• 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.

Patrick was the Global Business Information Security Officer for CBRE currently focused on GWS. He was formerly the Deputy CISO for Cheetah Digital. He is a Security & Privacy Executive, Writer, Speaker, Knowledge Provider and Seeker. He has been an Executive Business Partner at Experian; a Customer Delivery Executive and Service Delivery Leader at Dell; and owned a technology consulting company. He is certified as C/CISO, CISM, CISSP, CRISC, PMP, ITIL Expert, and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. He is a commercial pilot and flight instructor. He studies and teaches Aikido, rides motorcycles, Scuba dives, and his favorite teaching is “From Chaos Comes Greatness,” a loose translation from the “I Ching”.

Nellson Burns moved to Dallas in 2007 from Houston to become Holly Corporation’s Vice President of Information Technology.  Holly Corporation is an independent petroleum refiner and marketer producing high-value products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as well as specialty lubricants, oil and waxes.  Holly has major refinery operations New Mexico, Utah and Oklahoma that drive revenues above 8 billion dollars per year.  Nellson, a rising star in the Metroplex IT community, was recruited by Holly for this role at the age of 32.  Nellson helped complete the successful implementation of a comprehensive SAP software suite in 2007.  When Holly acquired two significant refineries within seven months in 2009 and doubled its refining capacity, Nellson successfully spearheaded the rapid business and technology integration efforts, including integrating the new refineries into SAP with a 4 week period.  He will get the chance to leverage these integration skills again, as Holly plans to merge with Frontier Oil Corporation in the early 3^rdquarter this year.  Prior to joining Holly, Nellson was with Ernst & Young’s, then CapGemini’s, Oil & Gas SAP practice for nine years, were he “refined” his IT leadership skills.  Nellson serves as a member of the SIM DFW Chapter Board, and is the chairman of the global advisory council for SAP’s for Oil & Gas sector.  He is also on the advisory board for the Terry Foundation, the state’s largest private source of full academic scholarships.

Kevin Christ is a partner with Concentre, a boutique consultancy focused on complex digital & IT strategy and business transformation in mid-cap and large-cap enterprises.  Kevin has been in business technology consulting for over 30 years, working with over 100 companies in that span.  He focuses on digital and technology strategy, innovation, complex project management / rescue, quality assurance, leadership coaching, and IT transformation. His four assignments as Acting CIO further cemented his knowledge of IT leadership. He is a frequent speaker at CIO conferences and DFW-area universities and serves on multiple technology advisory boards.

Mignona Cote is a proven problem solver with a unique ability to find, assess and fix information security vulnerabilities across a variety of industries. With more than two decades of experience in information security, risk management, compliance and auditing, Mignona helps Fortune 50 companies ensure the security of their data. She has a proven track record of transforming technical operations and building strategic solutions for companies like Aetna, Bank of America, PepsiCo and Verizon. Her expertise spans incident response, vulnerability management, access management, vendor management, risk and compliance, as well as auditing. She has completely reshaped secured solutions throughout large enterprise networks.

Blake has over 20 years of experience leading Information Technology Strategy, Development and Operations for several public and private companies in the Consulting, Telecommunications and Financial Services industries. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Methodist University, and a Strategic IT Management Certificate from the Scandinavian International Management Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. In April 2011, Blake received Ryan’s inaugural Innovatus Award, recognizing the employee that exemplifies the Ryan brand commitment to delivering “Innovative Solutions to Taxing Problems”. Blake consistently demonstrated an innovative approach to improving client efficiency, effectiveness, and results through a suite of technology-based productivity improvement tools and processes leveraged throughout the field for delivering client value and tax savings.

Rusty Kennington is a technology executive with a career spanning more than 25 years and multiple industries. He has worked in Fortune 500, private, and startup organizations. He has been responsible for global technology teams spanning North and South America, Europe and Asia.

Rusty received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and completed the graduate finance program at Southern Methodist University. Rusty currently serves as a member of the SIM DFW Chapter Board.

Rusty also spent 6 years on the Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters and is well into his second decade as a Big Brother in that program.

Ed is the founder of Robben Advisory LLC providing Interim Leadership Services, Assessments, and Technology Consulting since 2018.

