
Dallas CIO Community
Inner Circle
September 2, 2025 | The Ritz Carlton- Las Colinas
September 2, 2025
The Ritz Carlton- Las Colinas
Collaborate with your peers
Join Dallas's top CIOs for an intimate networking dinner and facilitated discussion on key business challenges. Enjoy a relaxed evening of dinner and drinks with your peers to share best practices, make new connections and build professional relationships.
Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CIOs today:
Driving innovation while bracing for potential budget cuts
Fostering innovation and collaboration with an eye on the bottom line
Dallas CIO Governing Body
The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the discussion topics and agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CIOs, For CIOs®.
Governing Body Co-Chairs

Sumit Anand
Academy Sports + Outdoors
CIO

Mike Anderson
Netskope
Chief Digital & Information Officer

Sandeep Dave
CBRE
Chief Digital & Technology Officer

Maria Lensing
Sorenson Communications
Global CIO & CTO

Neelu Sethi
Brinks
SVP & Global CIO
Agenda
September 2, 2025
4:30pm - 5:30pm Executive Networking Reception
5:30pm - 6:30pm Discussion Topics
Balancing Budget and Technological Advancements Amidst Global Uncertainty

Gustaaf Schrils
CIO
Omni Hotels & Resorts

Rusty Kennington
CIO
Denali

Tracy Mozena
CIO
Atlantic Aviation

Sumit Anand
CIO
Academy Sports + Outdoors

Parag Karnik
CTO, Enterprise Platforms
Nutanix

Jason Cathey
CIO
Bank OZK
In today's unpredictable economic environment, enterprise CIOs are tasked with driving technological innovation while managing financial constraints. The pressure to deliver cutting-edge solutions that drive competitive advantage is greater than ever. However, this must be balanced with prudent financial stewardship as budgets tighten due to economic fluctuations.
Technology leaders are already leveraging advancements in AI, cloud and data analytics to optimize business processes and create value while maintaining a keen focus on cost. But they must also foster a culture of collaboration across departments to ensure that technology initiatives are strategically aligned with broader business objectives.
- This session will delve into strategies that CIOs can employ to advance technology initiatives without compromising fiscal responsibility, ensuring that their organizations remain agile and resilient.
- Has the global economy caused you to reprioritize your technology initiatives? If so, what is staying at the forefront and what are the first items to go?
- How are you balancing the demand for innovation with the necessity of cost control in technology deployment?
- What role do you play in driving technology innovation and highly productive teams while ensuring fiscal responsibility across the enterprise?
- What resources are you leveraging to keep pace with shifts in regulation?
- What best practices have you uncovered for communicating the associated impact on technology strategy with the broader business?
- How are you collaborating with your CFO to align technology initiatives with financial strategies for shared success?
- What role do your existing vendors play in how you (re)prioritize new technology initiatives?
6:30pm - 7:00pm Networking Break
7:00pm - 8:00pm Summary Discussion & Dinner
8:00pm - 9:00pm Social Hour
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the Dallas CIO Community Inner Circle.
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
More Information
Parking Information:
Self park- Hosted by Gartner. Parking garage attached to Hotel
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.