CIO & CISO Think Tank

The Future of IT & Cybersecurity

Date

September 24, 2026

Location

Chicago, IL

Community

CIO / CISO

Agenda

September 24, 2026
All times Central Time
8:30 AM-9:00 AM
Registration
9:00 AM-9:30 AM
Morning Networking
9:30 AM-9:40 AM
Opening Remarks
9:40 AM-10:25 AM
Panel
The Agentic Enterprise: Reengineering Operations for Autonomous AI Workflows

Agentic AI is moving from demo to deployment, and the implications for enterprise operations are profound. Autonomous systems that perceive, decide, and act without human intervention require fundamentally different process design, control structures, and accountability models than any previous technology. This panel brings together CIOs and CISOs who are actively deploying agentic AI in production environments. They will discuss what works, what fails, and how to build the organizational scaffolding - governance, observability, kill switches, and human escalation paths - required to deploy autonomous systems at enterprise scale without losing control.

Panelists
Russ Felker

Speaker

Russ Felker

CTO

MegaCorp Logistics

Russ Felker is the Chief Technology Officer at MegaCorp Logistics, bringing over 30 years of experience as a CTO, founder, and strategic technology advisor. A versatile leader with a career spanning municipal government, healthcare, and the beauty industry, Russ specializes in leveraging technology to solve complex business problems. His core mission centers on utilizing innovative digital solutions to simultaneously enhance the customer experience and drive significant operational cost savings. Based in the Greater Chicago area, Russ is a passionate advocate for technology-led change and organizational evolution. Throughout his three-decade tenure, he has built a reputation for creating resilient technology frameworks that align with long-term business goals. Whether navigating the high-stakes logistics sector or advising startups, Russ remains dedicated to the transformative power of technology as a tool for both efficiency and human-centric service.
Satinder Singh

Speaker

Sonu Singh

SVP of IT

TheKey

Sonu is a proactive IT leader with deep experience in health and social care, known for driving business growth through effective IT strategy and technical expertise in global deployment, operations, and system migration. A pragmatic, hands-on operator, they excel at spotting improvement opportunities and leading diverse teams to deliver complex projects on time and on budget. With strong communication and relationship-building skills, Sonu specializes in scoping, planning, and budgeting large-scale IT infrastructure, platform integrations, and data migrations and consistently balancing stakeholder needs with cost and quality requirements from project inception through completion.
Sugato Bose

Speaker

Sugato Bose

Chief Enterprise Architect

Medline Industries

Sugato Bose is the Senior Director and Chief Enterprise Architect at Medline Industries, where he leads technology strategy and modernization across a global, highly regulated landscape. With over 25 years of experience across Life Sciences, Supply Chain, and CPG, Sugato is an expert at balancing high-stakes transformation with operational resilience. He currently oversees a multi-billion dollar platform scope, including SAP S/4HANA, Manhattan-class WMS, and Azure-based cloud data platforms. Accountable for the architectural risk posture of Tier 1–5 platforms, Sugato has delivered up to $90M in value through standards-driven portfolio rationalization. He is a pioneer in embedding practical AI and agentic workflows into enterprise execution, ensuring that innovation translates into measurable business outcomes. A leader of globally distributed teams, Sugato’s core philosophy is that architecture must create clarity, turning complex strategies into scalable, high-performance platforms.
Grant Ecker

Speaker

Grant Ecker

Chief Architect / Vice President of Enterprise Architecture

ECOLAB

Grant Ecker is a senior technology executive leading Enterprise Architecture and Integration at Ecolab, managing a global team of architects and integration leaders. With 20+ years of experience, he drives transformation and innovation across billion-dollar IT portfolios, building proactive architecture communities and aligning technology strategy with business value. Grant is also the Founder and Chairman of the Chief Architect Network, the largest vendor-neutral community for Chief Architect executives, connecting 600+ members across 400+ Fortune 500 companies. Through this network, he leads global virtual and in-person events, sponsors specialized topic groups, promotes diversity in architecture, and shares thought leadership via publications and conferences, further advancing the profession and enabling architects worldwide to drive impactful business outcomes.
10:30 AM-11:05 AM
Fireside Chat
Responsible AI Enablement: Balancing Innovation, Governance, and Control in the Enterprise

CIOs face increasing pressure to deliver on the promise of generative AI while maintaining strong governance, visibility, and compliance. As browser-based AI tools proliferate across the workforce, the challenge has shifted from adoption to responsible enablement. Employees are integrating AI into workflows to achieve new efficiencies, but often through unapproved or unmanaged applications that expose the enterprise to data leakage and compliance risks.

