CDO Magazine’s annual Toronto Leadership Summit, held on May 21 at the Omni King Edward Hotel, welcomed leading executives across data, analytics, AI, technology, and security for a full day of high-level networking and thought-provoking discussions on the evolving enterprise data landscape.

Featuring more than 50 distinguished speakers, three keynote presentations, and over 10 panel sessions and focused group discussions, the Summit offered a wide-ranging agenda of insights and practical perspectives. Conversations focused on data and AI strategy, business value and impact, data architecture and foundations, the impact of generative AI, responsible AI and governance, and leadership and workforce transformation.

Three keynote sessions stood out:

• The Real AI Strategy Starts Before AI: Because Chaos Is Not a Deployment Plan — By Nastaran Bisheban, SE Health CTO. 
• The AI Economy: How AI Rewrites the Rules of Competitive Advantage — By Thomas Mazzaferro, Cyera Chief Data Officer.
• AI Can’t See What Your Architecture Hides: Why Banks Are Rebuilding Fraud, Risk, and Trust Around Connected Intelligence —  By Rajeev Shrivastava, TigerGraph CEO, and Rohit Chauhan, Former Mastercard Executive VP, Artificial Intelligence, Fraud Solutions.

Executives at the Summit represented a broad mix of sectors, including banking, insurance, asset management, healthcare, life sciences, and the public sector. Throughout the day, they contributed new perspectives, posed incisive questions, and actively exchanged ideas. The atmosphere was highly collaborative and energetic, reflecting the growing pace and influence of the region’s data and technology ecosystem.

Reflecting on the evening, Co-Chair Jide Adeoye, goeasy Director, Business Intelligence, says, “The CDO Magazine Toronto Leadership Summit 2026 was a powerful reminder that the future belongs to organizations that can transform data into insight, insight into action, and action into impact. Beyond the conversations about AI, governance, and innovation, the summit highlighted the importance of visionary leadership, collaboration, and the courage to evolve in a rapidly changing world.”

Sumeet Bhatia, Super Genius, says, “Presenting a real agent at the CDO Magazine conference was an incredible opportunity. The caliber of conversations there truly elevates the level of intelligence around what’s possible with AI.”

According to Parisa Lak, Manulife Director, AI Model Risk Management, “The CDO Magazine Toronto Leadership Summit was a powerful reminder that the best leadership spaces are built on openness, collaboration, and learning from one another. Honored to open the summit and share the stage with such inspiring leaders on the panel ‘‘Real Time or Real Risk: When Speed Becomes Strategy.” 

Cat Ihonvbere, JPMorganChase Head, Controls Analytics, Connected Commerce, believes true innovation happens when data is designed with a human touch, making insights accessible, intuitive, and empowering for everyone. “I joined the CDO Magazine Leadership Summit in Toronto as an Analytics Lead panel speaker, but I left as a student, inspired by how we can collectively democratize data products for all,” she adds.

Andrea Ruotolo, Global Council of Responsible AI President, says, “CDO Toronto is one of the best events in Toronto for real connection and collaboration. The energy, conversations, and people were outstanding. Thank you for having me. I already look forward to next year!”

For Raj Debnath, Manulife Director, Global Data & AI Governance, “The summit felt like home, being among a community of data leaders who came together to share their lived experiences, everyday challenges, and their thoughts and insights that enriched me so much just in a day.”

Gerri Caveness, CDO Magazine Community Director, highlights, “Last week in Toronto, you could genuinely feel the weight of the room — not just in the caliber of leaders gathered, but in the honesty of the conversations and the openness with which executives shared what is truly working, and what clearly is not. That is what made Six Degrees of Acceleration feel so electric. Few get invited into spaces where leaders speak this candidly, where ideas collide, perspectives are challenged, trust is built, and meaningful relationships take shape in real time. 

Caveness adds, “Toronto felt special not only because the discussions around technology, strategy, AI, and acceleration were exceptional, but because beneath it all was something even more powerful: human connection. Leaders learned from one another, challenged each other’s thinking, offered support, and strengthened trust through every interaction. Toronto understood the assignment — and delivered in every way. Being able to work alongside such an extraordinary group of leaders left me deeply grateful for what this community created together. It wasn’t hype or theory. It was momentum.”

Special thanks to Cyera, TigerGraph, Couchbase, Flexor, Google Cloud, Starburst, Tiger Analytics, Dataiku, The Data Lodge, Data Society, Denodo, Intercast, and Lumi AI for making this event a success.

*Andrea Ruotolo is a member of the CDO Magazine Global Board. 

Executives speaking at the CDO Magazine Toronto Leadership Summit included:

Jide Adeoye, goeasy Director, Business Intelligence; Nastaran Bisheban, SE Health CTO; Sumeet Bhatia, Super Genius; Alexander Chan, RBCX Sr. Director & Head, Analytics; Rohit Chauhan, Former Mastercard Executive VP, Artificial Intelligence, Fraud Solutions; Carter Cousineau, Hydro ONE VP, Enterprise Applications, Data and AI; Brian Cullen, Rakuten Kobo CISO & Global Operations; Lina Dabit, Optiv Executive Director; Raj Debnath, Manulife Director, Global Data & AI Governance; Dr. Rex Davis, Royal Bank of Canada Chief Data Officer; Jill Delgado, BMO Financial Group Head, Data, Analytics & AI Governance & Program Management; Jharna Deshmukh, Gore Mutual Insurance Director; Anuradha (Anu) Dodda, PureFacts Financial Solutions CTO; Ryan Duquette, EY Partner, Computer Forensics; Thomas Forys, Canada Life Director, Technical Solutions & Automation; Shweta Gaggar, OMERS Canada Manager, Data Governance; Yan Gu, Manulife Senior Director, Global Customer AI Solutions; Anna Hannem, TD Bank VP, Data Risk Management; Eily Hickson, Sanofi VP & Head, Global Data & AI Strategy, Portfolio & Operations; Adnan Hoque, Wellington-Altus VP, Data & Analytics; Oxana Iatsyk, Telus Sr Legal Counsel, Global Privacy & AI Compliance; Cat Ihonvbere, JPMorganChase Head, Controls Analytics, Connected Commerce; Sara Jetta, BDO Canada Head, Tax Transformation; Gina Johar, Infrastructure Ontario Sr. VP, Data Knowledge & Management; Michelle Joliat, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Former SVP, Product & Delivery; Lawrence Jordan, Aviso VP, Data & Artificial Intelligence; Pranav Kapoor, Sun Life AVP, Digital – Internal Audit; Robert Knoblauch, Element Fleet Former CISO; Parisa Lak, Manulife Director, AI Model Risk Management; Dina Maxwell, TD AVP, Compliance, Global Privacy Officer; Mitu Mann, Interac AVP, Data & AI/ML Governance; Amar Narain, Pizza Pizza Ltd Chief Information Technology & VP, Information Technology; Kritika Nayyar, Loblaw Manager, AI-Driven Insights & Analytics; Feroz Noorani, KIB Former Chief Risk Officer; Jana Odineca, Orna CEO; Chetan Phull, Smartblock Law Professional Corporation Lawyer, Technology Deals & Disputes, Author Big Data Law in Canada; Vinay Puri, Laurentian Bank Sr. Cybersecurity Advisor; Qahir Rajwani, CIBC Mellon VP, Client Experience & Analytics; Rehana Rajwani, Bank of Montreal Director; Surinder S. Rait, Ericsson Head, Global IT Security Assurance; Andre Rekhtine, Enterprise Governance & Digital Transformation Management Consultant; Kevin Richards, AstraZeneca Sr. Director, Clinical Quality; Andrea Ruotolo, Global Council of Responsible AI President; Tamojit Saha, Express Scripts Director, Software Engineering; Harsh Sahni, Hartree Partners Head, AI Security & Governance; Nipun Sharma, Interac Lead, Product Risk-Enterprise Risk Management; Della Shea, Interac Head, Enterprise Risk; Farid Sheikhi, RBCX Sr. Manager, Analytics; Ferial Sheybani, TMX Group Global Head of Corporate Technology Services; Sameera Sivji, Scotiabank Director & Head, Global Retail Reporting & Data Management, GRM Retail Credit Risk; Nitesh Soni, Sanofi Global AI Leader, Commercial; Yashaswi Vemuganti, Scotiabank Sr. Product Management, Data Enablement; Geoff Vona, Equitable Bank VP & CTO; Karthik Yammanur, Vanguard Head, Data & Analytics, Canada; Jack Harper, Couchbase Director, Solutions Engineering; Gus Kimble, Google Cloud Head, Data Analytics Customer Engineering, North America; Richard Arnold, Starburst Manager, Solution Architects; Sam Ramachandran, Tiger Analytics Chief Sales Officer; Rajeev Shrivastava, TigerGraph Inc CEO; Nigel Newton, Dataiku Principal Advisor, Business Transformation; Or Zabludowski, Flexor CEO; Thomas Mazzaferro, Cyera Chief Data Officer; Valerie Logan, The Data Lodge Founder & CSO; Gerri Caveness, CDO Magazine Community Director; Anthony Losanno, CDO Magazine Managing Director & SVP. Sales; Corey Maxner, CDO Magazine Director of Client Success and Digital Operations; John Vulopas, CDO Magazine Strategic Account Director; and Steve Wanamaker, CDO Magazine Founder & Publisher.