In-Person

Dallas CISO Community

Executive Summit

November 4, 2026 | The Westin Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas

November 4, 2026
The Westin Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas

Collaborate with your peers

Get together with Dallas's top CISOs 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 CISOs today:

Advancing GenAI Capabilities with Secure and Accountable Oversight

Streamlining Tools and Processes to Improve User Experience, Productivity, and Business Value

Integrating Cyber Resilience into Core Business Strategy and Operational Excellence

Dallas CISO Governing Body

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

Governing Body Co-Chairs

David Bell

CBRE
SVP, CISO

Mustapha Kebbeh

Ultimate Kronos Group
VP & Chief Security Officer

Scott Moser

Sabre Corporation
SVP & CISO

Becky Palmer

National Life Group
VP & CISO

What to Expect

Interactive Sessions

Hear from CISO 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 Dallas CISO 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

November 4, 2026

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

8:30am - 9:15am  Gartner Keynote

Influencing Key Stakeholders

Ethan Budgar headshot

Ethan Budgar

Sr Principal Analyst

Gartner

As cyber risk becomes increasingly tied to business performance, CISOs must drive outcomes through leaders outside the security organization. Success requires more than authority. It depends on building credibility, understanding stakeholder priorities, challenging assumptions, and framing security issues in business terms that inspire action. This session explores practical strategies for influencing decisions, creating urgency, and gaining commitment across the enterprise.

Join this discussion to learn how to:

  • Gain commitment for security initiatives from leaders balancing competing business priorities
  • Reframe security challenges in business that motivate action and support enterprise risk reduction
  • Influence decisions, build urgency, and drive change effectively, even without direct authority

9:15am - 9:40am  Networking Break

9:40am - 10:25am  Breakout Session

Q-Day Countdown — Preparing for the Quantum Shift

Aaron McAllister headshot

Aaron McAllister

Field CTO

Cloudflare

Post-quantum migration has officially shifted from a theoretical threat to an urgent operational mandate. With finalized NIST standards and pressing regulatory deadlines, CISOs must audit legacy infrastructure, protect long-lived secrets, and hold software vendors accountable — all without disrupting core business operations. This session cuts through the Q-Day hype to deliver a practical, executive-level framework for building cryptographic agility and mitigating supply chain exposure before compliance windows close.

Join this session to explore:

  • Mapping high-risk assets, long-lived keys, and vulnerable authentication flows across your ecosystem with targeted asset discovery
  • Defining essential PQC readiness criteria for software vendors and third-party partners for supply chain accountability
  • Implementing pragmatic strategies to modernize encryption layers for future architectural agility

9:40am - 10:25am  Breakout Session

Strengthening Critical Infrastructure Through IT/OT Security Alignment

Clint Wilson headshot

Clint Wilson

CISO

HF Sinclair

As operational technology environments become increasingly connected, organizations are facing new cybersecurity challenges that blur the traditional boundaries between IT and OT. At the same time, critical infrastructure operators must balance security, safety, reliability, and regulatory demands while navigating rapid technological change, including the rise of AI and industrial digitization. Effective alignment of people, processes, and technologies helps reduce vulnerabilities, improve operational continuity, and protect mission-critical assets.

Join this session to discuss:

  • Shifting of OT security to the CISO
  • Aligning IT/OT, culture, risk, and governance
  • Building a mature and resilient converged cybersecurity programs

9:40am - 10:25am  Executive Boardroom

Reimagining Security Teams — Optimizing AI Agents and Cost

Dd Budiharto headshot

Dd Budiharto

Chief Security Advisor

Microsoft Corporation

Rick Velasquez headshot

Rick Velasquez

CISO

Paradigm

Sonya Wickel headshot

Sonya Wickel

VP, Information Security & CISO

Texas Mutual Insurance Company

As AI agents proliferate in security operations, CISOs must strategically manage token consumption and associated costs, while weighing those costs against the risk they mitigate. Organizational structures are evolving to support agent-centric models, and the hardest questions are as much about people as technology: how roles change, which skills matter, and what new leadership approaches and cross-functional collaboration the shift demands. This session will explore how to balance risk, cost, efficiency and resilience as the enterprise and its workforce adapts to the next wave of AI-driven security.

