Cleveland D&A Execs Exchange Views & Predictions at Inaugural CDO Magazine Dinner

Cleveland's foremost data and analytics executives got together to exchange insights and discuss the evolving landscape of data management, analytics, and AI at CDO Magazine’s inaugural Executive Boardroom Dinner June 4. The exclusive event brought together leaders from diverse sectors to share their experiences, challenges, and strategies for leveraging data to drive business value.

“The event was a great opportunity to touch base with other data leaders and get a barometer on top data priorities and trends across the region,” says Michael Gonzalez, Ohio Lottery Commission Chief Data Officer.

KeyBank Chief Data Risk Officer Robert Kula thanks Steve Wanamaker, CDO Magazine Founder and Publisher, for getting together a “very engaged community” in Cleveland focused on data, analytics, and AI. “It was a great evening meeting new folks as well as seeing some old friends,” Kula says. “These types of events always result in new and great learnings around data and its use across various industries – great energy in the room. The theme was clear that now more than ever data is the lifeblood of organizations, driving value and insights every single day. Having strong risk management and data governance is essential in making this happen.”

Amit Jain, Momentum Financial Services Group EVP and Chief Risk and Analytics Officer, found the conversations around data “very insightful.”

Sharing his takeaways from the event, Jain says: “In the changing world of data, there are endless opportunities to succeed and create value for business and its customers. By using data, technology, and generative AI, we can turn raw information into valuable insights that can help exploit opportunities to run business with high efficiency, and explore new business opportunities previously not thought of – all directed at creating valuable solutions for the end customers. It's like going on a journey where we first understand the facts, then make sense of them, and finally, create something valuable. But it's not just about collecting data; we need to know why we're doing it and how it helps our customers.”

Jain further highlights the need to be careful about the risks involved. “Our goal is to stand out, create long-term sustainable value, and make sure every piece of data we gather has a real purpose – one that changes the lives of our customers and makes them happy.”

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Shravan Kotha, Ohio Attorney General’s Office Chief Data and Analytics Officer, particularly enjoyed meeting peers from different industries and the discussion on multiple topics such as AI, ChatGPT, governance, cloud and advanced analytics. He elaborates, “Many of the participants shared their vision, challenges and how they implemented solutions. It was very vivid from just spending an evening with peer CDOs and CDAOs that there is incredible knowledge to share and gain as well as connect with your peer CDAO for various solutions one is looking for.”

Sharing his take on the event, CDO Magazine Founder and Publisher Steve Wanamaker says, “It was a privilege to organize this Executive Boardroom Dinner in Cleveland. Our goal was to create an environment where top data and analytics leaders could come together, share their experiences, and discuss the latest trends and challenges in the industry. We look forward to continuing these discussions and fostering a strong, engaged community of data executives."

AHEAD Client Director Paul DiSalvo sums up: “It was exciting to see the CDOs and data executives get together in Cleveland for the first CDO Magazine Boardroom Dinner. The level of discussion spanned data governance, generative AI and the security required to support these initiatives. Attendees agreed that a structured process must be in place to properly govern these initiatives and that changes to the organizational structure are necessary to ensure the proper representation of key disciplines across the organization. Great level of discussion and interaction among the CDOs both within the same industry and with execs in other industries.”

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

Shravan Kotha is a member of CDO Magazine Global Editorial Board.

Executives attending the CDO Magazine Cleveland Executive Boardroom Dinner included:

Ben Blanquera, Rackspace Technology VP - Technology and Sustainability; Vishu Dakappagari, PNC Bank Vice President, Technology Manager; Pawan Divakarla, Progressive Insurance IT Business Leader DATE (Data, Architecture & Technology Enablement); Edward F Eibel, Eaton Director IT - Master Data Management, and Analytics Delivery; Michael Ferris, Lincoln Electric Global IT Director, Infrastructure; Michael Gonzalez, Ohio Lottery Commission Chief Data Officer, Christine Hall, PNC Business Architecture Manager Sr.; William R Heiser, Lincoln Electric Director, Global Information Security; Amit K Jain, Momentum Financial Services Group Executive Vice President, Chief Risk & Analytics Officer; Audrius Jucaitis, Keybank Senior Vice President | NextGen Enterprise Transformation; Shravan Kotha, Ohio Attorney General's Office Chief Data and Analytics Officer; Robert G Kula, KeyBank EVP and Chief Modeling & Analytics Officer; John Rodriguez, Cleveland Cavaliers Director Business Intelligence; Egor Sadovnic, Crowe LLP Sr. Data Architect; Michele Seyranian, The Gathering Place Chief Executive Officer; Paul DiSalvo, AHEAD Client Director; Steve Wanamaker, CDO Magazine Founder & Publisher, Avery Wright, CDO Magazine, Global Community Director.