Data & Security Leaders Vet Latest Tech & Trends at CDO Magazine Wisconsin Summit

CDO Magazine’s second annual Data and Security Summit Wisconsin brought the Midwest’s leading minds in data, analytics, cybersecurity, and AI/ML together May 9 to learn from one another and vet, validate, and verify the latest technologies having a positive impact on enterprises. 

With over 50 panelists, 16 panel sessions, boardroom discussions, and keynote presentations, participants were given the unique opportunity to engage with speakers during live Q&A sessions and visit vendor booths to learn about emerging technologies. Leaders were also encouraged to share their ideas, challenge/solution stories, and insights while networking with their peers.

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The topics of discussion included:

• AI/ML/NLP, ChatGPT and Real Use Cases

• The convergence of data and security as a strategic enabler

• Future of the CDO/CDAO role

• Incident response – real-world examples

• Best practices with cybersecurity in the cloud

• Trends and implications in data, privacy, and AI regulations

• Identity access and governance

Steve Wanamaker, Founder and Publisher of CDO Magazine, says, “We are on the dawn of something special. This is like the first lap in the new era of generative AI and, years from now, we'll look back and say we helped create something special together.”

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Maribeth Achterberg, The Boldt Group CIO/CTO and Summit Co-Chair, states the second annual CDO Magazine Summit in Milwaukee was “even better attended and the sessions really drilled down in a pragmatic way on AI, data management, data governance, and related risks.” She further adds that her role as a Summit Co-Chair “was actually extra special. I had the opportunity to work with Kathy (Henrich) and Talal (Butt) in continuing to build the data community in Wisconsin and the region, as we met people from the Chicago, Madison, and northeastern regions of Wisconsin.”

Similarly, Kathy Henrich, MKE Tech Hub Coalition Chief Executive Officer and Summit Co-Chair, states: “The CDO Magazine Summit was a practical approach to the ‘how’ of data management, security, and AI. There are many events that share the ‘why,’ but very rarely do you hear subject matter experts going deep into their internal practices. I was particularly impressed by one of the main speakers who shared a perspective on the technical future of AI, including model routing, multi-modality, and multi-agency solutions. These technologies will expand the challenges which can be solved through AI solutions.”

“What a great experience at this year’s CDO Summit Milwaukee,” adds Talal Butt, Generac Chief Information Officer and Summit Co-Chair. “I especially enjoyed the keynotes, and the panel discussions were spot on. Great to see technology leaders come together and move the ‘data agenda’ forward. Awesome event!”

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Sharing from his keynote presentation, Milwaukee Brewers Vice President, Information Technology Derek Hyde says: “Cybersecurity is a team sport. When major league baseball clubs are actively targeted by hackers and bad actors, the best way to mitigate these threats is by implementing teamwork and best practices.”

Prasannal Nithyanandam, Volkswagen Financial Services Head, Data and Advanced Analytics, highlights that “The conference featured insightful keynotes on navigating both GenAI and traditional ML applications for transformative impact. It emphasized the challenges of bias, consistency, and reliability inherent in GenAI, amidst a landscape saturated with vendor solutions. Drawing parallels to the Industrial Revolution's transformative impact, it highlighted the imminent need to overhaul existing frameworks to fully realize AI's potential. Overall, the event provided invaluable insights into the evolving AI landscape and its strategic imperatives.”

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Northwestern Mutual VP, Data Governance Michael Grimes outlines his key takeaways from the summit:

• “The world of data is rapidly evolving in value and risk. AI is pulling data (and data issues!) to the forefront of business priorities. Increases in cyber-attacks are also putting more risk on protecting that data. You need to be proactive in ensuring data is ready to be used for new use cases from across your company while also understanding any regulatory constraints. All of that while making sure it is protected.

• While each company has unique operating models and cultures, there are common opportunities and challenges we face as data leaders. It is great to have a forum to share and learn about the strategies and tactics used by peers to advance the activation, management, and protection of data.

• While AI is impacting all businesses in some way, data leaders are in a unique position to guide that work within their company. The enablement of AI requires a trusted advisor to balance the business outcomes with the responsible use of the underlying data.”

Meera Dugar, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Vice President for Consumer and Community Banking, found great value in: 

• “Seeing that similar security-related Gen AI and LLM pain points exist across industries was very telling.

• The audience was more attentive and receptive as a result of the well-organized breakout sessions.

• Bringing polished keynote speakers and named industry experts to this 2024 Summit set the value-add stage.”

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“The Wisconsin Summit presented a great opportunity to learn more about data, the CDO role, AI, and many other topics. It also was a great place to network with experts across industries,” comments Sumathi Thiyagarajan, Milwaukee Bucks Senior Vice President, Analytics and Business Operations.

Michael Butts, Burtch Works CEO, enjoyed strengthening relationships with the CDO community and learned a great deal, stating, “We stand at the cusp of an incredible revolution not just in how data is collected and secured, but how it will inform every decision we make.”

For Butts, the discussions “not only highlighted the incredible potential of data but also underscored the opportunities it creates for practitioners, researchers, and industry leaders. We're excited to be on this journey together and to continue supporting the CDO community with new opportunities, talent, and insights as trusted advisors to an industry that continues to evolve.”

Josh Perkins, AHEAD VP, Emerging Technologies, says the event was “a great opportunity to bring together data leaders across industries to tackle the real-world challenges facing CDOs as they navigate the impact of AI in the enterprise. We are at the beginning of what will be the largest transformation in enterprise technology ever, and getting to discuss key topics in an open forum is invaluable.”

