By bringing together the top 80 Executives in the region, we will discuss the most pressing Technology and Leadership challenges we face in an ever-evolving corporate landscape.
Over the next two and a half days, we will nurture meaningful relationships and tackle the challenges inherent to IT in a smaller, more dynamic setting. You will learn from your peers through various workshops, panels, roundtables and presentations. Our closed-door policy fosters an environment where all discussions are confined within the Forum walls, enabling more genuine and engaged conversations.
Learn about the latest and most innovative technologies that can bridge some of your organizational gaps through qualified one-on-one engagements, scheduled strategically throughout the Forum and selected by you, based on your most pressing needs.
Build new relationships and nurture existing ones, share in your successes and commiserate in the challenges that we all face as IT Leaders.
Join us for the TOLA IT & Security Leaders Forum and leave ready to inspire action within your Organization!

Master of Ceremonies
Shawnna DelHierro
Chief Technology Officer Recently of Sportsman Warehouse
Four Seasons Hotel Austin
Forum Agenda
Agenda may be subject to change. Click on each day to view full agenda.
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM CST
FORUM REGISTRATION & APP DEMONSTRATION
Get familiar with SINC Staff and the event layout. Secure your complimentary Swag Bag and learn how to use the Onsite Application for Peer Engagement and win great prizes!
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM CST
SINC WELCOME NETWORKING RECEPTION
Engage your Peers over canapes and cocktails
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM CST
SINC NETWORKING & ENGAGEMENT DINNER
7:00 AM - 7:50 AM CST
SINC IT LEADERS NETWORKING BREAKFAST
Full breakfast and lots of coffee available!
7:50 AM - 8:00 AM CST
SINC OPENING REMARKS
Introduction from our Master of Ceremonies, Shawnna DelHierro, setting the tone for a great day ahead!
8:00 AM - 8:40 AM CST
KEYNOTE EXECUTIVE PRESENTATION - Mastering Dual Roles: The Art of Becoming a Transformational Business Leader and CIO
In today’s dynamic and competitive business landscape, the role of a business leader is paramount for steering organizations toward success, growth, and sustainability! This keynote presentation unravels the significance of excelling in dual capacities – that of a visionary & transformational business leader and a Chief Information Officer (CIO). This strategic approach empowers them to drive the organization to greater heights and provide a competitive advantage, hence helping the organization to increase revenue, growth, and market expansion. All this while still fostering a culture of innovation, digital transformation, and building effectiveness.
Join Lucy Mariappa, the winner of the 2023 “CIO of the Year” Orbie Award, on this keynote as she delves into the journey to unlock the skills and mindset required to excel in these dual capacities, charting a course toward leadership excellence in the ever-evolving intersection of business and technology!
Speaker: Lucy Mariappa, 2023 CIO of the Year
8:50 AM - 09:20 AM CST
WORKSHOP 1 - The Most Important Shift for Cybersecurity in a Generation
We live in a world where everything is hybrid. Whether it’s where we work, the clouds we run workloads on, or the devices we use — the blend between personal, corporate, private, and public is ever-changing and presents us with a host of new challenges. This has increased and complicated the attack surface many times over and the pressure to converge tools and do “more with less” is at peak levels. We must meet this watershed moment with the right team, plans, and technology.
Join this session to learn:
- How to build an effective plan for change without adding to the chaos
- Consolidation approaches that save money without sacrificing security
- Use cases that deliver immediate value and efficiency
- Reducing your attack surface while improving user experience
Speaker: Gerry Plaza, Field CTO, Netskope
Presented by: Netskope
8:50 AM - 09:20 AM CST
WORKSHOP 2 - Unlock Next-level AIOps, ITSM and FinOps with Next Generation AI
The hype around generative AI is only the beginning. This game-changing technology is poised to disrupt high-tech industries. But with new AI tools popping up every day, choosing the wrong one can have profound effects on a company’s security, customer satisfaction, and productivity.
