How Virtual Assistants Can Engage Customers

Led by Rebecca Caleb
Senior Vice President, Technology Executive - Cash servicing and Merchant Operations Technology
Bank of America

Discuss how AI-powered virtual assistants, like Bank of America's Erica, are transforming customer engagement at scale. From personalized support and 24/7 responsiveness to streamlining complex tasks, virtual assistants are becoming essential tools for improving user experience, boosting satisfaction, and driving operational efficiency at scale.

REBECCA CALEB (BECKY)

REBECCA CALEB (BECKY)

Day 2 Speaker

Becky Caleb is a Global Technology Executive leading Enterprise Transaction Services (ETS) - Cash Servicing Technology, Testing Automation across ETS, Consumer Deposits and Wealth Banking Technology along with driving Cyber Resiliency Operational Excellence efforts. With an extensive background in Information Technology, Business and Management, she has held various senior leadership roles implementing strategic enterprise-wide transformations maximizing ROI through application of new technologies, driving digital innovation engineering, product management, process improvement, enterprise business agility, modernizing infrastructure, testing strategies and business process reengineering for creation of better products and providing the best client experience. A Passionate advocate and champion for empowering women leaders, she is the Executive Sponsor for Women in Technology and Operations Group and Asian Leadership Network - North Texas Employee network at Bank of America. Instrumental in launching impactful mentoring, coaching programs, local Asian Business Council, actively engaged in Girls Who Code, NCWIT, Grace Hopper, Year-Up, Better Money Habits - Financial literacy programs, STEM – Robotics and GenAI initiatives promoting business integration while developing strong partnerships with the broader community. She serves on the National Executive Board for the American Society of Software Engineers (ASEI) and Executive Board Advisor for National and Local programs for ASCEND North Texas. A renowned speaker, panelist across several industry conferences with the passion to drive the culture of innovation and excellence forward. She lives in Prosper, TX with her husband and two children.

Innovation and Responsible AI Development at TIAA

Led by John Almasan
Senior Managing Director, Head of AI & Emerging Tech
TIAA

Join us for an engaging discussion exploring how TIAA is navigating the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence. This session will dive into how we approach governance, innovation, and the development of responsible AI technologies across the organization.
Table talk leader will share insights on:

• How TIAA establishes effective governance for AI systems
• The rise of agentic AI and what it means for the future of work
• Best practices for building, training, and managing AI responsibly
• Methods for ensuring AI systems are trustworthy and aligned with our values
• What’s on the horizon for AI innovation at TIAA

DR. JOHN ALMASAN

DR. JOHN ALMASAN

Day 2 Speaker

Dr. Almasan is an accomplished technology executive with over 20 years of experience leading global tech teams and building large-scale data, analytics, and cloud platforms for prominent companies such as TIAA, McKinsey & Co., American Express, Bank of America, and Nationwide Insurance. With deep expertise in multi-cloud big data engineering, machine learning, and data science, John is a hands-on practitioner who is passionate about enabling the acceleration of AI adoption. As an adjunct professor at various universities and a member of Arizona State University's Board of Advisors, Dr. Almasan is committed to preparing the next generation to meet the future's skillset needs and demands. He focuses on employee cross-training and actively engages in teaching and mentoring students in the field. John holds two master's degrees in Engineering and Statistics, a Doctor of Business Administration, and has over 20+ patents credited to his name. He has received several awards throughout his career for his contributions to the technology industry.

Redefining Product Management for the AI Era

Led by Taiago Calheiros
Director of Product - Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters

AI is reshaping how PMs define, build, and ship products. This conversation will focus on what changes in product management when AI is involved—and share best practices to upskill PMs to lead AI-driven initiatives effectively.

TIAGO CALHEIROS

TIAGO CALHEIROS

Day 2 Speaker

Tiago Calheiros is a strategic product leader with extensive experience developing innovative AI-powered solutions across financial and tax domains. As Director of Product Management at Thomson Reuters, he leads the AI Tax Prep team developing cutting-edge tax preparation solutions. Previously, Tiago served as Director of Product at Docyt, where he developed AI automation for accounting workflows, and held multiple product management roles at Intuit focusing on bookkeeping and tax solutions.

