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1:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Shoal Creek Room Inside Omni Barton Creek Resort
Day 1 WorkShop Series - Invite Only
Day 1 of the Leaders In AI Summit Austin 2025 will be held in the stunning Texas Hill Country at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa. This invite-only segment of the summit is designed for a select group of senior executives to participate in deep discussions, practical insights, and valuable networking opportunities. The workshop provides an intimate and focused environment specifically tailored for high-level decision-makers within the AI community. Attendance is strictly by invitation to ensure meaningful engagement and impactful conversations.
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2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Session Location
Workshop
Governance in AI Deployment: Balancing Innovation and Control
In the rapidly evolving technology landscape, balancing innovation with control is crucial for successful AI deployment. This session will focus on empowering stakeholders to drive AI initiatives that align with business goals by building internal governance frameworks that foster transparency, accountability, and strategic alignment with responsible AI usage.
What You Will Learn:
- Developing Internal Governance Frameworks:
Learn about building governance structures that support innovation while maintaining strategic control. Understand how to establish internal guidelines and frameworks that empower your teams to innovate responsibly.
- Identifying Gaps in AI Roadmaps:
Discover often-overlooked areas within your organization’s AI strategy. This includes identifying governance gaps that could impact AI initiatives and understanding how to close them effectively.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration:
Examine the importance of involving diverse teams from across your organization in AI projects. Learn how cross-functional governance can help mitigate risks and ensure alignment across departments.
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Session Location
Roundtable
Executive Roundtable:
Responsible AI: Governance, Ethics, and Safety
As AI technologies continue to evolve, robust data governance and ethical AI practices are more important than ever. This roundtable will delve into the development and implementation of data governance frameworks, privacy and compliance issues, and ethical considerations in AI deployment. Participants will discuss how to ensure AI safety and build public trust through responsible AI usage.
What You Will Learn:
- Developing Internal Governance Frameworks:
Discover how to build governance structures that balance innovation with accountability. Learn to create internal guidelines that empower teams to innovate responsibly while maintaining strategic control.
- Identifying Gaps in AI Roadmaps:
Uncover overlooked areas in your organization's AI roadmap, including potential governance gaps. Gain insights on how to address these challenges to strengthen your AI initiatives.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration:
Understand the importance of involving diverse teams in AI projects. Learn how cross-departmental collaboration enhances risk mitigation, aligns objectives, and strengthens governance.
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5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Bob's Chophouse Main Bar
Day 1 Reception
Cocktail RECEPTION
Beverage Menu:
Premium Spirits:
Tito’s Vodka
Balcones Whiskey
Tequila 512
Gosling's Rum
Hendrick’s Gin
Craft Beers:
Karbach Ranch Water
Karbach Love Street
Elegant Wines and Champagne:
Sauvignon Blanc: Kim Crawford
Prosecco: Lunetta
Chardonnay: La Crema
Pinot Noir: Mark West
Cabernet: Columbia Crest - Grand Estates
6:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Bob's ChopHouse
The Future of Intelligence:
Co-Pilots, Data, & Decisions
Location:
Following The Pre-Summit Day Workshop, we will be hosting an exclusive invite only Think Tank Dinner at Bob 's Chophouse which is next door.
Inside the Omni Barton Creek's Banquet Area
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2026 Dallas Agenda
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Begins at 12:45 PM
The Adolphus Hotel
Pre-Summit Workshop Hotel Check-In
We recommend checking in at The Adolphus Hotel before 12:30 PM to give yourself time to settle in and get oriented ahead of the day’s programming. While there’s no formal check-in window and we understand travel schedules may vary, early arrival is encouraged to ensure a smooth start.
For any questions regarding your stay or early check-in assistance, please contact The Adolphus Hotel front desk directly or connect with our team onsite.
Begins at 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Leaders In AI Summit Registration Desk
Registration & Networking
Upon arrival between 1:30 PM and 2:00 PM, please proceed directly to our registration area to check in. Simply provide your name and confirmation details at the welcome desk, where you'll receive your event badge and session materials. Once checked in, you’ll have time to meet fellow attendees and orient yourself before sessions begin promptly at 2:00 PM. Our onsite team will be available throughout the registration window to assist with any questions or special requests.
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
The Adolphus Hotel - Main Stage
AI Deployment Workshop
Sovereign AI in the Age of Agents:
Architecture, Control, and the Economics of Autonomy
Sovereign AI has become one of the most discussed concepts in enterprise technology. But what does sovereignty actually mean when your AI systems are autonomous agents? Agents consume tokens at 15-50x the rate of chatbots, make decisions regulators will scrutinize, and interact with your enterprise data in ways most architectures were never designed for. This workshop presents a five-dimension framework for sovereign AI in the agentic context: compute sovereignty, token sovereignty, data sovereignty, decision sovereignty, and operational sovereignty.