Ed is also a Feld Group Institute Affiliate applying the Institute’s principles and strategic framework along with Agile methods and frameworks to assess and assist clients with their technology strategy and transformations in support of achieving their business capabilities and outcomes.

With 35+ years of technology experience, Ed has led and consulted on strategic product development, enterprise architecture, operations, and deployment across multiple industries including defense systems, CPG, transportation and distribution, finance, and retail.  Ed has served as Chief Information Officer at JC Penney, Fossil Group, Francesca’s, Joanne Stores, and Neiman Marcus Group

Ed holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Oklahoma State University 

Brian Andrews leads the amazing IT team at Stone Brewing, the 10^th largest craft brewer in the United States. Brian’s team at Stone has implemented a series of transformational software and infrastructure platforms to facilitate the company’s growth, team member productivity, and a high degree of operating efficiency and economies of scale. In his 20+ year career, Brian has served in a variety of leadership positions and industries including software, healthcare, and food and beverage. Brian is a San Diego native, earned an MBA from San Diego State University, a Bachelor’s in Economics from UC San Diego, and is a certified PMP. He lives in Carlsbad, CA with his wife and two children.

Founded by Greg Koch and Steve Wagner in 1996, San Diego-based Stone Brewing has been listed on the Inc. 500 | 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list 11 times, and has been called the “All-time Top Brewery on Planet Earth” by BeerAdvocate magazine twice. The multifaceted company is the first American craft brewer to independently build, own and operate their own brewery in Europe (Berlin, Germany), and also built a production brewery in Richmond, Virginia. Known for its bold, flavorful and largely hop-centric beers, Stone has earned a reputation for brewing outstanding, unique beers while maintaining an unwavering commitment to sustainability, business ethics, philanthropy and the art of brewing.

Edward Block has over 20 years of experience as an information security professional, primarily focused on the effects of emerging law on personal privacy at the state, federal and international level. Edward has assisted and managed technical teams performing all aspects of information security, including credentialing functions, firewall and IDS deployment and monitoring, and penetration testing. Edward has also developed information security policies, standards and guidelines that balance protection of information assets with legal and functional requirements. 

As an attorney, Edward uses his security knowledge to ensure clients are in compliance with state, federal and international regulations. He also counsels clients to ensure they are prepared in the event of a security breach and provides guidance on their cyber insurance needs.  

As the former chief information security officer for the state of Texas, Edward understands the challenges that organizations face as they address emerging cybersecurity threats.

Edward holds numerous certifications in the security and privacy community, including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM), Certified Information Privacy Professional/Government (CIPP/G), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).

Raveendra (Ravi) Boggaram serves as Sr. Director of Global Digital Services & Platforms for PepsiCo Inc.  His 24 years of experience includes various roles involving direct P&L management, full digital transformation for global organizations and IT leadership. Ravi is responsible for strategy, design, development and deployment of corporate information systems, platforms, digital services, applications and infrastructure for PepsiCo.  He possesses extensive knowledge and experience in delivering enterprise automation (IT, business and industrial), data analytics, integration, web portals, digital marketing, eCommerce, and app/mobile development.  He previously served as AVP – Global Solutions Leader for HP, Sr. Director – Transportation Systems Development & Delivery for Union Pacific Railroad and other leading organizations managing global teams responsible for mission-critical systems and immense IT scale.

Patricia Connolly, PhD, draws on nearly three decades of executive, IT and academic leadership to create and implement SMC2’s strategy, vision and mission.  Her cross-industry experience building and leading high-performing IT teams, leveraging global talent, and mitigating corporate risk enables Connolly to understand intimately the unique challenges faced by SMC2 clients and to develop solutions that provide immediate results and long-term flexibility and innovation.  Connolly’s functional expertise includes IT strategy, risk management, LEAN operations, systems development and vendor management, but she is particularly passionate about people—recruiting, mentoring, building and retaining highly skilled and engaged teams.  This unique combination of skill and passion helps fuel SMC2’s employee-based, insource methodology.

