
Toronto CDAO Community
Executive Summit
December 4, 2025 | Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre
December 4, 2025
Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Toronto'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:
Unlocking Business Value Through Scalable AI
Leading Organizational Change Through Data-First Leadership
Cultivating Confidence in Data to Enable Effective AI Deployment
Toronto 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

Allie Grassie
Canadian Red Cross
Lead, Digital and Data Transformation Execution

Joe Greenwood
Mastercard
Vice President, AI & Data Growth

Della Shea
CIBC
Head of Operational Risk, Data, AI and Advanced Technologies

Aida Tahiri
Mattamy Homes Limited
VP of Finance, Planning, Data, and Analytics

Eugene Wen
Manulife
VP & Global Chief Data Scientist
What to Expect
Agenda
8:00am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast
8:30am - 9:15am Keynote
The Art of Influence — Securing Buy-In for Data-Driven Transformation

Ramila Peiris
Global Head, Data Management, ML & AI Platform, MSAT
Sanofi
Driving successful data and AI initiatives requires more than technical expertise—it demands the ability to influence and inspire stakeholders and executives across the organization. True business transformation happens at the intersection of technology, data and people, where leadership fosters a data-driven culture and empowers teams to embrace change.
In this keynote session explore proven strategies for:
- Building executive and stakeholder alignment for data and AI initiatives
- Communicating business value and ROI to diverse audiences
- Navigating organizational resistance and build momentum for fostering a culture of support
9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Governance in Action— Metadata, Data Fabric, and Leveraging Generative AI
Hosted by Orion Governance

Ramesh Shurma
CEO
Orion Governance
As CDAOs continue to grow in their journeys, it is necessary to ensure your data fabric has a solid foundation on the information as well as the barriers in place accessing it. Governance plays a crucial role in establishing and maintaining these barriers, ensuring data integrity and compliance. When we add GenAI into the conversation, how can we leverage this tool to our advantage, ensuring those barriers aren’t compromised? Effective governance strategies are essential to balance innovation with security and ethical considerations. This complex conversation has many considerations, so let's explore them together.
Join this session to learn more about:
- Overviewing the complexities of Metadata Management
- Challenging aspects of data fabric as GenAI implementation continues
- Improving the process of governance models
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Redefining Enterprise Leadership as AI, Data, Risk and Cyber Converge
Hosted by Cyera

Thomas Mazzaferro
Chief Data Officer
Cyera
Enterprises are standing at a critical inflection point. The convergence of AI, data, risk, and cyber is no longer a future trend, it is the new operating reality. For CDOs, CISOs, and CAIOs, this shift represents both the greatest source of enterprise value creation and the biggest exposure to existential risk.
Join this session to explore:
- Why AI demands unified governance, risk, and cyber strategies
- Frameworks for scaling innovation with control, trust, and compliance
- How top enterprises align AI, data, and cyber to boost resilience and speed transformation
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
Power Reliable Agents with Enterprise-Ready Data
Hosted by IBM

Paul Zikopoulos
VP, Technology Group Skills Vitality & Enablement
IBM
AI is only as reliable as the data that powers it. Many organizations struggle to unlock structured and unstructured data due to silos, quality issues, and limited access. CDAOs are overcoming these barriers by preparing enterprise data at scale and combining retrieval approaches to improve accuracy, trust, and scalability for agentic AI
Join this session to learn about:
- Preparing enterprise data for agentic AI applications
- Combining retrieval approaches to improve AI reliability
- Real-world strategies for scaling trusted AI across teams
11:10am - 11:55am Breakout Session
Accelerating AI Value — Transforming Data Debt into Strategic Assets
Hosted by Google Cloud

Gus Kimble
Head of Data Analytics Customer Engineering, North America
Google Cloud
Today, maximizing the strategic impact of AI hinges on how effectively we leverage our data, converting existing data challenges into powerful enablers for AI-driven outcomes. We'll explore collective experiences and share actionable insights on building a data foundation that truly fuels enterprise AI initiatives.
Join this session to learn:
How to refine your AI driven outcomes
Using AI-ready data fabric within the enterprise to consolidate data investments
Tactical approaches to elevating data maturity in AI deployment, ROI and cultural adoption
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Thriving in the Age of Uncertainty
Hosted by Tealium

David Datars
VP of Corporate Development
Tealium
Data leaders face a paradox: data is both an asset and a liability. Rapid shifts — from privacy regulations to AI — demand resilience and adaptability.
Join this boardroom to explore:
- Future-proofing governance for an unpredictable compliance era
- Reducing dependence on volatile tech ecosystems
- Turning regulatory and technological uncertainty into competitive advantage
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
The Intelligent Enterprise — The Fusion of Analytics, Automation, and AI
Hosted by Alteryx

Heather Harris
Field Chief Data & Analytics Officer
Alteryx
The convergence of AI, analytics, and intelligent automation is creating a new era of autonomous business processes. CDAOs can move beyond fragmented systems to provide rapid insights, optimized decision-making, and unprecedented efficiency across the enterprise. Governing AI and analytic processes while enabling the business accelerates AI adoption and innovation
Join this session to discuss:
- Principles for governing and operationalizing the intelligent enterprise
- Steps to uplevel and create a technology and AI forward workforce
- Lessons for leaders for creating a culture of AI and analytics
11:55am - 12:30pm Lunch Service
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the Toronto CDAO Community Executive Summit.
Gartner facilitates exclusive, C-level communities by personally qualifying and understanding the priorities, challenges and interests of each member.
Our selective approach maintains the high quality of the network and ensures top-level discussions with peers from the world’s leading organizations.
Each application will be reviewed, and once your participation is confirmed, you will have access to year-round community programs.
Location
Venue & Accommodation
Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton CentreSelf-Parking and Valet is available for $55 at the hotel.
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 800-905-0667 . Please mention Toronto Executive Summit to ensure the appropriate room rate.
Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $289 CAD (plus tax) is October 30, 2025.
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.