Amirthalingam brings to Ameren both a breadth and depth of experience as a customer-centric innovator. Starting in 2015, she worked as chief information officer and business transformation leader of North American Operations at Schneider Electric, a Fortune 500 corporation specializing in global energy management and automation solutions integrating technology, software and services. There, she drove the organization\’s digital transformation across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America. Previously, at World Wide Technology (WWT) Inc., she served as CIO and vice president of Customer Solutions and Innovation.  
 
She earned a bachelor\’s degree in computer science from the University of Madras, India, and an MBA in information management from the S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research in Mumbai. Amirthalingam serves as a member of the Forbes Technology Council and an executive member of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Information, Communication and Cyber Security (ICCS) Committee.
 
Amirthalingam is as passionate about giving back as she is about driving results. She serves on the board for the St. Louis Ballet Company and the board of Soorya Performing Arts, promoting South Asian performing arts in North America. She also has been a mentor and coach for FIRST robotics competitions. She lives in the St. Louis area with her husband and two children. 

Christy Barker is Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Olin Corporation, a global manufacturer of Chlor Alkali Products, Vinyls, Epoxy and Winchester.   Christy joined Olin in 2016, tasked to transform the IT operating model, business and manufacturing technology platform to integrate Olin’s global operations and deliver new capabilities that enable the company’s strategic digital roadmap.   She also serves a member of the American Chemistry Council’s Chemical Information Technology Center Executive Board.

Christy’s previous experience includes senior leadership positions at Israel Chemicals Limited, where she worked in the USA, Israel, and Europe, and as CIO of Astaris.  Christy has extensive experience working within intense and demanding environments, leading global transformations and establishing business shared service centers around the world. She graduated with a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Missouri State and received her MBA from Webster University, while living in The Netherlands.

Lisa Nichols is the CEO and co-founder of Technology Partners, a Women-Business Enterprise and provider of premier IT staffing, solutions and software. Lisa and her husband Greg founded Technology Partners in 1994 driven by their passion to revolutionize the staffing industry with their transparent business model. They co-lead the business today. Greg and Lisa have made it their priority from day one, to create mutual wins for their employees, clients and the communities in which Technology Partners operates. This has, in large part, led to Technology Partners winning the Top Workplaces 2018 for Work/Life Flexibility.

Technology Partners’ 360 Degree IT services include: Scalable Workforces, IT Staffing, Custom Mobile and Web Applications, Managed IT Services, Cloud Productivity, Marketing Technology, Digital Media and Design, Data Analytics, Digital Transformation, Business Process Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, and Helpdesk Support.

Lisa devotes her time to many professional and philanthropic organizations including CEO Forum, as well as YPO Christian Fellowship network, the St. Louis Independence Center, YWCA and United Way.

Lisa’s most recent project is her all new podcast, “Something Extra” produced by Technology Partners. She interviews leaders from around the world and across the for profit and non-profit spaces. Each episode explores the guest’s journey and what they believe is the “something extra” every true leader possesses that define them.

Teresa Sanzottera is a senior Information Technology executive with over 25 years’ experience leading technology across multiple industries.   Her career reflects a demonstrated track record leading successful IT transformations, optimizing IT processes, and executing various M&A transactions worth over $13B.  She brings deep knowledge and experience in IT strategy, governance, operations, controls, risk management, cybersecurity, and advanced technologies.

Ms. Sanzottera is currently Vice President, IT at Barry-Wehmiller.   She also serves as an Advisory Board member of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) start up.   Prior to joining Barry-Wehmiller, she was Vice President and CIO for a global specialty generics company where she was a member of the executive leadership team and Operating, Compliance, and Enterprise Risk Management committees and chaired the Information Technology committee.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Webster University in International Studies, a Master of Business Administration from Maryville University and Executive Certificates in Strategy and Innovation and Leadership from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  

Gary J. VonderHaar is Chief Technology Officer – Architecture for MasterCard Operations & Technology (O&T). In this role, he ensures that the company’s technology and operations capabilities align with business strategies.  He serves on the MasterCard’s Operating Committee and on the Innovation Council as a champion for IT Transformation. Prior to his current role, Mr. VonderHaar held a number of digital solution technology leadership positions at MasterCard, ensuring business and technology alignment. His previous IT leadership roles were with Accenture and McDonnell Douglas’ Defense Systems. Under his leadership, MasterCard won the prestigious InfoWorld/Forrester Enterprise Architecture Award in 2013. Mr. VonderHaar graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management, Electrical Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Jamie is currently the Information Security Officer for Equifax Workforce Solutions where he oversees a team of security professionals that protect the business unit based in St. Louis.  His information technology career started 17 years ago with a dedicated focus on security for the past 12 years.  He has obtained a wide range of industry experience that includes time with Anheuser Busch and Charter Communications in network engineering roles.  Next he managed an infrastructure team for an organization that provided international business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions. 

