Virtual Council

The Hidden Cost of AI: How CIOs Are Reining in Runaway Warehouse Spend

Date

August 25, 2026

Location

National

Community

CIO / CISO

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Agenda

August 25, 2026
All times Eastern Time
3:00 PM-4:15 PM
The Hidden Cost of AI: How CIOs are reining in runaway warehouse spend
CIOs are under pressure to prove AI's ROI, yet for many, the first tangible result is a warehouse bill growing faster than the business value behind it. The problem isn't the sophistication of the models themselves—it's that agents and copilots operating without structured context make more calls, run more queries, and consume more tokens just to produce reliable answers. Left unchecked, every new model, agent, or use case adds another non-linear jump to a compute curve that's increasingly difficult to forecast, optimize, or explain to the board. Join an exclusive group of data, analytics, and technology executives for a candid peer discussion on what it actually takes to control AI compute costs without slowing innovation. Together, we'll examine where spend is really coming from, how leading organizations are reducing unnecessary compute, and what separates teams turning AI cost into a predictable advantage from those still defending an ever-growing line item. We'll explore the hidden risks of scaling AI without addressing the cost structure underneath it, hear practical lessons from organizations already making measurable progress, and leave with actionable strategies to optimize AI economics, improve cost predictability, and scale AI with confidence.
Speakers
Ram Kumar

Speaker

Ram Kumar

Executive/GM/Director - Technology Development

AT&T

Thought leader in Strategy, Development and Delivery of world-class technology based solutions for networking, security, mobility based networks, and cloud native implementations. Excellent track record of leading and managing highly talented technical staff. Excellent track record of meeting project commitments with a style that fosters innovative, cost effective and superior quality solutions. Proven record of providing visionary points of view, validated by the application development and operations communities, and delivering products and services that bring that vision to life. Highly-inquisitive, and analytically minded with a deeper understanding of the Technology trends.
Peter Smode
Peter Smode

SVP Infrastructure Platforms

JP Morgan Chase

Russell Christopher

Speaker

Russell Christopher

Sr. Director Product Strategy

dbt Labs

Russell Christopher is a product and sales leader with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations modernize their data and analytics strategies. He has deep expertise in cloud data platforms, AI, modern data architecture, and business intelligence, and has led product strategy, solution architecture, and customer innovation across software, healthcare, telecommunications, manufacturing, media, and the public sector.
Sophine Zhang

Speaker

Sophine Zhang

AI Head of Data Science

Cisco

Cisco Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol-based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry worldwide. The company offers switching products, data center products, and wireless access points for use in voice, video, and data applications. Cisco also provides collaboration products comprising unified communications, TelePresence, and conferencing, as well as the Internet of Things and analytics software. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

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