Kevin Dunn is a technology strategist, speaker, and thought leader with over 20 years’ experience in highly available infrastructure, e-commerce, mobile application and payments, BYO Enterprise strategies, and the leadership of technical teams. He joined U.S. Retirement Partners (USRP) in December 2014 as the Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer where his responsibilities include technology platform development, enterprise security, and information management. Before that, through his independent practice, he assisted clients in creating innovation through a combination of people, process, and technology.

Prior to entering independent practice, Mr. Dunn served as the Vice President of Infrastructure and Operations for First Command Financial Services, Inc. He and his team were responsible for defining and solving business problems through the application of state-of-the-art information technology. Mr. Dunn also served as the CIO for EdExpress Texas, LLP. In this role, he was a key participant in the development of a patented loyalty program supporting saving for education expenses. During this time, Kevin Dunn created the application and technology infrastructure of EdExpress, including customer service, transactional, and e-commerce systems.

Earlier in his career, Kevin Dunn was Technology Strategist for Whittman Hart where he provided strategic guidance on network design, electronic commerce, security, and intranet deployment issues to senior management in the venture capital, manufacturing, insurance, banking, and finance industries through white papers, technical reports, presentations, and as a national corporate speaker. He also was a key member of information technology team at the Superconducting Super Collider project.

Mr. Dunn graduated from Abilene Christian University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication focusing on the areas of marketing, advertising and corporate video production. He has also participated in professional development courses and activities in a variety of leadership and technical areas, including completion of the Society of Information Management Regional Leadership Forum (SIM-RLF).

Kevin lives in Duncanville, Texas with his wife and two children. He is active in church and community affairs, currently serving on the board of the Dallas Chapter of the Society of Information Management (DFW-SIM), and as a member of the Membership Committee for Shakespeare Dallas. Previously Mr. Dunn served as President of the Board of Directors of the Duncanville Economic Development Corporation and as Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Board for the City of Duncanville.

Anil Earla was formerly the Head of Information and Data Analytics for Global IS at Visa Inc., where he lead diverse teams of business and technology. As an intrapreneur, he is passionate about bringing Silicon Valley innovation mindset to larger organizations. His dual roles span innovation and strategic partnerships, shaping vision/strategy and technology alignment, various technology verticals across product life cycle for cyber security such as product management and business/system analysis, Big Data and visualization engineering, advanced analytics (data science), business intelligence and data warehousing, infrastructure and solution architecture, infrastructure and operations, program/portfolio management, and governance. Before joining Visa, he was part of industry leading organizations in the financial services, telecommunications, insurance, gaming, and airline industries. His stint across different industries and technology functions provides him the unique opportunity to apply and leverage the power of data and analytics. Under his leadership, his team was Data Impact awards finalist at Strata + Hadoop World 2014 for innovation in data ecosystem. Earla is part of the entrepreneurship and innovation program from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He completed Program in strategy from Harvard Graduate School of Business. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from JSU and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Bangalore University.

Alain leverages his 20+ years as a cybersecurity and IT professional to systematically reduce risk in organizations by developing and implementing innovative enterprise security programs. His experience spans a range of industries and includes global companies such as Google and Siemens.

Currently, Alain is the Sr. Business Information Security Officer at Rent-A-Center. In this role, he works with company leaders to assess cyber risk and ensure the security of critical information assets and IT operations across business units.

Alain is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). He is also a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University\’s CISO Program and the FBI\’s CISO Academy.

Alain is a former Board Director for InfraGard, a national nonprofit organization that partners with the FBI to secure critical national infrastructure. During his tenure, he helped oversee the governance of 77 chapters with over 70,000 members.

Alain has been featured on NBC News, speaking about security threats and countermeasures. Additionally, he has written for multiple publications on cybersecurity topics and has presented as a keynote speaker at conferences across the country.

Boulton Fernando is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Toyota Financial Services (TFS) and Deputy Group CISO for global TFS.  In this capacity, Boulton and his team manage all facets of Information Security in the United States and provide leadership, direction and security services to fellow Toyota Financial Services affiliates across the globe. He is an expert in establishing and leading information security programs in large, multi-national organizations.  He provides executive counsel, strategic frameworks and direction for domestic and global risk arenas.  Boulton is an effective self-motivated innovator charged with driving complex business solution across dynamic and highly regulated environments.  

