Transformational Insights for Better Decisions

The management and optimization of enterprise applications, data and AI have complex challenges. From the volume of data and its multiple sources to scalability, time-to-migration and data governance, the list seems to go on. With a focused strategy and proven roadmap, organizations can yield the highest value of their data to make smarter decisions.

At the upcoming New York CIO Town Hall on May 9, Robert Turner, US Leader of Cloud, Application, Data and AI Practices at Kyndryl, and Ali Arsanjani, Director of Cloud Partner Engineering at Google Cloud, will lead a discussion on accessing transformational insights to make better decisions across the organization. 

They will be joined by Evanta Governing Body Members Lakshman Nathan, EVP & Chief Information Officer at Paramount, Cindy McKenzie, CIO at Curaleaf, Dave Harris, CIO at Shake Shack, and Leo Rajapakse, Global Head of Platform Infrastructure & Advanced Technology at Bimbo Bakeries USA, who are helping to facilitate the discussion.

Robert Turner is currently the US Leader of Cloud, Application, Data and AI Practices with Kyndryl Corporation. He is accountable for developing and delivering cloud-based solutions across multiple industries in the USA. Robert held several C-level positions over the past 26 years as a client of Kyndryl and other technology service providers, with more than 12 years leading organizations in development of cloud-focused strategies, and brings a strong customer-first approach to solutions Kyndryl brings to market. Robert is also responsible for cross-practice integration within Kyndryl US to ensure a seamless and efficient customer experience from Advisory, Design and Development through Implementation and Management capabilities. Robert was also recently appointed by Governor Youngkin to the IT Advisory Council for Virginia Information Technology (VITA), co-sponsors the Native American Kyndryl Inclusion Network, and is a council member of the Cheroenhaka Nottoway Indian Tribe.

Dr. Ali Arsanjani is the Director of Cloud Partner Engineering at Google Cloud, and Head of AI Center of Excellence, where he leads the development of strategic co-innovation partnerships in the fields of Generative AI, Data/Analytics and Predictive AI/ML. His team specializes in co-innovation with ISV and GSI partners as they run, integrate and build on GCP across the ML Lifecycle. Ali also works closely with product management to shape the direction of Google's AI and analytics offerings from a cloud perspective. In addition to his role at Google Cloud, Ali is an Adjunct Professor at San Jose State University and the University of California, San Diego, where he teaches and advises students in the Masters in Data program and the Data Science Institute, respectively.

Ahead of their session, Robert is sharing more about the AI and data governance challenges and opportunities that can arise during digital transformation.
 

What are some of the challenges executives face in this area?

The challenges CIOs face in this area include:

• How to best manage and utilize data in a rapidly changing world;
• How to recruit and keep top talent that can design and integrate systems to securely expose data that is fit for purpose to support business needs;
• And, how to leverage AI capabilities in an ethical manner while ensuring customers are confident their information will be used properly.

Why is it critical for the Evanta CIO Community to have this conversation now?

It is critical to talk about this now because back office data and AI solutions need to catch up and support front office evolution. There are rapidly changing data requirements from external forces, such as government agencies. There is the prevalence of social media, ChatGPT, etc.

Customers also have concerns with how their information is tracked and used, and there is the cost of data storage and management. Companies are concerned about cyber security events (and would like to stay out of the Wall Street Journal…). And, they are trying to advance their delivery capabilities available through automation. For all of these reasons, it is relevant to have this conversation now.
 

What are you most looking forward to about the discussion?

I’m most looking forward to learning about new and unique day-to-day challenges that companies face related to digital transformation, cloud, data, and AI in their business.

We’re planning to discuss: 

• How would you describe your organization's maturity when it comes to cloud, data and AI?
• What goals do you have in organizing your data to create a more efficient business and provide deeper insights? What challenges are you facing when it comes to those goals? What modern capabilities are you leveraging to securely expose your data to appropriate business users?
• How are you thinking about the adoption of AI? Business-line focused or enterprise-wide?
   

Join this conversation with Robert Turner of Kyndryl and Ali Arsanjani of Google Cloud at the New York CIO Town Hall on May 9 to discuss how to define mission-critical priorities to achieve your business goals, how to architect for the future-state enterprise, and how to communicate and quantify the benefits of AI implementation.

You can also find your local community to connect with like-minded technology peers on more topics like this one.
 

Special thanks to Kyndryl & Google Cloud.

by CIOs, for CIOs
 

Join the conversation with peers in your local CIO community.