
Minneapolis CDAO Community
Executive Summit
May 7, 2025 | Sheraton Bloomington Hotel
May 7, 2025
Sheraton Bloomington Hotel
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Minneapolis'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:
Connecting Data, Analytics and AI Initiatives to Measurable Business Outcomes
Optimizing Operations to Enhance Efficiency and Performance
Transforming Data Governance to Support and Scale Advanced Analytics
Minneapolis 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

Sridher Arumugham
Digikey
Chief Data Analytics Officer

Ylan Kazi
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota
Chief Data & AI Officer

Jeremy Lembeck
Land O'Lakes
Head of Data and Analytics

Stephanie Lenzner
Mayo Clinic
Chair, Digital, Data & AI Value

Thomas Moore
Xcel Energy
Senior Director, Data and Analytics

Keith Narr
Cargill
SVP, Technology & Data
What to Expect
Agenda
8:00am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast
8:30am - 9:15am Keynote
Maximizing Value — CDAO's Role in Driving Business Impact Through Data
Hosted by Ataccama

Anand Iyer
Chief Data Officer
Ecolab
For CDAOs, focusing on high-value initiatives is essential to demonstrate the impact of data and AI investments. By aligning data strategies with business goals, they drive growth, efficiency and competitive advantage while ensuring a strong ROI and long-term success.
Join this session with Anand Iyer, Chief Data Officer, Ecolab as he shares ways to:
- Engage stakeholders and embed D&A into the business
- Measure and maximize the value of D&A initiatives
- Leverage the right tools and capabilities for maximum impact
9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Unlocking the Potential of Seamless Data Sharing and Integration

Erik Erickson
Chief Data Officer
Hennepin County
Data Leaders understand that effective data sharing is essential for generating valuable insights, yet they often struggle with fragmented data silos. To overcome these barriers, they need to focus on establishing strong governance policies, develop a clear legal framework and adopt interoperable technologies.
Join this session to learn about:
- Strengthening data governance to streamline integration
- Adopting technology to advance integration and enable sharing
- Motivate teams, enhance collaboration and unlock transformative insights
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Redefining Success — The Power of Data Modernization
Hosted by Insight

Michael Brazys
Vice President - Data & Analytics
Allianz Life US

Nithin Ramachandran
Global Vice President - Data Analytics, MDM, AI/ML and Gen AI
3M
As organizations navigate a fast-changing data landscape, modernizing data systems has become essential for staying ahead and maximizing value. Success in this transformation depends on D&A leaders adopting flexible architectures, integrating advanced analytics and fostering a culture driven by data-informed decisions.
Join this fireside chat as tenured CDAOs discuss how to:
- Adopt a flexible data architecture to enhance scalability, adaptability and responsiveness
- Utilize advanced analytics to uncover meaningful insights and strengthen competitive advantage
- Foster a data-driven culture to drive innovation and strategy
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Creating and Sustaining a Top-Performing Team

Sonia Keeney
Director, Data Enablement
Kindeva Drug Delivery

Krister Mattson
Vice President Analytics and Data Sciences
Emplify Health System
Business initiatives thrive on the strength of a capable team, including those in Data & Analytics. Skilled CDAOs focus on attracting top talent and cultivating an environment that encourages long term engagement and retention.
Join this session to discuss:
- Planning strategically for your current and future talent needs
- Understanding the skill needs of each function within the data organization
- Building teams with diversity and a plan for growth
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Showcasing Value for the D&A Vision

Lisa Moschkau
Director, Customer Data Strategy
Minnesota Twins

Ylan Kazi
Chief Data & AI Officer
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota

Andrew Bittner
BU President, Data Analytics Group
Taylor
Aligning data strategy to business strategy is a critical imperative for CDAOs. To do this effectively, data leaders must measure and communicate the impact of their data and analytics initiatives — integrating the value into the fabric of the organization.
Join this session to discuss:
- Demonstrating ROI of D&A initiatives to critical stakeholders
- Communicating the value of data practices across the organization
- Storytelling to connect business problems and data solutions
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
Strengthening Your Data Foundation for AI Readiness
Hosted by IBM

Timothy Davis
Executive Director & CTO
IBM
Organizations face exponential growth in data volume and complexity, with data in diverse locations, formats and quality levels. Its value depends on usability, requiring real-time decisions and insights. To scale accurate, performant generative AI, organizations must unify data access, management and preparation of high-quality unstructured and structured data.
Join this session to explore how to:
- Face the challenges presented by unstructured data in your AI initiatives
- Deliver superior AI accuracy and performance with your data to unlock ROI
- Build on your hybrid and open data foundation to get to the next stage of AI
11:10am - 11:55am Breakout Session
Operating Model Evolution in an Advanced Digital Landscape

Doug Nowak
VP Enterprise Data Analytics
Sanford Health

Erin Leuschke
Senior Director, Enterprise Data & Analytics
Patterson Companies

Jason Kapanke
Senior Director, Intelligent Data & Emerging Technology
CHS
As advanced analytics continue to emerge, data leaders must carefully design an operating model tailored to their organization’s unique needs. Aligning the model to business goals ensures it delivers measurable value and supports desired outcomes across the enterprise.
Join this session to explore:
- Identifying the ideal operating model for high value output
- Evaluating successes/challenges of D&A delivery
- Setting your north star as a data-driven organization
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Advancing Data Unification for Efficiency and Growth
Hosted by Reltio

Sriraj Rajaram
Principal Product Manager
Reltio

David Clemens
Vice President - Data, Analytics, and Integration
Winnebago Industries

Tim Deutsch
Chief Data Officer
Sentara Healthcare
The journey to timely, high-quality data is crucial yet seems like a long and complex endeavor. Organizations must align disparate data sources, overcome legacy system limits and foster a data-driven culture to turn data into a strategic advantage for sustained success.
Join this session to discuss:
- Boosting trust and governance with frameworks
- Utilizing customer data with AI
- Maintaining quality without slowing delivery
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Scaling with AI — Delivering Meaningful Outcomes
Hosted by Cube Dev

Artyom Keydunov
Chief Executive Officer
Cube Dev

Luke Salzwedel
Senior Director, Analytic Innovation & Strategy
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota
AI is quickly becoming essential for enterprise innovation, but scaling it across organizations presents challenges like fragmented data, inconsistent definitions and governance issues. Without proper strategies, AI projects risk becoming expensive experiments with little impact.
Join this session to discuss:
- Exploring key challenges in scaling AI across organizations
- Comparing AI scaling issues to those faced in modern BI
- Providing actionable steps for data leaders to ensure AI success
11:55am - 12:30pm Lunch Service
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the Minneapolis 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
Sheraton Bloomington HotelSheraton Bloomington Hotel - Room Block Cancellation Policy:
- Any cancellations made after the Cut Off (April 14, 2025) are subject to a cancellation fee of one (1) night room charge plus tax.
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 952-835-1900. Please mention Minneapolis CDAO Executive Summit to ensure the appropriate room rate.
Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $177 USD (plus tax) is April 14, 2025.
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.