CDO Magazine brought together data and AI leaders in Dallas, Texas, on August 26 for an Executive Boardroom Dinner focused on a question becoming increasingly important as enterprise AI matures: When is AI trusted enough not just to optimize work, but to make decisions?

Sponsored by Oracle, the dinner brought together executives from organizations including Bank of America, Capital One, The Home Depot, JPMorganChase, Lockheed Martin, Globe Life, Box, Ally, Applied Materials, Flex, and others for a candid discussion on what it takes to move AI beyond experimentation and into real enterprise decision-making.

Stephanie Kinser, Head of Oracle’s Solution Engineering Organization, shares her perspective during the discussion.

When Is AI Trusted Enough to Decide?

The conversation started with what leaders are already doing with AI and quickly moved to the harder question: What would it take to trust AI with a decision that carries actual risk?

Executives discussed where they would be comfortable allowing an AI agent to act, where human judgment remains essential, and what separates organizations successfully scaling AI from those still struggling to move beyond experimentation.

That question of trust also brought the conversation back to the data itself. With enterprise data often fragmented and business meaning still buried in spreadsheets, disconnected systems, and institutional knowledge, participants shared how they are approaching those challenges in practice.

Trey Connolly, Director, Data & Analytics at Globe Life, reflected on the shift taking place as organizations move beyond early AI experimentation:

“Data and AI are no longer simply enhancing how organizations operate – they are redefining what is possible. The most compelling conversations focused on moving beyond experimentation to build intelligent, scalable capabilities that anticipate needs, accelerate decisions, and create more meaningful customer experiences. My takeaway: the organizations that lead will be those that combine bold AI innovation with trusted data, responsible governance, and a relentless focus on turning insight into action.”

Data and AI leaders exchange perspectives on what it takes to move AI from experimentation to trusted enterprise use.

Building AI People Will Trust

The discussion also moved beyond technology to the people expected to work alongside it.

Participants considered what human augmentation over replacement looks like inside their organizations today, particularly when employees may be concerned about what increased AI adoption means for their roles. The conversation explored how leaders can make that commitment credible while continuing to introduce more capable AI systems across the enterprise.

Architecture remained part of that equation. Leaders were asked to consider the one change they would make to their data or AI architecture tomorrow if they could, bringing the discussion back to the foundations needed to support AI at scale.

Jayakrishna Venkatesh, GM & Head of Product at Capital One, weighs in on the conversation with fellow data and AI leaders.

Special thanks to Oracle for sponsoring the August 26 CDO Magazine Executive Boardroom Dinner and supporting the conversation among Dallas-area data and AI leaders.

Executives attending the August 26 CDO Magazine Executive Boardroom Dinner included:

• Shuchi Agrawal, Head of AI Execution/Commercialization, SMBC Group*
• Michelle Boston, CIO, Bank of America
• David Burton, Director, Solutions Architecture, DTCC
• Aamer Charania, Head of Applied AI, Best Buy
• Trey Connolly, Director, Data & Analytics, Globe Life
• Prabhu Govindaraju, Sr. Director, Data Management, Ally
• Murali Kallem, Head, Data & AI, Box
• Abhishek Karanam, Director, Data Analytics & AI, MV Transportation
• Vino Kingston, Enterprise Data and AI Transformation Leader, Lockheed Martin
• Amit Maheska, Director, Assistance & AI, Capital One
• Justin J. Nguyen, Sr. Director, Data, AI & Analytics, The Home Depot
• Sivanandhan Paramasivam, Head of Data Platform Engineering, CRC Group
• Dalia Powers, former Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Growth and Digital, Humana
• Michael Puli, Senior Director, AI/ML, Applied Materials
• Mihir Rajopadhye, SVP, Technology Platforms, Rich Products Corporation*
• Swamy Ramajayam, Chief Data and AI Officer, Mariner Bank
• Gopal Ravi, Chief Data Officer, HaloMD*
• Alissa Schneider, Executive Director, Enterprise Data & Insights, Sinclair Broadcast Group
• Zulfikar Sidi, Managing Director, Data & Analytics, Retail, Preferred and Wealth Management, Bank of America*
• Swapna Tavtum, VP, Data, Analytics & AI | Enterprise Architecture | Workday, Lifespace Communities
• Mat Thekkil, Executive Director, Data Product Owner, JPMorganChase
• Jagadeesh Tupakula, Head of Data and AI, formerly UNFI, Sysco, and Deloitte
• Jayakrishna Venkatesh, GM & Head of Product, Capital One
• Ranjit Vidhani, Vice President, Head of AI Strategy and Transformation, Flex
• Brandon Williams, Associate, Software Engineering, JPMorganChase
• Shyam Nair, Head of Data Analytics & Governance, Provident Bank
• Jody Clayton, GVP, Advanced Technology Solution Engineering, Oracle
• Stephanie Kinser, Head of Oracle’s Solution Engineering Organization, Oracle
• Paul Lilford, Director, Product Strategy AI and Analytics, Oracle
• Scott Macy, VP, Cloud Solution Engineering, Oracle
• Jenna George, Community Director, CDO Magazine
• Anthony Losanno, Managing Director, CDO Magazine
• Corey Maxner, Sr. Director, Community, CDO Magazine

*Shuchi Agrawal, Mihir Rajopadhye, Gopal Ravi, and Zulfikar Sidi are members of the CDO Magazine Global Board.