He then spent time at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis on the Threat Management team identifying and responding to many organizational \’cyber\’ risks.  He moved on to CitiMortgage as a Business Information Security Officer overseeing a large area of the mortgage business with a significant focus on data protection efforts and risk management.  Jamie currently holds CISSP, CISM, and CRISC certifications and continues to look for opportunities to engage with industry peers to continue to grow and developing within the always-changing security field.

 Jake Fritz is Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Emerson. In this role, he manages information technology strategy for the company’s global operations, including information security, digital customer experience, hardware, software, and services, as well as its telecommunications and data center infrastructure. He was appointed in August 2015.

Prior to his current role, Fritz served five years as vice president of infrastructure and operations for Emerson’s corporate information technology organization, where he was responsible for managing data center services, client services, service desks, and the company’s global IT centers.

Fritz joined Emerson in 2001 as an IT strategic planner. He was then progressively promoted to a number of positions within Emerson’s corporate IT organization, including manager of vendor relations and enterprise initiatives, manager of corporate information systems, and director of software engineering.  He also served as head of information technology for Emerson’s Power Transmission Solutions business unit.

Before joining Emerson, Fritz worked as an IT specialist at International Business Machines in Southfield, Mich., and as an analyst at Andersen Consulting in Detroit.

Fritz graduated with a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Michigan and holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina.

Jesse Ghere is responsible for overseeing Emerson’s global data center, cloud and Oracle database technology. His current role consists of managing the Infrastructure and Operations organization and ensuring the delivery of world-class hosting services to Emerson’s internal business groups. Jesse joined Emerson in 2009, as the Windows Technology Platform Manager, where he led a team tasked with supporting the buildout and migration into a newly built Global Data Center. Upon successfully completing the project Jesse transitioned into managing the UNIX/Linux platform team.  His team embarked on a major project of migrating Emerson’s Oracle database platform from Sun Solaris to Dell/Red Hat Linux infrastructure.  This project consisted of migrating more than 250 databases to new architecture that delivered tremendous business benefit.  Jesse was promoted to Director of Global Data Center Operations where he was responsible for all the data center technology, which included everything from strategy to day-to-day operations. In 2015, Jesse was promoted to Vice President of Infrastructure and Operations for Emerson Corporate.

In 2000, Jesse graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelors in Business Administration with majors in Management of Information Systems and Marketing. He was also played defensive back for the Iowa football team from 1995 to 1999.  In 2006, Jesse graduated from St. Louis University with a Masters of Business Administration.  Recently, Jesse joined the University of Missouri – St. Louis’s business school IS Advisory Board.

Mr. Gorham has served as CIO for REJIS since 1998.  He joined REJIS in June of 1983 and has been a member of the REJIS team for more than 40 years.  Mr. Gorham is responsible for the development, implementation and ongoing support of IT systems and solutions in critical government areas, such as law enforcement, courts, corrections, disaster recovery, Data Center operations, colocation, network services, security, help desk and citizen services.  He participates on several committees that oversee the operations of REJIS, which help guide the future direction of the organization.

Mr. Gorham is a founding member of the St. Louis Chapter of the Society for Information Management (SIM) and served as the Chapter’s President in 2007.  He currently serves as Chair Emeritus for the SIM National Foundation, as a member of the SIM St. Louis – President’s Advisory Council and was the SIM National Chair from 2014 – 2015.  Mr. Gorham is a graduate of the SIM Midwest Regional Leadership Forum and in 2006 was selected as one of Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders. 

Mr. Gorham supports local community organizations as a member of BackStoppers, The MASTERS and as a Board Member for the St. Louis Community College Foundation.  In 2006 he helped found the Gateway to Innovation conference. He has participated on the conference committee since 2006, chaired the conference in 2010, 2011, 2016 & 2021, currently is an Executive Board Member and will co-chaired the conference in 2023.  In sixteen years, the conference has contributed more than $3 million dollars back to the St. Louis community supporting technology needs and IT scholarships.

