CDO Magazine’s exclusive Executive Boardroom Dinner in Cincinnati, hosted at Carlo & Johnny on August 27, united leading data, analytics, and AI executives for a dialogue on distinguishing AI’s role from conventional automation and translating innovation into sustainable business value. The evening featured a panel on the timely theme of “AI for IT vs. AIOps,” examining how enterprises can approach AI deployment with impact and scalability.

The speakers examined how AI is driving internal efficiency and enhancing customer interactions, the role of vendors applying AI in cybersecurity, and the emerging challenge of deploying AI to operate IT environments more effectively—distinct from traditional AIOps approaches.

The panel of experts were:

• J.D. Whitlock, Dayton Children’s Hospital Chief Information Officer  
• Matt Booher, The E.W. Scripps Company Vice President, Data Solutions 

The discussion was moderated by Anthony Losanno, CDO Magazine SVP, Sales.

Sharing his experience, Bharath Prabhakaran, University of Cincinnati Vice President & Chief Digital Officer, says, “CDO Magazine events provide a great forum and opportunity to connect with talented leaders across industries and domains, and share knowledge while learning about new and relevant topics.” 

Prabhakaran shares these takeaways:

• AI is becoming ubiquitous with many use cases – examples from healthcare and other domains were shared and discussed.
• The ROI from AI is still unclear and needs further discussion around how it can be measured and quantified.
• Companies that don’t use AI in some capacity risk being left behind.
• The need to plan well to ensure upskilling and reskilling staff to thrive in this new AI world.
• Data remains foundational, and we need a solid data strategy to ensure AI success.

Echoing Prabhakaran, panelist Whitlock says, “As always with CDO Magazine dinner events, it was great to network with local data leaders and learn from each other. 

Whitlock adds, “My top three takeaways were:

• The extent to which you will be building GenAI vs. benefitting from GenAI tools via your platform vendors (and some smart vendor additions) is inversely proportional to how regulated your industry vertical is.
• This comes up in every single AI discussion: we must distinguish clearly between predictive and generative AI, because the risks and rewards are completely different, and because it is massively confusing if we do not.
• Data geek leaders are fine people I always want to have dinner with!”

According to Akhil Mahajan, Procter & Gamble Technical Director, Data & AI, one of the most engaging parts of the evening was the conversation on how AI is driving business growth and cost savings. He says, “An MIT article recently suggested that most AI projects fail, but many leaders in the room saw things differently. They shared that their companies are getting real value from AI, and that the ‘95% failure rate’ quoted doesn’t match what they see day to day. We also talked about how AI is more than just Generative AI. Machine learning has been around for years and continues to play a big role in helping businesses grow and operate more efficiently.”

Mahajan points out that a key challenge for the industry is the right talent. “Finding and keeping skilled AI professionals is still hard and closing that gap will be key for companies that want to scale their AI efforts,” he adds.

According to panelist Booher, participating in the AI panel was very insightful. He says, “I like how we moved past the hype to focus on how companies are actually implementing AI to drive meaningful transformation in their operations. What struck me most was that regardless of industry, every panelist shared the same laser focus on creating tangible value rather than just adopting technology for its own sake. It’s clear that we’re entering a more mature phase where organizations are approaching AI strategically.”

Michelle Ziegler, CDO Magazine Global VP, Partner Development & Events, highlights, “The dinner was such a great night of conversation and connection with some of our Cincinnati executive community. The energy in the room reminded me why these gatherings matter so much — you walk away with new ideas, new perspectives, and new relationships. It was the perfect lead-up to the 3-day Global Leadership Summits this October!”

Moderator Losanno agrees, “It’s always a good time with the Cincinnati community.” Summing up the event, he says, “The topic of ‘AI for IT vs. AIOps’ resonated with the audience, and a spirited discussion with lots of audience participation ensued. Both those that have IT in their purview and those that are rolling out AI across other business functions had a lot to say about the adoption, usage, and ROI of these additions.”

Special thanks to AHEAD for their partnership in making the event a success.

Join us for the Global Leadership Summits (Data, AI, Cybersecurity) on October 7-9 in Cincinnati. Explore the agendas and register today.

*Bharath Prabhakaran, J.D. Whitlock and Akhil Mahajan are members of the CDO Magazine Global Editorial Board.

Executives attending the CDO Magazine Cincinnati Executive Boardroom Dinner included: 

Greg Adams, Drees Homes VP, IT; Shanna Anderson, Fifth Third Bank Sr. Director, Data Insights; Gladson Baby, Fifth Third Bank VP & Director, Intelligent Automation, AI-ML & System Integration; Matt Booher, The E.W. Scripps Co. VP, Data Solutions; Nancy Colton, Elevance Health Staff VP, Healthcare Data & Analytics; Brian Cunningham, American Financial Group Information Security Director; Matthew Dowling, Great American Insurance Group Divisional AVP, Enterprise Analytics; Mufaddal Frosh, TriHealth Director, Data Solutions Center; Todd James, Aurora Insights Founder & CEO; Avani Kondragunta, Fischer Homes IT Manager, Software Engineering; Tim Lange, Great American Financial Group Divisional Assistant VP; Akhil Mahajan, Procter & Gamble Technical Director, Data & AI; Vikas Mahajan, Travelers AVP, Data Engineering; Robert McInerney, Synchrony SVP, Enterprise Technology Services; James McIntyre, YMCA of Great Cincinnati CIO; Ajaz Mohammad, University of Cincinnati Director, Data & Analytics, Digital Technology Services; Arun Kumar Moolchandani, Travelers Sr. Director, Data Engineering, Lead Data Engineer; Biplab Mukherjee, GE Aerospace Director, Data Technology & Analytics; Bharath Prabhakaran, University of Cincinnati VP & Chief Digital Officer; Shubha Sampath, Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati Chief Data Officer & VP; Randy Smith, Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL CIO; Ankit Thakkar, Thermo Fisher Scientific Sr. Director, Data & Analytics; Cedric Wells, The Gorilla Glue Company Director, IT Infrastructure Services; J.D. Whitlock, Dayton Children’s Hospital CIO; Michael Krieger, AHEAD Client Director; Anthony Losanno, CDO Magazine SVP, Sales; Lisa Runkle, CDO Magazine Global Event Manager; Michelle Ziegler, CDO Magazine Global VP, Partner Development & Events.