Registration, Breakfast & Networking

Pre-registration required to attend, please pick your badge up at the Registration Desk. The first 50 attendees to check in will receive an exclusive IDC gift.

IDC Welcome Remarks

Shane Schick

Emcee & Host, Contributing Editor

Allice Shandler

Sr. Director, Events – Americas, IDC

The Power Of Partnerships: Accelerating AI Outcomes

Generative AI has moved beyond experimentation, but most enterprises struggle to turn POCs into production systems that are secure, reliable, and economically sustainable. This session explores why scaling AI is not a single-vendor problem, and how the combined strengths of Cohere’s enterprise-grade models, NVIDIA’s accelerated computing, and Dell’s trusted hybrid infrastructure enable organizations to operationalize AI across cloud, core, and edge. Learn how a full-stack, partner-led approach helps enterprises move faster, reduce risk, and unlock real business value from AI.

James Scott

Field Chief Technology Officer, Dell Technologies

Ivan Nekrasov

NVIDIA AI Field Product Manager, Dell Technologies

Michael Pelosi

Country Manager, Cohere

Scaling Trusted AI for Sustained Enterprise Impact

Many organizations have successfully moved beyond AI experimentation, proving the immense potential of the technology. As we enter the next phase of maturity, the focus shifts to a higher vision: transforming promising pilots into a unified, enterprise-wide reality. The dream of a fully integrated AI ecosystem, where intelligent agents collaborate seamlessly across the business is the new frontier for competitive advantage. In this session, we will focus on the strategic path to turning early success into lasting business value. We will explore how to bridge the gap between isolated wins and a cohesive, reliable enterprise architecture.

Marcela Vairo Pasqualetti

Vice President, Data Platform, IBM Americas

Networking Break

Leadership in the Age of AI: Empowering People for a Data-Driven Future

Focusing on leadership strategies that empower teams, promote continuous learning, and balance human insight with machine intelligence to drive sustainable innovation and organizational resilience.

Lee Rennick

Vice President, Strategic Programming & Influencer Engagement, IDC

Manas Khanna

Senior Director of Engineering, Veryon

Andre Albuquerque

Senior Manager, Cloud and AI Digital Skills Mobilization, BMO

Husam Shublaq

Chief Information Technology Officer, Mirlin Technologies

Building a Future Ready Public Sector

This keynote reimagines the future of work in government and explores how intelligent, secure, human‑centered technology can help modernize the public sector. Drawing on insights from HP’s Work Relationship Index, it highlights how outdated tools and rising workloads affect productivity. The session outlines how AI‑enabled devices, secure systems, and proactive IT support can improve operations, strengthen cybersecurity, and empower a more effective, fulfilled workforce.

Jeff Garratt

Sales Vice President, HP Canada

Strategic Leadership in Enterprise Architecture and AI

This exclusive fireside chat explores how technology leaders define “what good looks like” across enterprise architecture, platforms, and AI. Balancing reliability, scalability, security, and speed while navigating regulatory and business pressures. Panelists will share insights on leading transformation with clarity, resilience, and responsible AI adoption at scale.

Caren Morrison

Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Infrastructure and Enterprise Platforms, Scotiabank

Lee Rennick

Vice President, Strategic Programming & Influencer Engagement, IDC

Renate Cunneen

VP, Integration Solutions & Service Management, Scotiabank

Networking Lunch & Solutions Showcase

The Human Side of AI and Data

Exploring how organizations are investing in AI literacy, talent development, and cultural transformation to build data-driven, innovation-ready teams capable of leading responsibly in the AI era.

Megha Kumar

Research Vice President, Analytics & AI, IDC

Jassi Kaur

Chief Information Officer, Yorkville University

Dalia Hanna

Director, IT Services, Sheridan College

Bill Syrros

Partner – National AI Leader, BDO Canada

Driving Business Value with AI & Data

Join this fireside chat to learn how to measure ROI, scale successful AI and data initiatives, and align innovation with strategic business outcomes to create lasting competitive advantage in Canada’s digital economy.

David Li

Senior Software Engineer, You.com

Shane Schick

Emcee & Host, Contributing Editor

AI-Driven Productivity and Automation

Lightning Insights: Explore how AI is transforming workforce productivity across industries in Canada, from automating routine tasks to enhancing decision-making, while balancing efficiency gains with workforce readiness and trust.