Each dimension maps to specific architecture decisions, from right-sizing across the full infrastructure stack to preparing enterprise data for agent-native consumption. Grounded in token economics analysis showing up to 18x cost advantages through infrastructure ownership and real-world deployment architecture from regulated industries, this session gives enterprise leaders a practical framework for maintaining control as agentic AI moves into production environments.
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John Encizo
Chief Technology Officer
2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
Atrium Outside Main Stage
Afternoon Networking Break
3:10 PM - 3:50 PM
The Adolphus Hotel - Main Stage
AI Deployment Workshop - Session 2
From AI Activity to Accountability:
The New Path to AI ROI
Most organizations can measure AI adoption. Far fewer can explain whether AI is creating meaningful business value. As enterprise investment accelerates, leaders need a way to connect AI usage with workforce productivity, operational outcomes, governance, and measurable ROI.
This workshop explores how organizations can move beyond basic adoption metrics to understand where AI is delivering business impact, where workflows remain constrained, and how workforce intelligence can guide future AI investments. Using practical examples from enterprise deployments, attendees will learn how continuous visibility into work helps identify adoption patterns, operational bottlenecks, governance gaps, and opportunities to redesign work, not simply automate existing processes.
Javier Aldrete
Chief Product Officer
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Misha Rangel
Sr. Director of Product Marketing
Executive roundtable discussions
Bring your toughest AI decisions to the table.
Executive roundtables give you time to work through difficult AI decisions with leaders from different functions and industries. Share what is happening inside your organization, compare approaches, and explore the experiences and trade-offs behind your peers’ decisions. Curated by the Institute for AI Transformation, each roundtable is guided by a moderator selected through our content steering team. Every table receives the same 16 questions across four shared topics for that day. Your group has the freedom to choose four questions around its shared interests, experiences, and priorities. The topics remain the same across both days, with a different set of questions each day to keep the conversation fresh.
Each day
4shared topics
16questions
4questions chosen by your table
Choose together
Select questions across several topics or explore several within one area. Your group sets the priorities and shapes the conversation.
Work through the decisions
Your moderator guides the exchange, draws out different perspectives, and helps your table explore experiences, constraints, and trade-offs.
Capture the findings
Record conclusions, areas of agreement, and unresolved questions on your table’s easel. Identify the insights worth sharing with the wider room.
Presentations follow at 4:30 PM. Every table shares its findings with the full audience, so you also hear what emerged from the other groups.
Present Your Roundtable Findings
Every table brings a different mix of experience to the four shared topics. This session brings those perspectives together for the full audience. A representative from each table shares the conclusions, trade-offs, and open questions captured during the discussion. Hear how other groups approached the challenges, consider ideas your table may not have explored, and leave with practical insights to take back to your team.
Approximately 3–4 minutes per table
Key findingsShare your table’s most useful conclusions and the reasoning behind them. Focus on what another executive could learn from your discussion.
Different perspectivesHighlight where experience led your table to different answers, which trade-offs mattered, and what remains unresolved.
Practical next stepsIdentify an approach worth testing, a decision worth revisiting, or a question leaders should take back to their teams.
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
The Adolphus Hotel - Main Stage
After-Party
Cocktail Hour
Beverage Menu:
Premium Spirits:
Tito’s Vodka
Balcones Whiskey
Tequila 512
Gosling's Rum
Hendrick’s Gin
Craft Beers:
Karbach Ranch Water
Karbach Love Street
Elegant Wines and Champagne:
Sauvignon Blanc: Kim Crawford
Prosecco: Lunetta
Chardonnay: La Crema
Pinot Noir: Mark West
Cabernet: Columbia Crest - Grand Estates
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
The Adolphus Hotel
Arrivals & REGISTRATION
Start your Leaders In AI Summit experience by checking in at the Leaders in AI Summit hosted at the luxurious The Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Our VIP Registration Team will greet you in the lobby with your VIP badges and a complimentary gift bag. Enjoy artisian coffee, tropical fruit, and pastries while you prepare for an exciting day of insights and exclusive networking.
9:00 AM - 9:10 AM
The Adolphus Hotel - Main Stage
Opening Remarks
Kick off the summit with opening remarks from Robert Jaggers, CEO of the Institute for AI Transformation, as he introduces the themes and priorities for the day ahead. This brief session will lead into our opening panel, setting the focus for impactful discussions to follow.
THE RACE FOR ENTERPRISE AI:
AGENTS, INFRASTRUCTURE & EXECUTIVE DECISIONS
AI initiatives hold the promise of transformation, yet many organizations struggle to move beyond pilot phases, leaving potential value unrealized. Research shows that the majority of AI pilots stall due to misaligned goals, resource limitations, and insufficient cross-functional buy-in. These challenges often lead to delayed ROI, wasted investments, and reduced stakeholder confidence.