Education:

• Executive MBA, Beta Gamma Sigma (Honor Society for National Schools of Business) – Washington University, St. Louis Missouri, 2013
• CIO Pocket MBA, Boston University School of Management, Boston Massachusetts, 2009
• Bachelor of Science, Organizational Administration – Cum Laude – St. Louis University
• Associate in Applied Science Data Processing – St. Louis Community College at Meramec
• Certificate for Computer Programming and Operations Control Data Institute

Pete Hinden has over 25 years of diverse experience in industries such as aerospace, healthcare and electronic payments. He is a highly accomplished information technology executive, and entrepreneur. 

Mr. Hinden is currently the CIO of RedCard Systems, a healthcare technology company which provides an efficient platform for processing high volume healthcare claim communications and payments.   

Prior to joining RedCard, Mr. Hinden served as Vice President of Corporate Information Technology for Cass Information Systems, a specialized invoice and payment transaction company.  At Cass Information Systems he governed IT across the enterprise and lead development of new IT systems to support new payment markets for Cass.  

For over thirteen years, Mr. Hinden has served as Vice President of Information Technology at Emdeon/WebMD where he managed all IT aspects of one of the fastest growing and most profitable divisions.  He directly led the development of new and innovative revenue cycle management services for healthcare payers, helping grow divisional revenue from $5M to $265M.   

Mr. Hinden holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla and a Master of Business Administration in Management Information Systems from Maryville University.  While attending Maryville University, he received the John E. Simon Award for Excellence in Business.

I have 30+ years of IT Experience including over 20 years in progressive leadership roles leading technical resource, business analysts and project managers.  The early and formative part of my career was and continues to be centered around selecting, supporting and implementing ERP suite solutions to improve the overall effectiveness and cost to serve of back office functions.  I have extensive experience selecting and deploying best of breed 3^rd party point solutions as well as developing and supporting custom based solutions across various technologies which are also aligned with back office HR and Finance functions.   I thrive in roles that are fast paced which require innovative solutions and critical thinking, which then allows me to put together high performance teams to deliver on those solutions and ideas.   More recently in my career I have focused heavily on SaaS based solutions, again focused primary in the areas of HR, Finance, IT Portfolio mgmt.   

While at Maritz I have also had the opportunity to expand beyond the traditional back office IT Leader.   Currently, I lead the technical and function staff for our Robotics Process Automation (RPA) practice and also sit and server on our RPA COE (Center of Excellence) team.   Additionally, I am an active member of the Maritz Cloud Stewardship committee which drives our cloud strategy and use within our Corporate center and our Business Units.  Finally, I was handpicked to sit on our executive leadership panel, whose purpose is to identify, develop and retain high potential employees across our business units and corporate center.

 I have a degree in Computer Science from Aurora University, live with my wife of 26 years along with our two children in the St. Louis metro East area.  I enjoy boating, coaching and spending time with family and friends.  I have volunteered for many things over the years but currently I am the founding member and president of a non-profit organization, the Columbia Armature Athletic Association, which fund various athletic programs throughout our K-12 school district.  

