In-Person

Minneapolis CDAO Community

Executive Summit

May 20, 2026 | Sheraton Bloomington

May 20, 2026
Sheraton Bloomington

Collaborate with your peers

Get together with Minneapolis's top CDAOs to tackle shared business challenges and critical priorities facing your role today. Participate in this one-day, local program with peer-driven topics and interactive discussions with your true C-level peers.

Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CDAOs today:

Real-world AI Value and Responsible Governance

Data Modernization and Shared Accountability

Evolving Leadership and Peer-Driven Learning

Minneapolis CDAO Governing Body

The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the summit agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CDAOs, For CDAOs™.

Governing Body Co-Chairs

Sridher Arumugham

DigiKey
VP & CDAO

Ylan Kazi

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota
Chief Data & AI Officer

Jeremy Lembeck

Land O'Lakes
Head of Data & Analytics

Keith Narr

Cargill
SVP, Technology & Data

Rich Rubenstein

General Mills
VP, Data & Analytics

What to Expect

Interactive Sessions

Hear from CDAO practitioners and thought leaders on how they're solving critical challenges impacting your role today in Keynote sessions, and join smaller, interactive discussions with your peers in Breakout and Boardroom sessions.

Community Networking

Make new connections and catch up with old friends in casual conversations during dedicated time for networking designed to better acquaint you with your Minneapolis CDAO community.

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a private, one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

Agenda

May 20, 2026

8:00am - 8:30am  Registration & Breakfast

8:30am - 9:15am  Keynote

Data Foundations – Turning Data into Real Value Today and Tomorrow

Rich Rubenstein headshot

Rich Rubenstein

VP, Data & Analytics

General Mills

Many organizations invest in data foundations but are challenged to turn them into governed analytics and AI systems that impact the P&L. Data architecture, technology stack choices and data governance enable scalable analytics and AI that deliver measurable business outcomes. Data readiness and key decisions are critical to maximizing value—both today and as agentic AI reshapes possibilities.

Join this session to explore:

  • Evolving approaches to data and governance—structured, unstructured and beyond
  • Driving data and analytics modernization—business and technology alignment for results
  • Emerging governance challenges—navigating AI’s transition from hype to impact

9:15am - 9:40am  Networking Break

9:40am - 10:25am  Breakout Session

Building a Foundation for Successful Enterprise AI

Michael Moore headshot

Michael Moore

Ph.D., Field CTO for Americas

Neo4j

Many organizations struggle with the high failure rates of enterprise AI projects due to challenges with data quality, transparency and context. Establishing a connected, explainable semantic layer can help make data more AI-ready and improve outcomes. Leveraging advanced tools and frameworks enables more accurate, governable and scalable AI solutions across the enterprise.

 Join this session to explore:

  • Improving AI transparency and reliability with a semantic layer
  • Boosting AI accuracy through advanced frameworks
  • Accelerating deployment and governance with connected data

9:40am - 10:25am  Breakout Session

The Next AI Workforce — Redefining Talent

Jena Zangs headshot

Jena Zangs

Chief Data & AI Officer

University of St. Thomas

Manjeet Rege headshot

Manjeet Rege

AI and Machine Learning Thought Leader, Educator & Author

University of St. Thomas

As AI transforms workflows and accelerates productivity, the skillsets required are rapidly evolving. Organizations must reconsider how they identify, develop and leverage talent in this shifting landscape.

Join this fireside chat with Jena Zangs, Chief Data & AI Officer, University of St. Thomas, and Dr. Manjeet Rege, Director, Center for Applied AI, to:

  • Define what “AI-ready” talent looks like in practice
  • Explore strategies to unlock professionals' potential
  • Discuss how higher education and corporations can strengthen the AI talent pipeline

10:25am - 11:10am  Networking Break

10:35am - 11:00am  Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

11:10am - 11:55am  Breakout Session

Closing the Context Gap for Trusted AI Decisions

Benjamin Guthmiller headshot

Benjamin Guthmiller

VP, Enterprise Transformation & AI Value Creation

IBM

AI agents are accelerating decision-making across the enterprise—but many leaders find that even with mature data foundations, organizations still struggle to deploy and scale agents with confidence. The emerging challenge isn’t preparing data alone, but ensuring agents can interpret it with the right context and clarity to make trusted decisions.

Join this session to discuss:

  • The “decision trust gap” limiting AI agent performance
  • How context, meaning, and governance shape reliable agent actions
  • A practical model for assessing agent readiness for auditable outcomes

11:10am - 11:55am  Executive Boardroom

Scaling Agentic AI with Trusted Context

Sriraj Rajaram headshot

Sriraj Rajaram

Director, Product Management

Reltio

Agentic AI is transforming business, but CDAOs can only scale AI agents as quickly as they can provide trusted, real-time context. Context intelligence is essential, combining data and business meaning for confident scaling.

Join this roundtable to discuss:

  • What are the core data platform capabilities required to serve as a system of context
  • How should you structure your AI strategy to balance innovation speed with accountability and measurable outcomes
  • Which key metrics should you track to assess data readiness for AI

11:55am - 12:30pm  Lunch Service

1:05pm - 1:30pm  Break

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Breakout Session

Unlocking Business Value with Certified Data Assets

Karthik Josyula headshot

Karthik Josyula

Head of Data and AI platforms

Kohler Co.

 Reliable data is essential for business success, enabling confident decisions and effective AI adoption. Certifying key data assets creates a single source of truth, aligning teams and building trust across the organization. Discover practical ways data certification and transparency drive business results and maximize ROI.

Join this session to learn more about:

  • Building organization-wide trust by certifying and standardizing key metrics
  • Empowering better decisions with clear data lineage and quality monitoring
  • Accelerating ROI by aligning business and data teams around trusted data assets

2:15pm - 3:00pm  Networking Break

2:25pm - 2:50pm  Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

3:45pm - 4:00pm  Networking Break

4:00pm - 4:35pm  Keynote

Body Language Secrets for Enhanced Executive Presence

Chris Ulrich headshot

Chris Ulrich

Body Language Expert

Guest Speaker

Uncovering the mysteries of body language — how people communicate their thoughts and feelings without saying a word — is a decisive first step toward mastering any business and social situation. Top executives know that detecting split-second signals from your team and leadership then taking immediate action is crucial to being a persuasive communicator and problem-solver especially during tricky internal matters or high-level negotiations.

During this session you will learn how to:

  • Move beyond the vacuum of artificial body language to a behavioral approach based on YOU
  • Strengthen interpersonal relationships, be a more decisive leader and manage your nerves better
  • Uncover the less obvious needs of others and improve your team’s confidence and competence

4:35pm - 4:45pm  Closing Comments and Prize Drawing

May 20, 2026

We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming in-person gathering

Gartner cares about the health and safety of our community. If you are feeling unwell, please refrain from attending the conference. At this time, Gartner does not have any health-related requirements in place for attendance. Should this change, we will follow up with updated guidance.

Location

Venue & Accommodation

Sheraton Bloomington
More Information

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Sheraton Bloomington at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 952-656-5922. Please mention Minneapolis Gartner Conference to ensure the appropriate room rate.

Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $175 USD (plus tax) is April 27, 2026.

Your Community Sponsors

Global Thought Leader

CDAO Thought Leader

Key Sponsors

Program Sponsors

Community Program Manager

For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.

Lucy Putnam

Senior Program Manager - Territory Specialist

847-650-0025

lucy.putnam@gartner.com