Assemblies

North Central CIO & AI Transformation Assembly, hosted in Chicago

September 24, 2026 7:45 AM - 6:00 PM (CT)
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Executives Attending From
In Partnership With

Who You’ll Meet

  • Chief Information Officer (CIO)
  • Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
  • Chief Digital Officer (CDO)
  • Chief AI Officer (CAIO)
  • SVP of Information Technology
  • VP of Infrastructure & Operations
  • Head of Cloud & Platform Engineering
  • SVP of Enterprise Architecture
  • VP of Digital Transformation
  • Director of Information Technology
  • VP of Enterprise Architecture
  • Director of Cloud Engineering
  • Head of AI
  • SVP of Innovation

CIO Executive Assembly | Priority Topics

  • Scaling Enterprise AI for Business Transformation & Competitive Advantage
  • AI Governance, Trust, Risk Management & Responsible Innovation
  • Building AI-Ready Data Foundations for Enterprise Decision Intelligence
  • Modernizing Infrastructure, Cloud & Platforms for the AI-Driven Enterprise
  • Enterprise AI Strategy: Moving from Pilot Programs to Measurable Business Outcomes
  • Platform Engineering, Developer Experience & Digital Product Delivery at Enterprise Scale
  • Driving Operational Excellence Through AIOps, Automation & Intelligent Operations
  • Observability, Digital Resilience & Service Reliability Across Complex Digital Environments
  • Multi-Cloud Strategy, FinOps & Optimizing Technology Investments
  • Technology Business Management, Cost Transparency & Enterprise Value Realization
  • Enterprise Architecture Strategies for the AI-First Organization
  • Transforming IT Operating Models to Accelerate Business Agility & Innovation
  • Workforce Productivity, Intelligent Automation & the Future of Digital Work
  • Quantum Readiness, Emerging Technologies & Long-Term Innovation Strategy
  • Leading Enterprise Transformation Through Technology, Data, AI & Organizational Change
Thu , Sep 24
7:45 AM CT
7:45 AM - 8:35 AM CT (50 min)

BREAKFAST & NETWORKING

8:35 AM CT
8:35 AM - 8:40 AM CT (5 min)

WELCOME & OPEN REMARKS

Brian Benn

CIO, Clark Atlanta University

SPEAKER
8:40 AM CT
8:40 AM - 9:30 AM CT (50 min)

Opening Keynote Panel: The Autonomous Enterprise -Balancing AI Acceleration, Cyber Resilience, and Business Growth

Blaine Bryant
Global CIO,

Lightera

SPEAKER
Salman Khan
CISO,

Harris Health System

SPEAKER
Du Tri Duong

Chief Technology Transformation Officer, Ryan Specialty

SPEAKER
Jigar Shah

CISO, Medusind

SPEAKER
Nadeem Iftikhar

vCISO, Director Tech Risk Management, EWS (Zelle)

SPEAKER
9:30 AM CT
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM CT (30 min)

Coffee Break & Networking

10:00 AM CT
10:00 AM - 10:20 AM CT (20 min)

Clean + Clean = Malicious? Contextual AI Advantage for your Defense | Disrupter Presenter | Check Point

Brayden Helgen

Regional Architect, Check Point

SPEAKER
10:20 AM CT
10:20 AM - 10:30 AM CT (10 min)

AI Readiness: Why Projects Fail - The Failure Is in the Foundation: Data Quality, Not the Model | Senior Supporter | Delphix

Larry Morgan

Senior Manager, Solutions Engineering, Delphix

SPEAKER
10:30 AM CT
10:30 AM - 10:40 AM CT (10 min)

Zero Trust at the Endpoint | Senior Supporter | ThreatLocker

Andre Reimer

Account Executive, ThreatLocker

SPEAKER
10:40 AM CT
10:40 AM - 10:50 AM CT (10 min)

Uncharted - AI Risk Frameworks for Forward-Thinking CISOs | Senior Supporter | Fortra

Rohit Dhamankar

VP, Product Strategy, Fortra

SPEAKER
10:50 AM CT
10:50 AM - 11:00 AM CT (10 min)

The New Attacker Economics: Rethinking Risk in the AI Era | Senior Supporter | Expel

Jon Ungerman

Principal Solutions Architect, Expel

SPEAKER
11:00 AM CT
11:00 AM - 11:10 AM CT (10 min)

