Southern California CDAO Executive Summit

Winning in today’s market means turning data into your biggest advantage. Despite its potential, organizations often struggle with fragmented data systems, poor data quality and rapidly shifting technologies that make execution challenging. To address these hurdles, data leaders must prioritize clear governance frameworks, adopt scalable technologies and cultivate a culture that values data literacy and collaboration. By doing so, organizations can unlock the true value of their data, leading to improved performance and a competitive edge in the market.

Join this fireside chat as peers discuss how to:

• Prioritize aligning data strategy with business goals
• Address data silos and quality issues head-on
• Empower teams to make smarter, data-driven decisions

Join us for an informal networking break exclusively for women in leadership and their allies. Connect and build relationships with like-minded leaders in Southern California who are making an impact in their organizations and communities. Come prepared to share ideas, inspire and be inspired and forge new connections that can help empower each other to achieve your goals and broaden your perspectives.

This session is aimed at, but not limited to women who are leading the D&A function at their organizations (CDAO or equivalent). Seating priority is given to women in D&A leadership roles (CDAO/equivalent and direct reports to the CDAO/equivalent).

AI's transformative power demands a strategic, not reactive, framework. Data leaders are wrestling with a complex triad — integrating legacy systems, navigating ethical minefields and proving ROI. In order to deploy successfully, leaders must design a framework that ensures scalable and impactful AI product development.

Join Shub Agarwal, AI product leader and author of Successful AI Product Creation, as he shares a battle-tested framework for:

• Aligning AI with business strategy to drive measurable ROI
• Scaling AI from research to production for real-world impact
• The future of AI products, reshaping user experiences while ensuring responsibility

The Gartner Chief Data and Analytics Officer Agenda Survey for 2024 found that budget and resourcing constraints are the top challenge for data leaders. Many grapple with justifying investments and understanding how their strategies stack up against industry peers. Optimizing D&A spend, budgets, and staffing is critical to overcoming these challenges. Leaders who master these areas elevate their influence, drive measurable business impact, and secure long-term investment.

Join Gartner experts in this roundtable discussion to hear:

• Insights into how your D&A budget, staffing, and structure compare to industry peers
• Maximize the value of your D&A investments and align them with business priorities
• Communicate impact in a way that secures long-term investment

In the digital economy, CDAOs face the critical task of ensuring data's trust and reliability, essential for informed decision making and strategic advantage. CDAOs are challenged with implementing rigorous governance, adopting advanced technology for data quality and cultivating a data-literate culture. Aligning data strategies with business objectives not only ensures compliance, but also positions data as a pivotal force for competitive differentiation.

Join this session to discuss:

• Establishing robust governance for data trust building
• Adopting technology to ensure data quality
• Fostering organizational culture for data literacy

Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

Agentic AI is revolutionizing data strategy, empowering leaders to automate decision making and optimize operations with minimal human intervention. However, success depends on more than just adoption — it requires strategic implementation, governance and risk mitigation to drive real business impact. The question isn’t if, but how you will harness agentic AI to gain a competitive edge.

Join this roundtable discussion as peers explore how to:

• Unlock autonomous AI for smarter, faster data-driven decisions
• Mitigate risks by mastering AI governance and bias control
• Drive real business impact with scalable agentic AI strategies 

CDAOs optimize infrastructure to fuel efficient innovation, ensuring agile access for rapid experimentation. Strong governance within these systems minimizes risk while enabling confident exploration of new solutions. By streamlining data flow and analysis, CDAOs empower teams to turn insights into action faster. This strategic infrastructure drives sustainable innovation and measurable business impact.

Join this roundtable discussion as peers discuss:

• Optimizing infrastructure to drive agile innovation
• Implementing strong governance to minimize data risks
• Streamlining data flow for efficient decision-making

What keeps you up at night? This question resonates with every business leader. As a CDAO, you have the unique opportunity to tackle these critical challenges and drive transformative solutions across your organization. By adopting an impact-first strategy, you can align data initiatives with business objectives, accelerate value realization, and secure executive buy-in for D&A projects.

Join this executive keynote to learn how to:

• Establish short-term milestones to deliver measurable quick wins
• Keep stakeholders engaged and bought in on your data strategy
• Support the entire organization by aligning data with critical business needs

Finish the day sharing lessons learned with your peers over light fare and drinks at this closing reception hosted by your governing body members.