In-Person

Florida CIO Community

Executive Summit

May 14, 2026 | Fort Lauderdale Marriott Coral Springs Hotel & Convention Center

May 14, 2026
Fort Lauderdale Marriott Coral Springs Hotel & Convention Center

Collaborate with your peers

Get together with Florida's top CIOs 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 CIOs today:

Driving Purposeful Innovation Through AI Adoption and Governance

Strengthening Cybersecurity Leadership to Navigate Evolving Risks and Regulations

Optimizing Technology Investments for Strategic Agility and Resilience

Florida CIO Governing Body

The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the summit agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CIOs, For CIOs®.

Governing Body Co-Chairs

Carrie Busbee

Core & Main
CIO

Elvis Clemetson

SBA Communications
SVP & Global CIO

Otto Contreras

Miami-Dade County
Director of Public Safety and Criminal Justice Division, IT

Chad Couch

JM Family Enterprises
CIO

Christina Shannon

KIK Consumer Products
Chief Information Officer

Luis Suarez

H.I.G. Capital
Chief Technology Officer

Christine Vanderpool

Florida Crystals Corporation
VP & Chief Technology Officer

What to Expect

Interactive Sessions

Hear from CIO 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 Florida CIO 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

May 14, 2026

8:00am - 8:30am  Registration & Breakfast

8:30am - 9:15am  Gartner Keynote

Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2026 and Beyond

Gene Alvarez headshot

Gene Alvarez

Distinguished VP Analyst

Gartner

Hear from Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, Gene Alvarez, on the top trends for 2026 and beyond to propel your business and technology goals. Learn how to transform disruption and uncertainty into opportunity and growth.

Join this session to hear about:

  • Emerging technology trends shaping the future
  • Understanding the impact and importance of these trends
  • Leveraging insights to drive opportunity, growth, and competitive advantage

9:15am - 9:40am  Networking Break

9:40am - 10:25am  Breakout Session

Rethinking Security for Agentic AI — From Control to Orchestration

Thomas Mazzaferro headshot

Thomas Mazzaferro

Chief Data Officer

Cyera

As AI agents start acting across business environments, data becomes the true control surface. These agents require broad access to data, identities, and business processes, creating new risk patterns as sensitive data and outbound actions converge at machine speed. This is a control shift. CISOs must modernize their data approach to adopt agentic AI confidently while maintaining oversight.

Join this session to explore how to:

  • Detect emerging risk behaviors in autonomous AI
  • Build a data-centric and intent-aware security model
  • Establish the CISO as the orchestrator of scalable AI and business growth enabler

9:40am - 10:25am  Breakout Session

Foundations vs. Frontiers — Debate Showdown

Margarita Rivera headshot

Margarita Rivera

Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

Carnival Corporation

Johann Balaguer headshot

Johann Balaguer

VP, Global CISO

Hard Rock International

As technology and risk rapidly evolve, CIOs and CISOs must choose: reinforce core IT and security fundamentals, or pursue advanced capabilities?

During this interactive debate-style breakout you will:

  • Hear how peer leaders set organizational priorities
  • Broaden your perspective on key IT and security topics
  • Join in through audience participation

 

10:25am - 11:10am  Networking Break

10:35am - 11:00am  Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a 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.

11:10am - 11:55am  Breakout Session

Decoding Tomorrow’s Threats — Trends & Insights Unveiled

Rob Lowe headshot

Rob Lowe

Global Solutions Architect - CTIR

Google Cloud Security

CISOs today are pulled in multiple directions, facing a relentless onslaught of evolving threats while balancing competing priorities and limited resources. As adversaries leverage new technologies—especially AI—organizations must rethink how they utilize threat intelligence and set security priorities. Yet, with historical knowledge and ongoing engagement in adversary tracking, there is hope: we can anticipate and outmaneuver tomorrow’s threats.

Join this session to explore:

  • Key findings and use cases from 2025
  • Predictions for 2026’s threat landscape and adversary tactics
  • Actionable strategies for prioritizing and mitigating emerging threats

11:10am - 11:55am  Executive Boardroom

AI Security – Turning Agents into Security Allies

Nicole Darden Ford headshot

Nicole Darden Ford

Vice President, Customer Security Officer

Microsoft Corporation

The dual nature of AI is here - extraordinary innovation paired with complex risks. According to recent reports, more than 29% of employees have turned to unsanctioned AI agents for work tasks and these unsecured agents lack clear visibility into what they can do, what they access, or the blast radius they introduce. CIOs and CISOs must secure AI agents with the same rigor as human users, ensuring visibility, governance, and robust controls amid rapid change and resource constraints.