William Floyd is the current CIO/CISO for FUTU US, a Capital Markets Financial Services global organization. William is formerly CIO/CTO of Maxxsure, LLC (April 2020 – July 2021) an AWS cloud-based Software-as-a-Service provider of Cyber Risk and Vulnerability Identification, Quantification and Management platform with customers in both Commercial and Public (Federal, State, County and Local Government) organizations. Prior to that, William has been CIO/CTO at Lexipol, LLC, an AWS cloud-based Software-as-a-Service provider of an operational and risk management compliance platform, providing customizable policies, procedures and training solutions for the Federal, State, County and Local Government and Public Safety Service sector (Law Enforcement, Fire and Rescue, EMS and Corrections) with over 7500 customers. Previously, William was CTO and EVP at Dito, LLC, a cloud advisory and IT services provider that provided cloud transformation solutions to Commercial and Public organizations where he helped over 100 organizations transition to the cloud.  Before that, William has a successful technology leadership track record as the CIO at Golds Gym, CTO and VP at MB Trading, VP of Products and Operations at Realm Business Solutions, VP of Product Development at S1 Corp, CTO at startup Collabware, Principal Architect at SDRC, and Senior Engineer at General Dynamics – Fort Worth Aerospace.

Mr. Floyd has proven executive leadership of a variety of technology driven public and private companies. He has an extensive array of experience in multiple industries including Cloud Computing, Enterprise Infrastructure and Operations, Internet e-Commerce, on-line brokerage, Software-as-a-service (SaaS), and collaborative commercial software products for the Financial/Investment/Banking Services industries, State and Local Government and Public Safety and Commercial Real Estate industries. He has experience developing enterprise commercial software products for collaborative Product Lifecycle Management, collaborative corporate portals and collaborative engineering design automation. He also has experience in consulting and management of enterprise level information systems in the retail food and drug, medical insurance, telecommunications, and the aerospace industries.

Mr. Floyd has been the leader of a variety of enterprise IT Teams, software product management and product development teams, both large and small, through all phases of software product management, product development, quality assurance, program and release management and DevOps. This experience has also included the leadership of Information Technology business applications, cyber-security, infrastructure, networking, operations and telecommunications teams responsible for enterprise IT System operations, development, and enterprise deployment. These IT operations have been for commercial enterprises and for SaaS based operations using accepted IT methodologies achieving SAS70 Type II, PCI Audit Certification and SEC/CFTC/FINRA Compliance.

Kay Fuhrman focuses on senior level search assignments in the Energy and Utility sectors and serves in the Industrial practice. Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Kay spent over 8 years as Vice President of Business Development for Alliance Data leading large scale outsourcing sales pursuits with energy and utility companies throughout North America. In this role, Kay also managed the company’s strategic partnerships with technology and key service providers leveraged for the delivery of Alliance Data’s solutions. Kay began her career in Dayton Ohio spending 11 years with DPL, Inc. At DPL, Kay started and led the company’s unregulated operations including a retail energy company serving industrial and commercial customers throughout the Midwest and DPL’s street lighting operations across West Central Ohio. Following DPL, Kay spent 2 years with Aquila Energy running the company’s retail energy business across the central United States. Kay holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance from The University of Dayton. She also holds a BS in Business Administration from Wright State University. Kay has served on the board of directors for Texas Energy Association for Marketers since 2002. In addition, Kay has served as National Committee Chair for National Energy Marketers Association in 2005 and 2006.

Experienced information Security leader, mentor, coach, and team builder with over 20 years of experience in developing and implementing security strategies, risk assessments, employee awareness trainings, internal audits & assessments, and compliance frameworks for organizations across diverse industries. Adept at designing and executing security programs, establishing security policies and procedures, and managing security incidents. A strong communicator and relationship builder, with the ability to articulate complex security concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Extensive experience in Security risk assessments, proactively preparing for Cyber Security Insurance requirements, Internal & external audits, Risk assessment, Risk Mitigation, Incident management, Disaster recovery and Business continuity planning, SOC, MDR services, Internal and External threat hunting, and policies & procedures. Led privacy programs for GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA and other privacy regulations.

I have led and managed cyber security and privacy projects and teams with four global organizations across several geographical locations.

