Crafting Data Strategies that Pay Off

Moderator:

• Barbara Haley Wixom, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (@BarbWixom)

Speakers:

• Elena Alfaro, Head of Data & Open Innovation, Client Solutions, BBVA (@elenalfaro)
• Mark Meyer, Chief Information Officer, Tetra Pak Group (#MarkMeyer @tetrapak)
• Mark Picone, Vice President of Information & Data Services, Adobe
• Donna-Maree Vinci, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Bank of Queensland Ltd (@dmvinci)

The most compelling data strategies articulate exactly how data will generate economic value—specifically and uniquely—for an organization. They spell out the organization’s data monetization approach, along with associated risks, costs, and benefits – and describe the capabilities and activities required for execution. This panel will explore the ins and out of creating great data strategies that help organizations reap value from the digital economy.

Designed for Digital: How to Architect Your Business for Sustained Success

Moderator:

• Leslie Owens, Executive Director, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (@OwensLeslieA)

Speakers:

• Dr. Jeanne W. Ross, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (@jrossCISR)

Digital technologies are disrupting business models and forcing established companies to rethink their customer value propositions. Invariably, these new value propositions demand new skills, new business processes, and new organizational competencies. But they also demand that companies sustain their existing skills, processes, and competencies so they can continue to profit and grow from traditional business models. How do companies adopt the new without abandoning the old? How do they become digital? In this fireside chat Jeanne Ross will review her new book highlighting five building blocks companies will need for a successful transformation.

Jump-Starting America – Have We Lost Our Technology Mojo?

Moderator:

• Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson, PhD ‘91, Director, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (@erikbryn)

Speakers:

• Prof. Jonathan Gruber, SB '87, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (@jonathangruber1)
• Prof. Simon Johnson PhD '89, Professor, Global Economics & Management, MIT Sloan School of Management (@baselinescene)

This year’s Academic Keynote challenges the assumption that the US is a technology leader and that economic benefit is a natural result. In their new book, Jump-Starting America, MIT co-authors Simon Johnson and Jon Gruber point to the increasing concentration of geography-based wealth. To turn this tide, Johnson and Gruber suggest the US must embark on a plan to create the industries of the future – and the jobs that go with them – through a renewed public-private partnership. Is this possible in today’s business and economic environment?

Welcome to the Age of the Cloud Worker

Speakers:

• John Solomon, Vice President, ChromeOS, Google (@googlechrome)

Spurred on by the need for insights, speed, and collaboration a new type of worker has emerged; the cloud worker. From your information workers to your workers on the frontlines, meet your workforce in the cloud. Learn how they differ from your conventional workforce and how you can grow and develop them.

Insights from the Leadership Award Finalists

Moderator:

• Dr. George Westerman, Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management (@gwesterman)

Speakers:

• Gail Evans, Chief Digital Officer, Mercer (@GailEvans_21)
• Kris Rao, Vice President & Head of Information Technology, Ricoh USA, Inc.
• Dr. Aarti Shah, Senior Vice President, Chief Information & Digital Officer, Eli Lilly and Company (@LillyPad ‏)
• Eash Sundaram, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital & Technology Officer, JetBlue (@eashsundaram)

The Finalists for the MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award have led their organizations to deliver exemplary levels of business value through innovative use of IT. Yet no two finalists have the same story. Learn how each CIO Finalist transformed their IT units and their companies for the better. Their experiences can provide lessons for every IT leader and service provider.

Luncheon Roundtables

Download the 2019 Luncheon Roundtable map (pdf).

Impact of Cloud Technology on the Workforce

Moderator:

• John Solomon, Vice President, ChromeOS, Google (@googlechrome)

Speakers:

• Michael Romatzick, Desktop Architect, Middlesex Health (@middlesexCT)
• Michael Urcinoli , Vice President, Business Technology, SoulCycle Inc. (@soulcycle)

Many businesses are already moving their operations to the cloud, it’s critical to understand the impact that the cloud has on the way we work. In this roundtable, we will discuss how companies are currently cloud-powering their workforce and what they’ve learned along the way.

