Main Day Two - Wednesday, September 17, 2025

8:00 am - 9:00 am Executive Breakfast and Registration

9:00 am - 9:15 am SSON Welcome & Opening Remarks

9:15 am - 10:00 am The Future of Corporate Finance: Adapting to a New Landscape

John Adams - Chief Financial Officer, MIT Lincoln Laboratory

As the corporate finance function faces unprecedented changes driven by economic volatility, technological advancements, and evolving stakeholder expectations, finance leaders must recalibrate their vision for the future. This session will explore the critical need for finance functions to establish trust, demonstrate value, and adopt a more autonomous approach. Join us to navigate the evolving landscape of corporate finance and ensure your organization remains relevant and resilient in the face of rapid change.

 

·          Understand the importance of establishing trust with stakeholders and articulating the finance function’s value beyond being a cost center

·          Discuss the shift from reactive, historical analysis to a proactive, autonomous finance function that leverages automation and real-time data to anticipate future challenges

 


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John Adams

Chief Financial Officer
MIT Lincoln Laboratory

A series of 25-minute consultative meetings with service providers that can help provide insights and value to your roadmaps, strategies, and plans for the quarters to come: based on mutual availability and personal preference. 

1:1 Business Meetings

10:00 am - 10:25 am 1:1 Business Meetings

A series of 25 minute consultative meetings with service providers that can help provide insights and value to your roadmaps, strategies, and plans for the quarters to come: based on mutual availability and personal preference. 

1:1 Business Meetings

10:30 am - 10:55 am 1:1 Business Meetings

This is an opportunity to select some common challenges that you would like to collaborate with your peers on. In groups of roundtables, we will discuss and explore ideas and areas of opportunities.  

Challenge Rounds

10:00 am - 10:25 am Evolving Finance Functions: Adapting to New Demands
Dumitrache Martinez - CFO Mars Global Services, Mars

As the finance landscape shifts, leaders must adapt to new responsibilities driven by talent shortages and digital skill demands. Engage in a challenge round to share insights on workforce management and talent acquisition strategies.

 

·          Discuss innovative approaches to attract and retain finance talent

·          Collaborate on solutions for enhancing digital skill sets within your team

 


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Dumitrache Martinez

CFO Mars Global Services
Mars

Challenge Rounds

10:30 am - 10:55 am Bridging the Finance Skills Gap: Preparing Your Team for Tomorrow’s Challenges
Imad Barake - Chief Financial Officer, Airswift

This session will provide actionable insights on how to enhance your finance team's skills and capabilities, ensuring they are prepared to navigate both current complexities and future challenges. Learn how strategic training, new leadership, and a focus on building a future-ready workforce can transform your team for long-term success.


·      Address the skills gap in finance through structured, high-impact training programs

·      Build a highly skilled, future-ready workforce equipped for emerging challenges

·      Leverage new leadership to accelerate growth and drive strategic financial functions




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Imad Barake

Chief Financial Officer
Airswift

11:00 am - 11:30 am Networking Break: Connect and Engage with Peers

Take a moment to recharge and connect with fellow finance leaders during our Networking Break. This is an invaluable opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations, share insights, and forge relationships.

11:30 am - 12:00 pm Riding the Waves of Economic Chaos: How to Thrive, Not Just Survive

Krish Gupta - SVP and CFO, CRH Canada Group

In the face of inflation and market unpredictability, CFOs must go beyond survival mode. Learn how to make bold financial moves that drive both resilience and growth.


·      Uncover dynamic strategies for slashing costs without stifling innovation

·      Co-create approaches to turning uncertainty into a competitive advantage


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Krish Gupta

SVP and CFO
CRH Canada Group

A series of 25-minute consultative meetings with service providers that can help provide insights and value to your roadmaps, strategies, and plans for the quarters to come: based on mutual availability and personal preference. 

1:1 Business Meetings

12:00 pm - 12:25 pm 1:1 Business Meetings

A series of 25 minute consultative meetings with service providers that can help provide insights and value to your roadmaps, strategies, and plans for the quarters to come: based on mutual availability and personal preference. 

1:1 Business Meetings

12:30 pm - 12:55 pm 1:1 Business Meetings

A series of 25 minute consultative meetings with service providers that can help provide insights and value to your roadmaps, strategies, and plans for the quarters to come: based on mutual availability and personal preference. 

This is an opportunity to select some common challenges that you would like to collaborate with your peers on. In groups of roundtables, we will discuss and explore ideas and areas of opportunities.  