In this session, CIOs and IT decision-makers will learn how to strike the right balance between productivity and control. This session will explore the operational, security, and compliance implications of “Shadow AI,” reveal how sensitive data finds its way out of the enterprise and into unauthorized AI tools, and share strategies for establishing policies that unlock AI’s potential safely. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how to maintain governance and visibility while empowering their organizations to capture the full business value of AI.

Speakers
Sandeep Nema

Speaker

Sandeep Nema

Head of Enterprise Architecture / Director

Cook County

With over 12 years of hands-on leadership experience in enterprise architecture, IT strategy, and governance, Sandeep Nema is a proven leader who translates organizational vision into action through innovative technology solutions. He has led Architecture for Digital and AI Integrations, streamlining digital experiences while managing IT strategy and technology roadmaps. With a hands-on approach to operational excellence, Sandeep builds high-performance teams recognized for technical expertise and communication. He has spearheaded resilient integration platform modernization, domain-driven design, and event-driven architecture to enable seamless omnichannel customer experiences. Additionally, he introduced DevSecOps and Agile methodologies to improve delivery efficiency and quality. His expertise also encompasses vendor management, contract negotiation, executive presentations, and business continuity.
Steve Lazzara

Speaker

Steve Lazzara

Director, Security

Valorem Reply

Steve Lazzara is a cybersecurity and technology leader who helps organizations transform security from a business requirement into a strategic enabler of growth and innovation. As Security Manager and Solutions Architect at Valorem Reply, he advises executive teams on strengthening cyber resilience, accelerating AI and cloud adoption, and aligning security investments with business objectives. With more than two decades of experience leading global transformation initiatives, Steve brings a practical perspective on balancing innovation, risk management, and operational excellence in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Together with:

Reply Microsoft
11:05 AM-11:25 AM
Coffee Break
11:25 AM-12:05 PM
Panel
Cyber Resilience Beyond Recovery: Operating Through Attack, Not Just After

Traditional resilience planning ends at recovery time objectives. Modern resilience demands the ability to keep operating - safely and at full capacity- while an active attack is in progress. This panel explores how leading enterprises are building "operate through" capabilities: segmented architectures that isolate compromise, immutable data layers that resist encryption, communication channels that survive identity provider outages, and rehearsed muscle memory for sustained adversary contact. The conversation moves the resilience discussion from disaster recovery to continuous operations under pressure.

12:10 PM-12:45 PM
Fireside Chat
Scaling AI in Collections: Delivering Enterprise Value

As financial institutions navigate rising delinquencies, shifting customer expectations, and mounting cost pressures, AI is stepping up as more than just a buzzword - it’s becoming the strategic engine for modern collections. But delivering true enterprise value takes more than deploying a few clever models. It demands solid data foundations, scalable tech, integrated operating workflows, and responsible governance built to scale.

This executive roundtable brings together senior banking leaders to share practical blueprints for moving beyond isolated AI experiments. Together, we’ll dive into the real-world grit of modernizing legacy platforms, unifying fragmented data, staying ahead of evolving regulations, and building organizational muscle that drives measurable outcomes. We’ll also look ahead at the next 12 months, exploring how Generative AI, autonomous agents, and intelligent automation are setting a new standard for the industry.

12:45 PM-1:45 PM
Lunch & Disruptor Showcase
1:45 PM-2:00 PM
Vision Voices
The CISO in the Boardroom: Navigating SEC Disclosure, Personal Liability, and Cyber Governance

The CISO role has been transformed by regulatory expansion. SEC disclosure requirements, expanded fiduciary expectations, and high-profile cases of personal liability have raised the stakes for every security executive. In this candid fireside chat, a sitting CISO and a board director discuss the new operating reality - what disclosure decisions actually look like in practice, how to structure documentation that protects the executive and the company, and how to build the kind of board relationship that holds up under regulatory and legal scrutiny. Honest, practical, and directly applicable to anyone operating in or aspiring to the CISO seat.

2:05 PM-2:20 PM
Disruptor
Eliminating Shadow AI: Visibility and Control Across the Enterprise GenAI Footprint

Employees are using AI tools faster than security teams can sanction them. Browser-based assistants, embedded copilots, and unsanctioned APIs now process sensitive enterprise data outside any governance framework. This session presents practical strategies for discovering, classifying, and governing the full AI footprint - turning shadow AI from a compliance crisis into a managed enablement program that captures productivity gains without surrendering control.