This panel will uncover the key reasons why pilots fail and offer actionable strategies to build scalable, enterprise-wide AI frameworks that deliver meaningful results.
John Encizo
Chief Technology Officer
Sean Mccall
Chief Data Officer
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Pietro Fabiani
AI Leader for FSI & Manufacturing
Moderator
Bruce Monaco
Co-Founder / Head of Research
Key Learning Objectives for the Audience
- Identify Core Barriers to Scaling AI:
Understand the most common pitfalls in AI pilot projects, including resource inefficiencies, skill shortages, and organizational misalignment.
- Develop an effective Enterprise-Wide Framework for AI:
Gain insights into embedding AI initiatives within business units, fostering ownership, and aligning projects with strategic goals to achieve production-ready success.
- Deliver ROI Through Scalable AI:
Gain insights into optimizing resource allocation, aligning AI investments with measurable outcomes, and sustaining stakeholder confidence.
The Enterprise AI Playbook for 2027:
What Leaders Must Decide, Fund, & Stop Doing
In an era of rapid disruption, organizations that neglect the human dimension of transformation fall behind. This dynamic panel of CXOs will reveal how people-centered approaches ignite progress, unite teams, and reinforce company culture. You’ll uncover practical methods to secure stakeholder buy-in, dismantle resistance, and foster an adaptable mindset that embraces ongoing evolution.
Expect candid discussions on real-world success stories, alongside proven frameworks that keep your workforce energized and your organization moving forward.
Chad Smykay
AI CTO, Digital First Industries
Vino Kingston
Enterprise AI & Data Transformation Executive
Amol Bargaje
Chief Information Officer
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Amit Parulekar
VP, Data & AI Strategy
Moderator
Bruce Monaco
Co-Founder / Head of Research
Key Learning Objectives for the Audience
- Active Buy-In & Alignment:
Explore the complexities of building stakeholder consensus—particularly when up to 70% of large-scale change initiatives fail due to insufficient engagement. Panelists will discuss how to secure cross-functional support, reduce friction, and unify teams to accelerate growth.
- Embedding Agility & Resilience:
Examine the critical need for adaptable cultures ready to embrace new processes. Panelists will provide insights on developing resilience at every level of the organization, ensuring a confident response to market shifts and fostering an environment that propels innovation.
- Measuring & Sustaining Adoption:
Discover how to track the impact of transformation efforts well beyond the launch phase. Panelists will share approaches for maintaining momentum through transparent metrics, iterative improvements, and leadership commitment—transforming early wins into lasting results.
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Atrium
Opening Networking Break
Data Readiness for the Agentic Enterprise:
Building the Trusted Foundation for Enterprise AI
For AI agents to perform useful work, they need to understand the business behind the data: how decisions are made, which rules apply, where exceptions occur, and when human judgment is required. Enterprise readiness depends on bringing together reliable information, meaningful context, and clear expectations for how AI should operate.
This panel explores how organizations are preparing their data and institutional knowledge for AI, establishing appropriate levels of autonomy, and addressing the gaps that emerge when successful pilots encounter real business complexity. Leaders will discuss how context influences accuracy and productivity, where human review remains essential, and which foundational investments can turn existing AI spending into reliable, measurable business outcomes.
Samantha Wobst
Chief Product Officer
Sailesh Bharathwaaj
Director, Enterprise AI
Nisha Singh
Group Product Manager- AI
Amanda Garza
Director, Product Technology
Moderator
Bruce Monaco
Co-Founder / Head of Research
Key Learning Objectives for the Audience
- Turning Enterprise Data into Meaningful Context:
Understand how data quality, business rules, decision history, and organizational knowledge work together to help AI interpret information and act appropriately. Explore what organizations overlook when assessing whether their data is ready for AI.
- Balancing Autonomy, Trust & Human Oversight:
Examine where humans should remain directly involved, where they should supervise, and where agents can operate independently. Explore how policies, review standards, and accountability help organizations pursue productivity while maintaining control.
- Moving from Successful Pilots to Measurable Business Value:
Identify the missing context, workflow exceptions, and readiness gaps that surface as AI expands across teams and business processes. Discuss where to prioritize investment to improve reliability, reduce rework, and translate AI adoption into meaningful operational results.
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12:10 PM - 12:55 PM
Atrium
Lunch Hosted By the
institute for ai transformation
Guardians of the Digital Frontier:
Navigating Cybersecurity in the AI Era,
In the critical panel 'Guardians of the Digital Frontier: Navigating Cybersecurity in the AI Era,' we explore the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, a domain where digital threats evolve as rapidly as the technologies to counter them. This session charts the transformation from early digital defense systems to today's battle against sophisticated AI-powered cyber threats, highlighting AI's dual role as both a formidable ally and a potential adversary in cybersecurity.