As a trusted partner, OpenText is pioneering the era of new possibilities where generative AI complements human creativity to become tomorrow’s solutions across AIOps, ITSM and FinOps.
In our talk, we will cover how OpenText AI and automation:
- Improve reliability of IT services with Observability and AIOps
- Improve the user experience with a GenAI virtual agent
- Reduce cloud costs and carbon with FinOps and GreenOps
Speaker: Victor Diemert, Senior Solutions Consultant, OpenText
Presented by: OpenText
09:30 AM - 10:00 AM CST
WORKSHOP 1 - Empowering Innovation: Unpacking the Efficiency of PaaS Solutions in Modern Development
In this discussion we will discuss Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions offering a cloud-based environment for developers to build, deploy, and manage applications without the complexity of maintaining the underlying infrastructure. These scalable platforms provide a suite of tools and services designed to streamline the development process, including middleware, database management, and development tools. We will learn how PaaS enables businesses to focus on innovation and rapid deployment, reducing time-to-market for new software offerings, while offering cost savings and enhanced collaboration across development teams.
Speaker:
Jessica Orozco, General Manager, North America & APAC, Platform.sh
Corey Dockendorf, Strategic Solutions Architect, Platform.sh
Presented by: Platform.sh
09:30 AM - 10:00 AM CST
WORKSHOP 2 - Unified Ingress: Secure local webhook development and enabling ‘Bring Your Own Cloud’
Developers today need ingress in all phases of the development lifecycle, including building webhook integrations, connecting to data sources in external networks and as a gateway for production APIs and websites. Explore how ngrok’s unified ingress platform make ingress environment-agnostic and finally simplifies the least portable piece of your stack across your deployments.
- Get an overview of how companies like Twilio, Github, Zendesk and Okta use ngrok to speed development cycles on webhook integrations with secure policy and controls.
- Explore how Databricks solved the problem of creating secure ingress at scale for all the data nodes that run in their customer’s infrastructure.
- Learn how innovative startups like Replicated embed ngrok as an agnostic ingress layer to provide a secure gateway to their customers’ apps and APIs into a disparate mix of cloud, on-premise environments and Kubernetes distributions.
Join Founder and CEO Alan Shreve in this talk to learn why millions of developers rely on ngrok for secure webhook testing, and secure connectivity into customer and partner networks.
Speaker: Alan Shreve, Founder & CEO, ngrok
Presented by: Ngrok
10:00 AM - 10:15 AM CST
SINC NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
Circle back with your Peers on the content so far while grabbing a coffee and a snack
10:20 AM - 10:50 AM CST
FIRESIDE CHAT - Data for DevOps: The Intersection of Data Automation and Data Security
Innovation driven by DevOps, cloud and AI/ML emboldens businesses to expand access to the essential fuel for those programs– enterprise data. At the same time, stringent privacy laws and frequent cyber attacks increase pressure to mitigate sensitive data risks. With more and more interaction shifting to the digital brand experience, how can today’s enterprises effectively unlock the power of their enterprise data and eliminate friction between data usage and data security?
Join this interactive session to discuss the cultural shift modern enterprises are actively engaged in to make data more available, secure, compliant and resilient.
Speakers:
Charlie Rapier, Americas Vice President, Delphix
Kiran Varanasi, Director, Technology Transformation, Motiva Enterprises
Presented by: Delphix
10:20 AM - 10:50 AM CST
WORKSHOP - A Seasoned CIO's Perspective of the Future of IT
Ross Tucker, CIO of Texas United Management shares his expert perspective on the evolving landscape of Information Technology, highlighting upcoming trends and challenges. The session delves into the strategic role of IT in driving business innovation and efficiency in the digital age. Attendees will gain a forward-looking view on how emerging technologies are shaping the future of IT and their potential impact on organizations.
Speaker: Ross Tucker, CIO, Texas United Management
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM CST
ROUNDTABLE + PANEL - Sustainable IT Practices: Navigating the Green Challenge