Join this session to discuss:

  • Managing token consumption and aligning FinOps priorities against risk-reduction value
  • Redesigning teams, roles and skills for agent-centric security models
  • Anticipating future shifts in AI-driven organizational structures and the talent implications

9:40am - 10:25am  Executive Boardroom

Securing the Foundation for Trusted AI

Pedro Ferreira headshot

Pedro Ferreira

Director of Channel Enablement

Concentric AI

Bryan Chou headshot

Bryan Chou

Director, Infrastructure & Information Security

Atlantic Aviation

Don Good headshot

Don Good

CISO

Everest

As organizations accelerate AI adoption, security leaders are being asked to support innovation while maintaining control over sensitive data. Many AI initiatives are revealing longstanding challenges around data visibility, access governance, oversharing, and policy enforcement. The organizations that successfully scale AI will be those that establish trust in the data, controls, and governance frameworks that underpin it.

Join this roundtable to discuss:

  • Assessing confidence in AI data visibility and identifying barriers to secure adoption
  • Bridging the gap between AI policy and employee behavior, including shadow AI
  • Enabling AI innovation while maintaining security without being restrictive

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

Beyond Generative AI — Preparing for Agentic AI Revolution

Rick Holland headshot

Rick Holland

Data & AI Security Officer

Cyera

The next evolution of artificial intelligence is not simply generating content. It is enabling autonomous systems that can reason, interact with enterprise applications, and execute business processes on behalf of employees and customers. This shift introduces a new category of enterprise risk. AI agents require access to data, applications, systems, and credentials, creating challenges that traditional cybersecurity, identity, and governance models were never designed to address.

This keynote explores:

  • Preparing for the Agentic AI era by building a unified approach to data protection, identity security, and AI governance
  • Emerging requirements for governing non-human identities, managing AI agent access, protecting sensitive data, and maintaining continuous compliance
  • Balancing innovation and risk with a practical framework for visibility

11:10am - 11:55am  Breakout Session

Securing Agentic AI Across the Enterprise

Jason Trunk headshot

Jason Trunk

VP & Field CTO

Island

Agentic AI is transforming organizational productivity and revenue but introduces new security and governance challenges. Without traditional onboarding, AI agents can move data unsupervised, use tools maliciously, and create "shadow AI" risks beyond IT’s view. Organizations need a centralized control plane for comprehensive visibility and control across all environments, replacing outdated infrastructure and ensuring secure AI adoption.

Join this session to discover:

  • Establishing centralized control for agentic AI
  • Managing agentic posture and non-human identities
  • Enabling secure governance for safe AI operations

11:10am - 11:55am  Executive Boardroom

Securing the Rise of AI Identities

David Zacher headshot

David Zacher

Director of Cybersecurity

Atmos Energy

Joe Paul headshot

Joe Paul

Senior Director, Cybersecurity Compliance.

WWP Media

According to the International Data Corporation, the number of AI identities is expected to reach 1.3 billion in just two years. Yet many organizations don’t secure AI identities effectively, granting excessive access and relying on outdated, slow processes.

Join this session to learn how to:

  • Identify gaps in agent access visibility, ownership, and governance
  • Address the unique challenges of identity security in AI environments
  • Build scalable identity foundations to enable innovation and efficiency

11:10am - 11:55am  Executive Boardroom

Who Gets Access? Identity, Trust, and Control

Loren Russon headshot

Loren Russon

SVP of Product & Technology

Ping Identity

Saurin Patel headshot

Saurin Patel

CISO

Lennar

Leslie Saravia headshot

Leslie Saravia

Director, Security & Compliance

Overhead Door Corporation

As AI agents begin making decisions, accessing systems, and acting on behalf of employees, organizations face a new challenge: balancing trust with control. For CISOs, the question is no longer just who has access, but how to establish accountability, governance, and sovereignty over non-human identities operating across the enterprise. What happens when access is no longer limited to people?

