
Chicago CIO Virtual Executive Summit
May 18, 2021 | 8:00am - 3:00pm CDT
May 18, 2021 | 8:00am - 3:00pm CDT
Collaborate with your peers
Come together with your peers virtually to tackle top business challenges through peer-driven content and discussions at the Chicago CIO Virtual Executive Summit.
Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CIOs today:
Seizing momentum – influencing and leading the enterprise
Thriving through uncertainty - empowering people and delivering value
Advancing and scaling strategic, outcome-based technologies
Governing Body Co-Chairs

Deb Hall Lefevre
Couche-Tard
Chief Technology Officer

Michael Parisi
ITW
VP CIO

Tom South
Northern Trust
Executive VP & Chief Information Officer

Francesco Tinto
Walgreens Boots Alliance
Senior VP & Global Chief Information Officer

Tom Gergets
McDonald's
CTO, Vice President - Global Technology Services

Edward Wagoner
JLL
Executive Director, Digital Chief Information Officer
What to Expect
Connect with your CIO community through a variety of different session formats at the upcoming Virtual Executive Summit. You'll have the opportunity to listen, engage and create lasting relationships with like-minded peers.
Meet the Speakers
Don't miss this opportunity to meet with CIO practitioners and industry thought leaders who shared their insights on the agenda. Come with questions and get ready to meet new friends in this casual session designed to foster peer connections and collaboration in the Chicago community.
Agenda
May 18, 2021
11:00am - 12:00pm CDT Virtual Summit Boardroom
CIOs Promise: Delivering Data & Analytics
Hosted by DataStax

Bryan Kirschner
Vice President, Strategy
DataStax

Anu George
Chief Quality & Transformation Officer
Morningstar

Deb Hall Lefevre
Chief Technology Officer
Couche-Tard

Mindy Simon
Chief Information Officer
Conagra Brands
Faced with demands for modernization, cost optimization and digital business transformation, CIOs are looking at how data and analytics programs can support expanding their digital business and increasing their D&A maturity. After a D&A strategy is set, IT leaders must execute and deliver on the intended business outcomes.
Join your peers in discussing:
- Approaches to leveraging technology and resources to support D&A program and improve business outcomes
- Best practices for building out new business process and executing change management across the enterprise
- Management of cultural shifts in the organization
11:00am - 12:00pm CDT Virtual Summit Boardroom
Enabling Work from Anywhere with 5G
Hosted by T-Mobile for Business

Nelly Pitocco
VP, Head of Solution Engineering and Innovation
T-Mobile

Wayne Bulmahn
CIO
UNITE HERE HEALTH

Tom Gergets
CTO, Vice President - Global Technology Services
McDonald's

Raj Sampoornam
SVP & CIO
Byline Bank
Progressive organizations have included permanent work-from-anywhere (WFX) options in their connectivity strategy and according to IDC, 64% of business leaders will subsidize this connectivity. These new solutions will reduce the in-home bandwidth battle for employees, alleviate the burden of managing multiple vendors, and reduce security vulnerabilities is needed. Join your peers in a focused discussion on options to manage your work-from-anywhere environment.
In this interactive session we’ll discuss:
- Investing in the right technologies to support WFX and decrease risk
- Long-term planning to deliver equitable access across your workforce
- Moving from workforce support to workforce innovation
11:00am - 12:00pm CDT Virtual Summit Boardroom
Accelerating Security at the Pace of the Business

Shawkat Bhuiyan
Head of Technology Strategy & Architecture
Bank of Montreal

Paul Cottey
CIO
Water Street Healthcare Partners LLC

Tom South
Executive VP & Chief Information Officer
Northern Trust
In 2020, the multi-decade process of turning the digital enterprise inside out accelerated instantly. We’ve now passed an inflection point – most cyber assets live outside the old “walls” of the organization and cybersecurity controls must be scalable, flexible and reliable. How are CIOs partnering with CISOs to establish a security strategy that is an enabler of the digital business rather than an obstacle?
In this interactive session, you’ll discuss:
- Redesigning cybersecurity architecture to enable the work-from-anywhere culture
- Foundational technologies to support a global cybersecurity mesh
- Reconceptualizing traditional ideas of how to approach security within the enterprise and shifting the business mindset
12:00pm - 12:30pm CDT Networking
Meet the Speakers
Don't miss this opportunity to meet with CIO practitioners and industry thought leaders who shared their insights on the agenda. Come with questions and get ready to meet new friends in this casual session designed to foster peer connections and collaboration in the Chicago community.
12:30pm - 2:00pm CDT Virtual Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Meet virtually for in-depth conversations with your colleagues
8:00am - 8:45am CDT Virtual Summit Keynote
The Executioner’s Song – Putting Your Cloud Strategy into Practice
Hosted by Google Cloud