Together with:

Cyberwolf Inc
2:25 PM-3:20 PM
Panel
Deepfakes, Synthetic Identity, and the New Era of Social Engineering: A CISO Response Strategy

The convergence of generative AI with social engineering has produced a new class of attack: convincing voice clones impersonating executives, video deepfakes authorizing wire transfers, and synthetic identities passing standard verification. The financial and reputational damage is already measurable, and existing controls are insufficient. This panel brings together CISOs who have faced these attacks and the practitioners building the next generation of defenses. Topics include deepfake detection at scale, authentication architectures that resist synthetic identity, employee training that actually changes behavior, and the cross-functional response playbooks required when a high-fidelity impersonation lands.

3:25 PM-3:40 PM
Vision Voices
Powering Open Data Ecosystems with Agentic AI and Radical Transparency

As organizations and governments push for greater openness, data initiatives are shifting from passive repositories to dynamic engines of innovation. However, unlocking the true value of this data requires more than just making it public - it requires making it accessible, actionable, and intelligent.

This session explores the intersection of open data and next-generation data intelligence. We will dive into how autonomous AI agents are transforming raw datasets into real-time, conversational insights, bridging the gap between complex data structures and user accessibility. Attendees will discover how combining transparency with agentic AI not only drives collaborative innovation but also builds an unshakeable foundation of trust.

3:40 PM-3:55 PM
Networking Break
3:55 PM-4:30 PM
Fireside Chat
The AI Talent Stack: Rebuilding Engineering Teams for a GenAI-Native Workforce

As Generative AI transforms how organizations build software, manage data, and generate insights, the skills needed across engineering, data management, and data science are evolving just as quickly. Success now depends on more than technical expertise, it requires teams that can effectively collaborate with AI, build trusted data foundations, and turn intelligence into business outcomes. This session explores how technology and data leaders are redefining hiring, upskilling, team structures, and performance to prepare for a GenAI-native workforce, while balancing human expertise with AI augmentation to drive innovation, productivity, and long-term business value.

Speakers
Sid Chakravarty

Speaker

Sid Chakravarty

VP, Advanced Modeling and Forecasting

Synchrony

Sid Chakravarty is a VP of Performance Insights at Synchrony and a Kellogg MBA / Georgia Tech MS (AI) graduate who bridges the gap between sophisticated engineering and enterprise economics. With 25 years of experience, Sid specializes in deploying pragmatic, ROI-driven AI—from Agentic AI and LLM frameworks (LangChain, LangGraph, MCP) to large-scale MLOps pipelines on AWS. A hands-on technologist and Adjunct Professor, Sid approaches AI through a unique "dual mindset," aligning technical fine-tuning with market structures and behavioral insights. He has a proven track record of transforming healthcare and financial services through intelligent automation, including developing language models for customer intent and multivariate time-series forecasting. Known for his focus on Responsible AI, Sid thrives on turning complex emerging capabilities into ethical, scalable strategies that move the needle for global organizations.
Terry Cottrell

Speaker

Terry Cottrell

CIO

University of St Francis

Terry Cottrell is Vice President for Information Technology and Planning/CIO at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois. In addition to 30+ years of practitioner expertise in various levels of IT management and business governance, his career includes 20+ years of teaching work, numerous publications, and conference presentations about leadership and risk management, cybersecurity, research methods, budgeting negotiation, media impacts on cognition, hands-free A/R tools, copyright, AI/agentic strategy and business planning. Terry holds BA and MBA degrees from University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, an MS degree from the iSchool at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an EdD from Northern Illinois University, and an MS degree in Enterprise Risk Management from Columbia University in New York. He has served on numerous non-profit boards and provided angel investments to five successful startups. He is also active in residential/commercial real estate management and equity investment markets. Terry has designed and taught a variety of courses at Colorado State University-Global Campus, the University of St. Francis, Northern Illinois University, Northwestern University, and serves as an associate in the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University. In his free time, Terry enjoys being with his family, traveling, writing, numerous outdoor activities, and is never far from very good coffee.
4:30 PM-4:40 PM
Closing Remarks & Raffle Giveaway
4:40 PM-5:30 PM
Cocktail Reception

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