Chicago Data Leaders Tackle AI Governance Challenges at CDO Magazine Dinner

CDO Magazine’s Chicago Executive Boardroom Dinner on September 18 offered a deep dive into critical themes such as embedding governance in unstructured data and  AI pipelines, and overcoming obstacles in SaaS Copilot adoption.

Central to the event was a panel discussion on the “Safe Use of Data+AI to Unleash the Power of Enterprise AI.” The exchange provided vital insights into becoming effective enablers of enterprise AI and ways for data teams to convey their results to executive leadership.

The panel of experts were:

    • Xuhui Quan, McKesson SVP, Chief Data & Digital Officer

    • Deepak Konale, Northern Trust Wealth Management Chief Data Officer

    • Don Fleschut, Ryerson VP, Chief Data Officer

The discussion was moderated by Jack Berkowitz, Securiti Chief Data Officer.

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Speaker Quan says: “The panel discussion touched on the significance, the necessity and challenges of unstructured data. Same good governance practices for managing data and incorporating AI apply to unstructured data.,” One of the takeaways for Quan was the value of integrating governance into AI processes to help with compliance and quality of unstructured data. A second key point she highlights is that “the boundaries of internal and external data are blurring, which requires consideration of the data ecosystem.”

Speaker Fleschut thanks CDO Magazine and Securiti for hosting the event. “Another great gathering of the data & analytics thought leaders from the Chicagoland area and around the Midwest last night,” he says. “These opportunities to meet and discuss the topics we all face, and learn firsthand from each other’s experience and perspectives are an invaluable part of our professional development.”

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Sharing his highlight from the discussion, Sashi Venkatesan, Walgreens Head, Pharmacy & Healthcare Data, says, "All three CDOs on the panel shared the human side of the value they create with data for their customers.” He comments on the power of Fleschut's description of “how the value of his business/products impact the chairs we were sitting on or the phones we were holding was amazing. It's great to see leaders speak in ways that enable us as humans to relate to what they do."

According to John Tucker, McDonald's Director, Enterprise Data Governance - Enterprise Data Analytics & AI. participating in the CDO Magazine Dinner was “exciting and fruitful.” Tucker says, “I had the chance to connect with my peers from other industries. We discussed new technologies that can help us on our data journeys and talked about the challenges we are all facing, including hot topics around AI Governance. I always enjoy these conversations as I view them as therapy sessions. It's helpful to know that we are not alone and that we are all learning and finding solutions for the common data challenges we face.” 

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"We are incredibly proud to bring together such an esteemed group of data and AI leaders in Chicago,” says Steve Wanamaker, CDO Magazine Founder and Publisher. “Events like this play a crucial role in fostering collaboration and driving innovation within the community of executives shaping the future of enterprise AI. By sharing their insights and experiences, these leaders are not only advancing their own organizations but also empowering the broader community to safely and effectively harness the power of AI."

Securiti’s Berkowitz sums up the event saying, “It was a lively group at the CDO Magazine Chicago dinner, with an engaging conversation on unstructured data governance, security and data rights management for Generative AI. The group agreed that with innovation happening so quickly, it’s time to look for ways to deploy safely, whether they are building their own or taking advantage of GenAI delivered in apps or online services.”

Special thanks to Securiti for making the CDO Magazine Executive Boardroom Dinner such a resounding success.

*Xuhui Quan, Deepak Konale, Don Fleschut, Sashi Venkatesan, and John Tucker are members of the CDO Magazine Global Editorial Board. Additionally, Quan is a Co-Chair of the Chicago Executive Board.

Executives attending the Chicago Executive Boardroom Dinner included: 

Dan Comer, Walker & Dunlop SVP, Data Management; Grant Ecker, Walgreens Boots Alliance VP, Architecture Consultant; Don Fleschut, Ryerson VP, Chief Data Officer; Anil Gutlapalli, Northern Trust Corporation VP, Manager, Risk Analytics; Vijay Jakka, MetLife Global Data Governance; Rajiv Kolagani, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago VP, Data & Analytics; Deepak Konale, Northern Trust Wealth Management Chief Data Officer; Gokula Mishra, Former Direct Supply VP, Data Science; Rajib Nandi, Harris Associates Head, Data Analytics; Prasannal Nithyanandam, Volkswagen Financial Services Head, Data & Advanced Analytics; Nalini Polavarapu, Former Bayer VP, Enterprise Analytics & Data Science; Xuhui Quan, McKesson SVP, Chief Data & Digital Officer; Sid Raina, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois Divisional VP, Data & Analytics Solutions; Farhan Sabzaali, Crowe Head, Data; Abhishek Sharma, McKesson Director, Systems Engineering; Ramendra Singh, Night Market Chief Data Officer; John Tucker, McDonald's Director, Enterprise Data Governance - Enterprise Data Analytics & AI; Sashi Venkatesan, Walgreens Head, Pharmacy & Healthcare Data; Jack Berkowitz, Securiti Chief Data Officer; Jack Dicianni, Securiti Regional Sales Manager; Lauren King, Securiti Field Marketing & Events Manager; Trevor Milestone, Securiti Director, Cloud Services Provider; Steve Wanamaker, CDO Magazine Founder & Publisher; Michael Parks, CDO Magazine Global Community Director.