Join this roundtable for a discussion on:

  • Using identity to establish trust without sacrificing oversight and sovereignty
  • Strengthening security, governance, and accountability as non-human identities scale
  • Auditing and governing agent activity through policy, visibility, and oversight

11:55am - 12:30pm  Lunch Service

12:30pm - 1:05pm  Keynote

Modernizing the SOC for Machine-Speed Defense

George Moser headshot

George Moser

Global CXO in Residence

Zscaler

Security operations centers (SOCs) are facing a new reality - attackers are leveraging AI to automate multi-step attacks, outpacing human-driven response and overwhelming traditional workflows. CISOs must reimagine their SOCs to operate at machine speed, integrating AI-driven detection, orchestration, and remediation. How should CISOs transform their SOCs with agentic workflows, closed-loop automation, and continuous red teaming that empowers security teams to contain threats faster and reduce business risk?

Join this session to learn:

  • Integrating AI-driven detection and automated response workflows
  • Operationalizing continuous red teaming for proactive threat hunting
  • Accelerating containment and remediation to reduce business risk

1:05pm - 1:30pm  Break

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Breakout Session

AI Agents at Work — Rethinking Risk Metrics

Beth Miller headshot

Beth Miller

Global Field CISO

Mimecast

The modern workforce isn’t just human — AI agents now wield credentials, access critical systems, and make business decisions alongside employees. Most organizations still evaluate employees based on training completion and click rates, while AI agents often go unmeasured. By applying consistent to both humans and AI agents, organizations can transform fragmented behavioral data into a clear, defensible view of enterprise resilience.

Join this session to explore how to:

  • Apply a single measurement approach to human and agent behavior
  • Prioritize by residual risk rather than industry benchmark or vendor default
  • Translate behavioral signals into progress metrics an audit committee will accept

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Breakout Session

Hot Potato — Shifting Risk Ownership to the Business (Interactive Workshop)

Jeff Kirby headshot

Jeff Kirby

CISO

Interstate Batteries

In today’s dynamic threat landscape, security leaders are often left holding the “hot potato” of risk—expected to manage, mitigate, and own risks that truly belong to the broader business. This imbalance often strains both resources and relationships, requiring infosec leaders to navigate organizational silos, misaligned incentives and communication gaps between business units to ensure ownership of risk remains in the right hands.

Through real-world scenarios, collaborative exercises, and candid discussion, this interactive workshop is an opportunity for security leaders to work share strategies for:

  • Translating technical risks into business language that resonates with non-security stakeholders
  • Establishing clear frameworks and processes for assigning and tracking risk accountability across business functions.
  • Navigating resistance and overcoming common obstacles to change

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Executive Boardroom

The Autonomous Frontier — Leading Secure AI Transformation

Anthony Scarfe headshot

Anthony Scarfe

Deputy CISO

Elastic

Brian Mork headshot

Brian Mork

CISO

Trinity Industries

Russell Scott headshot

Russell Scott

CISO

Tarrant County, TX

The focus has shifted from adopting AI to determining how much of your business relies on autonomous agents. The question is now: how can CISOs drive productivity with agentic workflows while maintaining control?

Join this session to learn about:

  • The evolving landscape of AI autonomy
  • How the perimeter now centers on agent actions
  • Security as an accelerator for innovation

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Executive Boardroom

CISOs at the Center — Digital Trust As Your Competitive Edge

Megan Flanagan headshot

Megan Flanagan

Head of Product Deployment

Outtake

Stephen Clark headshot

Stephen Clark

Director of Information Security

Children's Health

Eric Puleo headshot

Eric Puleo

CISO

Commercial Metals

Your board wants AI. Your business is already running it. AI governance is maturing fast, but the gap is the external perimeter, where agents act, brands live, and AI attacks now scale rapidly. Closing this gap is not just about protecting the business — it is what makes enterprise AI safe to scale.

