Ali Faraj is an exceptional IT leader and strategist with over 25 years of experience working for companies such as IBM, Verizon, Thomson Reuters, AT&T, Unisys, EXL Services and most recently, DXC Technologies. He has held the titles of Chief Innovation Officer, VP of Innovation, CTO, and Chief Technologist at these firms. Ali is a turn-around and strategic growth expert, who has led several global initiatives by jumpstarting innovation, advancing capabilities, improving productivity, and leading delivery improvement initiatives. He has worked across verticals and is an expert on a wide range of technologies including AI/ML, Cloud, BD&A to ERP, CRM, Applications, Cyber Security, and others. He is a technology expert, that is called upon by Analysts and Expert Networks. In addition, Ali has also assisted several VC’s and Angel Investors in identifying and researching target firms for investment and provided M&A consulting.

Cybersecurity Executive Leader with extensive experience leading teams and providing clients with cybersecurity advisory services, incident response investigations, and other technical services, as well as guidance to C-Suite and Board level clients. I serve as a trusted advisor and partner to clients, law enforcement and government agencies, law firms, and industry organizations to address cybersecurity matters including incident response & forensics investigations, as well as vulnerability and threat management matters. He is a Ponemon Institute Fellow and affiliate board advisor to industry organizations including FS-ISAC, Retail-CISC, NH-ISAC as well as other ISACS, and member of the Shared Assessments Steering Committee Board. He has also served on the CLM Cyber Liability Council, the Board of Directors of the NY ISSA, the IT Policy Compliance Group, and the (i-4) Research Committee and he has been Interviewed / quoted in CNNMoney, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The London Times, Thomson Reuters, and other industry publications.

Tony Leng was formerly Managing Director of Diversified Search and led the firm’s Digital Transformation and CIO practice from its San Francisco office.  Previously, Tony was Managing Partner of Hodge Partners. Tony has conducted many “C” level searches for organizations where leaders are transforming/building organizations that are taking advantage of digital technologies.  He has conducted “C” level searches conducted for organizations such as Aurora Healthcare, Axalta, Catholic Health Initiatives, Blue Shield of California, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Delta Dental, Dignity Health, Esurance, Kaiser Permanente, Novant Health, PG&E, Polycom, Sutter Health, Symmetricom, TE Connectivity, and Wellmark. 

Prior to his executive search experience, Tony was a Board member of three public companies and CEO of a $600 million Public Company. Before that, Tony ran a $1 billion division of a telephone company focused on corporate users and had responsibility for all data services and networking products. While at the telephone company, he was founder and Chairman of its ISP and a board member of its 2 million-subscriber cell phone subsidiary. 

Tony uses his operating experience from being a CEO, financial background as a CPA and CA, and technical knowledge from the work that he has done for Tech companies to drill down and understand at a nuanced level what his clients are seeking to achieve as they build their teams. He has written numerous papers on technology leadership and the challenges facing technology leaders today and authors a blog, ‘Resources for the Modern CIO” (www.tonyleng.com).

The core of Tony’s consulting has been with senior leaders who are seeking to transform their organizations as they face a future of rapid change, digitization, regulation, shifting markets, and increasingly connected and informed customers.

Tony has facilitated the Fisher CIO Forum for the past 12 years.  The Forum is a monthly venue for CIO’s and CTO’s to discuss topics of relevance in their daily lives, and has afforded these leaders the opportunity to develop a close network to discuss current challenges in a peer group environment on a confidential basis.  Participating companies have included: Blue Shield, Clorox, Cost Plus, Delta Dental, Dignity Health, Esurance, Facebook, FitBit, Franklin Templeton, Gap, Genentech, Kaiser Permanente, Levi Strauss, McKesson, Macys.com, Matson, Mulesoft, Okta, PG&E, Restoration Hardware, Ross Stores, Safeway, Salesforce.com, Schwab, Splunk, Uber, VMWare, and Williams-Sonoma among others. 

Tony received a Bachelor of Commerce (with honors), University of Cape Town, South Africa and is a Chartered Accountant and CPA.

Susan Malisch formerly served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Loyola University Chicago. In this capacity, Susan led the development and implementation of the University’s information technology (IT) strategic direction, and delivers IT services that support student learning, faculty research and teaching, administrative processes, and public service. Prior to joining Loyola, she held technology leadership roles at Novell, Cambridge Technology Partners, UCLA, and ATT (formerly Southwestern Bell Communications). Ms. Malisch was the recipient of the 2010 CIO of the Year award from the Executives Club of Chicago and the Association of IT Professionals. Ms. Malisch is the current President for the Chicago Chapter of the Society of Information Management and volunteers with a number of educational and professional organizations. Ms. Malisch earned a B.S.B.A. degree in Computer Information Systems from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri.

Paul E. Martin is senior vice president and chief information officer for Baxter International, where he has global responsibility for the information technology strategy, operations, processes and team supporting Baxter’s business worldwide. He joined Baxter in 2011 from Rexam PLC, the U.K.- based packaging manufacturing, where he held the position of group chief information officer. During his 11-year tenure with Rexam, Martin served in a variety of key senior management positions, including vice president and CIO, Beverage Can Americas, and head of information technology for American National Can (acquired by Rexam PLC). Prior to Rexam, Martin held IT leadership positions at the CIT Group, BNSF Railway and Frito-Lay Inc.

Martin has served as a board of director of Unisys Corporation since April 2017. In 2016, he was appointed to the board of directors at Baxter Credit Union, and the board of trustees at Rush University Medical Center and Ravinia Festival.

He currently serves as executive sponsor of Baxter\’s Black Alliance resource group for employees, which provides a forum to enhance engagement, build on recruitment and retention efforts, and increase the impact of business, charitable, and volunteer initiatives in the African-American community.