This session explores practical strategies for integrating sustainability into IT operations, emphasizing a balance between innovation and environmental responsibility. Attendees will gain valuable insights into eco-friendly solutions, energy-efficient practices, and responsible resource management, ensuring that IT initiatives contribute to, rather than detract from, environmental well-being. Join us for an in-depth discussion on navigating the green challenge in the digital landscape, discovering actionable approaches that align IT practices with a sustainable and environmentally friendly future.
Moderator: Alexander Rosca, IT Director, RNWBL
Panelists:
Adriana Graham, Sr. Director, Tyson Foods
Jay Smith, Director of Information Systems, Baylor Scott & White
Jeff Kendall, VP of IT, Goodwill Central Texas
Scott Shultz, VP TechOps & Infrastructure, Topgolf
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CST
SINC NETWORKING LUNCH
Open seating, Buffet-style lunch. Serving food for all tastes, pallets and preferences. Vegan, vegetarian, halal options available
1:05 PM - 1:35 PM CST
PRESENTATION - The Role of ERP in Security and AI
The ERP is the backbone of most organizations. Software packages from large vendors such as Oracle and SAP are essential for back-end business operations. But how do they fit into emerging technology strategies such as Cloud, AI/ML, Security, and other competitive growth initiatives? Come to this session to learn about the intersection of ERP and emerging technology and ways to find the right allocation of resources between operations and innovation.
Speaker: Eric Helmer, Chief Technology Officer, Rimini Street
Presented by: Rimini Street
1:45 PM - 2:15 PM CST
WORKSHOP 1 - Hybrid IAM: Solving the Identity Protection Gaps in Your Hybrid Environments
The security of on-premises Active Directory authentications stands as a critical component in safeguarding an organization’s data and resources. This session will delve into the various threats and challenges that organizations face with on-premises and hybrid IAM implementations and provide valuable insights into how to secure and protect existing investments in legacy systems and applications.
Speaker: Jason Shupp, Director, Sales Engineering, Silverfort
Presented by: Silverfort
1:45 PM - 2:15 PM CST
WORKSHOP 2 - Achieving the Benefits of Converged Endpoint Management
Managing endpoint risk and compliance is more challenging today than ever before. Today’s CISOs have to manage risk from many thousands of globally distributed, heterogeneous assets, while also responding to ever increasing audit scrutiny and regulatory compliance requirements.
Join this session, Achieving the Benefits of Converged Endpoint Management, to learn more about how to:
- Identify & remediate risks that create the greatest exposure.
- Assess & measure unknown vulnerabilities.
- Maximize IT budgets and staffing during economic uncertainty.
- Enhance existing investment in strategic technology vendors.
Speaker: Mo Patel, RVP, Technical Account Management, Tanium
Presented by: Tanium
2:25 PM - 3:15 PM CST
ROUNDTABLE + PANEL - Unlocking Organizational Excellence: Navigating Talent Acquisition, Retention and Fostering Diversity of Thought
This Panel will discuss how embracing diverse perspectives contributes to a more dynamic and innovative workplace, ultimately unlocking the full potential of your organization while creating a happier, more engaged staff.
Attendees will gain valuable insights into cultivating an environment that not only attracts and retains top talent but also harnesses the diverse intellectual capital within a team. Join us in unraveling the strategies that unlock the full potential of organizations, propelling them toward excellence in a rapidly evolving business landscape.
Moderator: Dana Prochaska, Deputy CISO, Texas Mutual
Panelists:
Kiran Varanasi, Director, Technology Transformation, Motiva Enterprises
Jeff Green, CIO, Strike Construction
Cynthia Dixon, IT Director, Pepsico
Wendi White, Deputy CISO, City of Austin
3:15 PM - 3:30 PM CST
SINC NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
Circle back with your Peers on the content so far while grabbing a coffee and a snack
3:35 PM - 4:05 PM CST
WORKSHOP 1 - Going on the Offensive with AI with Minimal Data Leakage
This session discusses redefining the role of AI from a defensive shield to an aggressive tool in business and technology. This session explores how AI can be proactively used for gaining competitive advantage, while still emphasizing the importance of data security and privacy. It highlights the shift from using AI solely for risk management to employing it as a dynamic force for innovation, all while maintaining ethical standards and data integrity.