Join this session to discuss:

  • Navigating governance in the era of context poisoning and external visibility gaps
  • Responding to the rise of fake infrastructure targeting enterprise brands
  • Owning digital trust to position CISOs at the center of the AI conversation

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.

3:00pm - 3:45pm  Breakout Session

Smarter Application Investments – When to Buy, Build, or Partner

Eric Bowerman headshot

Eric Bowerman

CISO

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

As business demands evolve at an unprecedented pace, technology leaders face a critical decision: build applications internally, purchase commercial solutions, or partner with external providers. Each approach brings its own trade-offs in cost, speed, flexibility, and long-term value.To remain agile and competitive, CISOs must make application decisions that support business priorities, optimize resources, and create a sustainable path for future growth and innovation.

Join this session to discuss: 

  • Identifying the right scenarios for building, buying, or partnering
  • Balancing speed-to-market with long-term flexibility
  • Reducing risk while maximizing return on application investments

3:00pm - 3:45pm  Executive Boardroom

The AI Governance Blueprint — Redefining Endpoint Strategy

Emily Heath headshot

Emily Heath

COO

Glow

Building an endpoint strategy for the AI era is critical to closing visibility gaps and strengthening prevention where work gets done. This boardroom will explore how shifting from reactive incident response to proactive endpoint security provides the essential foundation needed for a strong AI governance policy.

Join this boardroom to discuss:

  • Why the endpoint is the necessary foundation for robust AI governance
  • Where traditional EDR leaves visibility gaps
  • Practical ways to reduce risk before data exposure occurs

3:00pm - 3:45pm  Gartner Boardroom

Technical Resilience to Business Resilience

Mark Kenneth headshot

Mark Kenneth

VP, Executive Partner

Gartner

As disruption becomes the norm, resilience is no longer just an IT responsibility. CISOs must build resilience as a strategic capability that strengthens agility, reduces risk, and enables business growth. How are top CISOs practicing practical approaches to embedding resilience across the enterprise and turning uncertainty into opportunity?

Join this session to explore:

  • Aligning resilience efforts with business priorities

  • Strengthening organizational agility and risk management

  • Turning disruption into a catalyst for growth and innovation

3:45pm - 4:00pm  Networking Break

4:00pm - 4:35pm  Keynote

Frontier AI and the Next Generation of Cyber Resilience

Wei Dong headshot

Wei Dong

CISO

Michaels Stores

Paul Reyes headshot

Paul Reyes

VP & CISO

AccentCare

Frontier AI is creating new opportunities to improve decision-making, automate complex processes, and drive operational efficiency across the enterprise. At the same time, its increasing capabilities introduce important considerations around security, privacy, compliance, governance, and organizational readiness. Leaders must understand both the value and the risks of Frontier AI to make informed decisions about adoption, oversight, and scale.

Join this session to learn how to:

  • Assess where Frontier AI can deliver the greatest business value while mitigating associated risks

  • Establish governance security, and compliance frameworks required to enable responsible AI adoption 

  • Prioritize leadership actions balancing innovation, organizational readiness, and risk management

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

4:45pm - 6:00pm  Governing Body Reception

Governing Body Reception

Finish the day sharing lessons learned with your peers over light fare and drinks at this closing reception hosted by your governing body members.

November 4, 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

A block of rooms has been reserved at the The Westin Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 972-505-2900. Please mention Gartner CISO Executive Summit to ensure the appropriate room rate.

Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $369 USD (plus tax) is October 12, 2026.

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Community Program Manager

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

Jeff Hull

Community Program Manager

214-649-0033

jeff.hull@gartner.com