How Industrial Companies Capitalize on Digital Transformation

Speakers:

• Joseph Biron, Chief Technology Officer, Internet of Things, PTC (@bironology)

Through the waves of digital transformation, manufacturers have gained new capabilities via IIoT, AR, and AI to defend and advance their competitive advantage. Today, manufacturing executives are making new strategic choices among these capabilities to differentiate their products and services, improve operational effectiveness, and increase workforce productivity. Join in a case study presentation defining how manufacturers are capitalizing on the promise of digital transformation today and driving the future of industrial innovation.

Managing Organizational Explosions During Digital Transformation

Moderator:

• Nick van der Meulen, Research Scientist, Center for Information Systems Research (@nmeulen)

Speakers:

• Paul J. Gaffney, Executive Vice President – Chief Technology Officer, DICK’S Sporting Goods
• Lee Ann Murray, Global Head of Wealth and Asset Management Technology, Manulife
• Craig Stephenson, Managing Director, Korn Ferry (#CraigStephenson)
• Eash Sundaram, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital & Technology Officer, JetBlue (@eashsundaram)

According to MIT research, companies can take four distinct pathways to radically transform their business for success in the digital era—each with its own pros and cons. We will discuss how to deal with the significant organizational changes (a.k.a. "explosions") that are required to progress along these transformation pathways to improve both operational efficiency and customer experience.

Future-proofing the Workforce for Digital

Moderator:

• Dr. Kristine Dery, Research Scientist, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (@kristinedery)

Speakers:

• Amy deCastro, Vice President of Human Resources, Secure Power Business, Schneider Electric (#AmydeCastro)
• Shefali Gupta, Executive Director, DBS (@Shef70)
• Michael Han, Chief Technical Officer and Vice President, Services, Liferay, Inc. (@mhan810)
• Natalie Vinitsky, Chief Agilist, Strategist, Scrum Trainer and Managing Director, State Street (@State Street)

The world of digital requires us to do different work, and to work differently. As large companies re-form themselves into more agile teams to manage their digital assets, they are increasingly finding that their workforce is ill-equipped with the relevant skills and ways of thinking needed for success. This panel will explore how companies are investing in future-proofing their workforce and learning to be digital.

How Big Companies are Running Smarter

Moderator:

• Dr. Neil Thompson, Research Scientist, MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (@ProfNeilT)

Speakers:

• Dr. Douglas Palmer, Principal, Deloitte Consulting
• Dr. Aarti Shah, Senior Vice President, Chief Information & Digital Officer, Eli Lilly and Company (@LillyPad ‏)
• Brian Vellmure, Senior Director, Strategy and Innovation, Salesforce (@BrianVellmure)

Digital technology is radically changing the behaviors of individuals, corporations and society at large. To compete effectively, big companies need to find a way to leverage their scale to generate more and better innovation. But innovating is a challenge. Many attempts have been made to spark innovation (20% time, Open Innovation Offices in Silicon Valley, Open Innovation advocates embedded in business units, externships, etc.), but there is a dearth of empirical evidence validating their effectiveness. This panel will include results from recent research, and include practitioners who have found unique approaches to more effectively innovate.

HumanAI: Using AI to Optimize Your Business

Moderator:

• Prof. Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland, PhD ‘82, Professor, MIT Media Lab (@alex_pentland)

Speakers:

• Joshua Feast, MBA '07, Chief Executive Officer, Cogito Corporation (@cogitocorp)
• Dr. Manas Fuloria, Chief Executive Officer, Nagarro (@mfuloria)
• Sam Kapreilian, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP
• Kush Saxena, Chief Technology Officer, Markets and Transformation , Mastercard

Most discussions on the impact of AI focus on individual jobs, marketing, or logistics. But what about using AI to reinvent your org chart? What about using AI to help determine what is core competency and what connections you should build to other organizations? Applying the methods of AI to obtain continuous improvement in how your organization and business processes are managed is HumanAI, and it may have as much or more impact on your business as other applications of AI.

Creating a Digital Innovation Toolkit

Moderator:

• Nils Fonstad, SM ‘96, PhD ‘03, Research Scientist, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (@NilsFonstad)

Speakers:

• Kris Rao, Vice President & Head of Information Technology, Ricoh USA, Inc.
• Roman Regelman, Senior Executive Vice President, Head of Digital, BNY Mellon
• Brendan Wright, Vice President, Topcoder

Firms that have encouraged more robust innovation now face a challenge: how to coordinate their internal innovation efforts? We’ll discuss how firms help their teams get better at identifying experiments, leveraging the successful ones, and stopping the least promising ones (while encouraging the pursuit of risky innovations).