As AI systems evolve beyond passive assistants into autonomous technologies capable of executing workflows, coordinating decisions, and interacting directly with customers, organizations are entering a new era of agentic commerce. The challenge is no longer simply implementing AI tools, but determining how autonomous systems can operate responsibly across customer experiences, transactions, service environments, and enterprise workflows.
Jeff Purrington
AI Identity Executive
Parrish Gunnels
Chief Information Security Officer
Moderator
Bruce Monaco
Co-Founder / Head of Research
Key Learning Objectives for the Audience
- AI as Both Asset and Threat:
A comprehensive understanding of the dual role of AI as both a formidable asset and a potential threat in the realm of cybersecurity.
- Risk Management in High-Stakes Industries
Strategies that are most effective in high-stakes industries, such as healthcare or finance, to ensure AI safety is not compromised by the pursuit of innovation.
- Emerging Threats and Trends:
Insights into the latest AI-driven cybersecurity threats and trends that are shaping the security landscape.
Executive roundtable discussions
Bring your toughest AI decisions to the table.
Executive roundtables give you time to work through difficult AI decisions with leaders from different functions and industries. Share what is happening inside your organization, compare approaches, and explore the experiences and trade-offs behind your peers’ decisions. Curated by the Institute for AI Transformation, each roundtable is guided by a moderator selected through our content steering team. Every table receives the same 16 questions across four shared topics for that day. Your group has the freedom to choose four questions around its shared interests, experiences, and priorities. The topics remain the same across both days, with a different set of questions each day to keep the conversation fresh.
Each day
4shared topics
16questions
4questions chosen by your table
Choose together
Select questions across several topics or explore several within one area. Your group sets the priorities and shapes the conversation.
Work through the decisions
Your moderator guides the exchange, draws out different perspectives, and helps your table explore experiences, constraints, and trade-offs.
Capture the findings
Record conclusions, areas of agreement, and unresolved questions on your table’s easel. Identify the insights worth sharing with the wider room.
Presentations follow at 2:00 PM. Every table shares its findings with the full audience, so you also hear what emerged from the other groups.
Present Your Roundtable Findings
Every table brings a different mix of experience to the four shared topics. This session brings those perspectives together for the full audience. A representative from each table shares the conclusions, trade-offs, and open questions captured during the discussion. Hear how other groups approached the challenges, consider ideas your table may not have explored, and leave with practical insights to take back to your team.
Approximately 3–4 minutes per table
Key findingsShare your table’s most useful conclusions and the reasoning behind them. Focus on what another executive could learn from your discussion.
Different perspectivesHighlight where experience led your table to different answers, which trade-offs mattered, and what remains unresolved.
Practical next stepsIdentify an approach worth testing, a decision worth revisiting, or a question leaders should take back to their teams.
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Atrium
Afternoon Networking Break
THE MODERN AI STACK:
DATA READINESS, ENTERPRISE CONTEXT & AGENTIC AI
What are enterprises actually using to build and run AI? Across retail, financial services, insurance, and healthcare, teams are choosing models, platforms, development tools, and integration approaches that must work with the technology their businesses already depend on. Understanding those choices—and how the pieces fit together—offers a practical view of enterprise AI beyond the strategy conversation.
This panel explores the tools and architecture behind real AI applications, from internal copilots to agentic workflows. Panelists will discuss what they build versus buy, why they select particular technologies, and how data pipelines, retrieval, APIs, Model Context Protocol (MCP), and orchestration connect their systems. The discussion will examine integration challenges, performance and cost trade-offs, and the lessons that lead teams to keep, replace, or rethink parts of their stack.
Prabhakar Bolledu
SVP, Business Strategy
Hima Ganga Yarlagadda
Principal, AI & Engineering
Sai Krishna Rallabandi
Director, Data Science & AI
Moderator
Bruce Monaco
Co-Founder / Head of Research
Key Learning Objectives for the Audience
- Choosing the Tools Behind Enterprise AI:
Explore how teams select models, platforms, and development tools for specific business needs. Understand what drives build-versus-buy decisions and how practitioners distinguish useful capabilities from added complexity.
- Connecting Models, Data & Business Applications:
Examine how data pipelines, retrieval, APIs, MCP, and orchestration fit together in working AI systems. Learn where integration becomes difficult and how teams connect new AI capabilities with existing enterprise technology.
- Evaluating and Evolving the AI Stack:
Understand how teams assess accuracy, reliability, latency, and cost in production. Explore what prompts organizations to change tools, consolidate platforms, or redesign workflows as requirements and capabilities evolve.
