
Southern California CDAO Community
Executive Summit
May 23, 2024 | Marriott Long Beach Downtown
May 23, 2024
Marriott Long Beach Downtown
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Southern California'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:
Implementing AI with Ethical Integrity and Governance
Leveraging Trust in Data Sharing for Business Growth
Assessing Data and Analytics' ROI for Sustainable Investments
Southern California 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

Meetali Agarwal
Domino's
VP, Head of Data

Mike Burkes
Ultra Mobile
SVP, Enterprise Information Management (CDO)

Prachi Priya
Team One
Chief Data Officer

Matt Smith
Microsoft Corporation
Chief Data Officer - West Enterprise Operating Unit
What to Expect
Agenda
7:45am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast
8:30am - 9:15am Keynote
Leading Resilient Teams Through Unpredictable Adversity

Lisa Thompson
Author of "Finding Elevation: Fear and Courage on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain"
Guest Speaker
Lisa Thompson is a high-altitude mountaineer and former healthcare executive who beat cancer months before standing on the summit of Everest. Lisa later became the first all-American woman to summit K2, which is considered the deadliest mountain in the world. In her talks and book, “Finding Elevation,” Lisa shares the experience of climbing the toughest mountains in the world and the importance of teamwork, resilience and defining boundaries.
Join this keynote session to learn about the importance of:
- Embracing change and overcoming challenges
- Creating a supportive environment inside and outside the office
- Defining clear roles and goals to build a strong, communicative team
9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Managing Your Data Estate — Putting AI To Work Instead of Play
Hosted by Microsoft Corporation

Matt Smith
Chief Data Officer - West Enterprise Operating Unit
Microsoft Corporation

Meetali Agarwal
VP, Head of Data
Domino's

Sarath Ramaswami
Senior Vice President, Data
American Homes 4 Rent
Having connected, informed, trustworthy and responsive data is the aspiration for properly transforming your organization. Yet data siloes, disconnected systems, and incongruent data inhibit this organizational nirvana. Combine that with how much focus is now set on GenAI and there's an even bigger hill to climb.
Instead, how do you take the hype and capabilities around AI to build a broader data estate, regardless of the business unit, system or cloud that it resides? Join this session with peers to discuss:
- Creating the most effective ecosystem and adopting new GenAI capabilities
- Maximizing your data, analytics, and AI investments
- Simplifying how you leverage data fabric and AI
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Empowering Decision Making with Data-Driven Insights
Hosted by Fivetran

Mark Van de Wiel
Field CTO
Fivetran

Manzoor Mohideen
AVP, Data Strategy, Architecture & Governance
Pacific Life Insurance
As organizations collect more data, it’s crucial to empower the enterprise to use this data to ensure better business and customer outcomes. Organizations who want to futureproof their business will think beyond the dashboard to use data for decision making. Learn how technology leaders are modernizing their data platforms and automating processes to get the most value from their data.
Join this session to discuss:
- Laying the foundation for predictive and advanced analytics
- Balancing the benefits of data control with data democratization
- Encouraging the enterprise to make more data informed decisions
Executive boardrooms are intimate and interactive sessions designed to foster dynamic dialogue around a specific, strategic topic. These private, closed-door discussions encourage attendee participation and are limited to 15 attendees (seating priority is given to CDAOs).
To reserve your seat, please contact: Casey Tomooka at Casey.Tomooka@evanta.com
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Data as a Strategic Asset

Abhijeet Gulati
Head of AI, Sr Director of AI & ML Engineering, Smart Solutions
Mitchell International

Andrew Polgar
Director, Business Intelligence, Data & Analytics
TRI Pointe Homes
Data as a product transforms data management, posing challenges for CDAOs in data quality, compliance and culture. Adopting robust governance, user-centric design and collaboration, CDAOs can overcome these hurdles, unlocking innovation opportunities and guiding organizations towards value-driven data utilization.
Join this round table discussion as peers discuss:
- Transforming organizational data management
- Addressing data quality and compliance challenges
- Unlocking innovation through strategic responses
Executive boardrooms are intimate and interactive sessions designed to foster dynamic dialogue around a specific, strategic topic. These private, closed-door discussions encourage attendee participation and are limited to 15 attendees (seating priority is given to CDAOs).
To reserve your seat, please contact: Casey Tomooka at Casey.Tomooka@evanta.com
10:25am - 11:05am Networking Break
10:30am - 10:55am Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Evanta’s Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.
11:05am - 11:50am Breakout Session
Overcoming Security and Privacy Barriers to Data Modernization
Hosted by Protegrity

James Rice
VP of Customer Solutions
Protegrity
New technologies are rapidly changing the way we use data to optimize experiences. To stay competitive, businesses must modernize their data processes and strategies in an ever-evolving digital climate.
In this session, we'll discuss:
- Security and privacy barriers holding back your sensitive data
- The power of federated architectures for data security and data mesh
- Unlocking the door to AI initiatives, advanced analytics and cloud migration with modernized data
11:05am - 11:50am Executive Boardroom
Building a High Velocity, High Impact Data & Analytics Capability
Hosted by Brooklyn Data

Scott Breitnenother
CEO & Founder
Brooklyn Data

Heidi Liu
Head of Data Management and Analytics
Pacific Dental Services

Shahin Mohammadkhani
VP, Engineering & Artificial Intelligence
United Talent Agency
With increased investments in data, analytics and AI —the need to demonstrate ROI has never been greater. How can organizations effectively balance maintaining robust enterprise data infrastructure with the agility required to drive tangible value?
Join this session to discuss:
- Building a culture centered around business outcomes
- Developing team structures and processes focused on speed to delivery
- Deploying governance and tooling to empower self-service capabilities
Executive boardrooms are intimate and interactive sessions designed to foster dynamic dialogue around a specific, strategic topic. These private, closed-door discussions encourage attendee participation and are limited to 15 attendees (seating priority is given to CDAOs).
To reserve your seat, please contact: Casey Tomooka at Casey.Tomooka@evanta.com
11:05am - 11:50am Executive Boardroom
Going the Distance — Sustaining Your GenAI Strategy

Yogesh Joshi
SVP Global Data and Analytics
TransUnion

Rajeev Mehrotra
VP of Business Systems, Engineering, Analytics, & Big Data
Western Dental Services
Gartner predicts that through 2025, at least 30% of GenAI proof of concept projects will be abandoned due to poor data quality, inadequate risk controls, escalating costs or unclear business value. So how can CDAOs and heads of data succeed in scaling GenAI initiatives to maximize benefits for the long term?
Join this session to discuss:
- Current GenAI use cases and considerations
- Connecting GenAI investment to business value
- Collaborating with the c-suite on a long-term GenAI strategy
Executive boardrooms are intimate and interactive sessions designed to foster dynamic dialogue around a specific, strategic topic. These private, closed-door discussions encourage attendee participation and are limited to 15 attendees (seating priority is given to CDAOs).
To reserve your seat, please contact: Casey Tomooka at Casey.Tomooka@evanta.com
11:50am - 12:35pm Lunch Service
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the Southern California 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
Marriott Long Beach DowntownImportant Details: The hotel has changed their name from Renaissance Long Beach to Marriott Long Beach Downtown. The address is 111 E Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA. 90802.
Parking: Parking Garage Onsite : Overnight: $30, Day Rate: $25
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Marriott Long Beach Downtown at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 562-437-5900.
Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $269 USD (plus tax) is April 29, 2024.
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.