Presented by: Miloš Topić, Grand Valley State University

Miloš Topić is Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Digital Officer at Grand Valley State University.  As vice president, Topić is the senior technology leader for the university and is responsible for the entire IT portfolio ranging from digital capabilities, infrastructure, security and application management across all of Grand Valley's academic and administrative areas.   

Topić joined Grand Valley State University in August 2020 after serving as Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Saint Peter's University, where he was responsible for setting the strategic direction and overseeing the day-to-day operations of two divisions, information technology and operations. He has over twenty years of experience in positions of increasing responsibilities focused primarily on technology, innovation, strategy, operations and leadership. His experiences range from startups to Fortune 1000 companies to contributing across multiple public and private universities. Miloš’ responsibilities and experiences have included customer experience; business development and product design; project and portfolio management; information security; network and system engineering as well as programming and web development. 

Miloš formal education includes a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in mathematics; Masters of Science in Information Systems; an MBA and a Ph.D. in Business Administration. His dissertation research was focused on the role of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in leading innovation within higher education. Additionally, Miloš is a frequent speaker on leadership, innovation, and building high-performing teams across a wide range of national professional networks and industries. Finally, Miloš has been advising corporate boards and C-suites on business strategy, digital possibilities, and innovation since 2008. 

The emergence of large language models, machine learning, and other AI technologies has revolutionized the way data, analytics and decision-making are used in business.  AI processes large data volumes in order to identify patterns, answer questions, and generate insights. The capabilities are striking – but there are limitations. It’s susceptible to errors; bias, data misuse, and possibly law or policy violation. AI governance has emerged as a discipline focusing on the ethics, integrity, and auditability of data usage and processing.

This presentation will review some real-world examples of AI Governance and Data Governance - and discuss the similarities, differences, and intertwined relationship of both. We’ll also discuss the common structures, the stakeholders, and why both are crucial for Analytics and AI development success.

Presented by: Evan Levy, Integral Data

Evan Levy is a consultant and speaker specializing in Enterprise Data Strategy, Artificial Intelligence, and Analytics. He advises clients on addressing business challenges through their existing data, combined with emerging tools and modern practices.

Evan has spent his career delivering technology solutions spanning software product development and industry-focused consulting. He has managed high-profile implementations for Fortune 500 clients across financial services, retail, telecommunications, health/life sciences, government, and insurance.

Prior to his current role, Evan served as Sr. VP of Data Management and Applications at Centene and VP, Business Consulting at SAS. He also co-founded Baseline Consulting, a boutique firm acquired by SAS.

Evan writes for leading industry publications and is a featured speaker and instructor at major industry events. He is also a Research Fellow and faculty member at TDWI and an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland.

Organizations often invest heavily in dashboards, reports, and analytics tools, only to find that better data does not automatically lead to better decisions. The real challenge is not just producing information. It is making data part of the way people work.

In this session, Christopher Mowers will explore how teams can move from passive reporting to operational data systems that actively support decisions, accountability, and process improvement. Drawing from his work leading enterprise systems in a growing construction company, Christopher will share practical ways to connect analytics, automation, and business-user tools so data becomes embedded in daily operations rather than isolated in spreadsheets or dashboards.

While this is not primarily a session about AI, it will also address why this kind of systems work is essential groundwork for effective AI. Organizations cannot meaningfully advance into AI-assisted analytics, conversational insights, or higher levels of automation if their data is fragmented, disconnected, or untrusted.

Attendees will leave with a practical framework for thinking about data not as a separate technical function, but as a living part of organizational operations.

Presented by: Christopher Mowers, Glass Roots Construction

Christopher Mowers is Director of Enterprise Systems at Glass Roots Construction, where he leads the design and evolution of the systems the company runs on. His work focuses on building operational platforms that combine automation, analytics, and business-user tools so data becomes part of how work actually gets done.

Christopher works at the intersection of technology, operations, and human behavior, with a focus on designing systems that teams adopt and that scale as organizations grow. He is a regular contributor to the Zoho Developer Community, and his work has been featured by the Zoho Creator team during Developer Month, by Catalyst by Zoho in the Meet the Makers series, and at Zoholics US.

Christopher is an AWS Certified Developer Associate, a member of the Association for Computing Machinery, and is pursuing a Master’s degree in Computer Science at Ball State University.

In this session, you will discover how data platforms are evolving into intelligent ecosystems that power next-generation decision engines. We will explore why data, context, governance, and action form the bedrock of trusted autonomous systems beyond mere foundational models.

Understand the Data Platforms Evolution: Discover how data platforms are shifting from traditional reporting systems into intelligent, governed ecosystems designed to power next-generation, context-aware decision engines.

The Pillars of Execution: Learn why data, context, governance, and action form the bedrock of trusted autonomous systems and why intelligent automation requires more than just foundational models to deliver business value at scale.

Architecting for the Future: Explore how to prepare your organization for the next wave of enterprise transformation by building action ready architectures that seamlessly connect trusted data, business context, policy, and real-world execution.

Presented by: Nagesh Perumalla, Capital One Financial

Nagesh Perumalla is an award-winning Principal Data Architect at Capital One. He brings a deep, practical perspective to data modernization, guiding enterprise ecosystems from legacy infrastructure to cloud-native, AI-driven lakehouse architectures. Nagesh specializes in designing and optimizing scalable, real-time analytics platforms across AWS, GCP, Azure, Snowflake, and Databricks. An IEEE Senior Member and recognized data architect, he seamlessly integrates enterprise data with advanced AI/ML architectures.

He holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois and maintains an elite portfolio of industry-recognized AI, ML, and advanced architecture certifications from AWS, Google Cloud, Databricks, and Snowflake.

Sudha Kumar serves as a Strategic Account Technology Strategist at Microsoft, where she leads AI strategy, cloud modernization, and enterprise transformation for a major Financial Services and Insurance organization. With more than 25 years of experience spanning AI Transformation, analytics architecture, SAP and operations modernization, and global delivery leadership, Sudha helps organizations adopt Microsoft products and solutions like M365 Copilot, Microsoft Foundry, and the broader Microsoft Cloud to improve productivity and operational excellence. She is recognized for her ability to align technology with business priorities, guide responsible AI adoption, and drive measurable outcomes through data‑driven decision‑making. Sudha is a trusted advisor to executives, known for her strong communication, stakeholder engagement, and practical approach to large‑scale transformation.