Martin was the recipient of the 2020 Chicago CIO of the Year Leadership ORBIE Award. In 2017, Martin was named to the CIO Hall of Fame by CIO Magazine for IT innovation and business leadership and was recognized in Black Enterprise’s 2017 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America. In 2014, Martin was named among the \”100 Diverse Corporate Leaders in STEM\” by STEMconnector and previously recognized as a Business Leader of Color by Chicago United.

Martin received a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from Western Kentucky University.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/crains-custom-media/successful-cios-inspire-teamwork-new-ideas

Rusty Patel, former Tenneco senior vice president and chief information officer, was responsible for leading the company’s global information technology operations. When DRiV Incorporated spun from Tenneco, Patel served in the same position with DRiV™.

Patel joined Tenneco in February 2018 with an extensive background in information technology spanning more than 25 years. Most recently, he served as vice president, information technology for the building technologies and solutions business at Johnson Controls (JCI).  Prior to JCI, Patel held leadership roles in information technology with multinational companies including Tyco, VWR International and Motorola, Inc.  He began his career with EDS, supporting Delphi Automotive. 

Rusty holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Marquette University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. 

Frank is an SVP / Business Information Security Officer for Bank of America where he manages risk for key client facing applications and lines of business. 

Prior to the Bank, Frank was Global Head of Security Operations for Zurich Insurance.  At Zurich, he set the vision & strategy for Zurich’s global security toolkit and oversaw its daily operation.  He also led Zurich’s Identity Administration Management team.

Throughout his career, Frank has held several impactful IT Leadership positions, including CIO for Barrington Capital, Head of Global Applications for Hewitt, Chief Delivery Officer for Sears and SVP /  Practice Lead at The Revere Group, an IT consulting firm.   He holds a Bachelor\’s Degree in Economics from Northwestern University and is active in a number of professional organizations, including the Association for Information Technology Professionals and the Society for Information Management.

• Renee Arrington offers clients over 20 years’ experience in retained executive search. She excels in recruiting senior executive talent for Fortune 500 companies, private-equity-backed businesses and not-for-profit organizations. She is a member of the Pearson Partners board of directors and leads the firm’s Fort Worth office and CIO and IT leadership practice with clients in technology, retail, financial services, business services, distribution and R&D. Renee conducts searches for board members, presidents and executive directors among other senior leadership positions.
• Renee was named one of the top 40 Gatekeepers to the C-Suite by Hunt Scanlon Media, a search industry analyst. She is an active member of IIC Partners and the Association for Executive Search Consultants (AESC).
• Renee is attentive to diversity and believes a well-run search can deliver market insight. Renee appreciates the value of using assessment instruments as part of the search.Prior to joining Pearson Partners in 2006, Renee was a vice president in the technology practice of a global retained search firm, and was previously a shareholder and partner in the technology practice of another global firm.
• In addition to serving on Pearson Partners’ board of directors, Renee serves on the board of directors of IIC Partners, one of the world’s top 10 executive search organizations, with 50 offices in 35 countries (Pearson Partners is a member of IIC Partners). Additionally, she serves on the boards of directors of the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of the Society for Information Management (SIM), the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) North Texas Chapter and the Foundation for the Young Women’s Leadership Academy in Fort Worth, where she serves as chairman of the board. She is an executive committee member of Dallas Executive Women’s Roundtable (EWR) and a member of Fort Worth’s Women Steering Business (WSB). Renee has previously served on the board of North Texas Public Broadcasting (NPR Affiliate) and was board chairman of the YWCA of both Fort Worth and Tarrant Counties and the Fort Worth Westside YMCA.
• Renee was honored with the Association of Executive Search & Leadership Consultants’ prestigious Commitment to the Community Award in 2018, recognizing her excellence in executive search and leadership consulting together with her strong commitment to community service and volunteerism toward charitable causes. She has been selected as a 2018 C-Suite Award Winner by the Fort Worth Business Press for her business leadership as well as the civic and social contributions she has made to the community of Fort Worth and its organizations.
• Renee is a frequent speaker at the HMG Strategy CIO Summits around the country, and is a prolific business writer, having written a monthly column for CIO Decisions magazine and been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, CareerJournal.com, IT World, Network World and Business Process Outsourcing: The Competitive Advantage (Wiley 2005). She was honored among the finalists in D CEO’s 2016 CIO/CTO Awards in the Technology Advocate category.
• Renee earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Trinity University and studied at Parsons School of Design in Paris. She and her husband, Michael, live in Fort Worth.

I love transforming businesses and industries with great products and technology. I am a partner, a builder and a leader. Over the past 25 years, I\’ve had the chance to work in multiple industries, countries and companies. One consistent lesson that I have learned is that the more you engage your customers and employees in the transformation the better the outcomes.

While many of our products have won industry and other awards there is no better success than seeing the impact of the change in the daily lives of customers and teammates. The formula for success isn\’t a big secret. It’s about spending time to understand the problems and building compelling solutions that are high quality and have intuitive designs. Regarding digital transformation, the Peter Drucker quote, “Culture eats strategy for lunch” has never been truer. Building a culture that never stops experimenting, constantly learns new and better ways to solve problems and fails fast is critical to be successful.

From that understanding, you can identify opportunities to redefine your industry, marketplace and customer experience. By focusing on these outcomes for the business and its customers, Digital Leaders/ CIOs/ CDOs must lead from the front. This is what I have found it takes to drive change.

I have had the opportunity (the pleasure) of helping many businesses set their technology direction and have driven the necessary technology transformation required for success.

I couldn\’t have a better job!

