On Wednesday, December 13, 2023, the 10th CDAO Summit was held and kindly hosted by the D’Amore-McKim School of Business and the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University. 

The CDAO Summit focused on Digital Transformation, Data Driven Culture, and Real-Time Analytics in a gorgeous venue packed full of Chief Digital and Data Officers, Chief Analytics Officers, CDAOs, Chief Experience, Innovation, Strategy, Technology, & Transformation Officers, and Chief Compliance, Governance, Privacy, & Risk Officers.

The 10th edition of the CDAO summit was kicked off by emcee Sree Sreenivasan, CEO at Digimentors and former CDO of NYC, the Metropolitan Musem of Art, and Columbia University, who welcomed the delegates.

Opening remarks were delivered by Koen Pauwels, Distinguished Professor of Marketing and General Director of DATA Initiative at Northeastern University.

The opening keynote discussion was delivered by David Mathison, CEO of the CDAO/CAIO Summit on “The Chief AI Officer Talent Map.”

The first panel of the day explored “The Rapidly Evolving Role of the Chief Data & Analytics Officer” and was moderated by Randy Bean, Innovation Fellow at Wavestone.

The distinguished panel of CDAOs discussed the rapidly evolving demands of the CDAO role and how they are working to ensure that their organizations are well prepared for the next stages of data and AI adoption.

Panelists included:

• Linda Avery, Former Chief Data & Analytics Officer, SVP, Verizon
• Raj Nimmagadda, Chief Data Officer R&D, Data & Data Sciences, Sanofi
• Sol Rashidi, Former Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Estee Lauder, Merck, Sony Music, Royal Caribbean
• Sravan Kasarla, Chief Data Officer, Thrivent

Delegates then took a break for lunch, networking with colleagues and peers.

IBM also convened a separate networking lunch for Women in Data and Analytics in the boardroom, which was led by Dr. Liliana Horne, PhD, Director of AI Accelerator, Global Chief Data Office at IBM.

Following the break, Rajesh Anandan, Co-founder and CEO at Ultranauts Inc, delivered a keynote on “Neurodiversity, The New Competitive Advantage.”

In his Keynote, Ultranauts Inc co-founder Rajesh Anandan shared the lessons they’ve learned over the past decade about building high performing, neurodiverse teams, including the Universal Workplace practices and tools any company can adopt to unlock the full potential of their talent.

Next up was the keynote on “Super Charge Your Enterprise with Security, Privacy, and Best Practices for Data Fabric and Generative AI”, delivered by Tim Davis, Executive Director, Data and AI Architecture at IBM. 

Tim Davis discussed the latest thinking in Data Security, Privacy, and the convergence of Data Fabric with Generative AI. The Keynote was presented by Constant Data Integration.

The second panel of the day, moderated by Tim Davis, Executive Director, Data and AI Architecture at IBM, explored “Super Charge Your Enterprise with Security, Privacy, and Best Practices for Data Fabric and Generative AI”.

Panelists dove into how to be successful on your Data & AI journey, including the key elements of how to supercharge your Data Fabric and Gen AI and achieve success and have fun doing it!

Panelists included:

• Kelly Mannes, Vice President, Business Development, Constant Data Integration
• Kamal Distell, VP Data, Analytics, Platforms and Data Science, Toyota Motor Corporation
• Sol Rashidi, Former CDAO, Estee Lauder, Merck, Sony Music, Royal Caribbean
• Chip Crane, Americas Security Technical Leader, IBM

Delegates then took a break for lunch, and networking with colleagues and peers.

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As we came out of the break, our moderator, Sree Sreenivasan, CEO and cofounder of Digimentors, thanked our sponsors.

Our sponsors include BigID, Cybertech, Ellig Group, KX, Ultranauts Inc, ZoomInfo, and Constant Data Integration.

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Next up, Yakov Bart, Faculty Director, DATA Initiative at Northeastern University delivered the keynote on “How digital analytics and technologies are reshaping the customer journey”. 

His keynote introduced a novel framework that helps various stakeholders to better understand the impact of current and future analytics and technology advancements from a consumer-firm perspective.

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Next, was the keynote on “How leveraging customer voice, change management, and composable commerce can lead a digital transformation”, delivered by Bob Howland, Chief Digital Officer at Dawn Foods Global.

The audience learned how capturing digital value can help transform their industries by utilizing new tactics and technologies.

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The panel on “Data & Analytical Insights from Healthcare and Medical Technology Leaders”, was moderated by Peggy Tsai, Chief Data Officer at BigID.

Healthcare and Medical Technology leaders shared their perspectives on the importance of building data cultures and talent pipeline as well as the challenges that the healthcare field faces in the future.

Panelists included:

• Jason Johnson, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
• Phanii Pydimarri, Head of Strategic Planning & Partnerships, Enterprise Data & AI Solutions Group, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC)
• Shahidul Mannan, Chief Data Officer, Bon Secours Mercy Health
• Yazhene Krishnaraj, Head of Decision Intelligence, U.S. Pharmaceutical, McKesson

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Delegates then took one final break to network with colleagues and peers. 

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The final panel of the day on “Data and Analytics: An Enterprise AI Playbook” was moderated by Michael Krigsman, Publisher at CXOTalk. 

Panelists explored how to use data and analytics as the foundation for developing an enterprise AI program, from strategy and planning to execution.

Panelists included:

• Anthony Scriffignano, Distinguished Fellow, The Stimson Center
• Bruno Aziza, Partner, CapitalG (Alphabet)
• Eoin Roche, SVP, Head of Product Adoption, KX
• Mojgan Lefebvre, EVP; Chief Operations & Technology Officer, Travelers

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The event was wrapped up by Kwong Chan, Executive Director, DATA Initiative at Northeastern University, before everyone headed towards the networking reception.

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Thank you to everyone for making this event a success, including all delegates, speakers, and participants.

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Big thanks to our moderator, Sree Sreenivasan from Digimentors, our hosts, D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University and Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University, and to our sponsors, Ultranauts Inc, Ellig Group, Constant Data Integration, KX, BigID, Cybertech and ZoomInfo. 

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See you next time!

The event was wrapped up by Dr. Liliana Horne, PhD, before everyone headed towards the networking reception.

Thank you to everyone for making this event a success, including all delegates, speakers, and participants.

Big thanks to the organizers, and especially our sponsor, team IBM!

See you next time!

All Photos by David Lubarsky Photography: https://www.davidlubarsky.com