Scaling through Innovation with Agentic AI

Led by Raju Balan
AI Leader
Slalom

Explore how Agentic AI – intelligent agents capable of independently interacting with humans – can drive innovation and scalability through accelerated application modernization. We will discuss the role of these AI agents in enhancing operational efficiency and modernizing legacy applications to meet the demands of today's digital landscape.

RAJU BALAN SLALOM

RAJU BALAN

SLALOM

Raju Balan is an AI Leader at Slalom, a global technology, business and strategy consulting firm. He is based in Dallas, Texas. With over 15 years of experience, Raju has been pivotal in driving transformation at Fortune 500 companies by deploying innovative data science and AI solutions and helping shape their data and AI strategies. His deep involvement extends beyond mere application; he critically analyzes both the technical and societal ramifications of AI, driving not only business innovations but also contributing to the broader dialogue, as we will experience today, surrounding AI’s future role in society, and has authored several articles on the topic and spoken at numerous events.

Watching the Watchers: Legal Risks in Surveillance and AI-Powered Pricing

Led by Brad Weber
co-leader Antitrust Practice
Troutman Pepper Locke

Using algorithms to set prices can be smart—but it can also get you into legal hot water. We’ll talk about what to watch out for when it comes to antitrust rules, dynamic pricing, and using customer data.

BRAD WEBER

BRAD WEBER

Day 2 Speaker

Brad Weber is the Co-Chair of Troutman Pepper Locke's Antitrust Practice Group and Artificial Intelligence Industry Group, working in both the Dallas and Washington, D.C. offices. He also is a Past Chair of the Antitrust & Business Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas, a former Director on the Board of the State Bar of Texas, a Past President of the Dallas Bar Association, and a Past Chair of the Dallas Bar Foundation. Brad has developed a full-service antitrust practice with an emphasis on litigation, government investigations and antitrust compliance. His recent litigation cases have involved clients from a wide range of industries, including insurance, multifamily property management, electronics, building products, energy, chemicals, medical devices, travel services, telecommunications and agriculture. He also has extensive experience representing clients in class actions and multidistrict litigation

Agentic AI – Collaboration Between AI and Humans

Led by Chuck Dennis
Principal Director
Accenture

Investigate how Agentic AI can serve as an indispensable ally to human decision-making by analyzing data, providing insights, and suggesting innovative solutions. Discover the importance of designing systems that align with human needs across diverse industries, such as healthcare, finance, and education. Finally, explore ways to create an effective partnership that balances human intuition with AI-driven precision, aiming for impactful progress and mutual empowerment.

CHUCK DENNIS

CHUCK DENNIS

Day 2 Speaker

Chuck is a dynamic team player with over 30 years of success delivering complex solutions in diverse and challenging environments. He is currently co-leading the Generative AI focus for Accenture's Global Life Sciences Commercial business, with a strong emphasis on developing agentic architectures to enable adaptive, intelligent systems. Chuck also specializes in Federated Learning Systems, creating secure, decentralized frameworks for data processing and collaborative model training.

AGI: Hope or Hype

Led By Ross Bates
CTO
Worlds

As AI capabilities accelerate at an unprecedented pace, let's step back to consider the question of whether the fundamental nature of machine intelligence is evolving or if we're witnessing another iteration of familiar patterns. This roundtable will examine how the convergence of novel architectures, expanded datasets, and compute infrastructure has produced AI systems with unexpected capabilities. We will engage in a spirited debate about whether these developments truly represent a fundamental break from previous cycles of AI hype and subsequent winters.

ROSS BATES WORLDS

ROSS BATES

WORLDS

Day 1 Speaker

Ross is the CTO at Worlds where he leads strategic AI innovation, developing products that ensure enterprise AI readiness for customers. With 25 years engineering distributed systems for machine learning and analytics at scale for companies like AT&T, Oracle, and Hitachi, he brings deep technical expertise spanning scrappy startups and mature Fortune 500 environments.