*Maribeth Achterberg, Talal Butt, Meera Dugar, Michael Grimes, and Prasannal Nithyanandam are members of CDO Magazine Global Editorial Board.

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Executives speaking at the CDO Magazine Data & Security Summit Wisconsin included:
Maribeth Achterberg, The BOLDT Company CIO/CTO; Yusuf Abbasi, Whirlpool Global Sr Director Data & Analytics - Center of Excellence; Brian Ayers, US Venture Data Management & Governance Lead; Doug Barton, UW-Madison E-Business Consortium Director; Jeremy Bauer, Molson Coors Sr. Director Information Security (CISO); Mark Bennett, NVIDIA Senior Data Scientist, Financial Services; Dale Brown, HP Enterprises Worldwide Managing Director, AI/ML Software; Talal Butt, Generac CIO; Michael Butts, Burtch Works CEO; John Chancellor, AHEAD Client Director; Karan Dhawal, ZS Data and Transformation Leader; Tim Dickson, RegalRexnord CDIO; Devan D'Silva, Baird Manager, Identity & Access Management & Vice President; Meera Dugar, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Vice President for Consumer and Community Banking; Erik Dullea, Husch Blackwell Chair of the Cybersecurity Practice Group, and Cybersecurity Lead for HB’s Artificial Intelligence Practice Group; Grant Ecker, Chief Architect Forum Founder and Chairman; Ryan Edge, OneTrust Director of Strategy, Privacy & Data Governance; David Falck, US Foods VP of Machine Learning Engineering; Iryna Feldman, Navitus Health Solutions Director of Analytics; Ryan Glasunow, Informatica Sr. Director, Data Governance Solutions Sales Leader; Glenn Fung, Elevance Health Gen AI VP; Michael Grimes, Northwestern Mutual Vice President of Data Governance & Operations; Jim Halcomb, EDMC Head of Product Management; Sam Hilgendorf, Fox World Travel Chief Information Officer; Michelle Hobbins, Carthage College CIO;  Bernd Huber, SAP Fioneer CISO; Anthony Huffman, Koch Industries Enterprise, Architecture Strategist, Industry 4.0; Derek Hyde, Milwaukee Brewers VP Information Technology; Mike Jennings, Walgreens Boots Alliance Senior Director, Data Governance and Architecture; Christopher Jones, C.D. Smith Construction Director of IT; Andy Knauf, Mead & Hunt CIO; Jeremy Kedziora, Milwaukee School of Engineering Associate Professor/PieperPower endowed chair in Artificial Intelligence; Hal Kochiu, Crisis Prevention Institute CISO;  Sidd Kuckreja, TruStage SVP, Chief Technology Officer;  Deepti Kunupudi, MoneyGram International Head of Decision Science,AI/ML; Arthy Krishnamurthy, Dataiku Senior Director, Business Transformation; Alex Marsh, Milwaukee Tool Sr. Manager - Security Governance, Risk, and Compliance; Nate Melby, Dairyland Power Cooperative VP & Chief Information Officer; Gokula Mishra, Formerly of Direct Supply Vice President, Data Science; Josh Murray, Alliant Energy Director, Data Analytics and Infrastructure; Mohammed Owais Nasir, Dun and Bradstreet Vice President, Data Platforms Engineering; Prasannal Nithyanandam, Volkswagen Financial Services Head of Data and Advanced Analytics; Purush Papatla, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute Professor of Marketing; Co-Director, Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business; Josh Perkins, AHEAD VP, Emerging Technologies; Debbie Perouli, Marquette University Director of Center for Cyber Security Awareness and Cyber Defense;  Kelly Petitjean, Nasdaq Sr. Director of Architecture; Angie Phillips, Northwestern Mutual Assistant Director Technology Enablement; Michael Proksch, AccelerEd Chief Scientist; Mohan Putcha, Aon Group VP, Digital, Transformation, Architecture and Product Strategy;  Arvind Ramachandran, Molson Coors Global Solutions Architect Manager; Lydia Reid, USAA Data Architecture Leader; Salema Rice, CDO Today CEO; Natalie Rubenstein, Burtch Works Account Lead; Ed Rybicki, Mastronardi Produce Chief Information & Technology Officer; Walter Schilling, Milwaukee School of Engineering Professor; Allah Rakha Sheikh, Madison Mutual IT Director/CIO; Vignesh Shetty, GE Healthcare SVP & GM Edison AI and Platform; Andrew Simmons, Wavicle Practice Lead; Elaine Stephens, Google Head of Customer Engineering, Wisconsin;  Justin Swenson,  Sub-Zero Group, Inc. Product Technical Lead for Data Governance, AI Governance, & GRC; Chris Szafranski, American Family Insurance Company Privacy Director; Andrew Taylor, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Sr. Alliance Manager NVIDIA; Sumathi Thiyagarajan, Senior Vice President, Business Operations & Analytics Milwaukee Bucks; Jason Tyree, American Family Insurance AVP Enterprise Cybersecurity; Sashi Venkatesan, Walgreens Head of Pharmacy and Healthcare Data; Steve Wanamaker, CDO Magazine Founder & Publisher; Tellis Williams, Dream Exchange CISO; Terry Williams, Associated Bank Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer.

The CDO Magazine Data and Security Summit Wisconsin was sponsored by the following leading solutions providers: