Senior data, analytics, and AI executives at the CDO Magazine Executive Boardroom Dinner on August 26 at Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille in Dallas enjoyed thought-provoking conversations centered on the timely topic of how enterprises can derive measurable value from AI investments. The highlight was a panel discussion on “From Experiment to Impact — Realizing AI Value on Internal and External Use Cases” — exploring how enterprises can move beyond pilots to trusted, scalable AI solutions that deliver measurable business impact.

Panelists identified high-value customer-facing AI use cases, balancing experimentation with cost discipline, and knowing when to scale. They outlined strategies for trust, modular architectures, and building confidence in AI agents while sharing lessons learned on measuring business value, risk, and scalable impact.

The panel of experts were:

• Aamer Charania, Best Buy Global Head of Applied AI
• Shuchi Agrawal, SMBC Group Head of AI Execution/Commercialization
• Vino Kingston, Lockheed Martin Data & AI Transformation Strategy and Integration Leader

The discussion was moderated by Jeff Burlin, Twilio Senior Director, Executive Engagement Programs.

Sharing her experience, Agrawal says, “I really enjoyed the engaging panel discussion. Organizations large and small, across various verticals, are seeing early success with AI Copilots to help with developer productivity, intelligent assistants, predictive servicing, and operational automation — delivering measurable gains in efficiency and customer satisfaction. Lessons from the panel highlight the importance of modular architectures, data quality, and trust frameworks to scale responsibly, avoid vendor lock-in, and ensure brand-aligned, trustworthy AI interactions.”

On the business side of AI, Kingston adds, “The event centered on the crucial topic of delivering value through AI initiatives and investments. The moderator’s opening remarks, citing a recent MIT study, highlighted the alarming rate of failed AI initiatives, setting a sense of urgency around making informed decisions on AI investments.”

Kingston points out that the panelists also emphasized the need for a business-first approach to AI investments, as with any other technology investment in an enterprise. He says, “They cautioned against getting bogged down in endless proof-of-concept (POC) work, a phenomenon reminiscent of analysis paralysis in traditional project environments. The key takeaway was to start small, but scale effectively. Furthermore, the panelists noted that the AI technology innovation cycle is significantly shorter than the deployment and adoption cycle, a critical consideration for data leaders when developing their AI investment strategies.”

Speaking about AI agents, Charania, says, “While we have made wonderful progress and technology breakthroughs recently, the concept is not new. We have been implementing a suite of models, orchestrated via rules-based approaches. What’s new are standard interfaces like MCP (Model Concept Protocol) and the ability to move from rules-based orchestration to smarter, goal-oriented flows, taking the efficiencies and automation to the next level!” 

Jenna George, CDO Magazine Program Director, highlights, “The gathering of data leaders was a more intimate setting but the conversations were timely and interesting. The panelists come from focused industries, and hearing how they are tackling effective and trustworthy AI tools was fascinating. As a newer Dallas community member put it, ‘The Dallas data and AI community is strong and growing.’”

Summing up the discussion, moderator Burlin, says, “Successful AI pilots start with a strong data foundation and a clear problem statement. From there, thoughtful model selection based on use case and a composeable architecture provides the right mix of flexibility and scalability to allow you to iterate and minimize time-to-value.”

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

*Aamer Charania is a Co-Chair and member of the Dallas Executive Board. Shuchi Agrawal is a member of the CDO Magazine Global Editorial Board.

Executives attending the CDO Magazine Dallas Executive Boardroom Dinner included: 

Kishore Agasthi, Morgan Street Holdings Global Chief Data Officer & Head of Transformation; Shuchi Agrawal, SMBC Group Head, AI Execution/Commercialization; David Burton, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation Director, Solutions Architecture; Aamer Charania, Best Buy Global Head, Applied AI; Vino Kingston, Lockheed Martin Data & AI Transformation Strategy & Integration Leader; Biswajit Mahapatra, Texas Capital Bank Director, Data Platform; Anil Pottem, Teradyne Enterprise Data Product Manager; Swamy Ramajayam, Big Tech Head, People Data Strategy; Jeffrey Burlin, Twilio Sr. Director, Executive Engagement Programs; Kevin Haberstick, Twilio Enterprise Account Executive; Jenna George, CDO Magazine Program Director; Anthony Losanno, CDO Magazine SVP, Sales; and John Vulopas, CDO Magazine Strategic Account Director.