Bill Blount is Vice President and Chief Information Officer at VelocityEHS.  He has a 30-year track record of building collaborative, high-functioning teams in rapidly growing companies.  He is known for his people-first approach that delivers consistent value through highly scalable and resilient digital solutions.  Bill was a consultant for a diverse roster of clients, including the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and Oracle Corporation.  In addition, he directed operational successes for notable companies like PayFlex, where, as CIO, he led the company’s post-acquisition integration into Aetna, and for the private equity-backed benefitexpress resulting in its acquisition by WEX.  Bill is the President-Elect of SIM Chicago and mentors several professionals and college students.  He was named the 2021 CIO Innovator of the Year by SIM Chicago, The Executives Club of Chicago, and AITP Chicago.  Bill earned his BS in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse and is pursuing his MBA through the University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium.

Wayne is an IT business doctor.  For over 30 years, he has helped heal IT organizations, transforming them from reactive firefighters to proactive teams that help solve business challenges and enable growth.  Wayne is currently the CIO and Security Officer for UNITE HERE HEALTH, a $1.3B national labor management trust fund focused on providing high-quality, affordable health care to participants.  He is also the President-Elect and a Board Member for SIM-Chicago, the leading CIO professional organization in Chicago.

Dr. Chahino has served as the Chief Information Officer at Elgin Community College (ECC) since May 2017, and as the Executive Director of Network Operations and Information Security since January 2006. He is also an adjunct faculty member of ECC and taught in the areas of computer & information systems, economics, business, and management. Prior to working at ECC Dr. Chahino worked in different capacities with DeVry University, the National University of Health Sciences, the Universal Technical Institute and as a Research Economist at the Near East Bureau of the US State Department. Dr. Chahino earned a bachelor degree and a master degree in international economics from Illinois State University and has a doctorate degree in educational technology from Northern Illinois University

Ted Colbert is executive vice president of The Boeing Company and president and chief executive officer of Boeing Global Services. He is a member of Boeing’s Executive Council.

Colbert was named president and chief executive officer of Global Services in October 2019. He is responsible for leading Boeing’s aerospace services development and delivery model for commercial and government customers worldwide, focused on four capability areas: Supply Chain; Engineering, Modifications and Maintenance; Digital Solutions and Analytics; and Training and Professional Services. Global Services offers customers lifecycle solutions regardless of platform manufacturer to accelerate delivery schedules, reduce operational costs and enhance operational efficiencies. Global Services has more than 300 locations in more than 70 countries. 

Previously, Colbert was chief information officer and senior vice president of Information Technology & Data Analytics. In this role, he led all aspects of information technology, information security, data and analytics. He also supported the growth of Boeing\’s business through IT- and analytics-related revenue generating programs.

Prior to his role as CIO, he led Boeing’s Information Technology Infrastructure organization where he was responsible for developing and maintaining network, computing, server, storage, collaboration and infrastructure solutions across the enterprise. Before that, he led the IT Business Systems organization where he managed the computing application systems that support Boeing Finance, Human Resources, Corporate and Commercial Capital Business Units, as well as the company’s internal systems.

Prior to joining Boeing in 2009, Colbert was senior vice president of Enterprise Architecture at Citigroup. Before that, he spent 11 years in Ford Motor Company’s Information Technology organization where he held roles of increasing responsibility in the areas of program management, infrastructure engineering and operations, application development, portfolio management and process reengineering.

Colbert completed the Dual Degree Engineering Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Morehouse College with degrees in Industrial and Systems Engineering and Interdisciplinary Science. He is a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Georgia Tech Advisory Board and New Leaders.

Colbert’s recent accomplishments include becoming the first recipient of the Fisher Center prize for Excellence in Driving Transformation from the Fisher Center For Business Analytics at Berkeley; winning the 2018 Forbes CIO Innovation Award; recognition as one of the Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America by Black Enterprise magazine in 2017; 2017 Morehouse College Bennie Leadership Award for Excellence in Business; recognition as the 2016 National Society of Black Engineers Golden Torch Legacy Award winner; recognition as the HMG Strategy 2016 CIO of the Year; and, being named a 2015 Ebony Power 100 honoree.

Al Ghous is the Sr Director of Cyber Security for GE Digital. In this capacity Al is responsible for GE Digital’s Cloud Platform and Product Cyber Security where he is focused on building secure and resilient Cloud for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) known as Predix – first of its kind. Al’s Cyber Security organization includes Product Security, Infrastructure and Platform Security, Identity and Access Management, Encryption, Product Assurance and Response Services. Al’s organization takes pride in their approach to secure software development practices while maintaining a state of preparedness to detect anomalous activities and take necessary action to protect Predix and GE’s Customers.

Al has been in the Cyber Security industry for over 18 years contributing in different capacities from Risk Management to Solution Consulting and Security Architecture. Al is active in the Cyber Security industry and part of several consortiums. He has held leadership roles in organizations such as Ernst and Young, Oracle, Kaiser Permanente and Informatica to name a few.

Ash Goel, MD, MBA, is senior vice president, chief information officer (CIO), for Bronson Healthcare. His responsibilities include: overseeing the broader IT strategy for the organization, enable the digital transformation journey, consumer focused growth, managing effective use of technology to further patient care, and developing and enhancing the use of data analytics throughout the health system to make informed decisions that support better clinical and business outcomes. He,in addition, he practices medicine as an adult hospitalist on a part-time basis.

Shantanoo is a natural leader with a passion for Customer Service and ‘getting things done’!

For the last 30 years, he has successfully demonstrated his revenue generation, leadership, relationship, delivery management skills and business acumen throughout his career.

He has identified and created revenue, regardless of underlying technology.

He brings high-energy, excellent work ethics, and a \’can do\’ attitude backed by a solid track record.