You Don’t Own Your Data Stack. Your Vendor Does. | Senior Supporter | Percona

Will Fromme

Senior Solutions Engineer

SPEAKER
11:10 AM CT
11:10 AM - 11:40 AM CT (30 min)

NETWORKING

11:40 AM CT
11:40 AM - 12:10 PM CT (30 min)

Executive Think Tank: AI at Scale: The Leadership Decisions Shaping Tomorrow’s Enterprise

Carl Patten

Vice President , Information Technology , boys and girls club

SPEAKER
11:40 AM CT
11:40 AM - 12:10 PM CT (30 min)

Executive Think Tank: Cyber Resilience in the Age of AI: Preparing for the Next Generation of Threats

Jason Torres

Associate Director, Security Threat Incident Management, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

SPEAKER
12:10 PM CT
12:10 PM - 1:00 PM CT (50 min)

CIO & CTO Panel: The Transformation Playbook- Lessons from Technology Leaders Driving Enterprise-Wide Change

Craig Ross

Head of IT Services Ardagh Group

SPEAKER
Terry Cottrell

VP/CIO, University of St. Francis

SPEAKER
Biju Gopinath

Global Head Network Engineering, Manpower Group

SPEAKER
Santosh Kumar Yamsani

Global Head of Enterprise Core & Platform Engineering, Global Financial Services

SPEAKER
GS Jha

Global CIO/CISO/CAIO, QuantumScape

SPEAKER
Tiffany Miles

Head of Enterprise IT Business Applications, Deutz Corporation

SPEAKER
1:00 PM CT
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM CT (40 min)

LUNCH

1:40 PM CT
1:40 PM - 2:25 PM CT (45 min)

CISO Panel: Securing the AI-Powered Enterprise - Balancing Innovation and Risk

Jill Gunnufson

Senior Director, IT GRC, Northwestern Mutual

SPEAKER
Anthony Ting

Managing Director Risk & Governance, BDO

SPEAKER
Jon Garza

CISO, PSA BDP

SPEAKER
Aslam Rahim

BISO & Global Head of Application Security, Gallagher

SPEAKER
Naresh Chintalcheru

Sr. Director, Technology, RXO

SPEAKER
Ron Rodenberg

National Director Enterprise Systems, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

SPEAKER
2:25 PM CT
2:25 PM - 3:15 PM CT (50 min)

WIT Panel: Shaping the Future of AI, IT, and Security

Rachel Tenney

Associate Director for Cybersecurity GRC, NVent

SPEAKER
Julia Zhou

CIO, On Lok

SPEAKER
Yolanda Williams

Head of IT PMO & VP-IT, ENGIE

SPEAKER
Kajal Chokshi

Global Head of Strategic Workforce Planning, AI & Automation, Mondelez

SPEAKER
Yasemin Blanton

SVP, Bank Technology and Tech Centers, Synchrony

SPEAKER
Cathryn Fageros

Director AI Transformation, Tenneco

SPEAKER
3:15 PM CT
3:15 PM - 3:35 PM CT (20 min)

Break

3:35 PM CT
3:35 PM - 4:25 PM CT (50 min)

AI Panel: AI at Full Scale - Turning Innovation into Enterprise Value

Brian Benn

CIO, Clark Atlanta University

SPEAKER
Sugato Bose

Chief Architect, Medline Industries

SPEAKER
Kader Sakkaria

Global Head of Data Strategy, Marsh

SPEAKER
Tim Riddle

Senior Director, Analytics and AI, Premier

SPEAKER
Duncan Robinson

Director of AI & Optimization, Franklin Templeton

SPEAKER
Sandeep Dhamale

Head of Engineering - Data & Intelligence, American Medical Association

SPEAKER
4:25 PM CT
4:25 PM - 5:00 PM CT (35 min)

Closing Security Fireside Chat: The Future of Cyber Resilience - Preparing for What You Can’t Predict

Brian Benn

CIO, Clark Atlanta University

SPEAKER
Theodore Darko
CISO,

KBC Bank

SPEAKER
Imad Longi

Director of AI, Northwestern University

SPEAKER
Nathan Frank

Director, ML Platform & Operations / AI Enablement & Governance, Enterprise AI Practitioner

SPEAKER
5:00 PM CT
5:00 PM - 5:55 PM CT (55 min)

RAFFLE, COCKTAILS, NETWORKING