IDC CIO Executive Council Breakfast

IDC Canada’s CIO Executive Council Breakfast is by invitation only. This exclusive opportunity brings top Canadian CIOs and senior level executives together for an intimate gathering to connect and get new compelling insights on technology market trends, strategies, and the latest IDC research. With a group of expert speakers, they will explore the economic outlook, top priorities for CIOs to focus on in 2023, core technology strategies enabling digital business, including AI and cloud innovation, and much more.

Kin Lee-Yow, CIO, CAA Club Group

Per Melker, Group Vice President, IDC & CIO Executive Council

Meredith Whalen, Chief Research Officer, IDC

Charles Lewis, Vice President of Information Technology, Canada Life

Lee Rennick, Editor, CIO

Check-in and Badge Pick up

Welcome Remarks

Are you ready for something new? It’s time to kick-off FutureIT | Toronto while we set the stage for the day ahead.

Lee Rennick, Editor, CIO

Nicole Peck, VP & GM, Events, North America, Foundry, an IDG Inc. Company

Scaling the Digital Enterprise with Cloud, AI and Security

With more than half of enterprises now running a digital business, tech leaders are recognizing the investments they made to build their digital business are different from what will be required to operate their digital business at scale. Cloud costs are higher than anticipated and continue to grow. While AI fuels automation, it is siloed. And knock-on effects from consumer privacy regulation, digital sovereignty movements and generative AI are redefining trust. In this session, Meredith Whalen will explore three pivots technology leaders will be making with respect to technology investment, labor optimization, and building trusted technology ecosystems, and to run their digital business at scale.

Meredith Whalen, Chief Research Officer, IDC

Guided Networking

Allice Shandler, Events Director, IDC Canada

Running Cloud-Native Workloads Successfully and Securely

Cloud security requires different tools, processes and skills than on-premises. During this session, we will discuss the security gaps that can appear as organizations go cloud-native. We’ll unpack actions to consider based on unique research and discuss what successful organizations are doing to secure data and workloads in the cloud and what security technologies are being adopted, and their impact. The session will also dive into how the skills are evolving to deal with the unique challenges of cloud security.

Dean Clark, National Director and Practice Lead, Cloud, Bell

David Millar, Senior Solutions Manager, Security, Bell

Moderated by:

Lee Rennick, Editor, CIO

Networking Lunch

Pull up a chair and enjoy lunch with your new contacts, meet our sponsors and learn how their solutions can help you overcome your latest challenges and visit the complementary headshot studio to refresh your LinkedIn profile picture.

How to Modernize Your Digital Business with AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way digital businesses operate, enabling them to improve efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and make intelligent business decisions across our technology infrastructure. This talk will provide insights into how organizations can modernize their digital business with AI. We will discuss how to assess an organization’s readiness for AI, develop an AI strategy that aligns with business objectives and the skills required, and implement AI in a way that ensures responsible use. We will also explore the benefits of using AI in digital business, including improved operational efficiency and better decision-making, and provide guidance on how to measure success. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how to leverage AI to modernize their digital business and create new opportunities for growth.

Matt Everson, Digital Transformation & Technology Solutions, Industry Leader and SVP, Digital Services

360 Leadership – Leading with Strategy, Vision, and Purpose

In this candid discussion between technology business leaders, you’ll hear about what it takes to lead and manage teams, sit at the board and C-suite level, and strategically plan business outcomes that build stakeholder value. The panel discusses the new era of business leadership for today’s CIO; being both a technology leader and a business leader. They will discuss implementing new technology initiatives, managing budgets and board expectations, and what happens when things don’t go as planned.

Liese Coroy, CIO (Sr. Director BTS), Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee

Sara Fenwick, Vice President, Business Technology, Ren's Pets

Moderated by:

Lee Rennick, Editor, CIO

The State of Cloud-Native Security 2023

In this session, join a Palo Alto Networks executive, as they summarize the most important trends from the new The State of Cloud-Native Security 2023 report. You will learn what’s keeping 2,500 of your peers awake at night and gain empirical insights to inform your cloud-native security decisions.
The State of Cloud-Native Security Report is the result of a months-long survey traversing seven countries and five sectors of industry to consult with 2,500 cloud security and DevOps professionals — from chief executives to developers to security technicians — with the goal of identifying pivotal decisions affecting cloud-native development and security outcomes.

Phimm Phonpaseuth, Manager, Solutions Architecture, Prisma Cloud , Palo Alto Networks

Networking Refresher

Enjoy coffee and snacks and learn how our sponsors’ solutions can help you overcome your latest challenges.

Hosted Discussion Groups

Join in on one of our thematic table topics such as Next-gen Cloud Security Strategies, Zero Trust hosted by industry experts, and have a deep dive discussion with fellow peers and professionals.

The Modern CISO: Trusted Business Influencer and Head Coach

The power of influence at the executive level has made it so CISOs are silo breakers within a senior leadership team while simultaneously acting as the head coach would for a team with a high-performance roster. The modern CISO is now a business influencer striking the balance between strategic leadership, department and team management and the thought leader-stakeholder for security issues accross their entire enterprise. According to IDC research CEOs believe 48% of their revenue will come from digital products and experiences soon, which is why they’re making security a top priority. Digital trust is important for Canadian organizations and this session will discuss how you can build it using IDC’s Framework of Trust to be an effective business influencer as the head coach of your organization.

George Y. Al-Koura, CD, CISO, Ruby Life Ltd.

Yogesh Shivhare, Research Manager, Cybersecurity, IDC Canada

Moderated by:

Lee Rennick, Editor, CIO

Building the Digital Enterprise with Cloud, AI and Security

In this captivating closing keynote highlighting the days’ key takeaways, you’ll also learn that according to the latest IDC research, digital transformation is moving the needle toward digital business, where the next challenge will be driving revenue and scaling operations without a commensurate increase in costs. But no matter where you are on your digital journey, cloud, AI and security are integral to modernizing your systems and creating the essential customer- and employee-focused organization needed to keep up.

Megha Kumar, Research Vice President, Software and Cloud Services, IDC Canada

Networking Reception

Wrap up the day with refreshments while making those final connections as part of your event experience.