CDO Magazine’s Dallas Executive Boardroom Dinner on February 4 brought together senior data, analytics, and AI executives to address the changing dynamics of enterprise data architecture. The event featured a panel discussion on “Evolving Data Architecture and Strategies for Modern Enterprises,” with experts exchanging insights on adapting data frameworks to meet the demands of AI-driven transformation.

The panel of experts were:

• France Grenot, Southwest Airlines Managing Director, Technology, Data Business Delivery

• Saba Dossani, Comerica Bank Chief Data & Analytics Officer

• Rick Chambers, Cinemark Vice President, Data & Decision Support

The session was moderated by Drew Halsch, Tealium Director, Solutions Consulting.

“CDO Magazine’s Boardroom dinner was a great opportunity to connect with DFW’s data community. The gathering was just the right size and setting to both network 1:1 and learn about the various approaches on solving common challenges in the data/AI space,” says speaker Dossani.

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Speaker Chambers appreciates “CDO Magazine’s emphasis on gathering local thought leaders to discuss timely topics.”

“I came away from the discussion with ideas to further innovate Cinemark’s forward-thinking approach to data gathering and evaluation, particularly as it relates to AI and the next step in the ever-changing information journey,” Chambers adds.

Sharing her takeaway, speaker Grenot says, “We all have legacy and modern patterns for data architecture. It is important to look at the use cases, business benefits, IT benefits and costs. It is time to elevate the business of IT in the data world!”

Mihir Rajopadhye, Rich Products Corporation SVP, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, underscores the importance of learning from peers: “Seeing how other organizations are innovating with their data architecture to enable reporting, analytics, and AI was very insightful.”

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According to Anthony Losanno, CDO Magazine SVP, Sales, “The Dallas Executive Boardroom Dinner centered around how to best incorporate AI learnings while migrating from legacy systems. Our panelists proved that, regardless of industry, the challenges and opportunities are shared by all businesses, and that driving the right AI integration will be key to future success.”

Moderator Halsch sums up the discussion saying, “As organizations’ data architectures evolve to migrate off legacy systems and harness AI-driven insights, the focus shouldn’t be on centralizing data for its own sake but on building practical, accessible systems that serve real business needs. Whether through a hub-and-spoke model, self-service dashboards, or real-time operational intelligence, one principle remains unchanged—data quality is the foundation. AI will remember the data it’s trained on, so feeding it the right data is non-negotiable.”

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

*France Grenot and Mihir Rajopadhye are members of the CDO Magazine Global Editorial Board.

Executives attending the Dallas CDO Magazine Executive Boardroom Dinner included: 

Kishore Agasthi, Havi Global Chief Data Officer & Head, Transformation; Venit Bhanawat, McKesson Global VP, Data Analytics & Digital; Luis Carvajal Orozco, GM Financial VP, Business Data Strategy & Governance; Rick Chambers, Cinemark VP, Data & Decision Support; Aamer Charania, Best Buy Global Head, Applied Machine Learning; Krishna Doppalapudi, Elevance Health Sr. Director, Carelon Data Services; Saba Dossani, Comerica Bank Chief Data & Analytics Officer; Michelle Foley, Truist SVP, Enterprise Data Manager; France Grenot, Southwest Airlines Managing Director, Technology, Data Business Delivery; Livia Kessler, Bon Secours Mercy Health Head, Analytics Delivery; Vino Kingston, Lockheed Martin Data Transformation Strategy & Integration Leader; Biswajit Mahapatra, Texas Capital Bank Director, Data Platform; Amlan Maitra, PepsiCo SVP, Head, Enterprise Data; Sangeeta Nayak, former Globe Life Sr. Director, Head, Customer Portfolio, Data, Analytics, AI; Darren Pedroza, Teradyne Head, Enterprise Architecture & Data; Arjun Puri, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation Director, Cloud Data Engineering & Analytics; Phanii Pydimarri, Health Care Service Corporation Data & Analytics Transformation Leader; Mihir Rajopadhye, Rich Products Corporation SVP, Chief Data & Analytics Officer; Gopal Ravi, HaloMD Chief Data Officer; Priya Reddy, Reprise Financial VP, Enterprise Data Management, Chief Data Officer; Arun Shastry, Marsh SVP, Global Data & Analytics Portfolio; Drew Halsch, Tealium Director, Solutions Consulting; Bill Kane, Tealium Regional VP, Sales; Christina Vick, Tealium Sr. Account Executive; Anthony Losanno, CDO Magazine SVP, Sales; Jackie Osborne, CDO Magazine Global Events Manager.