IN-PERSON

Chicago CIO Executive Summit

May 14, 2025 | Convene at 233 South Wacker (Willis/Sears Tower)

May 14, 2025
Convene at 233 South Wacker (Willis/Sears Tower)

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Governing Body Agenda Location Partners Contact

Governing Body Co-Chairs

Corrado Azzarita

The Kraft Heinz Company
Global CIO

Rita Fisher

Reynolds Consumer Products
CIO and EVP, Supply Chain

Ron Guerrier

Save the Children
CTO

Rajeev Khanna

Aon Corporation US
Global Chief Technology Officer

Laura Kohl

Morningstar
CIO

Mike Parisi

ITW
VP CIO

Jane Possell

CNA
EVP, Chief Information Officer, Analytics, Operations

Gagan Singh

Ascension
Chief Information Officer

Tom South

Northern Trust
CIO

What to Expect

Interactive Sessions

Hear from CIO practitioners and thought leaders on how they're solving critical challenges impacting your role today in Keynote sessions, and join smaller, interactive discussions with your peers in Breakout and Boardroom sessions.

Community Networking

Make new connections and catch up with old friends in casual conversations during dedicated time for networking designed to better acquaint you with your Chicago CIO community.

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a private, 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.

Agenda

May 14, 2025

morning afternoon

8:00am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast

8:30am - 9:15am Keynote

Opening Comments & Keynote

Details coming soon.

9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break

9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session

Strategic Approaches to Master Cloud Costs

Kate Prouty

CIO

Akamai Technologies

A recent study shows businesses are spending $1.2M–$24M annually on public cloud services, prompting organizations to reevaluate strategies to address the key challenge of cost management and inefficiencies. By using the right tools, securing executive support, and adopting a modern PaaS approach, companies can effectively manage cloud costs and reduce resource sprawl.

Join this session to discuss:

Strategizing solutions to manage costs.
Improving overall cloud performance
Facilitating the transition from cloud-friendly to cloud-native

9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom

Ensuring Trust and Security in Modern Communications

Communications technology is a vital component in the IT ecosystem that CIOs must prioritize for safeguarding. Adopting a comprehensive approach to security, compliance and privacy minimizes risks associated with business communications and helps maintain trust and integrity in your critical systems.

Join this session to discuss:

Strengthening organizational security through robust data protection measures
Achieving compliance by aligning with key regulatory standards
Enhancing data privacy by protecting and managing user data responsibly

9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom

AI-Ready Data — From Strategy to Impact

The business benefits of AI are compelling, and many organizations are looking to maximizing their IT environment, data architecture, and processes to capitalize. How can CIOs enable the business and ensure data is AI-ready?

Join this boardroom to discuss:

Assessing and evolving current data strategy for AI use cases
Overcoming key challenges such data silos, security, and scalability
Leveraging data strategy to maximize AI’s business impact

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 Evanta’s 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

Building a Strategy for an AI-First Business

Ravi Malick

SVP & Global CIO

Box

The future of business is rapidly evolving — a future where AI agents are part of the workforce, almost any process or workflow can be automated, and customers expect better, more intelligent experiences across their unstructured data. Whether that means automating loans or onboarding employees faster, applying intelligence to your unstructured data can be a pathway to stay ahead of the competition.

Join this interactive session to explore:

Practical approaches to building an unstructured data strategy
Robust content workflows and use cases for AI-first businesses
Tips for optimizing while balancing your AI and security strategies

11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom

Accelerating ROI with AI

No business leader invests in technology for its own sake—they seek measurable improvements in productivity, agility, and business outcomes. AI is no different, but its rapid evolution can make it difficult to determine where to start and how to scale. The key to unlocking ROI lies in identifying high-impact use cases, optimizing AI adoption, and ensuring teams have the right tools and skills to drive sustainable value.

Join this boardroom to explore:

How to choose AI use cases that generate revenue, enhance productivity, and establish clear KPIs for ROI tracking
Navigating the evolving AI ecosystem to align technology investments with business priorities
Building and educating teams to support AI adoption, streamline implementation, and drive long-term impact

11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom

AI in Action — Identifying High-Impact Use Cases to Accelerate Value

Carlos Alves

Co-Founder & Chief Client Partner

OutSystems

The pressure is mounting to embed AI across the business to maintain a competitive edge, and capitalize on efficiency gains. Many executive teams are eager to rush into implementation and the pressure is on CIOs to deliver value from these investments quickly. In a world where AI is becoming easier to implement and the velocity of change keeps increasing, how can CIOs ensure they deliver engaging AI-powered solutions to maximize ROI without losing control of AI?

Join this boardroom to discuss:

Developing a clear AI strategy aligned with business goals with a focus on high-impact use cases with measurable value
Seamlessly integrating AI into existing workflows to drive organizational change
Identifying key investments that can accelerate the value of AI, such as low-code platforms

11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom

The CFO-CIO Alliance for Advancing IT Impact

Michael Perica

CFO

Rimini Street

As digital business priorities touch every part of the enterprise, the collaboration between CFOs and CIOs is indispensable for optimizing technology investments and spurring innovation. Effective partnership is key to synchronizing financial strategies with technological progress and maximum business impact.

Join this session to discuss:

Fortifying the CFO-CIO alliance to facilitate data-driven IT ROI decisions
Align IT investments with financial strategies and implementing projects with measurable business outcomes
Bridging business and technology priorities to support, optimize and transform for enterprise-wide success

11:55am - 12:30pm Lunch Service

12:30pm - 1:05pm Keynote

Lunch Comments & Keynote Hosted by Netskope

Details coming soon.

1:05pm - 1:30pm Break

1:30pm - 2:15pm Breakout Session

From Tech Exit to Tech Equity — Addressing Women's Attrition in Technology

Gartner research predicts by 2028 there will be at least a 25% decline of women in IT leadership roles. How can we work to reverse this decline and create a supportive community in Chicagoland that equips women for senior roles, amplifies their visibility and mitigates bias?

Join this session of your peers to discuss:

Building an equitable talent pipeline
Addressing the reasons women choose to leave tech
Maintaining the spirit of DEI programs

1:30pm - 2:15pm Executive Boardroom

Overcoming Data Gravity in the Digital Economy

The digital economy is transforming how enterprises create and deliver value. CIOs are challenged to solve “data gravity,” where growing data volumes attract applications and services, impacting IT infrastructure and strategy. To thrive, companies must operate constantly, with real-time intelligence across diverse channels. As data traffic and computational demands rise due to emerging technologies, enterprises need to manage data at an unprecedented scale.

Join this session to discuss:

Data gravity's impact on IT infrastructure and AI readiness
Managing data growth with IoT, 5G, and AI technologies
Leveraging real-time intelligence for enhanced engagement

2:15pm - 3:00pm Networking Break

2:25pm - 2:50pm 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.

3:00pm - 3:45pm Executive Boardroom

The CIO as a Steward of the Business

Technology is increasingly intertwined with organizational performance, making it more important than ever for CIOs to define and demonstrate IT’s activities in terms of business outcomes.

Join this boardroom session to discuss:

Aligning IT strategy with business goals and objectives
Positioning technology as a business value driver, not a cost center
Measuring and communicating value to stakeholders

3:45pm - 4:00pm Networking Break

4:00pm - 4:35pm 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 as Lisa discusses: