Most organizations are in full throttle mode of planning or implementing a wide array of digital and business transformation initiatives, across the business as well as on a silo functional level. In turn, most organizations have an increased number of stakeholders being touched in some way by automation programs, and/or….are actively working on them for their respective focus area within their organization. 

With automation programs being equally driven and managed by a wide array of stakeholders and functional areas, such as from the C-Suite, senior-level technology executives, as well as from digital and business transformation, process improvement, operations, IT, automation, and most functional areas, and again, equally, there’s no wonder most executives working on automation programs feel there’s a profound underlying flaw in the automation program roll out system. As a by-product result, silo dynamics tend to sprout up, whereas breaking down said silos tend to get in the way of rolling out impactful automation programs in a smooth and effective manner.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• Establishing clear expectations for how departments will work together, with respect to sharing data, collaborating on projects, resolving conflicts, and much more
• Methods to establish a culture of effective cross-functional and varying team communication and collaboration
• Technology solutions that could offer a comprehensive view of diverse automation projects, pinpointing areas for cohesive collaboration

IA Maturity Level: All & Various

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Technology, Operations & Enterprise-Wide

Deji Adedayo - NEW

Intelligent Automation Lead & Product Owner
GORDON FOOD SERVICE

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Abir Roy - NEW

Director, Process Automation Engineering
BEST BUY

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Chris Montgomery - NEW

Digital Finance Leader
THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC

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Sangram Dhumal - NEW

Director, Intelligent Automation & Data CoE
OXFORD PROPERTIES

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Maxim Ioffe

Director, Global Intelligent Automation CoE
WESCO DISTRIBUTION

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Generative AI is a powerful form of intelligent automation technology that has the potential to significantly transform how organizations operate and how their workforce work, creating new opportunities for innovation, efficiency, and enhanced business opportunities and outcomes.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• What is it and what are the different types of generative AI tools
• Potential use cases
• Exploring various generative AI tools, to align with potential functional areas, objectives, use cases, and program roll-out budgets
• Integrating generative AI tools with legacy systems – challenges and solutions

IA Maturity Level: Early Adoption & Various

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Technology, Operations & Business-Wide

Ramnath Natarajan - NEW

Director of Information Technology, Intelligent Automation CoE
JOHNSON CONTROLS

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Benjamin Coblentz

Data and Technology Manager
AMERICAN FAMILY INSURANCE

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It’s never been easy to recruit and retain top IA talent – and with so many organizations in full throttle mode of planning or implementing digital transformation rollouts, it’s even more difficult to ace the IA program increased demand and IA workforce supply shortage seesaw.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• Developing innovative workforce recruitment and retainment initiatives
• Exploring various workforce engagement programs and how they can reduce employee turnover and increase productivity, engagement, and employee job satisfaction
• Identifying internal workforce candidates that have the potential to be IA Champions, and/or spearhead silo Citizen Development programs

IA Maturity Level: All & Various

Lines of Business Functional: HR, Operations, Technology & Business-Wide

Brian Dudiak - NEW

Director, Process Automation
PAYLOCITY

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Benjamin Coblentz

Data and Technology Manager
AMERICAN FAMILY INSURANCE

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As organizations increasingly turn to intelligent automation and generative AI to drive innovation and efficiency, effective vendor management has become more important than ever. Furthermore, with so many IA and generative AI vendors out there these days, all competing with each other to win your business, most have restructured their licensing models and better understanding each model and the pros and cons of each is essential, so to maximize your IA and generative AI ROI.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• Evaluating IA and generative AI vendors and selecting the right partners for a wide variety of procurement use cases
• Better understanding vendor integration and ensuring compatibility with existing IT systems
• Strategies for managing and negotiating IA and generative AI vendor contracts and licensing models

IA Maturity Level: Maturing & Scaling

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Finance, Technology, Operations & Business-Wide

Ryan Davis

Senior Vice President - Procurement Strategy & Innovation Executive
BANK OF AMERICA

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Angela McKeirnan - NEW

Former Director, Global Procurement Center of Excellence
DENTSPLY SIRONA

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Customers increasingly crave self-service options, but clunky interfaces and complex processes can leave them frustrated and reaching for the phone. This session dives into the science behind customer behavior and explores strategies to make self-service technologies truly user-friendly. By analyzing real-world data and case studies, we'll uncover what motivates customers to choose self-service and identify pain points that push them towards human interaction. 