Mark Griesbaum is the Managing Partner of affinITy4U, LLC since November, 2014.  affinITy4U, LLC is focused in the following key areas:  IT Strategy/Vision Development, Operational Integration, Top Line Revenue Growth, and Executive Leadership Development. Mark was the Senior Vice President of Business Operations at TCS Education System (TCS ES) from 2010-2015. Mark oversaw marketing, admissions operations, instructional design, student management, information technology, international services, and the learning management system for online-blended programs of TCS ES affiliates, which included The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Pacific Oaks College, and The Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law. Mark joined TCS ES as President of TCS Online in 2010. Prior to joining TCS ES, Mark was Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Cardean Learning Group.  Prior to Cardean, Mark was Chief Information Officer at Career Education Corporation, where he engineered a world class IT that was leveraged to grow the organization from $200 million in revenue to over $2.0 Billion in a five (5) year period. Mr. Griesbaum’s award-winning leadership was acknowledged by Computerworld Magazine, where he was recognized as one of Computerworld’s “Premier 100 IT Leaders 2006.”

Erik Hart is the Chief Information Security Officer of Zebra Technologies based in Lincolnshire, IL. Erik serve as an advocate for the organization’s information security needs and responsibility for the development and delivery of a comprehensive information security strategy to optimize the security posture of the organization. Prior to joining Zebra Erik held information security leadership roles at Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide, PEAK6 Investments, and Cole Taylor Bank.

Erik graduated from Western Illinois University with a B.B. in Information Systems and Decision Sciences and a Masters in Information Assurance from Western Governors University. He is currently serving as the President of the Chicago InfraGard Chapter which is a non-profit organization serving as a public-private partnership between U.S. businesses and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Anjana was the CIO at Hillrom, a leading global medical technology company, where she was driving a large business transformation through digital solutions. Prior to that she held several leadership positions at Novartis as the Americas CIO for Alcon, Global Head of Commercial IT Operations and Global Head of Compliance Services & Information Management. She has more than 20 years of experience across the Life Sciences industry as well as in consulting.  Anjana has had the opportunity to take on some tough challenges and successfully drive large scale transformations throughout her career journey.  She is known for being a change catalyst with a penchant for inspiring, motivating and coaching teams to achieve uncommon results.

Anjana strongly believes that information is a strategic asset that should be leveraged as a competitive differentiator. She has presented her ideas at various conferences and written articles about it.

Anjana has an MBA from the Wharton School and a B.S. in Computer Science Engineering from Bangalore University, India.

Jamie has been a leader in Information Technology within the CPG industry for more than 18 years. Jamie has held roles within Mars, Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer. While starting his career in the U.K. Jamie has held global roles based out of the USA for more 11 years working across boundaries and bringing people together to drive change and technology for growth.

As Ocean Spray’s Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Jamie is leading our business transformation programs, managing both our Tech division and Digital Team, ensuring the cooperative invests strategically in people and technology to to maintain and grow our business—from supply chain right through to our consumers.

Dan serves as Principal and Chief Information Officer for ZS Associates, a professional services firm whose experts work side by side with clients, leveraging analytics, technology and strategy to create solutions that work in the real world.  He is a proven leader in helping businesses innovate, move to the cloud, and rapidly scale.  His focus is to drive new booked business, develop innovative products, and get customers rapidly to ROI by combining strong leadership with a track record of building high performing teams.  Dan is passionate about developing IT leaders who align with the corporate strategy, with an eye toward revenue growth and profitability.  He leverages interpersonal skills and business acumen to connect with individuals at every level of an organization, truly interested in knowing what people need in order to optimize productivity and deliver on goals.

Dan spends a great deal of time implementing systems that help his firm’s employees securely collaborate, innovate, and work efficiently across different geographies. Combining hands-on experience in software engineering, new product development, security and cloud engineering, the protection of intellectual property, firm assets, and client information is incorporated into all his initiatives.

He has held the CIO and other senior leadership positions across many industries including pharma, healthcare payer and provider analytics firms, Fortune 500 media and entertainment companies, and Internet and Marketing leaders. 

He holds an MSMIT Master of Science degree from the University of Virginia, a Bachelor of Information Systems from Pace University, and was an MSMIT Advisory Board Member at University of Virginia for many years.

Dan is a native New Yorker who currently resides in Chicago with his wife Catherine.  He enjoys spending quality time with his four grown children who are busy pursuing careers in all different parts of the US. 

Daphne E. Jones is an accomplished and seasoned executive with extensive experience using digital technologies strategically, entrepreneurially, and globally within multi-national corporations. She has over thirty years of experience in general management and executive level roles at IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Hospira (now Pfizer) and General Electric. During her tenure at GE, she served as: SVP for Future of Work, SVP & CIO.  She ran IT for Product Engineering, Imaging, and Ultrasound, and was Senior Executive & CIO For Global Services – all comprising a $13B segment within GE Healthcare.

Prior to GE Healthcare, her early career days were spent at IBM and Johnson & Johnson as an IT Executive followed by her role as a Corporate Officer, SVP & CIO at Hospira, Inc. a  $5B global pharmaceutical and infusion technology company.  She was the first woman and African American to report to the Chairman of the Board with accountability for all aspects of Hospira’s enterprise, cyber, digital & analytics technology. A driver of change acceleration and leadership development, her career has been spent using digital technologies to transform business models, distribution channels and products. 

Daphne serves on the board of directors for AMN Healthcare, Inc., Barnes Group Inc, and Masonite International Corp and is regarded as an authority on how to prepare for and land a corporate board seat.  She is the recipient of the University of West Indies’ Luminary Award,  was named one of Illinois’ Most Powerful and Influential Women by the National Diversity Council, and was Computerworld Premier 100 CIO.   She is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), Accenture Cybersecurity Women’s Council, The Digital Directors Network (DDN), and Executive Leadership Council (ELC). 

Daphne’s contemporary experience and thought-leadership helps drive innovation globally; enabling business transformation across major industries.  A corporate advisor, mentor and budding author; her inspiring life story from poverty to executive leadership has made her a sought after speaker and consultant.

Daphne earned her MBA and BS from Illinois State University.