Navigating the Human element of AI
Enterprise AI adoption isn’t about quick wins or one-off pilots — it’s about the hard-earned lessons that transform experimentation into real business impact. This fireside chat cuts through the hype to explore what it actually takes to drive adoption across a complex organization. From standing up sandbox environments and leveraging synthetic data, to building frameworks for use case intake and collaborating with Finance on productivity-based ROI, this session offers practical insights on scaling responsibly.
You’ll learn how to activate employees through grassroots programs like Office Hours and Hackathons, use AI to augment — not replace — teams, and unlock the hidden value of unstructured documents. Leaders will leave with actionable strategies for navigating cultural resistance, aligning stakeholders, and embedding governance that evolves alongside innovation.
Eric Poon
Chief Information and Technology Officer
Joe Johnson
VP, AI & Customer Experience Technology
Chuck Wright
Corporate R&D Manager at NOV
Moderator
Bruce Monaco
Co-Founder / Head of Research
Key Learning Objectives for the Audience
- Breaking Through Adoption Barriers:
Learn how to create structured, low-risk experimentation environments using sandbox setups, obfuscated/synthetic data, and use-case intake frameworks to identify real value opportunities.
- Human-in-the-Loop at Scale:
Explore how AI can augment — not replace — employees, expanding team capabilities through tools like Copilot and intelligent automation that empower generalists and specialists alike.
- Governance You Can Use:
Walk away with a real-world perspective on how to assess vendors, stay aligned with shifting policy landscapes, and embed governance into everyday AI operations.
4:50 PM - 5:00 PM
The Adolphus Hotel - Main Stage
Closing Remarks
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
The Adolphus Hotel - Main Bar
After-Party
Cocktail Hour
Beverage Menu:
Premium Spirits:
Tito’s Vodka
Balcones Whiskey
Tequila 512
Gosling's Rum
Hendrick’s Gin
Craft Beers:
Karbach Ranch Water
Karbach Love Street
Elegant Wines and Champagne:
Sauvignon Blanc: Kim Crawford
Prosecco: Lunetta
Chardonnay: La Crema
Pinot Noir: Mark West
Cabernet: Columbia Crest - Grand Estates
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Main Stage - Marriott Marquis
Arrivals & REGISTRATION
Start your Leaders In AI Summit experience by checking in at the Leaders in AI Summit hosted at the luxurious Marriott Marquee in New York City. Our VIP Registration Team will greet you in the lobby with your VIP badges and a complimentary gift bag. Enjoy artisian coffee, tropical fruit, and pastries while you prepare for an exciting day of insights and exclusive networking.
9:00 AM - 9:10 AM
Main Stage
Opening Remarks
Kick off the summit with opening remarks from Robert Jaggers, CEO of the Institute for AI Transformation, as he introduces the themes and priorities for the day ahead. This brief session will lead into our opening panel, setting the focus for impactful discussions to follow.
9:10 AM - 9:50 AM
Main Stage - Marriott Marquis
Opening Panel
THE RACE FOR ENTERPRISE AI:
AGENTS, INFRASTRUCTURE & EXECUTIVE DECISIONS
Artificial intelligence is no longer a future initiative. It is embedded in board-level priorities and capital allocation decisions across global enterprises. The question is no longer whether to invest in AI, but how to scale it in a way that delivers sustained competitive advantage and measurable business impact.
While adoption has accelerated, enterprise-wide execution remains uneven. Many organizations have proven isolated use cases, yet struggle to translate early momentum into integrated, scalable systems that drive measurable performance. As agentic AI, hybrid architectures, and distributed inferencing reshape enterprise requirements, executive leaders must align governance, infrastructure, and investment strategy to move from experimentation to durable, enterprise-scale capability.
Key Learning Objectives for the Audience
- Clarify the Barriers to Enterprise-Scale AI:
Understand the most common structural and organizational challenges that prevent AI initiatives from reaching production maturity, including misaligned ownership, insufficient infrastructure readiness, and unclear value measurement.
- Define the Infrastructure and Governance Required for Agentic Systems
Explore how hybrid deployment models, secure data environments, and cross-functional governance frameworks are evolving to support scalable AI and autonomous systems.
- Align AI Investment With Measureable Business Impact
Gain practical insight into how executive teams are structuring funding models, accountability frameworks, and performance metrics to translate AI ambition into enterprise results.
John Encizo
Chief Technology Officer
Samleo Joseph PHD
VP- Research, Development & Innovation (RDI)
Bo Xu
SVP, Head of Data & Analytics
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Pietro Fabiani
AI Leader
Moderator
Bruce Monaco
Co-Founder / Head of Research
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9:50 AM - 10:30 AM
Main Stage - Marriott Marquis
Featured Panel
Inference Where it matters:
Running AI Across Banks, Insurers, and the Edge of the Enterprise
AI is no longer defined by how models are trained, but by where and how they are deployed.