Eric Ranta
Director, North America Cloud Value Advisors
Google Cloud

Lawson Kelly
Global Chief Technology Officer
Hyatt Hotels Corp

Jim Petrassi
SVP and CTO
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois
You’ve done all leg work of building a robust cloud strategy – business alignment, clear expectations, and the right partners. But taking the step from strategy to execution can bring your efforts to their knees. From decisions on control and configuration to data access and adoption, reaping the rewards of the cloud requires a systematic, comprehensive approach. This keynote will explore:
- The most successful approaches to driving rapid cloud adoption across the enterprise
- Collaboration across the C-suite on data ownership, cloud controls and cloud security
- Ongoing metrics to track the success of your implementation strategy
8:45am - 9:00am CDT Break
9:00am - 10:00am CDT Virtual Summit Boardroom
Fueled by the Power of Data
Hosted by IBM

Corrado Azzarita
Global CIO
Kraft Heinz

Bill Blount
CIO
BenefitExpress

Heather Nelson
SVP and CIO
UChicago Medicine

Andrew Yeager
Vice President, IBM Data and AI, Americas
IBM
Smart organizations are infusing the intelligence of AI and the agility of hybrid cloud to better predict and shape future outcomes and automate decisions and processes. As a result, organizations can empower people to do higher value work and hyper-personalize digital experiences. However, only 2 of 10 firms have scaled AI solutions.
Join this boardroom to discuss:
- Preventing project stall due to data complexity, talent scarcity, and a lack of trust in AI systems
- Scaling AI across the organization with the right approach and architecture
- Leveraging AI technologies and data science tools to proactively optimize workflows and experiences
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9:00am - 10:00am CDT Virtual Summit Boardroom
Building the Smart, Resilient Supply Chain
Hosted by OpenText Corporation

Jeff Douglas
SVP, CIO
Potbelly Sandwich Works

Ash Goel
SVP/CIO
Bronson

Deepak Kaul
CIO
Zebra

Matt Moore
Vice President, Strategy
OpenText
Rapid changes in consumer behavior and the turbulence of 2020 have placed strains across the global supply chain. These disruptions have also accelerated the need for a robust technology strategy designed to capture insight, reduce cost through efficiencies, and even leverage AI. This session explores the tools and partnerships necessary to navigate uncertainty and create tomorrow’s durable supply chain.
Come ready to discuss:
- Utilizing technology across the supply chain to generate real-time analysis of gaps and stresses
- Opportunities for automation to increase efficiency, balance inventory, and reduce errors in fulfillment and procurement
- Strategies for implementing new and emerging tools like AI and ML with minimal friction and at scale
9:00am - 10:00am CDT Virtual Summit Boardroom
Developing a Strategic Approach to Applications Rationalization
Hosted by Productiv

Kelly Coomer
Chief Information Officer
Sammons Financial Group

Stuart Stern
Head of IT - Americas
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

Aashish Chandarana
Chief Information Officer
Productiv
According to Gartner research, CIOs will increase their enterprise software spending by nearly 9% in 2021. As they upgrade legacy software and expand their offerings, technology leaders must pay careful attention to business alignment in order to maximize the value of their applications, advance key digital initiatives, and remain agile in the face of constant change.
Join this boardroom to discuss best practices around:
- Aligning your application footprint with your enterprise’s strategic objectives
- Formulating principles for modernizing your application portfolio
- Creating architectures that can evolve to meet ever-changing business requirements
10:00am - 10:45am CDT Virtual Summit Keynote
Rising Above the Pitfalls of Pilot Purgatory
Hosted by YASH Technologies

Derek Dyer
SAP Americas Lead
YASH Technologies

Brad Hildestad
EVP & CIO
COUNTRY Financial
The best laid plans and POCs do your company no good – and often do irreparable, costly damage – if they never get off the ground. Derek Dyer of YASH Technologies dubs this debilitating challenge “pilot purgatory.” In this keynote, Dyer breaks down where the troubles begin, and what CIOs can do at every stage to ward off wasteful setbacks while keeping your pilot pointed toward sustainable, value-based outcomes. They will cover:
- What to avoid and ways to navigate pitfalls from infancy-to-completion of a pilot or POC
- How to leverage your people and create business-wide momentum to execute your vision
- How to benefit by creating quick ROI and riding it through long-term impact
10:45am - 11:00am CDT Break
May 18, 2021
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