Co-evolving is the Future of IT Strategy

Moderator:

• Joe Peppard, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (@Joe_Peppard)

Speakers:

• Gail Evans, Chief Digital Officer, Mercer (@GailEvans_21)
• Vivek Gurumurthy, Senior vice president and CIO, Verizon Consumer Group (@vgurumurthy)
• Tom Harvey, Senior Vice President, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, Alkermes (@harveytom)
• Belkis Vasquez-McCall , Partner, McKinsey Digital, McKinsey & Company (@SpryTao)

Could aligning IT investments with business strategy be setting up CIOs for failure? This panel will discuss how CIOs can achieve exceptional results by changing the way IT is organized to focus on customer needs and co-evolve with customers and ecosystem partners.

The Future of Process Automation: Leveraging RPA & AI

Moderator:

• Prof. Tom Davenport, Distinguished Professor at Babson College, Fellow at MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (@tdav)

Speakers:

• Vince DiMascio, Chief Technnology Officer, Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP
• Katherine Johnson, Director of Emerging Technology, Eastern Division, Trace3
• Bill Kracunas, National Management Consulting Leader, RSM US LLC (@billkracunas)
• Shane Jason Mock, Vice President Research And Development, American Fidelity

While Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have the potential to reduce the time and resources companies need to do business and complete tasks, many organizations aren’t experiencing these benefits. We will discuss implementation strategies, tactics, and case studies that will help you drive faster, more reliable and more affordable results.

System Reboot: Modernizing Your Legacy Technologies

Moderator:

• Jonathan Lin, Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy, Equinix (@equinix)

Speakers:

• Antonio Figueiredo, Senior Director, Industry Solutions, Salesforce (@afigueiredo)
• David Hoag, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, OCC (@OptionsClearing)
• Jean Kneisler, Vice-President and Chief Informational Officer, Nypro
• Beth T. O'Rorke , Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Smarter Enterprises require a more nimble technology infrastructure for digital transformation. However, without a clear strategy, business sponsorship and understanding the interconnections between partners, customers and in-house infrastructure, your “modernization” efforts could degenerate into old-fashioned silos and projects of limited scope and impact. We’ll discuss ways to chart a path towards a full rethinking of the way your IT systems are designed; where to begin, strategies that helped service providers and large enterprises scale, and methods ensuring your business stays on course and aligned with its goals.

Town Hall: Working with Your Boards

Speakers:

• Peter Weill, Chairman, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (@peterdweill)

A recent MIT study of all the US listed boards of companies over $1B in revenue found that only 24% of boards were digitally savvy. Those companies performed consistently better, including having 38% higher revenue growth. In this town hall Peter Weill will briefly share the results from the study and engage the Symposium's audience in sharing practices that have worked effectively in helping boards deal with digital issues. We will learn from each other.

Why Companies Need an Augmented Reality Strategy

Speakers:

• James Heppelmann, President and Chief Executive Officer, PTC (​@JimHeppelmann)
• Dr. Michael Porter, Professor, Harvard Business School (​@MichaelEPorter​)

Professor Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School and Jim Heppelmann, CEO of PTC, collaborated on a multi-year research project to define the impact of Digital Transformation in the enterprise. This digital revolution, with advances in AI, robotics, and an explosion of data, is unleashing productivity and unlocking value across the economy. Increasingly, the constraint is not a lack of data and insights but how to assimilate and act on them—in other words, the interface with humans. What’s needed to realize this opportunity is a powerful human interface that enables people to better participate in the digital revolution and all it has to offer.

The Second Enlightenment

Speakers:

• Andrew McAfee, SB ‘88, SM ‘90, Principal Research Scientist/Co-Director, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (@amcafee)

What's the relation between the human condition and the state of nature, and how has it changed in recent years? Does economic growth have to be bad for the planet? McAfee will give an advance look at his new book More From Less, which will be published by Scribner in October.