Daphne’s first book WIN WHEN THEY SAY YOU WON’T: Break Through Barriers and Keep Leveling Up Your Success (November 15, McGraw Hill), drawn from her own rags to riches story, is an inspiring guide to help anyone achieve the career of their dreams with a winning mindset and proven playbook. Daphne’s been featured on Fox Business, TD Ameritrade, CNBC Make It, Cheddar.com, Fast Company and more!

Experienced Managing Director with a demonstrated history of working in the financial, airlines and aviation industry. Skilled in Enterprise Risk Management, Risk Assessment, IT Audit, and Information Security Management. Strong Information Technology Executive with a Masters in Cyber Security and a Bachelor of Science focused in Computer Science from DePaul University.

Specialties: Cyber Threat and Threat Intelligence • Cloud Security • Vulnerability Management • Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) • Insider Threat (Data Loss Prevention / Behavioral Analysis) • Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDOS) • Cyber Analytics • Innovation • Information Security Planning/Strategy • Payment Card Industry (PCI) assessment • Technology Compliance • Application Security SDLC and DevSecOps • Mobile Application Security • FFIEC Assessments • Process Automation/Standardization • Merger/Acquisitions • Divestitures • Third Party Security • Red/Blue/Black Teaming

Mr. Khare is Oshkosh Corporation’s Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, a position to which he was appointed in April 2018. He has responsibility for all Digital technology efforts to support Oshkosh’s business growth and innovation efforts. In this role, he leads the company’s Intelligent enterprise agenda that includes data science and A.I. practice, digital manufacturing, Cybersecurity, and technology shared services to drive technology-enabled business transformation. Prior to joining Oshkosh, he served as the Executive Director – Digital Technology at United Technologies Corporation from 2015 to April 2018. Mr. Khare also served in positions of increasing responsibility at DuPont and Koch Industries in the U.S. and Asia. Mr. Khare holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and earned his MBA from Indira Gandhi National University.

As Director of Digital Strategy at Gagen MacDonald, Kristy advises clients on how to use technology to execute their corporate strategy, enhance their culture, their communications, and the employee experience. As a former software developer and IT Director who also has deep experience in applying behavioral science to improve organizations, she thrives at the intersection of people and technology.

 Prior to joining Gagen, Kristy was responsible for the people and strategy areas of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud practice at a top technology consultancy, where she helped clients identify technology strategy and modernize their IT portfolios. She also has worked internally, most recently as the Director of IT/PMO for a manufacturing company where she led the implementation of a new ERP system, spearheaded the establishment of both the IT and enterprise-wide PMOs and oversaw the transformation of their intranet into a modern, interactive platform.  

 Kristy has spoken at multiple conferences on the subject of using technology in combination with behavioral science to improve people’s working lives. She was the Chair of the 2019 Organization Development Network (ODN) Conference in Las Vegas and served on the ODN Board of Trustees.

 She earned her MS in Organization Development from Pepperdine University, her BA in Journalism from Indiana University and is certified as both a Prosci Change Practitioner and an AWS Cloud Practitioner.

Successful technology leader with a proven track record of creatively solving business problems. I have strengths in teaming with business leadership, leading startups, actively identifying and pursuing business opportunities for value creation through cost reduction and strong project management skills.

As former CIO of Laidlaw Education Services, a premier yellow school bus transportation company, my experience included developing and managing systems that supported the financials, human resources, operations and infrastructure for 550 locations with 45,000 employees.

My target goal is to be a CIO reporting to a CEO/COO

Specialties: Large scale/successful ERP project management, Data Center management, Information Technology Strategic planning, Leading startups

Matt Martin is the Chief Information Security Officer and Director of IT Security for Sidley Austin LLP, a leading international law firm with offices worldwide. Matt is responsible for all IT Security, Governance Risk & Compliance and Disaster Recovery efforts globally for approximately 4,000+ employees in over 20 countries. 

He has over 25 years of security leadership experience in the financial service industry, mostly at JPMChase and MorganStanley. He has served in numerous senior leadership positions and has led all aspects of the security organization including Cyber Security, Data Center Security, Engineering, Operations and Risk Management. Other experience includes roles as a software developer, Systems Engineer and Financial Services Specialist for a leading MSSP.

A skilled leader and exceptional manager, he has developed and mentored staff who hold senior security roles at high profile companies such as Facebook, the US DOE, BOA and several insurance companies and hedge funds. He has delivered numerous innovative security solutions coupled with exceptional operational processes and service.He has a BS Degree in Computer Science with a minor in Business Administration from SUNY Binghamton.

Outside of work, Matt is an avid movie buff, world traveler and enjoys spending time with his teenage children.

Mr. McGhee has more than 35 years of experience in delivering business strategies and technology solutions, primarily in the financial services sector and has held various CIO/CTO positions.  Prior to joining Cognizant and Discover, he was Senior Vice President of Technology in the Credit Loss Management division of Fannie Mae.  He led the implementation of a new servicing platform that supported more than 20 million loans that is being reused by FHFA to create new MBS businesses.  Mr. McGhee also managed Fannie Mae’s e-commerce group for more than six years, architecting a large-scale business-to-business transaction system with a consumer website. Additionally, as Fannie Mae’s primary contact for federal regulators, Mr. McGhee brings a strong understanding of audit and compliance requirements.

Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Mr. McGhee was a consultant at IBM, and he earned a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Virginia, where he concentrated on the application of emerging technologies and built a working prototype of a computer system that can be controlled by severely handicapped individuals.

In his spare time, Mr. McGhee also serves as a mentor to startup businesses in the Chicago metro area including The Garage at Northwestern University.

A 24-year veteran of the Information Technology industry, Mr. McGillen is the founder and CEO of Practically Digital, a digital transformation consulting firm based in Chicago IL.   Mr. McGillen was previously with Grant Thornton LLP in leadership roles worldwide over 18 years, including Global head of technology and CIO for Grant Thornton LLP from 2008 to 2015.  Rob is recognized as a thought leader, speaker, and futurist on the topics of digital business and global transformation.  