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to: 

• Understanding the psychological factors influencing customer self-service adoption 
• Identifying common roadblocks that derail the self-service experience 
• Learning data-driven strategies to simplify interfaces and processes 
• Discovering innovative design principles that minimize customer effort 
• Exploring real-world examples of successful self-service implementations 

IA Maturity Level: All & Various  

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Business-Wide 

Before any functional area process or processes can be automated, there are many steps that must be taken first and as a team collaboration between automation teams, the functional area in need of an automation roll-out, as well as many other parties, such as governance and oversight, IT, audit, and much more, so to ensure program feasibility prior to launch.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• Which areas of the business need to get involved, so to help identify which processes can or should not be automated
• What needs to be identified, reviewed, and analyzed prior to an automation program roll-out
• Effectively collaborating with various functional area leaders to determine if a potential automation program meets the required technical, infrastructure, workforce, audit, governance, and other business requirements
• How to determine which processes would provide the greatest business outcomes and ROI

IA Maturity Level: Early Adoption & Various

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Technology, Operations, Technology, Process Improvement & Business-Wide

Kara Chaney - NEW

Intelligent Automation Analyst
MARCUM

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Dennis Culver, Jr. - NEW

CPA, Vice President, Performance Improvement
BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD OF TENNESSEE

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Reza Makhdoomi - NEW

Americas Industrial Autonomous Growth Leader
HONEYWELL

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Citizen Development and Champion programs have proven to be effective solutions to the shortage of automation talent in recent years. However, the ease with which non-technical workforces can create workflow apps comes with inherent risks, and strong governance is crucial to ensure that the benefits outweigh the risks. Nevertheless, if set up properly, Citizen Development and Champion programs can significantly reduce a wide array of automation workforce pain points.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• The importance of governance and CoE involvement, and determining who should take ownership of the programs
• Avoiding pitfalls such as inefficient workflows, process logic errors, poor design, redundancy, and insufficient business impact
• Identifying and upskilling workforces to become Citizen Developers and automation Champions – and how to effectively develop and manage said programs

IA Maturity Level: All & Various

Lines of Business Functional Focus: HR, Operations & Business-Wide

Matthew Muphree

Assistant Vice President, Employee Technology & Enablement
GM FINANCIAL

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Vipin Jain - NEW

Director - Automation Center of Excellence
OMERS

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Financial fraud is a major problem that costs businesses and individuals billions of dollars each year. In recent years, fraudsters have become increasingly sophisticated in their use of technology, making it more difficult for banks to detect fraud. Attend this use case session to learn how to utilize RPA, data analytics, data mining, and a variety of automation tools to detect and prevent financial fraud.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• How RPA can automate repetitive tasks, such as collecting data from different sources and entering it into a data analytics tool
• Data analytics tools that enable finance to analyze large amounts of data, so to identify patterns and anomalies
• Data mining to identify patterns and trends in large datasets of customer transactions
• Machine learning to identify historical data of fraudulent and non-fraudulent transactions

IA Maturity Level: All & Various

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Finance, Operations, Technology & Much More

Morey Thompson - NEW

Senior Director - Finance Operations
MYEYEDR.

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Attend this use case session on how there’s no one size fits all approach when it comes to building and executing impactful business transformation initiatives. Each organization has its unique culture, legacy systems, and DNA. This session will examine the lessons learned from failed business transformation programs, providing valuable insights for organizations seeking to avoid similar pitfalls.

In this use case session, you will learn more about:

• How organizational culture, employee resistance, and technology limitations can impede business transformation efforts
• Overcoming challenges that require strong leadership, effective communication, and a commitment to continuous improvement strategies
• The importance of learning from failure and preparing for future transformations
• How to increase your chances of success and achieve sustainable growth

IA Maturity Level: All & Various

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Operations, Process Improvement, Much More!

Riad Ardahji - NEW

Master Black Belt, Continuous Improvement (OpEx) & Digital Transformation Leader, MBB, MScE
DUPONT

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An intelligent automation Center of Excellence (CoE) is a team of experts responsible for the planning, development, implementation, and maintenance of automation solutions within an organization. That said, an automation CoE can play a critical role in helping organizations achieve their various automation objectives. In this session, we'll dive into a real-world use case that demonstrates how to successful startup an impactful automation CoE, so it can in turn provide highly valuable automation programs to the business.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• Defining the organization's overall and various automation strategies and roadmaps
• Identifying and prioritizing automation opportunities
• Selecting and implementing the right automation tools and technologies
• Training and upskilling employees on various automation tools and their use cases
• Measuring and optimizing the impact of automation
• Governance and oversight

IA Maturity Level: Early Adoption & Evolving

Lines of Business Functional Focus: GBS, Center of Excellence, Technology, Operations & Much More!

Tony Liao - NEW

Director, C-OTC Automation
PROCTER & GAMBLE

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Sangram Dhumal - NEW

Director, Intelligent Automation & Data CoE
OXFORD PROPERTIES

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In this session, we'll dive into a real-world use case that demonstrates how Sun Life Financial is utilizing generative AI, ML, and LLM (large language models) to support employee experience and their various operational transformation initiatives.