AI in Healthcare

Led by Andrew Olowu
CTO
Axxess

Artificial Intelligence as the Backbone of Value-Based Healthcare - We will explore how AI is transforming value-based care by driving improvements in clinical quality, operational efficiency, and financial performance. Learn how AI systems can automate documentation, support the care workforce, and ensure accurate, compliant billing in today’s outcome-driven healthcare landscape.

ANDREW OLOWU

ANDREW OLOWU

Day 2 speaker

As Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Axxess, Andrew Olowu is responsible for the development and execution of the software ecosystem and overall technology vision of the leading technology innovator for healthcare at home. With nearly 20 years of experience in the information technology (IT) field, Andrew has played key roles in solving complex business problems by building enterprise solutions. His innovative approach and aptitude for IT solutions has elevated the scope and influence of IT in the home health industry. Since joining Axxess in 2008, Andrew has been the architect of the Axxess software platform, a game-changing technology solution in home healthcare. He leads all aspects of the platform, including mobile and desktop development, cloud computing, distributed databases, and vendor integrations. As CTO, he has introduced strategic innovations that have increased software performance, improved client satisfaction and grown market share. Prior to Axxess, Andrew held a variety of leadership roles in information technology and led digital systems development for BMW, HP, T-Mobile, Reed Smith LLP, and other brands. His contributions at BMW were instrumental in the complete redesign of the bmwusa.com website. At HP, Andrew played an integral role in its Global Risk Management System, widely used by HP credit analysts and which realized cost-savings of $2 million per day. Andrew currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Home Care Technology Advisory Council (HCTAC.) He has also held leadership roles on the Technology Association of North Texas (Tech Titans) and has served on the Partnership for Medicaid Home-Based Care’s EVV Standards Committee. In 2016, he was recognized as Corporate CTO of the Year by Tech Titans for his significant contributions to the industry. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from Northeastern University in Boston, and his interests include private cloud computing and enterprise architectural patterns.

Agentic AI and the Future of Work: Legal Considerations for Workforce Automation

Led by Charles Zerner
Principal Attorney
Munck Wilson Mandela

This discussion addresses the significant legal implications arising from AI systems—including, but not limited to, agentic AI capable of independent decision-making—that increasingly automate critical knowledge-worker tasks, such as customer support, order processing, marketing, research, HR processes, manufacturing, and more.

CHARLES ZERNER

CHARLES ZERNER

Charles-Theodore Zerner is a principal attorney in Munck Wilson’s complex commercial litigation and dispute resolution group, distinguished by his twenty-year passion for and engagement with artificial intelligence. For the past decade, Charles has intertwined his career as a complex commercial litigator with his artificial intelligence acumen, cultivating genuine cross-domain expertise to improve the factfinding process and help clients navigate the intricate landscape of AI-related legal matters. Charles has helped clients resolve a broad range of high-stakes commercial disputes, including contract disputes, trade secret misappropriation, copyright and patent infringement, antitrust claims under the Sherman Act and related unfair competition, business torts and breach of fiduciary duty claims arising in corporate, LLC, and family trust contexts, securities fraud, RICO, and claims under the False Claims Act, among others, in matters ranging from $50,000 to over $1 billion in controversy.

Unlocking the Value of Business AI Across Your Enterprise Systems

Led by Vickie Zheng
AI GTM Strategy Principal supporting the South Market Unit
SAP

We will explore how organizations can unlock value from Business AI by leveraging their existing enterprise systems— including SAP. We'll discuss strategies to begin or accelerate your AI journey, how to build AI roadmaps aligned with your business priorities, and uncover untapped opportunities across your technology stack.