As enterprises move from experimentation to real-world impact, inference has become the critical layer driving value across banks, insurers, and edge environments. The challenge is no longer building models, but running them reliably across distributed systems where latency, cost, security, and regulatory constraints all matter. This panel explores what it actually takes to operationalize AI at the edge of the enterprise. From deploying models inside highly regulated environments to balancing performance with infrastructure constraints, leaders will share how they are making AI work where decisions are made in real time.
Key Learning Objectives for the Audience
- From Models to Decisions in Real Time
Explore how enterprises are shifting focus from training to inference, embedding AI into live workflows where speed, accuracy, and operational trust directly impact business outcomes.
- Running AI at the Edge of the Enterprise
Learn how organizations are architecting AI systems across on-prem, hybrid, and edge environments to meet latency, cost, and performance requirements.
- Inference at Scale in Regulated Environments
Understand how financial institutions and insurers are deploying AI systems in production, where reliability, auditability, and compliance are non-negotiable.
Elizabeth Walsh
Vice President, Actuary
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Nigel Noyes
Head of Data Analytics Strategy, Chase
Purvil Patel
Chief Compliance Technology Officer
Moderator
Bruce Monaco
Co-Founder / Head of Research
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Atrium
Opening Networking Break
11:30 AM - 12:05 PM
Main Stage - Marriott Marquis
Featured Panel
The Enterprise AI Playbook for 2026:
What Leaders Must Decide, Fund, & Stop Doing
In an era of rapid disruption, organizations that neglect the human dimension of transformation fall behind. This dynamic panel of CXOs will reveal how people-centered approaches ignite progress, unite teams, and reinforce company culture. You’ll uncover practical methods to secure stakeholder buy-in, dismantle resistance, and foster an adaptable mindset that embraces ongoing evolution. Expect candid discussions on real-world success stories, alongside proven frameworks that keep your workforce energized and your organization moving forward.
Key Learning Objectives for the Audience
- Active Buy-In & Alignment:
Explore the complexities of building stakeholder consensus—particularly when up to 70% of large-scale change initiatives fail due to insufficient engagement. Panelists will discuss how to secure cross-functional support, reduce friction, and unify teams to accelerate growth.
- Embedding Agility & Resilience:
Examine the critical need for adaptable cultures ready to embrace new processes. Panelists will provide insights on developing resilience at every level of the organization, ensuring a confident response to market shifts and fostering an environment that propels innovation.
- Measuring & Sustaining Adoption:
Discover how to track the impact of transformation efforts well beyond the launch phase. Panelists will share approaches for maintaining momentum through transparent metrics, iterative improvements, and leadership commitment—transforming early wins into lasting results.
Greg Nelson
Executive Director, Data Strategy & Governance
Paul Pallath
Chief Data & AI Officer
Brian Ellis
Chief Information & Technolog Officer
Moderator
Bruce Monaco
Co-Founder / Head of Research
12:05 PM - 12:45 PM
Atrium
Lunch Hosted By the
institute for ai transformation
1:00 PM - 1:50 PM
TABLES 1-8
Executive Roundtable Discussions
Executive Roundtables Topic 1
AI Governance, Risk, And Compliance:
Enabling Scale Without Slowing Momentum
As AI becomes embedded in core business processes, leaders are being asked to manage risk and accountability without stalling progress. Governance is evolving from static policy into an ongoing operational function that must adapt as models, data, and use cases change.
Topic 1 Discussion Points:
- Measuring Tangible Benefits:
Techniques for quantifying direct financial gains from AI initiatives, such as cost reductions, increased revenue, and efficiency improvements.
- Evaluating Intangible Benefits:
Methods for assessing intangible benefits like improved customer satisfaction, enhanced decision-making capabilities, and innovation acceleration.
- ROI Frameworks:
Overview of various frameworks and models used to calculate AI ROI, including Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Value-at-Risk (VaR) assessments.
- Aligning AI with Business Goals:
Strategies for ensuring that AI projects are closely aligned with organizational objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs).
Executive Roundtables Topic 2
Hybrid AI Infrastructure:
Balancing Cloud, Edge, And Cost
Preparing your business for the future involves adopting and integrating AI technologies that can scale and evolve with emerging trends. This roundtable will focus on strategies for building scalable AI infrastructure, optimizing AI performance, and navigating multi-cloud environments.
Topic 2 Discussion Points:
- Infrastructure Optimization:
Explore strategies for building and scaling AI infrastructure that can handle growing data and processing demands efficiently.
- Performance Enhancements:
Discuss methods for optimizing the performance and efficiency of AI workloads, including leveraging edge computing and hybrid cloud solutions.
- Enterprise Integration:
Examine best practices for integrating AI seamlessly across various enterprise functions, from R&D to supply chain management.