Don Imholz has over 30 years of experience in information technology (IT), the majority at the executive level.  He has also worked outside of IT with executive positions in finance, manufacturing, and supplier management among others. Mr. Imholz joined Centene as Chief Information Officer in September 2008.  His current responsibilities include managing all aspects of information technology as well as other shared service functions such as claims processing.  His focus is on implementing several major strategic information system projects, extending the use of the Internet, and creating industry leading business analytics to support Centene’s rapid growth.  The organization has won a number of awards during his tenure. Prior to Centene, Mr. Imholz managed his own consulting company working for clients across a variety of industries.  One of his clients was Centene.   Before that, Mr. Imholz had a long career in Aerospace, first for McDonnell Douglas and then Boeing, working in a variety of functions and positions.  Executive level assignments during his career included managing the McDonnell Douglas Information Services business unit and being Chief Information Officer for all of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. At the time of his Boeing retirement in 2008, Mr. Imholz was responsible for all information system development and support worldwide. Mr. Imholz has been active advancing educational initiatives.   He has served on the board and is past chairman of the board of directors for the Center for the Application of Information Technology, and was a member of the Advisory Board for the Masters of Information Management Program for Washington University.  He serves on the Leadership Council for the UMSL Business School and has served on its Information Systems Committee.  He taught extensively as part of the adjunct faculty at Webster University and developed its information systems curriculum.  Mr. Imholz has also been keynote speaker for many conferences and organizations.  Mr. Imholz is also on the Board of Directors for the Family Resource Center, a non-profit organization providing a board range of social services in the St. Louis area, and on the Saint Louis Zoo Board. Mr. Imholz holds a master’s degree in information systems management and an executive master’s degree in business administration, both from Washington University in St. Louis.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Missouri in St. Louis.  He has also attended executive training at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and at the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Priscilla Jacks is currently the Vice President – Technology Risk Management at U.S. Bank within the Wealth Management and Investment Services division. She has more than 25 years of IT experience in multiple Fortune 150 companies across both Retail and Financial industries. Prior to joining U.S. Bank, she was a Senior IT Operations leader at Lowe’s Companies. Priscilla serves on the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. Priscilla also serves on multiple United Way Panels and Committees. Priscilla is also a member of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville CMIS Advisory Board and the Project Management Advisory Board. 

Josh Knopp, vice present and information security officer of Enterprise Holdings, is responsible for developing and implementing Enterprise Holdings’ global information security strategy in a manner that enables business and reduces friction.

Enterprise Holdings operates – through an international network of regional subsidiaries and independent franchises – the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental brands, as well as more than 9,000 fully-staffed neighborhood and airport locations in more than 75 countries. Enterprise Holdings is the largest car rental company in the world, as measured by revenue, fleet and employees. In addition, Enterprise Holdings is the most comprehensive service provider and only investment-grade company in the U.S. car rental industry.

The company and its affiliate, Enterprise Fleet Management, offer a total transportation solution, accounting for more than 1.7 million vehicles throughout the world. Combined, these businesses – accounting for $19.4 billion in revenue and more than 93,000 employees in fiscal year 2015 – include the Car Sales, Truck Rental, CarShare, Rideshare vanpooling, Zimride, Exotic Car Collection, Motorcycle Rental and Flex-E-Rent services. The annual revenues of Enterprise Holdings, one of America’s largest private companies, rank near the top of the global travel industry, exceeding many airlines and most cruise lines, hotels, tour operators and online travel agencies.

Josh has more than 20 years of experience in information technology and more than 16 years of experience directly in the field of information security.  Prior to joining Enterprise Holdings in April, 2016, Josh led MasterCard’s Site Data Protection program and was responsible for improving the logical security framework for the global payment industry.  Josh developed and implemented MasterCard’s strategy to influence market stakeholders towards increasingly secure information security postures and use of secure, emerging payment technologies.  Josh also represented MasterCard on the Executive Committee of the PCI Security Standards Council.

As vice president and chief information security officer for BJC HealthCare, Matthew Modica is responsible for the strategic direction, planning and implementation of enterprise IT systems, business operation and facility defenses against security breaches and vulnerability issues. He has the responsibility for establishing, meeting and continuously monitoring the information security goals and objectives, while maintaining alignment with the strategic goals and priorities for BJC. BJC HealthCare is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health care organizations with $5.3 billion in net revenues and more than 31,000 employees in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and mid-Missouri regions. Its teaching hospitals, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, are affiliated with internationally renowned Washington University School of Medicine. Modica has a long-tenured career in the information security field at multiple Fortune 1000 companies in the financial services, health care and data services industries. Modica holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology from Southeast Missouri State University and is currently attending Webster University’s MBA program. He is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Modica is passionate about preparing the next generation to serve in cybersecurity and STEM-related roles. He serves on the St. Louis CISO board and cybersecurity advisory committees for Southeast Missouri State University, Webster University, Washington University, SecureWorld St. Louis and the Evanta CXO Summit. Additionally, Modica sits on the Autism Speaks STL golf committee whose mission is to raise funds to support research and services for those on the autism spectrum.

