
Dallas CDAO Community
Executive Summit
June 17, 2025 | Renaissance Dallas Richardson Hotel
June 17, 2025
Renaissance Dallas Richardson Hotel
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Dallas's top CDAOs to tackle shared business challenges and critical priorities facing your role today. Participate in this one-day, local program with peer-driven topics and interactive discussions with your true C-level peers.
Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CDAOs today:
Linking Data, Analytics and AI Initiatives to Measurable Business Outcomes
Modernizing Data Governance
Maturing D&A Culture with Data Democratization and Self-Service Analytics
Dallas CDAO Governing Body
The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the summit agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CDAOs, For CDAOs™.
Governing Body Co-Chairs

Aamer Charania
Best Buy
Head of Applied Machine Learning

Jayadev Gopinath
DraftKings
SVP of Data Engineering & Data Science

Murali Kallem
Salesforce
Head of Office of Data

Sonia Khosla
Globe Life
SVP, Chief Data & Analytics Officer

Sanjeev Kumar
Gainwell
VP, Chief Data & Analytics Officer

Mano Mannoochahr
Travelers
SVP, Chief Data & Analytics Officer

Mark Nance
American Fidelity Corporation
Chief Data Officer

Phanii Pydimarri
Health Care Service Corporation
Data & Analytics Transformation Leader

Latheef Syed
Verizon
Vice President Data Products & Governance for Data & Analytics/ AI.
What to Expect
Agenda
8:00am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast
8:30am - 9:15am Keynote
Data Transformation & Scalable Strategies for AI Implementation

Justin Bundick
Managing Director, Artificial Intelligence and Data Transformation
Southwest Airlines
The evolving AI ecosystem presents both opportunities and challenges. Data leaders are navigating the complexities of AI integration while facing an increasingly dynamic regulatory landscape and tasked with ensuring data integrity, scalability and regulatory compliance. In this keynote session, attendees will gain exclusive insights into how Southwest Airlines is leveraging AI to reshape enterprise data strategies, employee and customer experiences and compliance frameworks.
Learn more about:
- Building a scalable AI infrastructure within enterprise data ecosystems
- Mitigating risk and ensuring data accuracy in regulated environments
- Real-world applications of AI-driven products and lessons learned
9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Navigating Generative AI Risks and Opportunities

Jayadev Gopinath
SVP of Data Engineering & Data Science
DraftKings

Summer Husband
SVP, Data & AI
Worley
There is no risk-free position in 2025 when it comes to generative AI. Hitting the brakes can be just as costly as moving forward. Gartner found that by 2027, 75% of CDAOs who have not established themselves as an indispensable strategic collaborator in their organization's AI success will lose their C-level position.
Join this session to learn about:
- Successful AI implementations from concept to deployment
- Navigating potential legal, governance and sales roadblocks
- Gaining cross functional team collaboration and establishing disciplined processes
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Agentic Data Management & the AI Imperative
Hosted by Acceldata

Ramon Chen
Chief Product Officer
Acceldata

Rameshwar Balanagu
Chief Enterprise Architect
UNFI

Latheef Syed
Vice President Data Products & Governance for Data & Analytics/ AI.
Verizon
In an era where AI is reshaping industries and redefining competitive advantage, traditional data management strategies no longer suffice. High-performing executives navigating an AI-first world need proactive, intelligent and automated management of data assets.
Join this boardroom to discuss:
- Harnessing the power of AI to improve data management outcomes
- Transforming data governance, quality and observability with AI reasoning
- Leveraging agentic data management to unlock competitive edge
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Building a Modern Data Foundation for AI and Innovation
Hosted by Fivetran

Mark Van de Wiel
Field CTO
Fivetran

Sankar Bala
Managing Director, Deal Advisory & Strategy
KPMG

Ibrahim Itani
Head of Analytics and lnnovation
Marathon Petroleum
In today's data-driven world, organizations must maximize the potential of their data — from building predictive analytics and ML models that power deeper insights into customer behavior, to building GenAI applications. Replicating data across all sources fuels innovation and drives better business outcomes, while modernizing data movement ensures secure and reliable access to centralized data. Join this boardroom to delve into this core topic and learn how technology leaders are modernizing their data platforms and automating processes to get the most value from their data.
During this boardroom, you will discuss:
- Establishing a framework to manage structured and unstructured data
- Improving data readiness for predictive analytics, GenAI applications and ML models
- Building an approach to data management that gives rise to reliable, accessible data
10:25am - 11:10am Networking Break
10:35am - 11:00am Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.
11:10am - 11:55am Breakout Session
Governance in Action — Metadata, Data Fabric and Leveraging Generative AI
Hosted by Orion Governance

Ramesh Shurma
CEO
Orion Governance
As CDAOs continue to grow in their journeys, it is necessary to ensure your data fabric has a solid foundation on the information as well as the barriers in place accessing it. Governance plays a crucial role in establishing and maintaining these barriers, ensuring data integrity and compliance. When we add GenAI into the conversation, how can we leverage this tool to our advantage, ensuring those barriers aren’t compromised? Effective governance strategies are essential to balance innovation with security and ethical considerations. This complex conversation has many considerations, so let's explore them together.
Join this session to learn more about:
- Overviewing the complexities of metadata management
- Challenging aspects of data fabric as GenAI implementation continues
- Improving the process of governance models
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Finding the Balance — Centralized vs. Decentralized Data & Analytics
Hosted by Savant Labs

Chitrang Shah
Founder & CEO
Savant Labs

Livia Kessler
Head of Analytics Delivery
Bon Secours Mercy Health

Arun Shastry
SVP, Global Data & Analytics Portfolio
Marsh
Striking the right balance between decentralized agility and centralized governance is one of today’s biggest data and analytics challenges. How do you empower analysts to generate insights faster while maintaining control and accountability?
Join this boardroom to discuss:
- Finding the balance between data access and accountability
- Implementing appropriate access controls without excessive bureaucracy
- Best practices for managing self-service analytics across distributed teams and systems
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
AI Maturity — Navigating Enterprise Innovation to Impact
Hosted by Qlik

Sharad Kumar
Field CTO- Data
Qlik

Tufan Arikan
CDO
TriNet Group

Kishore Agasthi
CDO
Morgan Street Holdings
AI adoption varies widely across organizations — some are just starting, while others are scaling enterprise wide. But what defines true AI maturity, and how can companies accelerate their journey?
Join this roundtable to discuss:
- How organizations measure progress
- What drives successful AI deployments
- What trends will shape AI adoption
11:55am - 12:30pm Lunch Service
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the Dallas CDAO Community Executive Summit.
Gartner facilitates exclusive, C-level communities by personally qualifying and understanding the priorities, challenges and interests of each member.
Our selective approach maintains the high quality of the network and ensures top-level discussions with peers from the world’s leading organizations.
Each application will be reviewed, and once your participation is confirmed, you will have access to year-round community programs.
Location
Venue & Accommodation
Renaissance Dallas Richardson HotelParking:
Day Valet: $20
On-Site Self-Parking: $15
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Renaissance Dallas Richardson Hotel at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 800-264-0359. Please mention Dallas Executive Summit to ensure the appropriate room rate.
Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $179 USD (plus tax) is May 26, 2025.
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.