Mr. McGillen is responsible currently for the digital transformation for the promotional products company AIA (www.aiacommunity.com), providing digital leadership for the owners, customers, and employees of AIA.  

Bud McQuade is Duracell’s Vice President of Information Technology. Bud joined Duracell’s transition team in July 2015, prior to the divestiture from Proctor & Gamble (P&G), to build the IT team in Chicago. As the leader of the global IT team, Bud developed Duracell’s IT vision and strategy to match Duracell’s new business model under the Berkshire Hathaway company portfolio.

Before joining Duracell, Bud served as Tellabs’ (Coriant) Vice President of Information Technology. Bud’s leadership was vital to the successful merger of Tellabs and Coriant Gmbh in 2014 under the private ownership of Marlin Equity Partners.

Previously, Bud was the Global Director of Infrastructure for Ipsos, a global market research company. He was responsible for the IT infrastructure in 90+ countries, all data collection platforms, information security, and IT procurement services, with a core focus on standardization, strategic investments and customer satisfaction.

Bud spent five years at Argo Group International, a global property and casualty insurance company, as Division CIO before being promoted to Chief Infrastructure Officer. He was responsible for transforming Argo Group’s infrastructure team into a shared services model to meet the needs of the company\’s diverse business units. 

As a founding employee, and during his 11 years at CarMax, Bud established the strategic direction, architecture and operational practices of various information technology teams. During that time, CarMax grew from a single store location in Richmond, VA into a Fortune 500 company.

Bud holds a B.A. from Providence College.

Co-Founder of vSEC, LLC and Owner of Luminant Group, LLC where he specializes as a virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO). Michael is also an Adjunct Professor at DePaul University College of Computing and Digital Media where he teaches multiple courses in the master’s curriculum including Information Security Management and Information Systems Auditing.

An active member of FBI InfraGard, High Tech Crime Consortium, & USSS Chicago Electronic Crimes Task Force and former Head of the Judges Committee for the Chicago Area CISO of the Year Program.

Prior roles include, Executive Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Data Privacy Officer (DPO) at Rosenthal Collins Group (RCG), LLC, Assistant Vice President & Information Security Officer (ISO) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (FRBC) and Director of Information Security for the Americas with UBS, a global investment bank providing financial services in over 50 countries.

Michael has a master’s degree in Business Administration from Northwestern’s, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Computer Sciences from Northwestern University and received his first Technical Degree from DeVry Institute of Technology. He also holds the C|CISO, CISSP, CISA, NSA IAM Certifications. He serves on the Advisory Board of the National Introducing Brokers Association (NIBA), Wealthblock.AI, Witfoo Security, the Illinois Digital Privacy Alliance and serves as a Strategic Advisor for OCA Ventures, an early stage (Seed, Series A, and Series B) venture capital firm.

John Phillips is an information technology executive with over 30 years of professional experience at publicly traded and privately held companies. His accountabilities and expertise include information systems strategy, daily operations, and organizational alignment. In addition to being the Chief Information Officer, John also holds executive accountability for the enterprise supply chain including inventory planning, inventory procurement, inventory deployment, distribution, warehouse management, general facilities management and inbound / outbound logistics. Prior accountabilities at Briggs Healthcare have included Customer Service, Quality Control, and Regulatory Affairs where John guided the enterprise through its first ISO 13485 certification.

John is currently serving as the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Briggs Healthcare and its subsidiaries (Briggs Corporation, DMS Holdings, Briggs Medical Supply Company, Mabis Healthcare, Duromed Industries, and OmniMed). Previous positions include the CIO of Uline in Waukegan, Illinois, the Corporate Director (CIO) of Information Technology & Services at Trinity Industries in Dallas, Texas, the CIO of a US Freightway’s reverse logistics subsidiary in Dallas, Texas, the Director (CIO) of Management Information Systems for PrimeSource Building Products in Carrollton, Texas, and progression through several levels of management at Frito-Lay and Texas Instruments.

John has a Master of Arts degree in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Dallas. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University with a major in Computer Science and a minor in Psychology.

John is active in several professional societies and organizations, and is a Trustee Board member for the Chicago Chapter of the Society for Information Management (SIM), and held similar Board positions for the Dallas-Fort Worth SIM Chapter.

John has published articles in Handheld PC Magazine and Internet Week, and has been a guest speaker at many industry events including the Micro Focus International Users Conference, Burton Group’s Catalyst Conference, and Gartner’s regional client briefings.

Dean is a business focused transformational leader who creates value and solves business challenges with the effective and efficient use of technology and organizational change across complex enterprises. He has experience at Board level, and able to liaise across an entire organization with a focus on formulating strategy and gaining approval for ideas using an understandable approach.  Dean has 25+ years in all areas of business combined with the management skills gained during operational and leadership roles has placed him in the unique position that he can quickly grasp business challenges, requirements, and opportunities.

As Vice President of Global Application Services Dean is responsible for leading and managing the on-going strategic direction, design, development and support of DRiV\’s global business application platforms to ensure predicable, reliable, and continuously improving business operations and capabilities. The position has a direct bearing on short- and long-term IT investments supporting all businesses and functions and has a substantial influence on global IT systems strategy and tactics.

Dean is based at DRiV’s Headquarters in Lake Forest, IL.  Prior to joining DRiV in 2010 he worked with Meijer, Smiths Group, CSC, KPMG and General Electric. Dean earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business and finance from Manchester University. He and his family live in Naperville, IL.

Nalini Polavarapu has been with Bayer for over ten years and heads the data science strategy and portfolio for Bayer Crop Science division. Data science activities range from applying data, IT, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing and analytics to derive data-driven insights to enhance customer value, invent cognitive systems to deliver predictive pipeline for research and development, analytics to connect supply chain to improve net promoter score and reduce cost of goods and implement digital tools for environmental and customer sustainability.