VICKIE ZHENG

VICKIE ZHENG

Day 2 Speaker

Vicki Zheng is an AI GTM Strategy Principal supporting the South Market Unit. She focuses on SAP Business AI adoption and assists customers in identifying their SAP AI journey that aligns technology with business objectives. Drawing on industry expertise and business process knowledge, she aids organizations in utilizing SAP Business AI to address key business challenges.

Harnessing the Power of AI: How to Get Started Through Real-World Use Cases

Led by Luis Fernando Sanchez
Executive Vice President of Arroyo Consulting within BGSF’s Professional Division
BGSF

Explore the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and learn how to integrate it effectively into your workflows and strategies. This presentation will provide an introduction to AI, focusing on practical use cases across diverse industries. From automating routine tasks to enhancing customer experiences, we will highlight actionable insights and tools to get you started. Whether you're new to AI or seeking innovative applications, this session will equip you with the knowledge to leverage AI technologies. Join us to discover how AI can transform your processes and drive meaningful results.

LUIS FERNANDO SANCHEZ

LUIS FERNANDO SANCHEZ

Luis Fernando Sanchez is the Executive Vice President of Arroyo Consulting within BGSF’s Professional Division. With more than 30 years of experience in IT development, consulting, and operations, he has led growth initiatives and delivered innovative technology solutions for Fortune 1000 companies. Luis began his career in finance before advancing into executive leadership roles, including President of PSL Technology Corporation and Arroyo Consulting LLC. He is recognized for his expertise in strategic IT management and nearshore delivery operations. He holds an MBA in Information Systems from the University of North Texas and a BA in Business Administration from Universidad EAFIT. Known for his commitment to excellence and client-centric approach, Luis is a trusted leader in the IT consulting space.

Human Skills in the AI Era

Led By Henry Deng
Employer Partnerships Lead
Grow with Google

What uniquely human skills are most critical to develop or cultivate in the AI era, and how are you working on those for yourself and your organization? What impact do you expect AI to have on the labor market or workforce?

HENRY DENG

HENRY DENG

Day 1 Speaker

Henry leads employer partnerships for Grow with Google, Google’s $1 billion commitment to economic opportunity. The initiative's flagship programs include Google Career Certificates, Google AI Essentials, and Google Prompting Essentials. These programs help individuals unlock access to in-demand, well-paying jobs regardless of educational background or work experience. Since 2021, these certificates have provided significant upward mobility to over one million job seekers globally. Henry has focused on education and upskilling throughout his career, with 10+ years of experience at Google, Accenture, Guild Education, and various startups. He holds a BA degree from Rice University and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  

Google's Agentic AI: Empowering Enterprises – Your One-Stop, Scalable, Secure, and Responsible Solution

Led by Santosh Chennuri
Customer Engineering Lead
Google

Join us for a table talk to discover how Google is empowering enterprises with the AI agent revolution! We'll explore how Google Cloud's Vertex AI Agent Builder enables custom AI solutions and how Agentspace boosts employee productivity. Learn about visionary projects like the multimodal Astra and web-automating Mariner that are pushing boundaries. See how specialized agents like Jules assist coders, Gemini gains broader agent capabilities, and Deep Research in Gemini Advanced offers automated, comprehensive insights for your business.

SANTOSH CHENNURI GOOGLE

SANTOSH CHENNURI

GOOGLE

Santosh Kumar Chennuri is a Customer engineering lead at Google, where he partners with enterprise C-suite leaders to transform core business operations through advanced AI. He specializes in deploying and scaling Google’s AI stack including Gemini and Vertex AI to architect the strategic foundations for agentic workflows. His recent focus includes agent orchestration, AgentOps, and governing AI agents at scale, enabling organizations to deploy reasoning-based systems that significantly boost developer and employee productivity. Santosh has a proven track record of leading large-scale digital transformations to the cloud for global enterprises. A recognized "Dallas AI 75" innovator and thought leader, he is dedicated to converting the theoretical power of Agentic AI into tangible operational value and a new era of corporate efficiency.

