CIO Perspectives Houston 2016
 
CIO Perspectives Houston
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
8:00 am - 5:00 pmRegistration Open
8:00 am - 9:00 amContinental Breakfast & Networking
9:00 am - 9:15 amWelcome & Opening Remarks
Moderator: Maryfran Johnson, Editor in Chief, CIO Events
9:15 am - 10:15 amStrengthening Cybersecurity at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management: A Framework for Public and Private Enterprise
Clif Triplett, Senior Cybersecurity and Information Technology Advisor, US Office of Personnel Management
The threat of nation state adversaries, organized crime, cybersecurity breaches and ransomware all have become concerns of the government and the private sector alike. How does one protect, detect, react and recover from such threats? Clifton Triplett, who has served as OPM’s Senior Cyber and Information Technology Advisor for the past year, has played a leading role in transforming the agency’s cybersecurity capabilities to prepare it to face this real and growing threat. His approach has focused on systems architecture, organizational authority, cybersecurity event and incident management processes, as well as organizational change management through communication and messaging. In his opening keynote, this cybersecurity leader and former CIO of Baker Hughes will lay out a high-level framework of the building blocks that helped OPM emerge as one of the federal government's current leaders in cybersecurity.
10:15 am - 10:35 amTaking the Torture Out of Private Cloud Adoption
Bryan Thompson, General Manager, OpenStack Private Cloud, Rackspace
Moderator: Maryfran Johnson, Editor in Chief, CIO Events
Enterprises everywhere are deploying private clouds for a variety of compelling reasons: business agility, greater cost efficiencies, enhanced security and data sovereignty. Yet the challenges and complexities of private cloud adoption can be daunting for many organizations. The frequent upgrades. The constant monitoring. The staff expertise required. So what is the most successful approach for CIOs to take? How do you address the business process changes that lie ahead? In this industry expert Q&A with Rackspace’s Bryan Thompson, we’ll explore the realities of private cloud from the customer perspective -- sharing the experiences and lessons learned by a leading financial services firm, a global retailer and a major university as they moved to open cloud platforms during significant business transformations.
10:40 am - 11:10 amRefreshment and Networking Break
11:15 am - 12:00 pmFast-Moving Business vs. Slow-Moving IT: The CIO's Ultimate Leadership Challenge
Delaney Bellinger, CIO, Huntsman Corporation
Grady Ligon, SVP and CIO, HSF Affiliates LLC
Wayne J. Sadin, CIO & CDO, Affinitas Life
Moderator: Maryfran Johnson, Editor in Chief, CIO Events
The traditional IT organization is under pressure from every direction today. Customers expect multi-platform mobile access to everything. Business units expect faster turnaround than ever before. Digital business transformation is rewriting the rule books in every industry, calling for greater speed, more agility and innovative customer-centric thinking. How can CIOs balance the needs of urgent change mandates with essential but slower-moving IT processes? What will alleviate the growing tensions between digital-driven businesses and the constant pressure for greater IT cost efficiencies? Our panel of Houston-area IT leaders will tackle these tough questions as they bring their expertise to bear on solving the ultimate challenge of fast-moving business vs. slow-moving IT.
12:00 pm - 1:15 pmNetworking Lunch with Hosted Discussion Tables
Join a hosted discussion table to share strategies and connect with your peers.

  • The Future of Wifi, hosted by Aerohive
  • Digital Transformation & Leveraging Disruptive Technology to Deliver Business Value, hosted by BMC
  • Will the Cloud Work for Brownfield Workloads? hosted by CloudVelox 
  • Secure DevOps: Balancing Speed and Security, hosted by Delphix 
  • Transform Business with Applications, hosted by Mendix 
  • Digital Transformation, hosted by NETSCOUT
  • Transforming Your Business Using infrastructure as Code: Moving from a Traditional IT Environment to A Private Infrastructure-as-a-Service Platform, hosted by Rackspace 
  • Getting Predictable Business Outcomes, hosted by Seilevel 
1:15 pm - 2:00 pmA CIO's Guide to Staying Relevant in Your Rapidly Changing Role
Christopher C. Barron, CIO, Zander Rose, LLC
As the Houston economy grapples with lower oil prices and subdued business growth, CIOs across the region "are realizing that we have to keep exploring ways to develop the business," says CIO Christopher Barron. "We have to find new ways to stay relevant." The days of fully-staffed internal IT shops are gone, and the use of external resources is fast becoming a permanent part of the IT operating model, he notes. As this new reality shifts the IT leader's job toward "resource wrangler" and internal consultant, Christopher sees the CIO role growing in new directions – from embracing virtualization and relying more heavily on strategic vendor partnerships to hiring business problem solvers rather than technical talent. In this workshop presentation, he'll share his own strategies on re-imagining the CIO role, followed by a collaborative workshop discussion and idea exchange.