Ryan Picchini

Chief Revenue Officer, dotCMS

GenAI at Work: Big Wins, Real Risks, Smart Governance

Lightning Insights: This lightning talk will highlight Generative AI in the Enterprise, and unpack the opportunities, risks, and governance strategies for deploying generative AI responsibly.

Ian Gallagher

Director Solutions Engineering, Cloudflare

Closing the NetOps skills gap with AI assistants

Lightning Insights: Enterprise networks are constrained by a widening skills gap. Senior administrators hold deep institutional knowledge, while junior staff face complex environments with limited context. As networks grow more dynamic, this imbalance slows response and increases risk. AI assistants change the operating model by translating telemetry, correlating signals, and guiding remediation through natural language. The result is faster resolution, more consistent execution, and better use of scarce expert time.

Mark Mikhail

Principal Product Marketing Manager, Bluecat Networks

Risk Management for AI: Protect your Data, Agents, and Business

Lightning Insights: AI adoption has moved from experiment to expectation in less than two years but our understanding of its risks hasn’t kept pace. In this 5‑minute session, we’ll flip the usual “AI hype” narrative and look at what happens when things go wrong. What if you lost the data that your AI agents relied on for accurate responses? What if an autonomous or over‑privileged AI quietly deletes or corrupts critical information? We’ll briefly explore AI through a risk‑management lens: how to maximize the upside of AI initiatives while safeguarding against data loss, misconfiguration, and unintended actions from AI‑driven systems.

Dan Laframboise

Manager of Solution Engineering, Rewind

Case Study: Scaling 10X Global Expansion with Advanced Automotive Analytics

Learn how Alpha Auto Group used advanced Qlik-powered analytics to scale its business 10x in one year, earning the 2025 CIO Award and recognition as a National Data Leader. In this session, hear how AAG unified fragmented, spreadsheet-driven reporting across multiple DMS platforms and countries to create trusted, real-time visibility for leaders across 172 dealerships. Discover how governed cloud analytics delivered resilience during disruption, accelerated M&A integration, and turned data complexity into a competitive advantage.

Andre Rekhtine

Head of IT, Alpha Auto Group

Hannah Puccini

Regional IT Manager, Alpha Auto Group

Shane Schick

Emcee & Host, Contributing Editor

Scaling AI from Pilot to Enterprise

Lightning Insights: Learn as we share lessons from early adopters in Canada who have successfully operationalized AI, built governance and lifecycle management practices, and achieved measurable returns from enterprise-scale implementations.

Vadlamudi “Rammy” Bhargav

Technical Lead, FPT

Powering applications, data, and AI to move your business forward

Lightning Insights: A unified technology platform enables organizations to extend existing systems, integrate applications and business processes, and build AI-supported solutions across the enterprise. Serving as the foundation for modern business operations, it unlocks the full potential of your applications, data, and AI. In this session discover how to leverage an integrated platform approach to accelerate business agility, drive innovation, and future-proof your organization for whatever lies ahead.

Hannah Horvath

BTP Solution Advisor, SAP

From Data Silos to Trusted Data Platforms: Future-Proofing AI with Governance and Sovereignty

Lightning Insights: Aligned to “Future-Proofing Data Strategies” theme, this talk focuses on how data synergy, governance, and sovereignty are foundational to scaling enterprise AI.

Sailas Sundaram

Head of Product Management, Zoho BI & Data Platform

Cybersecurity Meets AI and Data

Lighting Insights: Explore how to protect AI models, data pipelines, and sensitive information from emerging threats by integrating AI into cybersecurity defenses and building resilient data ecosystems.

Rafi Wanounou

RVP Systems Engineering, Fortinet

Networking Break

Delivering Business Impact with AI & Data

During this expert panel, IDC analyst Tony Olvet drives a conversation with top IT leaders from the GTA. They will be discussing how Canadian organizations are advancing from experimentation to measurable impact by tracking ROI, scaling AI and data initiatives, and aligning innovation with strategic business priorities to build sustained competitive advantage.

Tony Olvet

Group Vice President, Worldwide C-Suite and Digital Business Research, IDC

Sarah Willock

Vice President of Technology, Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited

Ahmad Ovais

Partner – Digital and AI Strategy & Transformation, BDO Canada

Phil McBride

CIO, SNDL

Event Host

Shane Schick

Emcee & Host, Contributing Editor

Networking Reception

Enjoy more food and drinks with our partners and new contacts