Mark has extensively recruited chief information officers, chief technology officers, chief information security officers and other senior IT leadership talent across varied vertical sectors including Industrial, Consumer, Life Sciences and Higher Education. His consultative approach to search encompasses talent strategy, organization design, search process and diversity recruiting. Mark ’s clients range from the Fortune 100 (McKesson, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Boeing) to smaller high-growth companies (Under Armour, Regeneron, DirecTV) as well as prestigious public and private universities (Harvard, Rockefeller, University of Florida).

Before entering the search field, Mark developed and marketed information systems within the Financial Services and Higher Education sectors. He currently serves on the Advisory Committee for Columbia University’s executive graduate program in Information Technology Management.

Mark frequently addresses conferences and writes on information technology and career management topics. He is the creator of the “Executive Career Counsel” column in CIO Magazine and on CIO.com. He is a member of the Society for Information Management (SIM) and has served as President of the New York Chapter. He sits on the Advisory Boards of The Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF), the national organization dedicated to fostering executive talent among African-American IT professionals, and HITEC, the Hispanic Information Technology Executive Council.

Mark holds a master’s degree in Computer Science from Pratt Institute and a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Electrical Engineering from Union College.

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.

Bob Putnam joined Suddenlink Communications in March 2003, bringing more than two decades of experience in the Information Technology (IT) industry. As Chief Information Officer, Mr. Putnam has been responsible for setting Suddenlink’s IT strategy and ensuring it aligns with overall business strategy. During his tenure, he has overseen building the IT department to support Suddenlink growth from a start-up to one of the nation’s top cable providers, now supporting more than 1.4 million residential and business customers and approximately 6,500 employees. Mr. Putnam oversees a team responsible for all aspects of the company’s IT department, including enterprise systems for financials, human resources, billing, mediation, data warehousing, business intelligence and big data, public websites, Suddenlink’s customer portal, custom applications, knowledge management, workforce management and database management. In addition, his team is responsible for companywide IT infrastructure for data centers, internal local and wide area networks, desktop support and an employee help desk. Additionally, the Program Management Office is set up and run out of the IT Department for enterprise wide, large-scale, cross-functional initiatives. Before joining Suddenlink, Mr. Putnam was a Senior Vice President with Hitachi Consulting, the former consulting division of Grant Thornton LLP. At Grant Thornton he was Partner-in-Charge of a nationwide practice. Mr. Putnam holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Missouri State University.

Adil Rahman is a strategy lead on Bayer’s Crop Science Digital Strategy and Innovation team. In this role, he works with the Corporate Strategy team to identify strategic acquisitions, partnerships and growth opportunities in the digital space.

Bayer Crop Science continually looks to leverage its strong balance sheet and align new investments to its corporate vision and business strategy by exploring opportunities to acquire new businesses or create new business partnerships.  

Adil joined Bayer’s information technology team in 2006. As an innovator and thought leader Adil has delivered multitude of digital platforms in the Ag space.  He is passionate about applying technology to transform agriculture and customer experience, and building integrated products & services to unlock new growth and digital revenue.

Adil has a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore, Pakistan and a MBA from Washington University, St. Louis MO. 

Randy Raw is Chief Information Security Officer at Veterans United Home Loans in Columbia, Missouri. VU is the largest purchase lender in the VA space of the Mortgage Industry and a top 20 overall lender. He has more than 25 years of experience in both public entities and private industry, having built several Information Security programs from the ground up. He is a proponent of risk-based, layered security measures that utilize both preventative and detective approaches to achieve the right solution for the organization. Randy is a CISSP and is active in the Central Missouri Cybersecurity community. He has spoken at many local, regional and national conferences. He owns a coaching business where he helps Cybersecurity professionals build effective Information Security Programs that don\’t break the bank. Randy also coaches emerging and successful leaders in the technology space and those who want to move from the technical trenches to a leadership role.

Suresh Shaddarsanam is Senior Director-IT at Peabody Energy and has global responsibility for Data Analytics and enterprise Mining Applications. He joined Peabody Energy in 2008 and led applications, development and analytics teams. Prior to joining Peabody, Suresh spent 9 years at Monsanto in various roles related to applications management.

Suresh is a Global IT leader with over 25 years of experience developing and executing IT strategies in alignment with business objectives. He holds a MS degree in Industrial Management from Indian Institute of Technology, India and a Master degree in Business Administration (MBA) and a Master degree in Information Management (MIM) from Washington University.