2:00 pm - 2:20 pm Strategies for Tackling 'Brownfield' Cloud Migration
Raj Dhingra, CEO, CloudVelox
Moderator: Maryfran Johnson, Editor in Chief, CIO Events
Why are there so few legacy applications in the cloud today? Most IT leaders would answer that with two words: complexity and cost. Yet most enterprise CIOs "will be operating in a multi-cloud world in the near future," says CEO Raj Dhingra of CloudVelox, a California-based provider of cloud automation and orchestration software. "The question is how will you manage and control all those workloads?" In this Q&A interview, Raj will share his expertise in 'brownfield' migration issues, talking about both current and emerging trends as well as the experiences of CloudVelox customers who've found more cost-effective, automated approaches to moving legacy applications into public clouds.
2:20 pm - 2:50 pmCIO Publisher's Panel: The New Era of IT
Matthew Selheimer, VP Demand Marketing, BMC Software
Joy Beatty, Vice President, Seilevel
Woody Evans, Director, Solution Architecture, Delphix
David Oliver, Enterprise Account Manager, NETSCOUT
Adam Dennison, Publisher, CIO; SVP/General Manager, IDG Enterprise
In this fast paced session, CIO Publisher Adam Dennison will share some key research findings on CIO priorities and industry trends surrounding technology investments. Then his industry expert panelists will weigh in with their views on how various market dynamics are affecting customers in this new era of IT. Citing specifics from their customer engagements, the panel will talk about the problems their products are solving. They will also share their thoughts on the enterprise of the future as they discuss how CIOs and IT organizations can have the greatest strategic impact on the evolution of digital business.
2:50 pm - 3:15 pmRefreshment and Networking Break
3:15 pm - 4:00 pmLeadership Advice for Effective Cybersecurity Investment: A CIO-CSO Panel Discussion
Marc Crudgington, CISO and SVP, Information Security, Woodforest National Bank
Steven Carter, CIO, C&J Energy Services
Keith Turpin, CISO and Head of Global Infrastructure Services, Universal Weather and Aviation
Antonio Marin, VP of IT & Systems, WCA Waste Corporation
Moderator: Ken Piddington, CIO & Executive Advisor, MRE Consulting, Ltd.
When it comes to escalating cybersecurity threats and the resulting business risks, CIOs and Chief Security Officers know what's out there. "What we're missing is the strategy for dealing with these risks," says CIO Ken Piddington of MRE Consulting. "What's the right thing to do? Once you determine that, how do you communicate it to the board and get the right funding?" To answer those critical questions, Ken will lead an in-depth, practical discussion with both CIOs and CSOs as they explore the implications of various cybersecurity approaches that work most effectively with the IT infrastructure and data management challenges of today's enterprises. The panelists will also share their experiences and ideas on building a road map for security investments and working with C-suite colleagues to develop a strategy that is the right fit for your company culture. "It's the strategy behind the security that is the most important -- but often overlooked -- aspect here," Ken notes. "Security is not one-size-fits-all, and it's not an IT thing. It takes a company-wide initiative to succeed."
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm Leading Sysco Corp.'s Next Gen Legacy Revolution
Wayne Shurts, EVP & CTO, Sysco Corp.
The future of IT is unfolding at $55 billion Sysco Corp. as the Fortune 50 food service giant jettisons its long-standing ERP strategy in favor of a legacy modernization shaped by emerging technologies, cloud, open source and agile development teams. "I believe we're seeing major industry forces changing the future of the IT landscape," says CTO Wayne Shurts. "The tools and technologies driving our Next Gen project are enabling us to modernize our legacy in ways we never could before -- way faster, way better and for a fraction of the cost." Formally launched last April, IT's all-out effort has meant rebuilding inhouse development teams, rethinking entire business processes and recasting IT projects into more focused product teams. In this compelling closing keynote, Wayne will talk about why this path is the best choice for Sysco, which business drivers are fueling these dramatic changes, and how he is approaching the leadership and talent management hurdles ahead.
4:45 pm - 5:00 pmClosing Remarks
Moderator: Maryfran Johnson, Editor in Chief, CIO Events
5:00 pm - 5:30 pmCocktail Reception