- Navigating Multi-Cloud Environments:
Learn how to effectively manage AI operations across multiple cloud platforms, ensuring flexibility, security, and cost-effectiveness.
Executive Roundtables Topic 3
The Human Layer Of AI:
Adoption, Trust, And Organizational Change
Beyond models and infrastructure, AI success increasingly depends on how people interact with intelligent systems. Leaders are navigating new dynamics around trust, decision ownership, and changing roles as AI becomes part of everyday work.
Topic 3 Discussion Points:
- Framework Development:
Learn how to develop and implement robust data governance frameworks that ensure data quality, integrity, and accessibility.
- Privacy and Compliance:
Address the complexities of data privacy and compliance, and explore strategies for maintaining regulatory standards in AI initiatives.
- Ethical AI Deployment:
Engage in discussions on mitigating biases in AI models, ensuring transparency, and promoting ethical AI practices.
- AI Safety:
Discuss best practices for ensuring AI safety, including risk management strategies and the development of safety protocols.
Executive Roundtables Topic 4
Agentic AI At Scale:
From Experiments To Enterprise Impact
As enterprises move beyond AI pilots, agentic systems are emerging as a new layer of intelligence across workflows, applications, and decision making. While experimentation is widespread, scaling agents introduce new challenges around reliability, coordination, and organizational trust.
Topic 4 Discussion Points:
- Infrastructure Optimization:
Explore strategies for building and scaling AI infrastructure that can handle growing data and processing demands efficiently.
- Performance Enhancements:
Discuss methods for optimizing the performance and efficiency of AI workloads, including leveraging edge computing and hybrid cloud solutions.
- Enterprise Integration:
Examine best practices for integrating AI seamlessly across various enterprise functions, from R&D to supply chain management.
- Navigating Multi-Cloud Environments:
Learn how to effectively manage AI operations across multiple cloud platforms, ensuring flexibility, security, and cost-effectiveness.
1:45 PM - 2:30 PM
Main Stage
Present Your executive roundTables Findings
Up next, each roundtable will share their key takeaways with the full audience. Please designate one representative from your table to go on stage and briefly present your group’s findings and discussion highlights.
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Session Location
Afternoon Networking Break
3:30 PM - 4:10 PM
Main Stage - Marriott Marquis
Featured Panel
Understanding the True Cost of AI:
Tokens, Compute, and Capacity
As enterprise AI adoption accelerates, many organizations are discovering that the real challenge isn’t experimentation — it’s the economics of scaling. From token usage and inference costs to GPU availability and infrastructure strategy, leaders must understand the financial and operational realities behind AI at scale. This discussion explores how organizations are managing the growing demand for AI while balancing cost, performance, and capacity. Executives will gain practical insight into how companies are forecasting AI workloads, optimizing model usage, and building infrastructure strategies that support sustained AI adoption without runaway costs.
Key Learning Objectives for the Audience
- Understanding AI Economics:
Learn how token pricing, inference workloads, and model selection influence the true cost of deploying AI across the enterprise.
- Planning for Compute and Capacity:
Explore how organizations are forecasting AI demand, managing GPU constraints, and building infrastructure strategies to support production-scale AI.
- Optimizing AI for Sustainable Scale:
Understand how leaders are controlling costs through model strategy, workload management, and infrastructure decisions that balance performance and budget.
tanweer surve
Head of Cloud Center Enablement (CCoE)
Jeff Chu
Senior Director FSI
Moderator
Bruce Monaco
Co-Founder / Head of Research
4:10 PM - 4:50 PM
Main Stage - Marriott Marquis
Featured Panel
Transforming Healthcare:
From AI Pilots to Clinical-Grade Systems
Healthcare organizations are under pressure to deploy AI at scale while operating in one of the most regulated, data-constrained environments in the enterprise. Leaders are moving past experimentation and asking harder questions: where AI truly improves outcomes, where risk increases, and how systems can be trusted inside clinical and operational workflows.
This panel brings together healthcare data and AI leaders to discuss how organizations are operationalizing AI across care delivery, supply chains, and enterprise operations. The focus is not on future promises, but on what is working today — how leaders are navigating data access, governance, and validation to move AI from pilots into production without compromising safety, compliance, or performance.
Key Learning Objectives for the Audience
- Deploying AI in Data-Constrained Clinical Environments:
How healthcare organizations are using synthetic data, model tuning, and controlled access strategies to innovate while protecting patient privacy and meeting regulatory requirements.
- Making AI Trustworthy for Clinical and Operational Use:
How leaders validate, monitor, and govern AI systems so outputs can be trusted by clinicians, operators, and executives — not just data science teams.
- Scaling AI Without Disrupting Care Delivery:
How enterprises are integrating AI into real workflows, reducing friction for clinicians and staff while ensuring reliability, accountability, and measurable impact.