Over the course of her career, Nalini held positions of increasing levels of leadership responsibilities managing teams operating across geographies in Americas, EMEA, Asia and Africa, and has successfully established and led an off-shore center in India. She also initiated multiple external partnerships and collaborations with start-ups, large corporations and universities. Nalini played a key role in building a world-class global data science organization at Bayer which is now at 500+ and growing.

Nalini has a PhD and dual Masters in Computer Science and Bioinformatics from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Nalini has authored and co-authored multiple analytical patents, research articles in leading scientific journals and co-authored book chapters on high throughput data analysis and applications.

Eric Poole is the Assistant Director of Information Security at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago and has over 10 years of security experience ranging from Identity and Access Management, Compliance, Engineering and Operations.  In his current role he oversees security control engineering and operational security monitoring.  Recent focuses include modernization of security monitoring to better leverage automation and control testing to provide assurance of operation.  While Eric has always had an interest in solving business problems with technology, he is drawn to information security for its unique blend of technology and risk challenges.  Eric’s work has been published by SANS in an article titled ‘Quantifying the Value of Information Security Projects’.   Eric resides in Chicago with his wife and two children. 

Allison Radecki was appointed Chief Information Officer at Beam Suntory Inc., the world’s third largest premium spirits company, in November 2013. In this role, she is responsible for the IT function globally, including strategic planning, project delivery, operations, security, controls and compliance.  She is charged with leading the IT team to be a competitive asset for the company by focusing resources and prioritizing initiatives that deliver the greatest opportunities for revenue growth and improved business performance.  Allison joined Beam Suntory following a two decade-long career in IT strategy, business transformation and systems integration.

Prior to joining Beam Suntory, she served as Senior Director Information Systems, Global Integrated Supply Chain, for Mondelez International, the $35 billion global snacks company, which until 2012, was previously known as Kraft Foods. Prior to joining Kraft in 2011, Allison spent ten years at GS1 US as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer.  She was responsible for building the technology strategy to align to and achieve the organization’s goals. 

Allison began her career in management consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she spent ten years specializing in supply chain management process re-engineering and information systems implementation for the consumer products industry. 

Allison received her Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  She lives in Chicago and enjoys running, cooking, spending time with her husband, Steve, and their three daughters, Madeline (13), Claire (11) and Isabelle (8).

As Avanade’s Chief AI Officer, Florin Rotar drives the global AI strategy and execution across all parts of our business, spanning leadership, sales, solutioning, delivery, capability and our partner ecosystem. He also accelerates Avanade’s internal transformation, identifying new ways AI can disrupt – and improve – how we work, operate and deliver for our clients.

Florin previously served as Chief Technology Officer at Avanade, where he led the strategic development of a portfolio of solutions and services centered on emerging technologies and innovation. He is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and was recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the Top 10 CTOs to Watch in 2023. Florin is passionate about people-first AI innovation and co-authored the book “We the People: Human Purpose in a Digital Age: A Guide to Digital Ethics for Individuals, Organizations and Robots of All Kinds.”

Florin holds a master’s degree in telecommunications engineering from Lund University. He is a world citizen, having lived and worked in 10 countries across three continents, and now calls the Pacific Northwest home. When he’s not busy raising young children, he loves running while listening to EDM.

Raphael Savastano is Chief Information Officer and executive team member for 1888 Mills, a leading global manufacturer of home and commercial textiles catering to the retail, hospitality, and healthcare markets.  He is responsible for the creation, direction, and leadership of the Information Technology strategy.  

Raphael has 20+ years of experience identifying, designing, and implementing structural improvements that grow sales and reduce costs. He has a broad background in technology, business strategy, manufacturing, process design, security, and sales. He is highly valued for his cross-functional leadership and ability to cultivate loyal and dedicated teams.  As an adaptable leader, he basis his approach on honesty and a strong personal code of ethics. He is a change agent, taking action to achieve results and a problem solver who leads during crises.

Bradley J. Schaufenbuel is currently Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Paychex. Prior to his current role, he held security leadership positions at Paylocity, Midland States Bank, Midwest Bank, Zurich Financial Services, Experian, and Arthur Andersen LLP. Bradley is the author of multiple books (including two \”For Dummies\” titles) and has had numerous articles published in professional journals on a wide variety of topics related to information security and governance. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois and is a member of the United States Supreme Court Bar.

Bradley holds twenty-five professional designations in the areas of information security management, IT compliance, information privacy, fraud examination, IT audit, computer forensics, ethical hacking, business continuity planning, project management, cloud security, and process improvement, including the C|CISO, CISSP, CISM, CISA, CCSP, CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPM, CSSLP, PMP, CRISC, CGEIT, ISSMP, ISSAP, CFE, C|EH, CBCP, CCSK, CDPSE, DFCP, CIFI, CSOXM, CSOE, ITIL v3 Foundation, and Six Sigma Black Belt. He holds an MBA from DePaul University\’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and a JD and an LLM in information technology and privacy law from the University of Illinois at Chicago\’s John Marshall Law School. Bradley has served as a director on several corporate and non-profit boards, is a regular speaker at industry conferences, and has served numerous clients in the legal, financial services, and healthcare industries as a freelance consultant. He is an advisor to YL Ventures GP, Ltd., Glilot Capital, Eclipz, Inc., Great North Labs, CloudSimple, CloudVector, and ThirdPartyTrust. Bradley was recognized as the Chicago CISO of the Year in 2018 and as one of the Top 100 CISOs for 2020 by Cyber Defense Magazine.

