2018 Agenda
The IT agenda for 2018 is bigger and bolder than ever. Modernization. Automation. Transformation. Digitization. Acceleration. Innovation. The demands placed upon today’s CIO and IT overall have never been greater. MIT’s George Westerman confirmed this when he said, “There has never been a better time to be a great CIO or a worse time to be an average one.” Join our panel of experts and hear how they are addressing these realities, moving IT higher up the business value curve as “Innovative Anticipators,” and positioning their companies as industry disruptors.

Dow Chemical CIO Melanie Kalmar has one of the biggest jobs in IT leadership today, navigating the $48 billion chemical giant through a global digital transformation and leading integration activities from its mega-merger with DuPont. In a fireside chat with Brian Watson, Co-Head of CIO Networks at Metis Strategy and author of Confessions of a Successful CIO, Kalmar will describe how she has restructured and refocused her organization to drive necessary change--and add new value--to the new Dow.
Raman will discuss a hands-on digital transformation journey with a three step process of being “Energized”, “Engaged” and “Innovative”. How some of the foundational infrastructure improvements such as global network transformation and service management modernization are paving the way for innovations. The session will discuss a blueprint of how IT can be successful by speaking the language of the business and become an innovation partner by leveraging emerging trends such as AI and edge computing.
We'll explore how leading from an innovative mindset can be a driver of organizational success. Transformation begins with encouraging innovation from all levels of the organization. Learn how "the Yazaki Spirit" and service-mindedness empowers people to make smart, considerate and impactful business decisions.
A strategic direction is essential to making the right technological investments. Not every trend is worth pursuing, but missing the ones that are can be costly. An outcomes-focused approach gives you a framework to strategically evaluate emerging technology's alignment with your business's direction. Most importantly, using a business outcomes framework can help you create the foundation for your adoption strategy. Determine which trends are worth your attention, chart an adoption course and build a business case for your stakeholders. Info-Tech will dive into four trends that represents the convergence of several previously trending technologies:
• User-facing AI to enable automation of front line business activities
• Robotic Process Automation to augment, not replace, human performance
• The Digital Twin, an aggregated data replicate of a system, will enable decentralized monitoring and predictive analytics
• Blockchain 2.0 enabling distributed ledger technology to specific use cases
The new $1.85 million fiber ring allows businesses access to network capacity of up to 100 gigabits per second. Where 10 gigabits per second was the gold standard for average business, the 100 gigabits will eventually become the new standard as technology progresses and business demands grow. Hear about some of the obstacles that Comcast Business overcame to make these advancements.
With technology driving disruptions in America and around the world, the Ohio Turnpike is well-prepared for advanced connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) research and is currently deploying a fleet modernization and safety notification project enabled by Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) technology. The broader issue of CAV will be framed in broader societal terms of increased safety, economic benefits and quality of life improvements.
Starting with safety—the World Health Organization (WHO) and The Center for Disease Control (CDC) refer to traffic crashes as “a global problem.” Randy will discuss details of the health impacts of traffic crashes. Major disruptions driven by two advances in transportation technology, the airplane and the personal automobile provide context for the current need for government support and the potential economic impacts of new technologies. With so much attention being spent on driver acceptance of the new technologies, Randy will delve deeper into that research and some of what is being missed. He’ll also explore a range of potential positive impacts beyond the adoption of the technologies themselves.
The connected vehicle is already here to stay. Come hear a live discussion on how is it enabling companies, changing business models, evolving roadways, and even impacting societies.
Now more than ever CIO leaders need to effectively influence, gain trust and motivate others to action. But do they know HOW to be a “people expert,” and not just a technology expert? Learning HOW to apply basic principles of psychology to your business conversations can have a huge impact on influencing others and getting to yes and alignment more quickly. Learning a story FRAMEWORK and emotional skills will help CIOs influence and change business outcomes by CHANGING THE CONVERSATION.
Inventing new and cool technology isn’t usually a problem for most companies – however, transformative technology alone doesn’t always lead to winning products in market. Shifting from purely technology-driven innovation to human-centered innovation anchored in user empathy is more likely to drive truly transformational solutions versus incremental improvements. Whether you’re developing a strategy for future worker tools or launching new products and services, starting with customer desirability will help uncover nascent ideas, identify technology requirements and technology research areas, and drive outcomes that people love!