Bethany Percha
Chief Data & Analytics Officer
Deepak Agarwal
Director, ORx IT Operations
Polina Girshman
Director, Experience Strategy R&D
Moderator
Bruce Monaco
Co-Founder / Head of Research
4:50 PM - 5:00 PM
Main Stage
Closing Remarks
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Marriott Marquis Hotel Bar
After-Party
Cocktail Hour
Beverage Menu:
Premium Spirits:
Tito’s Vodka
Balcones Whiskey
Tequila 512
Gosling's Rum
Hendrick’s Gin
Craft Beers:
Karbach Ranch Water
Karbach Love Street
Elegant Wines and Champagne:
Sauvignon Blanc: Kim Crawford
Prosecco: Lunetta
Chardonnay: La Crema
Pinot Noir: Mark West
Cabernet: Columbia Crest - Grand Estates
6:30 PM - 9:30 PM
The Capital Grille - Rockefeller Center
Intimate Think Tank Dinner - Invite Only
Directly After Day 2 Summit
Race for Enterprise AI: Agents, Infrastructure & Executive Decisions
The Think Tank Dinner is a private, invitation-only gathering of senior executives, speakers, and partners.
Attendance is limited and separate from the Day 2 Main Summit. Participation requires explicit confirmation in advance. Walk-ins cannot be accommodated.
This dinner is designed for in-depth discussion and peer exchange in a small-group setting. Guests not confirmed for the dinner should plan to depart following the cocktail reception.
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THINK TANK DINNERS
Two private executive dinners. Select a night to explore the conversation and venue.
Think Tank Dinner
The Race for Enterprise AI: Agents, Infrastructure & Executive Decisions
Continue the day’s conversations over a private Think Tank dinner with fellow executives. Discuss where AI agents can create business value, the infrastructure needed to support them, and the decisions leaders face as they move from experimentation to deployment.
After cocktail hour, confirmed dinner guests will walk together from The Adolphus at 6:00 PM to Bob’s Steak & Chop House inside the Omni Dallas Hotel. Dinner and discussion run from 6:30–9:00 PM.
View Dinner & RSVP
Attendance is limited and confirmed separately from summit registration.
The dinner venue
Bob’s Steak &
Chop House
Inside the Omni Dallas Hotel
555 S. Lamar Street
Dallas, TX 75202
Classic steakhouse dining in the heart of downtown Dallas, less than half a mile from The Adolphus.
6:00 PMGroup departure
Walk together from The Adolphus. Confirmed dinner guests leave after cocktail hour. Dinner begins at 6:30 PM.
View restaurant map
Open in Google Maps
Think Tank Dinner
From Models to Measurable Value: Performance, Infrastructure & Enterprise AI at Scale
Continue the summit’s conversations over a private Think Tank dinner with fellow executives. Compare approaches to scaling enterprise AI: the performance required, the infrastructure behind it, and how leaders weigh cost against measurable business results.
After cocktail hour, confirmed dinner guests will walk together from The Adolphus at 6:00 PM to Bob’s Steak & Chop House inside the Omni Dallas Hotel. Dinner and discussion run from 6:30–9:00 PM.
View Dinner & RSVP
Attendance is limited and confirmed separately from summit registration.
The dinner venue
Bob’s Steak &
Chop House
Inside the Omni Dallas Hotel
555 S. Lamar Street
Dallas, TX 75202
Classic steakhouse dining in the heart of downtown Dallas, less than half a mile from The Adolphus.
6:00 PMGroup departure
Walk together from The Adolphus. Confirmed dinner guests leave after cocktail hour. Dinner begins at 6:30 PM.
View restaurant map
Open in Google MapsSummit Location
The summit venue · Dallas, Texas
The Adolphus
A distinctive setting for Leaders in AI.
Getting here
The Adolphus Hotel
1321 Commerce StreetDallas, TX 75202 Get directions
Hotel arrangements
For hotel block details and booking assistance, contact the event team.
Contact the event teamLeaders in AI
Dallas 2026 Sponsors
The organizations supporting our executive community and the conversations moving enterprise AI forward.
Dell Technologies
Infrastructure for enterprise AI, from the data center to the edge.
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Intel
Processors and software for enterprise AI workloads.
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Lenovo
AI systems and services to help enterprises move from strategy to deployment.
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NVIDIA
Accelerated computing and software for AI development and deployment.
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HPE
AI infrastructure, hybrid cloud, and networking for enterprise workloads.
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ActivTrak
Workforce intelligence to measure productivity, AI adoption, and the impact of technology on work.
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SailPoint
Identity security and governance for people, machines, and AI across the enterprise.
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Latch
Workflow capture and process modeling to create structured context for AI automation.
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