The invisible Assistant: How AI is Behind Every Great Customer Experience at Walmart

Led by Tina Budnaitis
Market Manager
Walmart

AI is the silent engine behind every great experience at Walmart - predicting need, streamlining operations, and personalizing at scale.  It’s not just technology; it’s our invisible assistant helping us serve customers better every day.

TINA BUDNAITIS

TINA BUDNAITIS

Day 2 Speaker

Tina is Market Manager at Walmart With over two decades of experience at Walmart, Tina began her career as a part-time Photo Lab Technician at Store #46 in Bolivar, Missouri while attending Southwest Baptist University. While earning her degree in Business Management, she worked across all three shifts in various roles, developing a deep understanding of retail operations and strengthening her leadership skills. After graduating in 2005, Tina was promoted to Assistant Manager and moved through several leadership roles, including Co-Manager and Store Manager, with experience in stores across Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas. Her first Store Manager role was in 2011 in Fordyce, Arkansas, followed by an interim appointment as Store Manager in Pine Bluff, along with managing the Camden, Arkansas store. She later transitioned into a Market Human Resources Manager role in Northwest Arkansas, where she developed multi-unit leadership skills, supported associate development across several markets, and built a strong professional network. In 2016, Tina returned to store operations as the Store Manager of Store 5260 in Rogers, Arkansas. There, she led a high-performing team, piloted programs that were scaled across the enterprise, and hosted high-profile events including executive tours, shareholder activities, analyst visits, and executive onboarding sessions. In 2018, she was promoted to Market Manager, overseeing markets in both Springfield and Kansas City, Missouri. In 2022, Tina relocated to Dallas to run multiple markets in North Dallas. Known as a performance-driven leader, Tina has a strong track record of delivering results. She is passionate about team development and is committed to continuous learning, growth, and excellence in a fast-paced retail environment.

AI on the Edge: Outthink the Barriers – A Hands-On Simulation Game

Led by Charles Knight
Managing Vice President of Dallas
Pariveda

Ready to move beyond AI theory and actually experience what it takes to win with AI at scale?

Join us for a session that’s nothing like a typical conference talk. After a rapid intro on why most AI initiatives stall, you’ll jump into the action as a player in AION EDGE—our immersive collaborative board game where we’ll transform the organization through AI adoption, activate powerful organizational feedback loops, and work together to generate the highest financial impact.

What to expect:

• Collaborate with peers as you make high-stakes AI implementation decisions
• Activate powerful feedback loops and see your impact ripple across the enterprise
• Experience the drama of risk, reward, and organizational transformation
• Leave with a practical framework—and the real-world instincts that come from having played through the toughest AI challenges

CHARLES KNIGHT

CHARLES KNIGHT

Day 2 Speaker

Charles Knight serves as Pariveda's Managing Vice President of Dallas, where he leads a dynamic team focused on developing people and teams to their highest potential to deliver transformative solutions for his clients. Knight brings deep expertise in enterprise architecture, data platforms, and artificial intelligence, with specialization in human-centered design and systems thinking approaches to create transformative advantages for clients.

With close to 20 years in consulting, Charles Knight’s expertise spans custom application development, data engineering, cloud transformation, generative AI implementation, and enterprise architecture across industries including airlines, finance & insurance, automotive, real estate, energy, and e-commerce. His approach combines technical acumen with a deep understanding of human-centered design principles to enable organizations to achieve sustainable competitive advantages through the use of technology. 

Charles loves spending quality time with his wife and two amazing daughters traveling the world. He loves reading books, meditating, listening to podcasts, experimenting with generative AI, and reading the latest medical studies to optimize for longevity. 

Knight holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems from The University of Texas at Austin. His dedication to community service is reflected in his board leadership roles with Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas and VolunteerNow, where he works to create a lasting positive impact in the Dallas community.

Plugging into the Dallas-Fort Worth AI Ecosystem

Led by Babar Bhatti
Cofounder
Dallas AI

Learn how you can plug into the growing AI ecosystem in Dallas-Fort Worth—from startups to enterprise innovation. Led by Dallas AI, the conversation will highlight local opportunities to collaborate, scale, and stay engaged in the community.