Ransom Horne is a 25 year IT veteran currently serving as Managing Director at SMS Capital Partners. As a partner at SMS, Ransom serves as a member of the board of directors and CIO for the CIS Group of Companies. In this capacity, Ransom is involved in strategy definition, mergers and acquisitions as well as leading several organizational development activities. Prior to joining SMS Capital Partners, Ransom served as CIO for Elbit Systems of America (ESA). During his tenure at ESA he was an integral part of the senior management team that grew the multinational organization from $200 million to over $2.5 billion in annual revenue. Ransom gained critical skills in mergers and acquisitions, developing and implementing strategy, operations management and organizational structure. 

Ransom is an active member of the DFW chapter of the Society of Information Managers and holds a BS in Information Technology and an MBA from Texas Christian University. 

Steve Kendrick is President of KER Partners, LLC.  His background includes over 25 years of successful retained executive search industry and corporate recruitment professional experience. This experience includes leading successful search engagements and client relationships across commercial industry segments including financial services, payment systems, consumer retail, online-eCommerce, logistics-transportation, industrial, pharmaceutical and healthcare.  He has served industry leading clients including global Fortune 500 multinationals, mid-cap-mid-market public/private firms, as well as private equity backed portfolio companies.

Prior to KER Partners, Steve was a partner at Heidrick & Struggles’ Dallas office and a key member of the firm’s global Information Technology Officers Practice.  He was also a Principal at Spencer Stuart and an Executive Director at Russell Reynolds Associates previously. He also served as president of a Dallas-based retained executive search boutique specializing in recruiting IT executive leaders and CIOs.

Prior to entering executive search, Steve spent six years with EDS Corporation, performing both technical and professional recruiting, as well as providing recruitment training and counsel on employment-related issues.  He began his career as a district manager with PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay, where he was responsible for sales management and operations.

Steve is an active speaker and panelist at key industry forums on topics including executive IT leadership development, career management and succession planning.  He is a member of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) and the Society for Information Management (SIM).

Steve earned his undergraduate degree in business from Jacksonville State University in Alabama, along with graduate studies at the University of Texas in Dallas.

Strategic MBA / CISSP / SFCP CISO equivalent transformational leader in Fortune 500 Information Technology and Cybersecurity.

A seasoned cybersecurity transformational leader with over thirty years of experience in information technology security, operations, change management, SDLC release management, disaster recovery, risk management, IT governance and compliance, PCI compliance, and innovative IT business development for $2b private retail organization, multi-million/ billion dollar Fortune 500 quick service food industry, world-class trade show industry, and creative services / marketing for bleeding edge voice services industries.

Technology leader with experience driving digital transformation of an organization, to help drive efficiency and growth. Sriram has planned and implemented global programs in the areas of ERP, Supply Chain and Data Analytics. Has a passion to develop long term strategy in the areas of people, process, technology, to transform the organization to in an agile manner, to achieve their digital transformation goals.    

 Sriram holds a bachelor of science in Computer Science engineering from the University of Madras, India, Masters In Information Systems from Lawrence Tech University in Michigan and an MBA from Oakland University, Michigan.  

He is married, lives in the Dallas area.

Brad is an IT Transformational Leader with multi-industry experience in Healthcare, Retail, Financial Services, Marketing & Advertising, and Insurance. He leads teams to deliver solutions that solve key business needs & opportunities. Delivering value though collaboratively working with business partners and technology peers to provide company changing solutions that positively impact the bottom line. He has a reputation for delivering business results through integrity, strong organizational skills, and team collaboration.

Keith Landau is a Managing Director in Information Technology Services at Deloitte.  As a Chief Technology Director he leads the Relationship Management Group supporting the FSS in the US MF.   

Prior to joining Deloitte, Keith held senior IT roles with a number of organizations including Waste Management, Monster Worldwide, and Ernst & Young LLP.  Keith has led large, distributed global teams and is passionate about team building, mentoring and leadership. 

As a community leader, Keith contributes actively to the Boy Scouts of America.  He is the Scoutmaster of Troop 89 and is a founder and assistant scoutmaster of the first Scouts BSA Troop for girls in his town, The Woodlands, TX.  He also holds district level roles and leads events at the Houston Council level. Keith volunteers his free time mentoring youth in leadership and life skills using the outdoors as the classroom.