Speaker: Robert Pace, CISO, Invitation Homes
3:35 PM - 4:05 PM CST
WORKSHOP 2 - From Data to Wisdom
Data has become more critical to manage and control than ever before. The data is growing at an alarming rate; according to some analysts, more data is created in the last 2 years than all of the data created throughout human history combined.
Data by itself is useless without context. It must be presented to us in the form of information that we can apply in real life as knowledge. Then the lessons we learn from its application, must be managed for future reuse as wisdom.
Speaker: Ad Ghauri, Director Enterprise Architecture, Baker Hughes
4:10 PM - 5:00 PM CST
ROUNDTABLE + PANEL - Cybersecurity in the Era of Regulatory Compliance
As organizations navigate an increasingly complex web of data protection laws and industry regulations, they must not only fortify their digital defenses against ever-evolving cyber threats but also align these efforts with new SEC compliance mandates. This requires a proactive and integrated approach, where cybersecurity strategies are not only proficient in thwarting cyber risks but are also intricately woven into the fabric of regulatory frameworks, fostering a secure and compliant digital environment.
Moderator: Ebenezer Arumai, CISO, OldCastle Building Envelope
Panelists:
Joshua Copeland, Director of Enterprise Security, Bose Corporation
Darrel Raynor, Director of Cybersecurity, LCRA
Andy Bennett, VP of Technology/CISO, Apollo Information System
Heriberto Landetta, CIO GM Financial Mexico & Peru, GM Financial
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM CST
SINC NETWORKING RECEPTION
Engage your Peers over canapés and cocktails
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM CST
SINC NETWORKING & ENGAGEMENT DINNER
8:00 AM - 8:50 AM CST
SINC IT LEADERS NETWORKING BREAKFAST
Full Breakfast and lots of coffee available!
9:00 AM - 9:50 AM CST
CISO PANEL - The Rapidly Evolving Threat Landscape
Aggressive attacks on Enterprise computer networks are continuing with increased frequency and threatening economic and national security. Actions like vulnerability reduction and passive defenses on their own simply are not cutting it and there needs to be a functional shift in the way we mitigate this substantial threat. Companies can seek to protect their most sensitive data by implementing an environment of actionable intelligence and detection to bring the fight to the adversaries and ensure a proactive approach to securing data. This session will discuss best practices in managing the constant evolution in the security environment.
Moderator: David Malicoat, CISO, Direct Marketing Solutions
Panelists:
Ashok Kakani, CISO, Inspira Enterprise
Brian Gardner, Chief Technology & Information Security Officer, City of Dallas
Ray Texter, CISO, Texas United Management
Jeffrey Vinson, CISO, Harris Health System
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM CST
WORKSHOP - Cyber Defense Strategies for Earlier Detection and Faster Response
Delve into the flaws of the traditional cybersecurity landscape and how a modern SOC should focus on outcome-based services without relying on logs or the cost and complexity of a SIEM.
Speaker: Hamlet Khodaverdian, Co-Founder and Vice-President, Americas, LMNTRIX
Presented by: LMNTRIX
10:30 AM - 10:45 AM CST
SINC NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
Circle back with your Peers on the content so far while grabbing a coffee and a snack
10:50 AM - 11:20 AM CST
WORKSHOP 1 - Tactical Leadership Mistakes in a Digital Workplace
Every major technology project has obstacles and landmines, especially when it comes to keeping the team engaged and their morale up.
Rob outlines the tactical leadership mistakes to avoid when directing teams and how to inspire them to deliver on time and under budget.
Speaker: Rob Teel, CTO, State of Oklahoma
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM CST
PRESENTATION - Why IT Audits Are your Friend
Who loves a good audit? Well, you should! Think of them as a helpful nudge to fix what’s weak, make sure you’re playing by the rules, and get your systems running smoother than ever. You’ll see how these check-ups are less of a headache and more like a secret weapon for keeping your tech game strong and secure.
Speaker: Rob Strickland, Interim CIO, InfoVista
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CST
SINC NETWORKING LUNCH
TOLA Executive Advisory Council

