
Philadelphia CIO Community
Executive Summit
November 4, 2025 | Convene at City View
November 4, 2025
Convene at City View
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Philadelphia'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:
Enhancing cyber resilience to endure and swiftly rebound from threats
Innovating with technology to boost customer engagement and digital growth
Maximizing AI for strategic growth while empowering safe integration for users
Philadelphia 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

Joshua Beeman
University of Pennsylvania
Associate VP, IT & Associate CIO

Tricia Blair
Aon Corporation US
Chief Digital Officer

Vishi Viswanathan
Day & Zimmermann Group
SVP & CIO
What to Expect
Agenda
8:00am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast
8:30am - 9:15am Keynote
Opening Keynote
More details coming soon.
9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
The AI Imperative — Driving Business Outcomes in a Changing World
Hosted by Google Cloud
The current business landscape is characterized by rapid change and increasing complexity. Organizations must leverage AI not just as a trend, but as a strategic tool to drive measurable outcomes, enhance employee experiences, and unlock new avenues for growth and innovation.
Join this session to discuss:
- Implement AI for measurable ROI and operational efficiency
- Leverage AI-driven personalization while ensuring security and compliance
- Build AI fluency and drive sustainable growth organization-wide
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
AI in Action — Real-World Wins

Vishi Viswanathan
SVP & CIO
Day & Zimmermann Group
Why learn from one peer when you can learn from three? In this unorthodox — but highly effective — breakout session, you’ll hear from multiple members of your community. Each speaker will take the floor for 10 minutes to share the most valuable lessons they’ve gleaned from their time in leadership. Get ready for a fast-paced exchange of practical insights, real-world experiences, and actionable takeaways.
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Building Enterprise Resilience in the SaaS Era
Hosted by AppOmni
SaaS drives enterprise operations yet evolving risks and exposures can quickly lead to regulatory, shareholder, and reputational challenges. With AI amplifying threats and supply-chain vulnerabilities affecting even mature organizations, CISOs face growing pressure to protect data, maintain compliance, and demonstrate resilience to leadership.
Join this roundtable session to explore:
- Regulatory impacts on SaaS security
- AI, shadow SaaS, and identity risk trends
- Strategies for resilient, compliant SaaS operations
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Fostering a Data-Driven Culture — From Vision to Value
Many data and analytics programs stall due to misaligned strategy, culture gaps, and limited buy-in. Unlocking real value means bridging these divides with clear business alignment and empowered teams.
In this boardroom, we’ll discuss:
- Linking D&A initiatives to measurable business value
- Building data literacy and a change-ready culture
- Driving stakeholder engagement and adaptive governance
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
Building a Strategy for an AI-First Business
Hosted by Box

Ravi Malick
SVP & Global CIO
Box
The future of business is rapidly evolving — a future where AI agents are part of the workforce, almost any process or workflow can be automated, and customers expect better, more intelligent experiences across their unstructured data. Whether that means automating loans or onboarding employees faster, applying intelligence to your unstructured data can be a pathway to stay ahead of the competition.
Join this interactive session to explore:
- Practical approaches to building an unstructured data strategy
- Robust content workflows and use cases including agentic AI
- Leadership lessons for organizing and upskilling the workforce
11:10am - 11:55am Breakout Session
Leadership That Moves Organizations Forward

Elisa Cunningham
CTO
SEPTA
What does it really take to move from managing technology to shaping the future of your organization? In legacy environments, influence, empathy, and strategic communication are more critical than ever for technology leaders seeking true impact. This session explores how to gain buy-in across the C-suite, build trust with the board, and mentor others to do the same. Learn from real-world experience on breaking through silos and creating lasting change.
In this breakout session, you’ll learn:
- Building trust and credibility with executive peers and the board
- Communicating technology’s value in business language
- Gaining practical strategies to earn influence and buy-in across the organization
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Navigating the New World of Human-Agentic Cybersecurity Teams
Hosted by Cloudflare

Dan Kent
Field CTO
Cloudflare

Mike DiLoreto
Sr. Director, Infosec Strategy and Governance
Anywhere Real Estate
Agentic AI is redefining the future of enterprise decision-making, cybersecurity, and human collaboration. While it can drive innovation and streamline operations, it also introduces new risks which require strategic guardrails and protocols.
Join this boardroom to discuss:
- Assessing agentic AI’s impact on cybersecurity and risk management
- Establishing robust guardrails for AI-driven decision processes
- Preparing organizations for human-agent collaboration and new protocols
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Maximizing IT & Security Impact — Benchmarking and Budget Planning

Nick Falcone
CISO
University of Pennsylvania
Security and IT leaders are under pressure to deliver more with less. Achieving maximum impact requires smarter budget planning and benchmarking to guide resource allocation and strategic decisions.
In this session, we'll discuss:
- Benchmarking your security and IT budget against peers
- Planning for resource allocation to maximize outcomes
- Communicating the business value of security investments
11:55am - 12:25pm Networking & Meal Service
Women In IT & Security Networking Lunch

Melanie Harris
CIO
School District Of Philadelphia
Female, non-binary, and allied IT & cyber leaders are invited to eat lunch and connect in our reserved networking space. Those in attendance can freely discuss best practices, key challenges and mission-critical priorities before heading over to the midday keynote.
11:55am - 12:30pm Lunch Service
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the Philadelphia CIO 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
Convene at City ViewNearby Parking
Liberty Place Garage 99 South 17th Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 (located under The Westin Philadelphia)
LAZ Parking 1800 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19103
Nearby Hotels
99 South 17th Street at Liberty Place
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square
1800 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Sofitel Philadelphia at Rittenhouse Square
120 S 17th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Gartner C-level Communities does not have any affiliation with the suggested hotels listed. The list above is solely for informational purposes
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.