Andrew Laudato started his career as a computer programmer and quickly realized he was as passionate about business as he is about technology. The intersection of business and technology is where innovation happens and where people and companies succeed.

After spending more than 20 years as a CIO/CTO, Laudato currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Vitamin Shoppe. In this role, he leads operations across digital commerce, information technology, enterprise portfolio management, supply chain, strategic sourcing, and commercialization.

Laudato is a member of the CNBC technology executive council, the New York City CIO executive council, and a founding member of the George Mason University\’s Center for Retail Transformation. In addition, he serves on the board of Lideranca, a private company focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Mr. Laudato shares decades of experience, wisdom, and lessons learned in his recently published book, Fostering Innovation: How to Build an Amazing IT Team, available at local bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and on andrewlaudato.com. 

As Chief Information Officer at Borden, Satyaki provided the vision, strategy and tactics to optimize how technology enables the company’s growth and innovation.

Satyaki has more than 28 years of experience in IT across multiple industries, including transportation, manufacturing and software product development. He spent 17 years working in the consumer packaged goods industry, with direct store delivery as a core go-to-market strategy. Most recently, Satyaki served as Vice President of Enterprise Applications at Snyder’s-Lance, where he oversaw all corporate, sales and supply chain business systems, including enterprise resource planning, business intelligence, mobile and cloud applications. Previously, he held a variety of other IT leadership positions at Snyder’s-Lance and DS Waters of America, as well as in consulting.

Satyaki graduated from the National Institute of Technology Warangal in India with a degree in computer science.

Andrew Macaulay was responsible for the development of all technology solutions that enhance the guest experience. He leads the activation of next-generation Topgolf games while streamlining back-office operations.

Prior to Topgolf, he served as CIO at WesTower Communications, a leader in the cell tower construction and maintenance business. He is also the former CIO at Clearwire Communications, the company that built the first-ever 4G wireless network in the U.S. There, he transformed the cost, quality, engagement and output of the IT Department.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and operations research from the University of Leeds in England and a MBA from Baylor University in Texas.

Andrew is from the U.K. near Watford, the home of the first Topgolf location. Today, Andrew and his wife reside in Dallas. They have three sons who generate an inconceivable amount of academic, music, acting, singing and sports activities. When any spare time remains, Andrew loves to play golf.

I have been at Mary Kay Inc. since 1999 and currently serving in the role of Director of Data & Infrastructure Services. Focused on developing and transforming the organization over the last couple of years with a high focus on automation, cloud, and revolutionizing infrastructure in the data center. In my current role, I am responsible for Database Systems, Data Centers, Data Protection, Operations, Platforms, Storage, Private Cloud and Public Cloud Strategy with a key focus around transforming each of these areas to keep up with the business needs and industry changes.

Sam Raghavachari has extensive experience in information technology related to financial services, real estate and consulting domains. In his role as SVP of Enterprise Solutions at The Howard Hughes Corporation, he was responsible for leading business transformative initiatives that targets revenue growth, cost and budget control, operational excellence and work place improvements.  His experience spans across large Fortune 500 companies to smaller start-up companies. He has been responsible for developing highly motivated global technology teams spanning North America, Europe and Asia.

Sam holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Madras, India, a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from SDSU and a MBA from The University of Texas at Dallas. He is also PMP certified by the Project Management Institute.

As a senior technology executive with experience leading large, global teams, Diane Schwarz\’s scope covers digital transformations, cyber security, data analytics, infrastructure and cloud operations, ERP/SAP applications and IT supplier management.

Schwarz holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She serves on two non-profit boards; Dallas Zoo and NPower.

She is married, lives in the Dallas area, and takes every chance to experience new places.

Gautam Sethi is the CTO & Acting-COO for Douglas County School District, a suburb of Denver CO. Douglas County with its 91 schools serves over 67,000 students and 8,000 staff members with an annual budget of $700M. 

