
Southern California CIO Community
Executive Summit
December 6, 2023 | Renaissance Long Beach Hotel
December 6, 2023
Renaissance Long Beach Hotel
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Southern California's top CIOs 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 CIOs today:
Fostering Change and Adaptability Across the Enterprise
Bolstering Innovation – Optimizing Processes and Elevating Customer Experience
Putting People at the Forefront to Enhance Process and Technology
Southern California CIO Governing Body
The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the summit agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CIOs, For CIOs®.
Governing Body Co-Chairs

Allen Fazio
Houlihan Lokey
Chief Information Officer

Kelly Hamilton
Sony Pictures Entertainment
CIO

Chad Hamilton
Fremantle
VP, Technology

Michael Keithley
United Talent Agency
CIO

Theresa Miller
LionsGate Entertainment
CIO & EVP, IT

Greg Moore
KB Home
VP & CIO

Anthony Moses
Yamaha Motor Finance Corporation
Global Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer

Bryan Muehlberger
Vuori Clothing
Chief Information Officer

Thomas Phelps
Innovate UCLA
Executive Chair and Laserfiche CIO
What to Expect
Agenda
7:45am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast
8:00am - 8:30am Networking
Rising Together — Empowered Women, Empower Women

Theresa Miller
CIO & EVP, IT
LionsGate Entertainment

Kristine Sheu
SVP Deputy CIO
Cathay Bank
This will be an intimate, informal space for women in leadership roles and their allies to freely discuss best practices, key challenges, and mission-critical priorities. Come prepared to share ideas and forge new connections that can help empower each other to make an impact in your organizations and communities.
This session is aimed at, but not limited to, women who are head of function at their organizations (CIO or equivalent) and those reporting directly to the CIO/equivalent. Priority access will be reserved for these groups.
8:30am - 9:15am Keynote
Executive Presence for Lasting Leadership
Hosted by Tanium

Chris Ulrich
Body Language Expert
Guest Speaker
Any given gesture — a nod, a point of the finger — unconsciously communicates powerful ideas and feelings that have tangible consequences. Top executives are generally proficient in their ability to interact with others, but the stakes are raised during high-level negotiations, reporting to the board, inspiring and empowering senior managers or dealing with tricky internal matters.
Join body language expert Chris Ulrich as he shares:
- Why every movement and action is magnified in high-level situations
- Tools and techniques to build rapport quickly
- How executives can communicate more effectively
9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Shifting IT Mindset with Human-Centered Leadership

Cathy Bindewald
Chief Information Officer
Marshall School of Business, USC
When Cathy Bindewald became the CIO at the Marshall School of Business at USC, she saw areas of opportunity to shift IT out of silos and into the fabric of broader organizational initiatives. In her role, she has learned the way to get IT a seat at the table is by taking risks, coaching people up and building cross-communication to help the business and IT reach it's shared goals.
Join this session to learn about:
- Having the courage to be bold and find opportunities in your environment
- Building strong relationships and ultimately stronger teams
- Aligning IT strategy with business strategy
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Accelerating Innovation with Migration of Enterprise Applications
Hosted by Microsoft Corporation

Priya Gore
General Manager, Data, Advanced Analytics & AI
Microsoft Corporation

Marvin Cruz
LA Metro Chief Technology Officer
CGI

Jon Whittaker
CIO
Kelly Spicers
As CIOs seek to drive innovation and reduce costs, it is imperative that Apps migration initiatives need to improve time to market by providing support. Support mainly for applications using the framework language of choice to help achieve greater agility and scale in the cloud. It is important to be empowered to take advantage of low code, containers, DevOps, and AI.
Join this session to discuss:
- Challenges with the process of migrating enterprise applications
- Ways application migration can control costs and improve time to market for new customer experiences
- Take advantage of modern app dev practices without rearchitecting or recoding existing apps
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 CIOs).
To reserve your seat, please contact: Lauren Hursley at Lauren.Hursley@evanta.com
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Creating a Culture for Data Literacy

Michael Keithley
CIO
United Talent Agency
The ultimate goal for the enterprise is to build a culture where data is free flowing and easily accessible to decision makers. However, company adoption of data and analytics can be hindered by both cultural and technical challenges.
Join this boardroom session to discuss:
- Bridging skills gaps and continuing education across the enterprise
- Breaking down silos across departments to ensure data accessibility
- Shifting the responsibility of governance to the business
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 CIOs).
To reserve your seat, please contact: Lauren Hursley at Lauren.Hursley@evanta.com
9:40am - 10:25am Workshop
Office Hours with Chris Ulrich
What does your body language say about you? What shifts might you make to change how others perceive you? Join this special one-on-one session exclusively for Governing Body members with body-language expert, Chris Ulrich for candid feedback on your in-person and online body language. Sessions are 20-minutes and pre-registration is required.
In this unique, private session, you’ll receive:
- One-on-one consultation with a premier expert
- Live analysis of your unique body language cues
- Personalized executive presence improvements
10:25am - 11:00am 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.
11:00am - 11:45am Breakout Session
Data and AI – Driving Value for Your Organization
Hosted by Google Cloud

Eric Ranta
Director, Customer Value & Transformation Advisors
Google Cloud
Even the most successful companies face challenges harnessing the full value of a robust data and AI strategy. Technology leaders must keep abreast of data and AI trends to understand how to realize and prioritize greater potential at scale for optimal business value.
In this session, you’ll learn:
- Benefits of a unified data and AI platform
- Customer success insights
- Five trends for an interconnected data strategy
11:00am - 11:45am Breakout Session
10-Minute Wins

Christopher Coye
SVP, IT & Chief Information Officer
Skechers

Howard Schweitzer
Global Chief Information Officer
Mars Petcare

Rachel Yegiaian
CIO, Spectrolab Division
The Boeing Co
Why learn from one peer when you can learn from three? In this unorthodox, but effective, breakout session you’ll hear from multiple members of your community — each taking the floor for 10 minutes to share what they’ve gleaned from their time in leadership.
Join this session as:
- Chris Coye shares the importance of using storytelling when advocating for IT investment
- Howard Schweitzer shares how taking big risks can make for big business impact
- Rachel Yegiaian shares how to improve employee engagement – just in time for year-end assessments
11:00am - 11:45am Executive Boardroom
Strategic AI Opportunities for IT Operations and Development
Hosted by IBM

Jacob Yackenovich
Director Product Management, AIOps Platform Software
IBM

Raj Kadam
SVP Health Plan Operations & CIO
Liberty Dental Plan

Mary Joseph
Divisional CIO, VP, Digital Leadership, Lifestyle Audio Division
Harman International Industries
Every business wants to get the most out of its resources. Apart from making more profit, companies constantly strive towards reducing overall costs. Surviving in today’s competitive world requires businesses make strategic decisions that lead to better efficiencies. AIOps seeks to do just that – ensure the delivery of highly performant digital applications and services.
Join this session to discuss:
- Gathering and harnessing the data available to provide full stack and enterprise observability
- Automating cloud resource allocation and management to optimize cost
- Using AI in IT operations and management solutions
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 CIOs).
To reserve your seat, please contact: Lauren Hursley at Lauren.Hursley@evanta.com
11:45am - 12:30pm Lunch Service
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the Southern California CIO 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 Long Beach HotelParking:
Parking Garage Onsite
Overnight: $30
Day Rate: $25
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 1-800-468-3571. Please mention Evanta SoCal Executive Summit to ensure the appropriate room rate.
Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $231 USD (plus tax) is November 13, 2023.
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.