Tushar Shelar is CIO at Murphy Company, a leading mechanical contractor delivering innovative solutions to the commercial, industrial and institutional markets in St. Louis & Denver areas. Tushar joined Murphy in 2016 and was tasked to increase their digital and technology foot print across various business processes and to lay an operational model for solution delivery.  Prior to his current role, Tushar was with Allergen Plc for 13 years (formerly Actavis Plc, Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc.) in various technology and leadership roles where he was part of the digital transformation team with extensive work in Divestitures/Acquisitions & Mergers.

Tushar graduated from Webster University with MS, Computer Science and also holds a Bachelor’s  in Accounting from the University of Mumbai.

Michael Smith is a partner with Fortium Partners, the largest technology leadership-as-a-service firm in the United States, where he leverages his 25+ years of technology leadership experience to provide advisory, fractional, and interim CIO, CTO, and CISO services to various industries and business models.  He has held various roles in consulting, employment with both private and publicly traded companies, as well as non-profit and association organizations.  His vast array of experience across multiple industries and organizations has given him a unique perspective on how technology can be used as a competitive advantage in the marketplace.  As an experienced technology strategist with an extensive executive leadership background, uniquely positions him to meet organizational strategic objectives while enforcing IT execution to achieve greater growth and sustained profitability.  He assists clients to drive technology innovations, lead digital transformations, and deliver strategic technology solutions that enhance profitability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

In addition, Michael serves as the Chief Information Officer at InnovaPrep LLC, a life sciences startup company, where he leads the technology strategy and execution to commercialize several products and position the company for IPO and/or acquisition. He has implemented a new hybrid cloud computing environment, a new ERP platform, and an innovative R&D environment that have resulted in multiple patents and award-winning product development. He is passionate about building enterprise sustainability and mentoring the next generation of technology professionals.

Joey Smith (CISSP, EnCE) joined Schnuck Markets as the Chief Information Security Officer in January 2014 and is responsible for enhancing the security program of the company.  Since joining, Smith has created and implemented a new comprehensive risk based security strategy for the company, including: bringing in the people, processes, and technologies needed to maintain a mature security posture.  Additionally, his experience in information security investigations and payment card fraud as afforded him the opportunity to be a speaker at a variety of security conferences around the county.

In 2015, Smith received the “Rising Star Award” from the Security Advisor Alliance recognizing him as an up and coming security leader who displays creativity, leadership and the sense of corporate citizenship necessary to handle the complex and challenging role of being a leading security executive.  Additionally, in 2014 Smith was an honored recipient of the Southeast Missouri State University “Young Alumni Merit Award” and lead the College of Science, Technology, and Agriculture, including the University\’s first Cyber Security graduate’s, into the graduation ceremony.

Previous to Schnucks, Smith worked for MasterCard Worldwide running the technology company’s incident response program. From 2008 – 2012, he was the primary investigator and incident manager for MasterCard’s global computer security incident response team. In 2012, he joined the MasterCard Account Data Compromise (ADC) team. In this role he was responsible for ADC fraud investigations and worked closely with merchants, issuers, acquirers and other payment card brands to issue fraud alerts and respond to global ADC events. He was also part of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) responsible for reviewing the work of the various PCI forensic investigation companies to ensure the work being performed met the quality standards of the PCI Council.

James (Jim) Swanson previously served as a member of the Executive Leadership Team and as Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Head of Digital Transformation for the Crop Science division of Bayer. Based in Monheim, Germany, Swanson led teams across the world using digital innovation and data science to transform and deliver world-class products and services sustainably. 

Most recently, Swanson was the Chief Information Officer at Monsanto for the past five years. His breadth of experience also includes executive and scientific roles at Merck, Johnson & Johnson and SmithKline Beecham. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Bioscience and Biotechnology and a master’s degree in Computer Science, both from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Swanson is a member of the St. Louis CIO Board, Washington University’s Information Technology Advisory Council and the External Advisory Committee of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy at Washington University. 

Swanson is married with three daughters. In his free time, he enjoys running, biking, skiing, scuba diving and boating. Swanson volunteers with the Greater St. Louis Honor Flight Organization, United Way Ready by 21 and the American Heart Association. 

Haroon is Technology Strategist and Visionary with a passion for transforming customer-facing digital experience and business operations. He has over 25 years experience in both mid-market and Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries. Among his colleagues, he is known for his ability to share enterprise technical vision, champion new digital capabilities, gain consensus, and motivate large complex organizations to deliver critical projects on-time and on-budget. Prior experience includes:

At TKC Holdings, Inc. (formerly Centric Group LLC), Haroon led digital product development, enterprise applications, architecture and service delivery. He was responsible for the technology strategy for the organization, ranging from point-of-sale systems, kiosks, websites and mobile apps to B2B/B2C solutions and ERP, CRM, HR and supply chain systems. Haroon drove cross-organizational digital initiatives, led the Agile and DevOps transformation and helped create a collaborative IT/business culture. In 2019, his team received the “Digital Edge 50” award from CIO and CIO Executive Council.

At BioMérieux, Haroon held positions of increasing responsibility before serving as the multinational biotechnology company\’s Global Senior Director of Enterprise Architecture & Business Planning. During his tenure, Haroon led the development of new digital capabilities for some of the company’s premier product lines and drove numerous initiatives aimed at expanding market share, reducing product development cycle-time, increasing operational efficiency, and modernizing legacy platforms. These efforts earned him the Computerworld “Premier 100 IT Leader” Award in 2011.

Haroon has a BS and MS in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis.

Andrew Wilder is currently the Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Hillenbrand.  Prior to this role, he spent 18 years at Nestle where his last role was Regional CISO for Americas, Asia, and Europe.  In addition to being a CISO, Andrew is a Board Member and Adjunct Professor at Washington University’s Information Security Executive Education Program.  He believes that Cybersecurity should offer usable solutions to meet business needs, in order to be a business enabler.  As a leader, he supports the continuous development of his teams while removing roadblocks.”

Erica Wilson has over 18 years of IT experience, 15 of which are in the field of Cybersecurity. She has worked in various industries including manufacturing, higher education and financial services. Erica currently serves as VP of Cybersecurity and Technology Risk at Cass Information Systems. She has responsibility for all aspects of the company’s Cybersecurity program, including security strategy, policies & procedures, technologies, and training program.  In addition, Erica leads all aspects of technology risk management, including compliance with internal and regulatory controls, as well as the Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery program.

Prior to joining Cass, Erica worked at Anheuser-Busch (2001 – 2009), followed by Scottrade (2009-2018). While at Scottrade, Erica held multiple positions of increasing responsibility ranging from Manager of Information Security to VP of IT Infrastructure Controls and Risk Management. Similarly, while at Anheuser-Busch, Erica held multiple positions pertaining to information security and data protection. Erica has a passion for STEM education.  Throughout her professional career, she has consistently identified ways to influence and encourage others in the community, specifically generations X and Z, to explore opportunities to work in the fields information technology and cybersecurity. 

Erica holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration/Information Systems from the John E. Simon School of Business at Maryville University, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Southeast Missouri State University. She also holds various professional certifications which include a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) from the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium ISC(2) and a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) from ISACA. Erica enjoys being an advocate of STEM education particularly to youth in the St. Louis community. Outside of work, she loves to travel and spend time with her husband, Aaron and daughter, Avery.

Lina A. Young is a Business and Information Technology leader with over 25 years of experience. Currently serves as Senior Vice President Peabody Business Services & Chief Information Officer for Peabody, a global fortune 500 Company, supporting 7200 employees in over 26 locations worldwide, with customers in nearly 30 countries on 6 continents.  Lina leads the global business shared services organization for delivery of core business services as well as oversees all strategic and operational aspects of Information Technology worldwide.   

Lina has over 20 years of technical and management experience in the Energy industry, serving in a variety of a management roles as a global IT and business leader.  She served as Senior Vice President Marketing Commercial Services, Vice President Enterprise Resource Planning and as Vice President of Healthcare Management in Human Resources.  Prior to joining Peabody, she was a member of technical staff with AT&T focusing on technology advancements in telecommunications.

Lina is active in the community and serves on number of Advisory Boards, Regional Board of NPower and served on the Board of Directors for the YWCA and Family Resource Center. She was recognized as the 2017 Gateway to Innovations’ Technology Leader of the Year by her peers, “25 Most Influential Business Women” and “25 Most Inclusive Leaders” by the St. Louis Business Journal.  In addition, she was nationally recognized in STEMConnector among 100 Women Leaders in STEM.

Lina holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from Tulane School of Engineering, Masters in Information Management and a Masters in Telecommunications from Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science.