Gautam joined DCSD with over 18 years of Information Technology experience. In those years he started work as a technology consultant for companies like Verizon and Johnson & Johnson prior to joining New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE). It was at NYCDOE he discovered his passion for solving deeply complex educational and operational problems using technology. During his 8 years at NYCDOE he managed various IT projects impacting the 1.4 million students and 1,600 schools. He then moved from the largest school district in the US to Atlanta Public Schools (APS) to work in an urban environment with significant equity issues as it relates to technology. 

He holds a Bachelors in Computer Science from Delhi University, India and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Emory University, Atlanta.

Barry Shurkey is Chief Information Officer for NTT DATA Services. He is responsible for optimizing and advancing the company’s IT roadmap to support the company and its clients.  Barry was awarded the 2018 Corporate CIO Tech Titan award, 2019 D Magazine CIO of the Year Award , 2019 ORBIE Global CIO of the Year Award , 2020 Business Transformation 150 Leaders and recently, was named to the 2020 D CEO Dallas 500 most powerful business leaders.  He is credited with leading the IT integration of Dell Services into NTT DATA – one of the largest IT acquisitions of the time. In just 18 months, Barry’s team migrated more than 1,000 applications, 200 IT projects, nine data centers, 54 facilities, and 1,600 data circuits.  Previously, Barry was a senior vice president overseeing the company’s $3.1B Transition Services Agreement (TSA) with Dell, and before that, he led the company’s overall service delivery transformation at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) account.

Before his roles with NTT DATA, he was a group vice president for Travelport, where he led the solutions team that was responsible for new airline product development and running major systems for airlines.  Previously, he was CIO-North America at Vertex Business Services. Before that, he served as Global Transportation Applications Industry Executive for EDS/HP where he supported 235 clients and led more than 3,500 people who provided services for global transportation, travel and hospitality firms.

He serves on Advisory Board for DFW Alliance of Technology and Women (ATW) which empowers and promotes women in technology.  Barry is also on the Inspire Dallas CIO Advisory Board, Tech Titans Board, HMG Strategy CIO Advisory Board and Evanta Dallas CIO Governing Board.  

Barry received a bachelor’s in Management Information Systems and a minor in Computer Science at Central Michigan University.  As an executive, he also attended the London School of Business and Thunderbird Global Executive programs

Al Stolpe is the Chief Information Officer for Dana Holding Corporation’s Commercial Vehicle Driveline Technologies business unit.  He joined Dana November 29, 2010.

He is responsible for overseeing Dana’s Commercial Vehicle information technology organization.  In this capacity, he leads the Commercial Vehicle Information Technology organization that is accountable for amplifying the benefit of technology to propel Dana’s market leadership and growth.  Stolpe also has a key senior executive business leadership role as part of the Commercial Vehicle Leadership Team. 

Prior to Dana, Stolpe began an 11 year tenure with General Motors (GM) in 1997.  As a Global Information Officer, Al was responsible for overseeing GM’s information systems for Corporate Shared Services, Supply Chain and its financial services arm (GMAC).   In this capacity, he helped lead the Information Systems and Services (IS&S) organization, accountable for these related information technology efforts within General Motors.  He also held the positions of Chief Integration Officer and Executive Director Global IT Strategy and Planning. 

He started his career with Texas Instruments (TI) in 1979.  For almost two decades he held key management positions and was involved in the design, development and operation of world-class business software applications.  In 1985 he was appointed Manager, International Marketing Systems.  In 1995, he also added the responsibility of General Director, Worldwide Strategic Business Systems.  In this role, he directed TI’s transition to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Advanced Planning System (APS) solutions.

Stolpe has been involved in various business, civic and charitable organizations including:  Society for Information Management; Semiconductor Industry CIO Consortium; SAP America Automotive and High Tech Industry Advisory Boards; U.S. General Accounting Office Executive Council on Information Management and Technology.  He is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AIS Executive Group, LLC, a management consulting company focused on leadership strategies.  His achievements have been recognized with various awards including CIO Magazine’s Top-100 award.

Stolpe was born in Coloma, MI.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Central Michigan University.  He speaks English and German.

In this role Linda provides strategic leadership and budget control over all aspects of IT.  She championed the NGA’s migration to the cloud with special emphasis on Software-as-a-Service platforms.  Is leading the development of an enterprise Data Analytics program in support of the Gallery’s strategic goals for visitor engagement, operational efficiency, works of art collection completeness, financial stewardship and compliance.  Also, spearheading the creation of an Innovation Program, with a focus on the integration of digital technology into the museum to enrich visitor experiences while maintaining the Gallery’s standard for excellence.

