of the highlights of the day included our Women in Leadership Panel which brought together 3 esteemed tech leaders who delved into their experiences as women in technology and in the broader workplace. We were thrilled to welcome Ivy Chin, SVP, Chief Digital and Technology Officer from Sherwin-Williams, Ema Patki, SVP, Product & Platform Engineering and Diagnostics from Align Technology and finally Carol Dann, Vice President, Technology from the National Hockey League (NHL).
As we wrapped up the day, we heard from Nicholas Parrotta, Chief Digital and Information Officer and President, Digital Transformation Solutions at Harman during a plenary session, who discussed Generative AI at Enterprise Scale.
Finally, we also launched into a panel discussion titled Building Cybersecurity Resilience In Today’s Landscape - Utilizing IT And Data Security Measures To Meet Business Objectives. Led by Cybersecurity professionals from different companies, our esteemed attendees enjoyed an insightful discussion filled with impactful takeaways for those who attended. We'd like to thank our panelists, Kevin Peck, Former Chief Information Officer from The US Army, Surinder Lall, SVP, Global Information Security Risk Management from Paramount Pictures, Lee Parrish, CISO at Newell Brands and lastly Awinash Sinha, Corporate Chief Information Officer at Zoom.
The day closed with final remarks from our chair, and an exciting Networking Drinks Reception, bring together valued delegates, sponsors and speakers to connect and form new relationships.
The second day of the American CIO & IT Summit kicked off bright and early with a refreshing and energizing Networking Breakfast in the Expo-Hall.
Shortly afterwards, we had our opening remarks from our co-chairs Grant Ecker & Surinder Lall who launched us directly into the day ahead of us.
We were pleased to welcome our Opening Keynote speaker, Mouli Venkatesan, CIO of Optum Health, Enterprise Clinical Technology at UnitedHealth Group. He led an engaging session titled Establishing High-Quality, Comprehensive, and Connected Enterprise Technology Systems. During his talk, he shared insights on leading enterprise technology systems, including the digital transformations at Enterprise Clinical Technology and Optum Health, as well as strategies for revitalizing outdated enterprise and legacy systems.
Following this insightful discussion, we launched into an engaging Fireside Chat led by Kevin Peck, Former Chief Information Officer, US Army moderated by Grant Ecker, Founder and President of the Chief Architect Network. The conversation focused on the importance of a people-centric approach in healthcare systems and specifically on how focusing on people can enhance insights and lead to improved business outcomes.
We later launched into a plenary discussion led by Colby Brannan, Managing Director at Culture Partners who discussed how AI Isn't Just a Technology Shift - It's a Culture Shift, focusing on how AI can be leveraged to drive results in a way that it supports business goals including deployments. Moreover, he shared insights on how it can be leveraged to create a culture of positivity and eliminate silos to improve collaboration and build trust within the organization.
Our final round of pre-arranged 1-2-1 meetings, refreshments and networking took place where attendees and solution providers had the opportunity to further strengthen their relationships through conversations and discussions.
We continued our morning with an enriching plenary from Deepak Agarwal, VP, AI, Core Engineering at Pinterest who led a discussion titled Building Effective Consumer Trust Through AI, Machine Learning, And Core Engineering Integration. He led us to understand the need and importance for AI in delivering common business and consumer goals. Furthermore, we learned how it can be leveraged to assess new trends in AI and Machine Learning to enhance consumer trust and implement corporate-wide security measures.
Shortly afterward, we had the pleasure of hearing from Avesta Hojjati, VP, Engineering at Digicert, on Preparing For Future Threats With Today’s Solutions: A Strategic Roadmap For Protection Against Quantum Threats. Attendees gained a thorough understanding on quantum threats, quantum computing's current capabilities and potential threats that they pose for current cryptographic standards and data security systems.
Seth Earley, CIO at Earley Information Science, later led us into an engaging workshops about how There's no AI without IA, where he weighed in on the critical role of IA and AI applications and how to tie investments in data to measurable ROI.
We were excited to launch into Lunch and Learn Roundtable Discussions led by Lee Parrish, CISO at Newell Brands who discussed Utilizing Effective Data And Cybersecurity Measures meanwhile Todd Munyon, Leader, Artificial Intelligence, North America at Schneider Electric led a discussion titled Exploring How AI-driven Transformation Of Internal Business Processes Enhances Employee Productivity And Delivers Tangible Business Impact.
Later into the day we enjoyed hearing from our esteemed panelists during a discussion, Unlocking Business Values: Aligning IT Strategies With Organizational Goals. A huge thanks to our speakers Ramnath Thippasandra, Senior Director, Information Technology at Sony Corporation, Sameer Patwardhan, SVP, Technology at Forbes, John Russel, Global VP, CIO at Northrop Grumman, Vincent Shorter, SVP, CIO at Cardinal Health, Vipin Arora, Global VP, IT Operations at GE Healthcare with our moderator, Avesta Hojjati, VP, Engineering at DigiCert.
The Summit concluded with our Diversity Equity and Inclusion Panel Discussion with our esteemed speakers, Lynn Dohm, Executive Director at Women In Cybersecurity, Surinder Lall, SVP, Global Information Security Risk Management at Paramount Pictures and Kenyatta Parker, Director, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at Ultragenyx.
We'd like to thank our emcees Grant Ecker, Founder and President of the Chief Architect Network as well as Surinder Lall, SVP, Global Information Security Risk Management at Paramount Pictures for their outstanding work and insights throughout the event.
As a way to honor and thank our attendees' outstanding participation, we're excited to unveil our prize winners. Congratulations to Abdullah Ansari, Executive Director of IT at Newark Public Schools and Brad Douglas, Director of Cybersecurity at Northrop Grumman!
As we wrap up our Spring events season with the 6th American CIO & IT Summit, we're grateful to all of our attendees who added valuable contributions to the discussions on-site and added to the success of the event. With Digital Transformation and Cybersecurity being at the forefront of the tech sector, the summit not only emphasized the importance of collaboration, a people-first approach and how to leverage AI to boost business operations.
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR: 7th American CIO & IT Summit | June 2025 | San Francisco, CA!
Visit the summit's website to learn more and secure your pass today!
Save your spot at next year's discussion as an attendee, solution provider, or speaker with early registration opening now! To keep yourself in the loop about upcoming Summits, explore our event calendar at generisgp.com/events.
"Very educational and simply amazing, I loved the interaction with fellow peers."
Juan Raul Cid, VP of Information Technology, Avila Real Estate Capital
"Amazing networking and great content! Thoroughly enjoyed; fantastic event.”
Ashley Tyeryar, IT Director, Sterling Group
“Intimate gathering of IT leaders, in a good way! Great mix of presentations.”
David Bachowski, CTO, Trusted Nurse Staffing
“Very educational with lots of good networking opportunities. The smaller size is much easier to navigate.”
Nathan Sailer, CIO, Southland Trailer Corp.
“Excellent summit, the ideas and thought processing were very good. The speakers chosen were marvelous.”
Premin Thomas, CIO, Neelkamal
“Very good! Topics were relevant with practical information. I was able to make a lot of quality connections. Wonderful event!”
Jalen Byford, CIO, Aetna Better Health of Oklahoma
“Intimate setting; great content and wonderful opportunities to network.”
William Fong, CIO, AHRI
“Generis has done a great job in compiling the agenda with a variety of interesting topics, and lining up really useful talks from amazing leaders in the industry.”
Chintu Stanley, Director of IT, Tuuci
“First time here and I had an outstanding learning and networking experience. Just the right mix of expert presentations and roundtables with planned networking breaks. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and will be back!”
Kevin Peck, CIO, US Army
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