Join this boardroom to discuss:

  • Enforcing Zero Trust principles for both human and AI identities
  • Establishing continuous observability and monitoring of AI agent activity
  • Implementing governance frameworks to manage access, actions, and compliance

11:55am - 12:30pm  Lunch Service

1:05pm - 1:30pm  Break

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Executive Boardroom

From Data to Decisions—Building a Resilient Analytics Strategy

William Velez headshot

William Velez

CIO

HEICO Corporation

CIOs striving for more data-driven decisions often face resource constraints and the need for organizational alignment. Success requires a strategic, business-focused approach that prioritizes data and analytics investments and engages stakeholders across the enterprise.

Join this boardroom session to explore:

  • Actionable strategies for prioritizing D&A investments that deliver measurable business impact
  • Engaging stakeholders organization-wide to build a resilient, outcome-focused D&A strategy
  • Evolving data governance to power accuracy in reporting and analytics

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Gartner Boardroom

Turning Tech Talk into Business Impact — The Value Equation

Walter Harmon headshot

Walter Harmon

Executive Partner

Gartner

In today’s digital-first economy, IT and security leaders are under increasing pressure to justify investments in terms that resonate with the business—measurable outcomes, competitive advantage, and tangible value. Yet, bridging the gap between technical activities and business impact remains a persistent challenge.

Join this session to hear more on:

  • Identifying and aligning IT initiatives with core business objectives
  • Moving beyond traditional metrics to business-relevant KPIs
  • Building a value-driven IT narrative for the board


1:30pm - 2:15pm  Executive Boardroom

Beyond Passwords — Advancing IAM for the Cloud and Agentic Era

Modernizing identity is a top priority as organizations realize traditional approaches fall short—especially with agentic systems and cloud environments. Security leaders are rethinking Identity and Access Management to reduce user friction, address technical debt, and build a solid foundation before adopting advanced capabilities like passwordless authentication. The challenge extends beyond new tools to integrating identity across legacy systems, federated domains, and diverse workloads for seamless, secure access.

Join this boardroom to discuss:

  • Approaches for modernizing identity in hybrid and cloud environments
  • Strategies to reduce friction for users and agents while maintaining security
  • Overcoming technical debt to enable advanced identity controls


2:15pm - 3:00pm  Networking Break

2:25pm - 2:50pm  Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a 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.

3:00pm - 3:45pm  Breakout Session

From Cost Center to Value Driver

Casper Eloff headshot

Casper Eloff

Head of Corporate Security

The Mosaic Company

Max Boedder headshot

Max Boedder

Sr. Director, IT Cybersecurity and Technical Services

The Mosaic Company

Technology and security functions are often labeled cost centers—recognized more for risk prevention than for delivering measurable business outcomes. The Mosaic Company redefined this perception by spearheading an initiative that automated contractor oversight, resulting in the recovery of tens of millions of dollars in overbilling.

This session will discuss:

  • Elevating technology’s impact on the bottom line
  • Operating as business enablers to drive transparency
  • Measuring and communicating value to stakeholders

3:00pm - 3:45pm  Executive Boardroom

Seizing Digital Opportunities for Better Outcomes

Achieving success in digital business demands strategic clarity, agile resource allocation, and rigorous performance tracking. Many digital initiatives fall short due to deficiencies in these foundational areas. In today’s climate of rapid innovation and constant disruption, acting swiftly is critical to capitalize on digital opportunities and drive meaningful outcomes.

Join this boardroom session to discuss:

  • Leveraging digital tools, data, and platforms to deliver improved services and measurable results
  • Exploring successful examples of digital advancement within the enterprise
  • Overcoming barriers to digital adoption through actionable strategies

3:45pm - 4:00pm  Networking Break

4:00pm - 4:35pm  Keynote

True Leadership During Times of Change and Innovation

Tony Ambrozie headshot

Tony Ambrozie

SVP and Chief Digital, Technology and Information Officer

CVS

At a time of incredible innovation acceleration, new technology adoption must be driven by meaningful organizational change. That's easier said than done. CIOs and CISOs have the opportunity to step up to become strategic change agents who lead their teams into the future.

Join this session as Tony Ambrozie, Chief Digital, Technology, and Information Officer at CVS Health, is helping to fundamentally reshape the healthcare journey to deliver greater value to both consumers and the business through:

  • Experience-driven strategies that overcome transformation challenges
  • Defining the best-in-class digital experiences
  • Taking bold steps to ensure technology delivers lasting value

4:35pm - 4:45pm  Closing Comments and Prize Drawing

May 14, 2026

We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming in-person gathering

Gartner cares about the health and safety of our community. If you are feeling unwell, please refrain from attending the conference. At this time, Gartner does not have any health-related requirements in place for attendance. Should this change, we will follow up with updated guidance.

Location

More Information

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Coral Springs Hotel & Convention Center at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling (954) 753-5598. Please mention Florida Executive Summit to ensure the appropriate room rate.

Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $134 USD (plus tax) is April 21, 2026.

Your Community Sponsors

Global Thought Leaders

CIO Thought Leader

CISO Thought Leaders

Key Sponsors

Program Sponsor

Community Program Manager

For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.

Natalia Klein

Community Program Manager

239 839 8616

natalia.klein@gartner.com