Prior to coming to the Gallery, she served as Corporate Vice President at Mitrek Systems, Inc, a nonprofit scientific research company formed from a restructuring of the MITRE Corporation.  Mitretek provided systems engineering and software acquisition expertise to the federal government.  There, she managed an organization of 250 senior level IT professionals.  Previously, at the MITRE Corporation, a nonprofit scientific research center, she served as Technical Director of the Software Engineering Center, responsible for strategic direction and management of 150 senior level staff providing software engineering and software acquisition expertise to various Department of Defense and federal government programs.  In her earlier career, she held other management and technical software development positions in private industry.  She holds a BS in mathematics from the University of Maryland and an MSA in Information Systems Technology from George Washington University.

As a lawyer for more than 25 years, Peter combines his technical and business background with his legal expertise to help companies with IT, Cyber intrusion, and Internet litigation, dispute resolution, and contract negotiation. Peter has been involved with the IT industry, Internet, and electronic data for his entire career. Prior to practicing law he worked as a mainframe programmer, systems analyst, and management consultant for companies acquiring IT and related services, and received a Masters’ in Computer Science.

Peter has clients in healthcare, international manufacturing, state & local government, utilities, blockchain, and eCommerce who often seek his advice about practical business issues relating to IT and the Internet, which often include cyber intrusions, colo sites, cloud solutions, ERP implementation projects, website business management, outsourcing, software patents, copyrights, and trade secret protection. Because he is a seasoned IT professional with an accounting and marketing background, Peter also often advises clients about financial and marketing issues regarding IT and the Internet. His experience as an Adjunct Professor in the Law of eCommerce keeps him current on the fast moving evolution of the cyber intrusions and the Internet. He writes a legal column for www.eCommerceTimes.com, and is often quoted in the media about Internet issues and crises. Peter’s blog on the Internet, IT, and eDiscovery is widely recognized for timely topics and thought-provoking ideas: www.vogelitlawblog.com

Peter guides clients through the legal, technology and business mazes of electronic evidence, cyber security & insurance, intellectual property, contracts, government regulation, and litigation. He assists many clients with ESI (Electronically Stored Information) issues and related creation, development and implementation of records retention policies.

Because of his unique background and knowledge, Peter is often appointed as a Special Master to assist Courts throughout the US with eDiscovery & ESI, Internet, eCommerce, Intellectual Property, and IT matters. Peter is a Co-Founder of the American College of e-Neutrals and a Board Member and Fellow of the Academy of Court Appointed Masters. The Judges in the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania appointed Peter to the E-Discovery Special Master Panel. He also serves as a court ordered Mediator in eDiscovery & ESI, Internet, eCommerce, intellectual property, and computer technology litigation. For more than 30 years Peter has served as an Arbitrator for technology disputes and serves on the Board of Directors and is a TechList Member of the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center.

Peter has also devoted a substantial amount of time and energy serving government agencies and non-profit organizations by addressing their computer, Social Media, and Internet issues. Peter served as Founding Chair for 12 years of the TEXAS SUPREME COURT Judicial Committee on Information Technology whose mission is to put Internet on the desktops of all 3,200 judges in Texas and implement state eFiling (txcourts.gov/jcit).

In 1994 Peter was President of the DALLAS BAR ASSOCIATION and also served on the Board of Directors of the STATE BAR OF TEXAS, where he served as Founding Chair of the Computer & Technology Section. Peter teaches courses on eDiscovery and the Law of eCommerce as an Adjunct Professor at the SMU DEDMAN LAW SCHOOL, and is on the founding Board of Advisors of the SMU Computer Law Review and Technology Journal.

The STATE BAR OF TEXAS gave Peter the Gene Cavin Award for Excellence in Continuing Legal Education in 2013, and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Promoting Technology in the Law in 2004. In addition, Peter is regularly recognized as one of America’s Leading Business Lawyers in CHAMBERS, a Best Lawyer in America, a Top Lawyer in Dallas, and a Texas Super Lawyer.