BOSTON — September 16, 2026 — Data, AI and technology leaders gathered at Empire in Boston for the CDO Magazine Boston Executive Boardroom Dinner, an intimate evening of peer discussion focused on one of the most pressing questions facing enterprises today: what happens as organizations move from automating individual workflows toward increasingly agentic systems?

The conversation went beyond the capabilities of the technology itself. Leaders were invited to examine where automation is delivering results, where challenges remain, how organizations can establish trust as agentic systems scale, and how those initiatives stay connected to business priorities that are constantly changing.

From Workflow Automation to Agentic Systems

As organizations explore increasingly autonomous AI systems, the questions surrounding implementation are becoming as important as the technology itself.

Chris Quinn, Google Cloud, Strategic Account Executive – Agentic Data Cloud shares a perspective during CDO Magazine’s Boston Executive Boardroom Dinner, where leaders discussed the opportunities and challenges of scaling workflow automation and agentic AI.

The evening centered on three questions:

Where have you seen the biggest wins and challenges when automating workflows in your organization?

The question invited leaders to look beyond the promise of automation and consider where it is producing meaningful results today, as well as the organizational and technological barriers that continue to stand in the way.

How are you approaching trust and transparency as agentic systems scale across your business?

As AI systems take on more complex responsibilities, trust becomes more than a technology issue. The discussion prompt put transparency and confidence in agentic systems at the center of the scaling conversation.

What strategies are you using to keep agentic initiatives aligned with shifting priorities and goals?

The final question brought the conversation back to business strategy: how organizations can pursue agentic AI while ensuring initiatives continue to serve enterprise priorities as business needs, technologies and expectations evolve.

Taken together, the questions reflected an important evolution in the enterprise AI conversation. The challenge is no longer simply identifying what can be automated. Leaders increasingly have to determine what should be automated, how much autonomy organizations are prepared to give AI systems, how those systems earn trust, and how they remain aligned with the business as conditions change.

Trust, Governance and the Foundations of Agentic AI

For Patrick El Azem, Data Analytics Strategy Lead at Google Cloud, and Chris Quinn, Strategic Account Executive – Agentic Data Cloud at Google Cloud, the discussion reinforced several of the foundational capabilities enterprises are considering as they scale agentic AI.

“We heard leaders talk about AI and agent trust, governance, semantics, ontology, and determinism. These are core capabilities in the Google Agentic Data Cloud, so it was great to hear leaders validate their importance.”

Patrick El Azem, Google Cloud, Data Analytics Strategy Lead addresses fellow data and technology leaders during the Boston Executive Boardroom Dinner as the group considers how organizations can scale agentic initiatives while maintaining trust and business alignment.

Building the Conversation Around the People Doing the Work

The Boston dinner brought together leaders from financial services, healthcare, technology, retail, manufacturing, government and other sectors, creating an opportunity to examine agentic AI and automation through the experiences of executives working across different enterprise environments.

For Jenna George, CDO Magazine Community Director, that exchange among leaders is what makes the Executive Boardroom Dinner format valuable.

“There’s a big difference between talking about the potential of agentic AI and sitting around a table with leaders who are actually working through what it means for their organizations. The questions around trust, transparency and alignment aren’t theoretical anymore. What I loved about this dinner was seeing leaders from very different industries learn from each other, challenge assumptions and share where they’re seeing both progress and friction. That kind of candid peer conversation is exactly what we want this community to create.”

Boston-area data, AI and technology executives exchange perspectives during CDO Magazine’s Executive Boardroom Dinner, bringing experiences from across industries to the conversation around automation and agentic AI.

Special thanks to Google Cloud for making the event a success.

Executives attending the CDO Magazine Boston Executive Boardroom Dinner included:

• Kishore Aradhya*, Advisor360 Head of Data Products
• Manajit Barman, U.S. Air Force CDO
• Yogesh Bhagat, CVS Health Vice President Digital and Technology
• Yogesh Bhardwaj*, Sensata Technologies Sr. Director – GSO Business Partner, Data and IT Shared Services
• Vinod Bhardwaj, AMD Data Architect AI/ML
• Jane Chen*, American Tower VP, Data & Analytics
• Chathuri Daluwatte*, AstraZeneca Head of AI Diagnostics (Alexion AstraZeneca Rare Disease)
• Veronika Durgin*, Saks Global VP, Data
• Sharon Gadonniex, Capital One Senior Director, Software Engineering
• Jaya Gwalani, iRobot Director Enterprise Data and Analytics
• Alan Lee, Former CTO of Analog Devices
• Trang Nguyen*, Prudential Financial Vice President Data Science
• Kenneth Rispoli, formerly Analog Devices Manager of Data Science & Digital Innovation
• Brian Rotondo, The TJX Companies VP Data & Analytics
• Tarun Sood*, American Century Investments Chief Data & AI Officer
• Prem Swaroop*, Dover Corporation Chief Data & AI Officer
• Sheema Usmani, State Street Vice President, AI Lead
• Frank Waldron, State Street Vice President – IT Risk and Compliance
• Meghan Barrett Welch, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Chief Data Officer
• Barbara Widholm, State Street Vice President, Automation and Artificial Intelligence
• Chad Wright, Boston Dynamics Chief Information Officer
• Patrick El Azem, Google Cloud Data Analytics Strategy Lead
• Chris Quinn, Google Cloud Strategic Account Executive – Agentic Data Cloud
• Jenna George, CDO Magazine Community Director
• John Vulopas, CDO Magazine Account Director

*Kishore Aradhya, Yogesh Bhardwaj, Jane Chen, Chathuri Daluwatte, Veronika Durgin, Trang Nguyen are members of CDO Magazine’s Global Board.