Since joining TTX as the VP IT and CIO in late 2006, Bruce led TTX through a six-year program to reengineer and refresh all aspects of Information Technology serving our business and its customers, while changing the culture and perception of IT.  Leveraging this transformation, Bruce has continued to lead TTX through technology and business transformation; introducing mobile business services and analytics in both operational systems and systems of innovation that directly drive TTX’s strategic value to the rail industry.   Prior to joining TTX, Bruce led the strategic development of computer systems for several of the businesses within Wachovia Investment Bank including their railroad fleet; and held various positions providing data science and analytics in the U.S. Air Force and the AAR.  He holds a M.S. in Operations Research from AFIT and a B.S. in Economics from the United States Air Force Academy.

Preston Simons was most recently Chief Information Officer at Aurora Health Care, the largest healthcare provider and employer in Wisconsin, since 2015.  In that role, he led Aurora’s efforts to use data and innovative IT tools and services to deliver a person-focused, best-in-class integrated health care experience, and was responsible for every aspect of IT enterprise wide, including opportunity discovery, information strategy, applications development, infrastructure, business operations, cybersecurity, customer support, and IT investment portfolio management.

Prior to joining Aurora, Preston was CIO of Abbott Laboratories, a Fortune 100 medical device and life-sciences company.  He previously served as the IT leader in several health systems, a health insurance plan and in the pharmaceutical industry.  He also had significant responsibilities for the IT component of many acquisitions and divestitures, including the AbbVie spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013.  Preston is a thought-leader in running shared services such as IT as businesses within a larger enterprises, and has pioneered systemic changes in organizational structure, culture, and resource-governance processes to develop empowered, customer-centric, entrepreneurial organizations.

Preston is a member of the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society, and the Society for Information Management.  Additionally, he has had a leading role in the Chicago CIO Institute.  Preston holds a bachelor’s degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a master’s degree from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.  He is a member of the Board of Governers for the Opus College of Business of the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.

Karthik Swarnam is Chief Information Security Officer for DIRECTV, now known as AT&T Entertainment and Internet Services. In this role, he is responsible for protecting the company’s information assets and securing DIRECTV’s network.

Vikas Wali, serving as the VP & CIO of the Government Business Division at Elevance Health, brings over 25 years of varied leadership experience. His role concentrates on enhancing technology and digital solutions that lead to operational excellence and improved consumer experiences in the Government Business impacting the lives of 12M members.

Additionally, Vikas oversees technology management at Ameriben, an Elevance subsidiary. His leadership propels his team toward modernizing platforms with Cloud and AI to benefit services like Medicaid and Medicare Advantage. Vikas strongly endorses a collaborative working approach, thereby fostering a high-performance, engaged, and motivated team.

A graduate in Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, India, Vikas has attended varied leadership and management programs offered by leading institutions and firms. Passionate about elevating access to STEM, Vikas serves on the board of directors of Lumity, a STEM nonprofit dedicated to shaping the future of STEM education for Chicagoland’s students. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling with family and exploring new cultures, playing cricket and racquetball, and cooking.

Chris Walter is Vice President and CIO for Central Garden & Pet Company, a manufacturer and distributor of garden, pet, and professionally applied products sold through major retail and B2B outlets.  He is responsible for overseeing Central’s Information Services strategy, operations and ensuring alignment of our technology platforms with our business strategies and objectives. Chris joined Central in 2005 as Director of Enterprise Systems and successfully led the SAP implementation team, reducing the number of ERP systems from 26 to today’s count of six ERP systems.  Chris has over 20 years of IT experience including nine years in the Price Waterhouse / PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Consulting practice where he served a diverse set of clients.  His seasoned experience includes leading process improvement initiatives, sales development in software and services, as well as starting and leading a software company. Chris earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration / Industrial Distribution Management from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Creighton Warren is the Chief Information Officer at USG Corporation, a leading manufacturer and distributor of building product solutions. In 2014, his leadership team received the Most Effective IT Team award sponsored by the Chicagoland chapters of the Society of Information Management (SIM) and Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP).  He joined USG in 2003 and was accountable for the IT portion of major (> $150 MM) customer satisfaction initiative involving the company wide deployment of Oracle eBusiness Suite across fifty plus manufacturing facilities.  Immediately prior to his current role, he was Senior Director, Technology – Information Technology at USG Corporation, responsible for the Application, Architecture, and Operations organizations.

Jim joined SourceLink in January 2007 and has over 20 years of experience in information systems and technology. His role includes further integrating technology, driving innovation and operational process improvement to grow our online and offline communications. In 2012, SourceLink was accredited with the website marketing standard of excellence award along from the WEB Marketing Association, and the technology innovation award from the National Center for Data Marketing. In 2011, Jim expanded his role and became a Division President managing the Marketing Database Operations including: customer analytics, product marketing solutions and enterprise technology.

Before joining SourceLink Jim was a Management Consultant with Fujitsu located at AT&T, where he directed global teams to provide integration testing and environment management for a multi-billion dollar media project call u-verse. Prior to that, Jim worked in the financial sector as a Chief Information Officer at Relational Funding Corp and was accredited with the technology leasing award and the Microsoft pinnacle award for analytics. Jim has also held senior positions at Vanstar and ServiceMaster.

Mike Zachman is currently the Vice President and Chief Security Officer (CSO) at Zebra Technologies, the market leader in rugged mobile computers, barcode scanners and barcode printers enhanced with software and services to enable real-time enterprise visibility.  He has global responsibility for its enterprise-wide product security, information security, corporate security, and business continuity programs.  Zachman is a globally experienced leader with extensive information security, risk management and information technology expertise.  Prior to Zebra, Zachman was the first Chief information Security Officer (CISO) at Caterpillar as well as Ecolab.   Zachman holds an undergraduate degree in management information systems from Millikin University, and a master’s degree in business administration from Bradley University. He is a Certified Information Security Manager, Certified Internal Auditor and is Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT. He is an active volunteer with Junior Achievement and serves on the National Board for Easter Seals.