CDO Magazine hosted Louisville’s leading data, technology, and AI executives on December 10 at The Capital Grille for an evening of insight-sharing and strategic dialogue. The highlight was a dynamic panel discussion on “The AI Balancing Act: How Quickly Can You Create Value?”

Speakers explored how leaders can balance speed with ownership, reinforce governance and safety, and evaluate real ROI across their AI portfolios. The conversation surfaced practical lessons on where AI delivers fast wins, where organizations struggle, and what it takes to implement solutions with lasting impact.

The panel of experts were:

• Adam Jones, GE Appliances (a Haier Company) Sr. Director, Software Engineering, Cloud & IOT
• Jason Payton, BrightSpring Health Services Director, IT Risk & Compliance (GRC)
• Shane Rodabaugh, Baptist Health System System VP, IT Infrastructure
• Piotr Roszkowski, AHEAD VP, AI Services

The discussion was moderated by Andy Stein, AHEAD Managing Director.

According to Amit Parulekar, Brown-Forman Director, Global Advanced Analytics & AI Strategy, “The panel discussion was an excellent blend of perspectives from the AI application team and individuals from security. It emphasized how critical it is in the AI world to move fast but without compromising data security and to have the right governance in place.”

Parulekar notes the discussion highlighted the importance of getting the basics right, such as architecting and harmonizing data to make IT AI-ready. “Another key point was the ‘make vs. buy’ decision—leveraging inherent platform capabilities that can be shared across the enterprise. The buy decision is often industry-specific, with healthcare leaning more toward buying AI rather than building AI in-house. Overall, it was a great panel with valuable insights and practical takeaways,” he adds.

Panelist Payton shares his key takeaways:

• AI creates value fastest when governance and innovation move together, not sequentially.
• Build vs. buy decisions must be guided by data sensitivity, regulatory impact, and accountability… not just speed to market.
• The NIST AI Risk Management Framework provides a practical structure to reduce uncertainty and help organizations scale AI responsibly.
• Organizations that govern AI early will move faster with confidence than those trying to retrofit controls later.

From her perspective, Gauri Bhalerao, Goodwill Industries of Kentucky VP, Digital & Technology, says, “The discussions offered valuable insights into how organizations are responsibly adopting AI, with a strong and timely focus on governance, privacy, and security.”

Bhalerao adds, “A key takeaway was the importance of leaders clearly understanding return on investment as AI initiatives progress from pilot projects to enterprise-wide deployments—including the rollout of intelligent agents—while maintaining rigorous standards for data protection and privacy.”

Jenna George, CDO Magazine Program Director, highlights, “As a Louisville local, it was wonderful to meet and connect with local data leaders. AI has sparked revolutionary change in the past 18 months, and as our leaders discussed, ensuring speed of integration remains in check to ensure proper rollouts is crucial.”

Special thanks to AHEAD for making the CDO Magazine Executive Boardroom Dinner such a resounding success.

Executives attending the CDO Magazine Louisville Executive Boardroom Dinner included: 

Brigette Bailey, GE Appliances (a Haier Company) Sr. Human Resources Manager; Jim Barry, UofL Health Data Scientist; Gauri Bhalerao, Goodwill Industries of Kentucky VP, Digital & Technology; Tawanda Chitapa, Norton Healthcare System Director, Business Intelligence, Clinical Value & Healthcare Analytics; Lane Coonrod, The Hartford AVP, Underwriting, Personal Lines; Keith Delande, Baptist Health System KY & IN Corporate IT Director, Infrastructure; Adel Elmaghraby, University of Louisville Director, Research & Innovation for Digital Transformation; Steve Heilman, Norton Healthcare Chief Medical Information Officer; Tom Jenkins, Churchill Downs Vice President; Adam Jones, GE Appliances (a Haier Company) Sr. Director, Software Engineering, Cloud & IoT; Praveen Katta, Baptist Health Corporate IT Director, Enterprise Systems; Sailaja Kotra-Turner, Brown-Forman VP, CISO & Director, Global Infrastructure & Operations; John Melton, GE Appliances (a Haier Company) Director, Cloud & Infrastructure Architecture & Operations; Amit Parulekar, Brown-Forman Director, Global Advanced Analytics & AI Strategy; Taylor Payne, Baptist Health System KY & IN Director, Cybersecurity Operations; Jason Payton, BrightSpring Health Services Director, IT Risk & Compliance (GRC); Shane Rodabaugh, Baptist Health System KY & IN System VP, IT Infrastructure; Eric Satterly, Jefferson County Public Schools CIO; Joshua Sullivan, Papa Johns Sr. Director, Digital Engineering; Andy Brown, AHEAD App Dev & Cloud Solutions Specialist; Steve Carr, AHEAD Client Director; Tyler Harned, AHEAD Client Director; Amber Hedges, AHEAD Client Director; Piotr Roszkowski, AHEAD VP, AI Services; Andy Stein, AHEAD Managing Director; Jenna George, CDO Magazine Program Director; and Anthony Losanno, CDO Magazine SVP, Sales.