Lucy Mariappa
2023 CIO of the Year

Radhika Murudeshwar
Director Enterprise Architecture - Clinical
UnitedHealth Group

Ross Tucker
CIO
Texas United Management Corporation

Dana Prochaska
Executive Security Advisor / vCISO
Freelance

Jeff Baker
CIO
NB Business Solutions

Rusty Kennington
CIO
Henry Company

Sudhakar Virupakshi
CIO
Buckeye Partners

Robert Pace
CISO
Invitation Homes

Shivani Agarwal
Head of IT
McLane Company

Tod Huber
CTO
Milwaukee County

Bhadresh Patel
Chief Technology Officer
Humana
Interested in sponsoring? Please submit a request.
Submit RequestForum Sponsors
- platinum Sponsor
- gold Sponsor
- silver Sponsor

platinum
Rimini Street
More than 4,900 Fortune 500, Fortune Global 100, midmarket, public sector and other organizations from a broad range of industries have relied on Rimini Street as their trusted application enterprise software products and services provider. To learn more, please visit www.riministreet.com.
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gold
Netskope
Netskope, a global cybersecurity leader, is redefining cloud, data, and network security to help organizations apply Zero Trust principles to protect data. The Netskope Intelligent Security Service Edge (SSE) platform is fast, easy to use, and secures people, devices, and data anywhere they go. Netskope helps customers reduce risk, accelerate performance, and get unrivaled visibility into any cloud, web, and private application activity. Thousands of customers, including more than 25 of the Fortune 100, trust Netskope to address evolving threats, new risks, technology shifts, organizational and network changes, and new regulatory requirements.
Learn how Netskope helps customers be ready for anything on their SASE journey, visit netskope.com.
More from Netskope:
Netskope for ChatGPT and Generative AI Data Protection
How to Apply Zero Trust Principles the Right Way
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gold
ngrok
ngrok is the leading way to make any application, device, or service securely available on its global edge in seconds. ngrok wraps the complexity of authentication, remote management, load balancing, and networking into a programmable component embeddable into any stack.
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gold
Silverfort
Silverfort is the provider of the first Unified Identity Protection Platform that consolidates security controls across corporate networks and cloud environments to block identity-based attacks. Using innovative agentless and proxyless technology, Silverfort seamlessly integrates with all existing IAM solutions (such as AD, ADFS, RADIUS, Azure AD, Okta, Ping, AWS IAM, etc.), extending their coverage to assets that could not be protected until today, such as homegrown/legacy applications, IT infrastructure, file systems, command-line tools, machine-to-machine access and more. It continuously monitors all access of users and service accounts across both cloud and on-premise environments, analyzes risk in real time using an AI-based engine, and enforces adaptive authentication and access policies. Silverfort allows organizations to prevent data breaches, achieve compliance, reduce costs and simplify cloud migration.
Learn More
gold
Platform.sh
Efficient, reliable, and secure. The Platform.sh Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) removes the complexities of cloud infrastructure management and optimizes development-to-production workflows, reducing the time it takes to build and deploy applications. Delivering efficiency, reliability, and security, giving development teams both control and peace of mind. Built for developers, by developers.
Learn More
gold
OpenText
Your data is your company’s most strategic asset. Analytics and AI helps you monetize that asset with a trusted technology partner and proven product portfolio. Big data whether structured, unstructured, mining or discovery, the OpenText Analytics and AI portfolio – led by OpenText Vertica™, OpenText IDOL™, and OpenText Magellan™ – can help you deliver the strategic insights that your organizations need to make every data-driven decision and predict and act on business opportunities – all while managing risk and costs.
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LMNTRIX
LMNTRIX is the leader in intelligence led security-as-a-service. Working as a seamless, scalable extension of customer security operations, LMNTRIX offers a single MDR solution called Active Defense that blends their cyber defense platform called LMNTRIX XDR with innovative security technologies, nation-state grade threat intelligence and world-renowned Cyber Defence Centers. With this approach, LMNTRIX eliminates the complexity and burden of cyber security for organizations struggling to prepare for, prevent and respond to cyberattacks.
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gold
Delphix
Delphix is the industry leader for DevOps test data management.
Businesses need to transform application delivery but struggle to balance speed with data security and compliance. Our DevOps Data Platform automates data security, while rapidly deploying test data to accelerate application releases. With Delphix, customers modernize applications, adopt multi-cloud, achieve CI/CD, and recover from downtime events such as ransomware up to 2x faster.
Leading companies, including Choice Hotels, Banco Carrefour, and Fannie Mae, use Delphix to accelerate digital transformation and enable zero trust data management. Visit us at www.delphix.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
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Tanium
Tanium, the industry’s only provider of converged endpoint management (XEM), leads the paradigm shift in legacy approaches to managing complex security and technology environments. Only Tanium unifies teams and workflows and protects every endpoint from cyber threats by integrating IT, Operations, Security, and Risk into a single platform that delivers comprehensive visibility across devices, a unified set of controls, and a common taxonomy for a single shared purpose: to protect critical information and infrastructure at scale.
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silver
Seraphic
Seraphic is a unique browser security solution that protects enterprise assets and provides your security team with advanced governance and policy enforcement. It’s based on innovative technology – providing robust protection against all browser attacks, including full protection against zero-day and unpatched n-day attacks. Seraphic is easy to deploy, has no impact on performance, leaves user experience untouched, and is fully compatible across all browsers and devices.
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