John Foley, Former U.S. Navy Blue Angels Lead Solo Pilot, has first-hand experience in pushing high performance to the extremes, at times flying as close as 36 inches apart and at speeds of more than 400 knots — upside down. Foley consistently performed as part of a close-knit team in an intense, high-stakes environment. Using Blue Angels methodology as a model, Foley has developed a unique approach that equips others to make the same journey toward excellence. In this enthusiastic keynote, he discusses high performance gaps and ways CIOs can begin their own high performance climb.

Session discovery topics:

• Inspiring success and creating commitment
• Aligning teams toward a common goal
• Building unprecedented levels of trust

The rapid adoption rate of mobile computing requires CIOs to quickly coordinate a strategy for mobile in the enterprise. This discussion will address the implications of technology consumerization and the evolving CIO response. Key questions addressed will include: in an environment driven by the accelerated consumerization of technology is the traditional IT organization still relevant? Given increasing customer demand for on-the-go computing and self-service, how is mobile transforming enterprise interactions with customers and employees? What is the right balance between rapid adoption and innovation, and regulation and security measures?

With the number of attacks on cyber networks growing, it is more important than ever for businesses to work together in predicting, preventing, detecting and responding to incidents to secure our nation’s critical infrastructures. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is partnering with the private sector to promote cybersecurity knowledge and innovation by sharing intelligence to create a secure and resilient cyber environment. In this informative session, FBI Special Agent John Chesson discusses current cyber threats and the necessary steps to keep your business safe.

Session discovery topics:

• Current trends in cybersecurity and counterintelligence
• Understanding insider threats — awareness and prevention
• Defining the role of Infragard — private/public partnership resources

For venture capitalists, pushing the envelope on new technology trends is critical to the execution of successful investments. At Sierra Ventures, Gamiel Gran tracks the lifecycle of top IT trends, exploring the impact of disruptive technologies and determining their relevance in the global marketplace. Gran will give an insider’s view into how the global venture capital ecosystem works, and how investment predictions can better prepare CIOs to lead their organizations into the future. Join Gran as he discusses what CIOs should know about the next stages of four key global technology trends that will define the future of enterprise and consumer IT.

How are CIOs balancing the challenge of improving IT efficiencies and maximizing their investments during challenging economic times? CIOs are continually tasked with meeting the needs of the business while budgets decline and customer demands increase. How are IT leaders keeping their organizations responsive and agile? Join these IT leaders in this candid conversation about ways IT departments can eliminate waste and increase efficiencies, plan for business process excellence, drive innovation and control costs.

Session discovery topics:

• Strategic planning for economic recovery and growth
• Improving collaboration between IT and business partners
• Prioritizing projects to align with business needs

When competition is high, customer and employee satisfaction is crucial for success. Technology can provide tools to efficiently and effectively enhance communication and collaboration among employees, suppliers and customers that can lead to superior customer experience. At LA Fitness International, with more than 20,000 customer-facing employees at more than 360 clubs, George Bedar and his team realized the need for a major overhaul of their telecommunications systems to leverage state-of-the-art unified communications. In the span of one year, Bedar led the deployment of a stable, scalable and more cost-efficient unified communication solution for all LA Fitness clubs. The resulting system created a buzz of interaction among employees, significantly reduced costs and became a pillar of LA Fitness’ business operations. Join Bedar as he describes this successful transformation and shares his lessons learned along the way.

After working more than 20 years in the for-profit business sector, Adam Bricker, CIO of World Vision International, shares his insights on leading IT at one of the world’s largest non-profits. At World Vision, Bricker is responsible for information systems, ‘expeditions’ and shared services of more than 900 staff members across 100 countries. Bricker shares his thoughts on the difference between leading a project and leading an expedition. Planning and leading an effective IT expedition, for example, means choosing team members along a unique set of criteria, setting elegant operating principals and guidelines that motivate but don’t constrain, and removing ‘administrivia.’ Bricker reveals his lessons-learned from the non-profit world including valuable insights on operating on a non-profit budget, engaging your team and enabling your staff’s personal journeys to benefit corporate goals.

Digital tools for marketing and collaboration are now indispensable to customer engagement and internal employee collaboration initiatives. This maturing social and digital business landscape presents unique opportunities for IT leaders to expand their influence in the enterprise. To position IT as a critical business asset in this new era of communication, CIOs must provide value outside of operational excellence, driving strategy that accelerates new opportunities for the business. In this interactive session, visionary business leaders will explore what the IT function could look like in this social future, sharing predictions and plans for how the CIO can shape strategy and build social business competency in the organization.

When it comes to business intelligence, organizations are looking beyond common business reporting and realizing the vast amounts of data they possess is a potential goldmine of useful information. A successful BI strategy can drive true business results, but requires a thorough understanding of available technology and end-user needs. Join Kerrie Holley as he shares examples and case studies highlighting different applications for analytics modeling and various approaches and techniques to consider when implementing a strategy.

Session discovery topics:

• Successfully introducing analytics into your organization

• Creating and deploying predictive modeling strategies that drive value

• The future of analytics technologies

Few skill-sets are more essential than the ability to negotiate win-win solutions for stakeholders. Dr. Holly Schroth, an award-winning senior lecturer and leading author of negotiation exercise materials, shares invaluable strategies and insights for navigating challenging situations, difficult discussions and important business deals. In this interactive session, develop your understanding of various negotiation styles and gain skills for influencing communication with partners, colleagues, customers and the board of directors.

Session discovery topics:

• Negotiation confidence — identify areas of strength and improvement

• Build trust — manage conflict and perceived power differences

• Improve strategic thinking — increase your ability to positively influence others

• Understand difficult people — keys to working effectively

As rapid technology changes continue to impact the marketplace, the traditional IT organization and role of the CIO are evolving. How are CIOs adapting their strategy to stay ahead of the fast-paced competition with flexible and innovative solutions? How can these emerging technologies and paradigm shifts impact top line growth? What is the new landscape in regards to infrastructure, data security, compliance, regulatory implications and outsourcing?

This interactive discussion addresses these questions while exploring how capabilities like cloud computing, IT outsourcing and information security are impacting the business, innovation and time to market. Join the conversation about how CIOs are applying these new platforms and service delivery models to meet the needs of the business in the boardroom.

Most collaboration systems create more disappointment than true collaboration. Successful collaboration systems require intuitive tools that connect people, reward participation, and align well with existing communication patterns. Effective knowledge sharing in organizations is a social activity that is enabled by technology, rather than a technological solution bolted onto an existing work culture. Join Doug Solomon as he shares strategies for building collaboration tools that are appealing to use and fit the culture of your organization.

Session discovery topics:

• Understand the culture of your organization when it comes to collaboration

• How to roll out a collaboration system to maximize its use