The Dallas data and AI leadership community came together for an evening of candid conversations, big ideas, and strategic insights at the CDO Magazine Executive Boardroom Dinner on March 25. The events panel discussion, “Data Readiness: The Key to Unlocking Cloud, Data Monetization, and AI Success,” tackled real challenges organizations face in preparing their data for AI-driven success.

Panelists explored why AI doesn’t fix bad data, how companies can turn their data into a monetizable asset, and why cloud is just an expensive storage unit without a clear data strategy. Attendees walked away with insights on the hype versus reality of GenAI, and a renewed focus on making data work for their business.

The panel of experts were:

• Shuchi Agrawal, Citi Chief Data Officer, Global Head of Data Tooling Adoption, Automation, Data Provisioning

• Gopal Ravi, HaloMD Chief Data Officer

• Kishore Agasthi, Morgan Street Holdings Global Chief Data Officer & Head of Transformation

The session was moderated by Josh Dreyer, Cyera Director of Sales for TOLA.

Beyond the insights shared, the event fostered invaluable networking opportunities. For attendees, it was a chance to reconnect with longtime peers and make new connections.

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“It was an exciting discussion on the critical role of data in realizing the full potential of AI and cloud transformation,” says speaker Agrawal. She shares the following takeaways from the session:

• Data readiness is the launchpad: Successful AI initiatives begin with strong data foundations — clean, accessible, and well-governed data is non-negotiable for driving intelligent outcomes at scale.

• Cloud is an enabler, not a solution: Cloud adoption unlocks agility and scale, but without a clear data strategy, it’s just an expensive storage unit. Aligning cloud with data goals is key.

• Monetization starts with trust: Organizations looking to monetize data must build trust — internally and externally — by prioritizing data quality, privacy, and ethical use.

• AI doesn’t fix bad data: No matter how advanced the model, poor data leads to poor results. Data readiness is not just technical — it’s cultural and organizational.

Harveer Singh, Truist Chief Data Officer for Consumer & Small Business Banking, says: “It was energizing to see the shared commitment to innovation and responsible data use. It also strengthened my personal hypothesis that data quality is foundational to AI success — and that data monetization isn’t just about selling data but recognizing that any data influencing business decisions is already being monetized.” Singh also highlights his observation: “When data moves, money moves.”

Sharing his take on the event, Phanii Pydimarri, Health Care Service Corporation Data & Analytics Transformation Leader, says, “These events are great to catch up and connect with old friends. I was able to reconnect with fellow data, analytics, & AI leaders I haven’t seen for a while, and meet a few that I have been connected with on LinkedIn but never had a chance to meet until last night. It was fun and full of energy with lots of valuable conversations and lessons to learn.”

Pydimarri shares his highlights:

• Data continues to be the foundational block of innovation with data enablement (governance, metadata management, quality management, literacy) as the key driver towards value realization with GenAI (and AI in general). There was a comment about transforming from decisions being data-driven and data-enabled to knowledge-driven decisions supporting overall growth for organizations.

• It was interesting to hear contradictory comments around GenAI hype vs. reality from a few participants. It will be interesting to see how things evolve. As a common observation, it really depends on your industry or organization’s motivation to decide if you really want to ride this wave, or are better off staying put and waiting for the next wave.

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Anthony Losanno, CDO Magazine SVP, Sales, reflects: “The conversations at the event were insightful with top executives coming together to discuss the full potential of AI and cloud transformation. While the topic generated a lengthy and spirited conversation, my key takeaway was that good data is needed for AI to optimally work. Bad data in and the experience is not going to generate the desired results.”

Moderator Dreyer sums up the event, saying: “It is more apparent than ever that data is the lifeblood of any company and CDOs are tasked with not only finding new ways to unlock unrealized opportunities for the business with this data but also ensuring it is done efficiently and securely.”

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

*Gopal Ravi, Kishore Agasthi, and Phanii Pydimarri are members of the CDO Magazine Global Editorial Board.

Executives attending the Dallas CDO Magazine Executive Boardroom Dinner included: 

Kishore Agasthi, Morgan Street Holdings Global Chief Data Officer & Head, Transformation; Shuchi Agrawal, Citi CDO, Global Head, Data Tooling Adoption, Automation & Data Provisioning; Mruna Asoori, Brink’s Global Head, Technology, Data & AI; David Burton, DTCC Sr. Enterprise Architect; Ambika Dadwal, JPMorgan Chase Co-Head, Global Acquiring Platform & Products; Michelle Foley, Truist SVP, Enterprise Data Manager; Shrikanth Kannan, Rent-a-Center Sr. Director, Data Services; Livia Kessler, Bon Secours Mercy Health Head, Analytics Delivery; Vino Kingston, Lockheed Martin Data & AI Transformation Strategy & Integration Leader; Hari Kodakalla, Frost Head, Data & Analytics; Mano Mannoochahr, Verizon Chief Data Analytics & AI Officer; Thrushna Matharasi, Solera Holdings Director, Engineering, Data & AI/ML; Alec Ohanian, Goldman Sachs VP, Investments Core Data Platform; Arjun Puri, DTCC Director, Cloud Data Engineering & Analytics; Phanii Pydimarri, Health Care Service Corporation Data & Analytics Transformation; Gopal Ravi, HaloMD Chief Data Officer; Zulfikar Sidi, Bank of America Managing Director, Data & Analytics, Retail, Preferred & Wealth Management; Harveer Singh, Truist Chief Data Officer, Consumer & Small Business Banking; Ranjit Vidhani McKesson VP, Head, Enterprise Digital Transformation; Josh Dreyer, Cyera Director, Sales, TOLA; Steve Duncan, Cyera Global Account Executive; Daren Dunkel, Cyera Account Executive; Bill Gannon, CDO Magazine EVP, General Manager; Anthony Losanno, CDO Magazine SVP, Sales.