In this use case session, you will learn more about:

• How they set up their generative AI BETA tests
• Steps they took to move over many manual processes to automation
• How they developed their program roadmaps, KPIs, and metrics
• Result that have experienced thus far

IA Maturity Level: All & Various

Lines of Business Functional Focus: HR & Business-Wide

Shane Olson - NEW

Assistant Vice President, Global HR Shared Services, Global Talent
SUN LIFE FINANCIAL

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Finance reporting is a complex and time-consuming process. It involves collecting, analyzing, and summarizing large amounts of data. By automating finance reporting, organizations can save time and money, improve accuracy, and reduce the risk of human errors. However, with so many automation tools available, understanding which financial reporting processes to automate, and in turn, which automation tools to utilize can be quite challenging.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• Benefits of using automation tools to improve finance reporting
• Automation tools to collect data from different sources, such as accounting software, spreadsheets, and databases
• Visual dashboards to effectively communicate financial information to stakeholders
• Automation tools that can analyze data, generate reports, and identify trends & patterns
• Data analytics and generative AI for improved financial reporting

IA Maturity Level: All & Various

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Finance, Operations, Technology & Much More!

Steve Palomino - NEW

Director of Accounting Systems
AMERICAN BATH GROUP

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Chris Montgomery - NEW

Digital Finance Leader
THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC

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The increasing autonomy of systems fueled by unrestricted data flow promises agility and impact. However, this freedom introduces hidden dangers: privacy breaches, information misuse, and potential discrimination. Can current data governance strategies effectively manage these operational risks and ensure process improvement? 

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to: 

• Understanding how evolving legal frameworks impact data privacy in autonomous systems. 
• Identifying and mitigating potential data privacy threats. 
• Developing data governance strategies that enhance compliance and operational efficiency. 

IA Maturity Level: Maturing & Scaling 

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Business-Wide 

While a seasoned tradesman never blames their tools, there’s something to be said about using the right tool for the right job. There’s certainly a wide array of automation tools to choose from these days and having a keen understanding of their capabilities, restrictions, costs, and benefits is of utmost importance prior to selection and usage.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• Breaking down the differences between nice-to-have versus must-have automation tools
• Choosing the right automation tools based upon the use case’s technology, infrastructure, governance and oversight, workforce capabilities
• Mapping out how different automation toolkits may need to evolve over time

IA Maturity Level: Early Adoption & Evolving

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Operations, Technology & Much More!

Anoop Prasanna - NEW

Senior Director - Global Responsibility & Leveraged Engineering (& Global Tech Culture Champion) – Walmart Global Technology
WALMART

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Kush Pathak - NEW

Vice President, Business Transformation & Strategic Vendor Management
LINCOLN FINANCIAL GROUP

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Although automation use cases and program roll outs have increased over the years, many organizations, and their automation and functional area leaders still struggle to accurately measure the ROI of their digital transformation and automation initiatives. This is because every project is unique, with different objectives, technologies, resources, limitation, and budgets. Developing effective digital and automation project roadmaps, metrics, and KPIs to clearly demonstrate their business value isn’t easy, yet it is paramount, so to ensure continued stakeholder buy-in, support, and funding.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• Developing customized metrics and KPIs to measure a variety of digital & business transformation and automation programs – so to determine the value and impact they offer the business
• Applying various methods for determining automation program ROI, including cost savings, productivity gains, and much more
• Communicating effectively with stakeholders about the importance of customized ROI calculations

IA Maturity Level: All & Various

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Technology, Operations & Business-Wide

Tony Liao - NEW

Director, C-OTC Automation
PROCTER & GAMBLE

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Dennis Culver, Jr. - NEW

CPA, Vice President, Performance Improvement
BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD OF TENNESSEE

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Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize industries and transform the way we live and work. However, with great power comes great responsibility - and the potential risks of generative AI cannot be ignored, most notably with respect to data governance, privacy, IP, bias, ethics, workforce usage, and much more. That said, before an organization can dive into the generative AI pool on a business level, it’s mission critical to better understand what the risks maybe, so to determine if it’s indeed a technology your organization or functional areas can use at scale, or if silo usage is best at this time.

In this session, topics of discussion will include, yet will not be limited to:

• Rewards, benefits, and potential
• Risks – governance, oversight, audit, compliance

IA Maturity Level: Early Adoption & Various

Lines of Business Functional Focus: Technology, Operations & Business-Wide

Vivek Sinha - NEW

Senior Vice President - Head of Global Accounting
ASSET LIVING

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Abhishek Gupta - NEW

Digital Innovation Leader, Global Risk Management
PALO ALTO NETWORKS

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Rania Labib - NEW

Assistant Professor & Director of the Artificial Intelligence for High Performance Buildings Lab
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY

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Emmanuel Lai

Vice President - Automation Program Leader
WELLS FARGO

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