BABAR BHATTI DALLAS AI

BABAR BHATTI

DALLAS AI

Day 2 Speaker

Babar Bhatti is a Principal Data and AI Customer Success Manager at IBM. He is co-founder and Executive VP of Dallas AI, a meetup group of over 4800 AI professionals. He is a hands-on practitioner of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and holds certifications for cloud, data and machine learning technologies. Babar writes a blog about practical applications of AI on Medium. Before his current role, Babar was Head of Product at Zapata Computing, a Quantum computing company. Before that, Babar was Principal, Product Management at CoreLogic, a provider of real-estate data and analytics. At CoreLogic, he led product strategy, development and commercialization of machine learning products for the real-estate industry. Babar has spoken about AI and technology at Harvard Club of Dallas, Google, DFW Executive Connection, University of Texas at Dallas, MIT Club of DFW and Financial Executives International (FEI). Babar served as tri-chair of Tech Titans AI Forum, a leading industry organization in Dallas Fort Worth. Babar was co-founder and CEO of MutualMind, a social media analytics company that served global brands such as IBM, American Airlines, Nestle, and Hilton. Babar also held various technical and management positions at Verizon Communications and won 3 innovation and excellence awards. He has also served as chairman, MIT Enterprise Forum of Dallas Fort Worth. He was author of a chapter in the book Cyber Security Standards, Practices and Industrial Applications. Babar holds a dual MS from MIT in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Technology and Policy

Plugging into the Dallas-Fort Worth AI Ecosystem

Led by Dan Sinawat
Founder
AIConnex

Learn how you can plug into the growing AI ecosystem in Dallas-Fort Worth—from startups to enterprise innovation. Led by AIConnex, the conversation will highlight local opportunities to collaborate, scale, and stay engaged in the community.

DAN SINAWAT

DAN SINAWAT

Dan Sinawat is a visionary leader in artificial intelligence and a driving force in the Dallas tech ecosystem. As CEO of VC ARENA, he is on a mission to transform Dallas into the next Silicon Valley, bringing together VCs and founders to fuel innovation and investment. Recognized by Dallas Innovates, the Dallas Regional Chamber, and Dallas AI as AI75 Honoree for his leadership as Founder of AI CONNEX, he has been named one of the AI Champions and Innovative Leaders in AI in DFW. Dan continues to play a pivotal role in building a global AI community and connecting cutting-edge technology with real-world applications.

AI in K-12 Education

Led by Angie Gaylord
Chief Academic Officer
Dallas ISD

Explore how AI is reshaping K-12 education, from personalized learning and intelligent tutoring to the challenges and opportunities of preparing the next generation for an AI-driven world.

ANGIE GAYLORD DALLAS ISD

ANGIE GAYLORD

DALLAS ISD

Day 2 Speaker

Angie Gaylord was appointed Dallas ISD’s Chief Academic Officer in September 2023.  Previously, she served as Associate Superintendent of Transformation and Magnet Schools when her role as deputy chief of OTI expanded to lead the Region V choice schools, counseling services, and advanced academics. Her experience in education spans over 27 years, beginning as a high school teacher in Dallas ISD. In her most recent role, she scaled the innovation initiatives for the district, launching all new transformation and innovation schools. Gaylord returned to the district in 2016 to relaunch the professional development department for the Teaching and Learning division.  Before returning back to Dallas ISD in 2016, Gaylord was an administrator in both Irving and Cedar Hill ISD, serving as an assistant principal, principal, and executive director of professional and digital development.  She was the founding principal of Lady Bird Johnson Middle School the first net zero middle school in the USA. Gaylord graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in kinesiology. She later earned a master’s degree from California State University, Los Angeles, while teaching in Glendale, CA.   Gaylord comes from a family of Texas public educators, with a mother serving over 40 years and a father serving over 50 years at the elementary and middle school level.