Toronto CDAO Community
Executive Summit
December 4, 2025 | Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre
December 4, 2025
Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Toronto's top CDAOs to tackle shared business challenges and critical priorities facing your role today. Participate in this one-day, local program with peer-driven topics and interactive discussions with your true C-level peers.
Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CDAOs today:
Unlocking Business Value Through Scalable AI
Leading Organizational Change Through Data-First Leadership
Cultivating Confidence in Data to Enable Effective AI Deployment
Toronto CDAO Governing Body
The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the summit agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CDAOs, For CDAOs™.
Governing Body Co-Chairs
Allie Grassie
Canadian Red Cross
Lead, Digital and Data Transformation Execution
Joe Greenwood
Mastercard
Vice President, AI & Data Growth
Della Shea
CIBC
Head of Operational Risk, Data, AI and Advanced Technologies
Aida Tahiri
Mattamy Homes Limited
VP of Finance, Planning, Data, and Analytics
Eugene Wen
Manulife
VP & Global Chief Data Scientist
What to Expect
Interactive Sessions
Hear from CDAO practitioners and thought leaders on how they're solving critical challenges impacting your role today in Keynote sessions, and join smaller, interactive discussions with your peers in Breakout and Boardroom sessions.
Community Networking
Make new connections and catch up with old friends in casual conversations during dedicated time for networking designed to better acquaint you with your Toronto CDAO community.
Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Connect with like-minded peers in a private, one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.
Agenda
Breakout Session
Governance in Action— Metadata, Data Fabric, and Leveraging Generative AI
As CDAOs continue to grow in their journeys, it is necessary to ensure your data fabric has a solid foundation on the information as well as the barriers in place accessing it. Governance plays a crucial role in establishing and maintaining these barriers, ensuring data integrity and compliance. When we add GenAI into the conversation, how can we leverage this tool to our advantage, ensuring those barriers aren’t compromised? Effective governance strategies are essential to balance innovation with security and ethical considerations. This complex conversation has many considerations, so let's explore them together.
Join this session to learn more about:
- Overviewing the complexities of Metadata Management
- Challenging aspects of data fabric as GenAI implementation continues
- Improving the process of governance models
Executive Boardroom Sessions
Attracting and Retaining Critical D&A Talent
Organizations cannot execute on business initiatives without a successful team — and D&A teams are no exception. Effective CDAOs recognize the importance of attracting the right talent and providing enticing opportunities to retain a top-notch team.
Join this session to discuss:
- Offering creative opportunities and projects to lure D&A talent
- Reevaluating the skills needed to successfully execute on D&A initiatives
- Building a robust pipeline in a rapidly-evolving digital ecosystem
Overcoming Barriers to Self-Service Data Success
Data insights are no longer confined to data teams but are essential across all business functions. Achieving this goal requires overcoming not only technical debt and legacy technology but also significant employee adoption challenges. By prioritizing execution and investing in upskilling, organizations can create a culture of data-driven ownership and outcomes.
Join this session to discuss:
- Overcoming data democratization challenges
- Fostering a culture of data-driven ownership
- Developing talent and investing in technology for business impact
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the Toronto CDAO Community Executive Summit.
Gartner facilitates exclusive, C-level communities by personally qualifying and understanding the priorities, challenges and interests of each member.
Our selective approach maintains the high quality of the network and ensures top-level discussions with peers from the world’s leading organizations.
Each application will be reviewed, and once your participation is confirmed, you will have access to year-round community programs.
Location
Venue & Accommodation
Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton CentreYour Community Sponsors
CDAO Thought Leader
Key Sponsors
Program Sponsors
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.