Challenge Rounds

12:00 pm - 12:25 pm Data-Driven Decision Making: Leveraging Analytics for Strategic Growth
Afonso Guimaraes - R2R Business Transformation Lead, Marathon Oil

As data becomes a critical asset, finance is evolving from a retrospective function to a proactive driver of enterprise value. This session will explore the strategic implementation of advanced analytics to enhance decision-making and accelerate organizational growth.

 

·          Exchange insights on establishing a comprehensive analytics framework

·          Collaborate on addressing challenges in data integration and optimization for actionable insights

 


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Afonso Guimaraes

R2R Business Transformation Lead
Marathon Oil

Challenge Rounds

12:30 pm - 12:55 pm CIO & CFO Collaboration: Driving Digital Transformation in Finance
Antonio Marin - CIO, US Med-Equip

 The synergy between CIOs and CFOs is crucial for successful digital transformation. This session will explore how finance and IT leaders can collaborate to drive innovation, enhance operational efficiency, and achieve strategic business objectives.

 

·          Align IT initiatives with financial goals to support business growth

·          Evaluate technology investments for measurable ROI

Leverage data analytics to inform strategies and address cybersecurity/compliance challenges

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Antonio Marin

CIO
US Med-Equip

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Executive Luncheon

In the face of inflation and market unpredictability, CFOs must go beyond survival mode. Learn how to make bold financial moves that drive both resilience and growth.

 

·          Uncover dynamic strategies for slashing costs without stifling innovation

·          Co-create approaches to turning uncertainty into a competitive advantage

 


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Keith Cowart

Global Market Owner, Automated Finance
FIS

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Dumitrache Martinez

CFO Mars Global Services
Mars

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Kathryn Armstrong

GPO, Credit
Meta

2:45 pm - 3:10 pm 1:1 Business Meetings

A series of 25 minute consultative meetings with service providers that can help provide insights and value to your roadmaps, strategies, and plans for the quarters to come: based on mutual availability and personal preference. 

2:45 pm - 3:10 pm Challenge Round: Scaling Intelligent Process Automation—From Task Automation to End-to-End Impact
Alfredo Civallero - CFO – Americas, GEA Group

As automation evolves from isolated use cases to enterprise-wide strategies, finance leaders must rethink how they orchestrate intelligent automation at scale. This session explores how to integrate RPA, GenAI, and citizen development into core finance operations to unlock measurable, end-to-end impact.


·      Share lessons learned and scalable approaches for maximizing automation value

·      Explore how to balance governance with empowered innovation across teams

·      Align automation efforts with business outcomes and ROI


 

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Alfredo Civallero

CFO – Americas
GEA Group

3:15 pm - 3:40 pm 1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS

3:15 pm - 3:45 pm Benchmarking Session: Shape the Conversation in Real Time

Join us for an unscripted Benchmarking Session where you and your peers set the agenda! This dynamic, interactive forum allows you to explore the most pressing challenges and trends in finance, share real-time insights, and collaborate on best practices. Come prepared to dive deep into the topics that matter most to you and leverage the collective expertise of your fellow executives to drive meaningful discussions and innovative solutions.

 

3:45 pm - 4:15 pm Networking Break

4:15 pm - 4:40 pm 1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS

4:15 pm - 4:40 pm Embracing AI: Measuring ROI in Finance
Chris Costa - Chief of Staff and Head of Finance Transformation, Chewy

As AI adoption surges, finance leaders are tasked with assessing its return on investment while navigating uncertainty. This session will explore strategies for effectively measuring AI’s impact beyond the numbers.

 

·          Discuss how to quantify productivity and customer satisfaction gains from AI

·          Share best practices for integrating AI solutions that align with your finance strategy

 

Chris Costa, Chief of Staff and Head of Finance Transformation, Chewy

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Chris Costa

Chief of Staff and Head of Finance Transformation
Chewy

4:45 pm - 5:10 pm Tech Stack Transformation: Rebuild for the Future

Rahul Malhotra - CFO, Integreon

Finance leaders are rethinking their tech infrastructure to boost agility and performance. Join us to evaluate the most effective ways to streamline your tech stack and drive cloud-based success.


·          Discuss ERP integrations and cloud migrations that elevate financial performance

·          Collaborate on selecting the right tech tools to fuel growth

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Rahul Malhotra

CFO
Integreon

5:15 pm - 6:15 pm Reception: Reflect and Connect with Peers

Join us for an engaging Reception where you can unwind and reflect on the day's sessions. Share insights and compare notes with fellow executives, discussing actionable steps to implement what you've learned and enhance your strategic initiatives.