Keynote Speakers
Dr. Peggy Whitson
Dr. Peggy Whitson is a former NASA astronaut and biochemist who began her career at NASA/Johnson Space Center as a Research Biochemist in the Biomedical Operations and Research Branch. During her time at NASA, she developed negotiation and leadership skills as a member of the U.S.-USSR Joint Working Group in Space Medicine and Biology. She continued developing these skills when she was named the Project Scientist of the Shuttle-Mir Program and served in this capacity until the conclusion of the Phase 1A Program in 1995. Dr. Whitson held the additional responsibilities of the Deputy Division Chief of the Medical Sciences Division at Johnson Space Center from 1995 to 1996 and served as Co-Chair of the U.S.-Russian Mission Science Working Group.
Selected from thousands of applicants, Dr. Whitson began her Astronaut training in 1996. Upon completing two years of training and evaluation, she was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Operations Planning Branch and served as the lead for the Crew Test Support Team in Russia from 1998 to 1999. Soon after, Whitson was then selected to fly her first space mission to the International Space Station (ISS) Jun-Dec 2002, launching and landing on a Space Shuttle. During this 6-month mission, she became the first Science Officer of the ISS and conducted one spacewalk in the Russian Orlan spacesuit.
From November 2003 to March 2005, she served as Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office. Also in 2003, she served as commander of the fifth NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) mission in the underwater habitat, Aquarius. In 2005, Whitson began training for the 16th Expedition to the ISS. She launched in Nov 2007 on her second 6-month mission, and served as the first female Commander of the ISS, conducting 5 spacewalks as a part of the ISS assembly.
After returning from her second long duration mission, Whitson continued serving in a number of leadership roles, culminating in the Chief of the Astronaut Corps between October 2009 to July 2012. She was responsible for the mission preparation activities and on-orbit support of all International Space Station crews and their support personnel. She was also responsible for organizing the crew interface support for future commercially-provided cargo and crew transport vehicles. Whitson was the first female nonmilitary Chief of the Astronaut Office.
Whitson's third mission launched in November 2016. Originally planned as a 6-month mission, she was extended to a nine-and-a-half-month mission, returning in September 2017, accumulating the records noted above while accomplishing an enormous wealth of scientific research and 4 additional space walks.
Following her retirement from NASA in 2018, Whitson joined Axiom Space and announced her return to space in 2021. After serving as backup commander for Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), she commanded Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) in 2023 and Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) in 2025. During Ax-4, she became the oldest woman to orbit Earth and extended her record to 695 cumulative days in space. She now serves as Vice President of Astronaut Operations at Axiom Space, helping lead the transition from government-led missions to the next generation of commercial space stations, as well as providing her insights into the development of the AxSuit that will be used on the lunar surface.
Whitson graduated from Mt. Ayr Community High School, Mt. Ayr, Iowa, in 1978; received a Bachelor of Science in Biology/Chemistry from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1981 and a Doctorate in Biochemistry from Rice University in 1985.
Michael Burton Brown
Entering his 12th season as an NBA head coach and nearly 30th year in the league, Brown has led the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, and Knicks. He also spent six seasons as lead assistant with the Golden State Warriors, winning three NBA championships (2017, 2018, 2022), and began his coaching career with the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs, and Indiana Pacers, earning his first title with San Antonio in 2003.
Brown guided Cleveland to its first NBA Finals appearance in 2007 and was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2009 after leading the Cavaliers to a franchise-record 66 wins. Beyond the NBA, he served as head coach of Nigeria's men's national team from 2020 to 2022, leading the program at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
A University of San Diego graduate and former Toreros basketball player, Brown has spent nearly three decades leading teams at the highest levels of professional basketball. He has built a reputation as one of the NBA's most respected coaches, with sustained success across multiple organizations.
Dan Schulman
Dan Schulman is focused on democratizing the global financial services system and improving the financial health of people, families, and businesses around the world. As the CEO of Verizon, Dan is steering the company toward the future of connectivity, expanding its reach and impact worldwide. As the former CEO of PayPal (2015-2023), Dan led PayPal to empower people in their financial lives and reimagine how merchants can continually strengthen their businesses. Under Dan’s leadership, PayPal was named as one of the top companies on JUST Capital and Forbes’ JUST 100 list, featuring “companies doing right by America.” PayPal has also been recognized as a Fortune Change the World company for its work to tackle the biggest challenges facing society today and named to Morning Consult's "Most Trusted Brands" list. He
Dan’s leadership and impact have been recognized by several notable organizations. The New York Urban League presented Dan with the 2021 Frederick Douglass Award, in recognition of his commitment, dedication, and influence to advance the rights of generations of underserved Black Americans. In 2020, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights honored him with the Ripple of Hope Award, which recognizes those who have demonstrated a commitment to social change and a passion for equality, justice and basic human rights.
In 2019, Dan was recognized by Endeavor Global with the High-Impact Leader of the Year Award for his work to support entrepreneurs around the globe. He was also honored with the Financial Health Network’s inaugural Visionary Award in 2018 for his commitment to improving the financial lives of people around the world. Dan received the 2017 Brennan Legacy Award, established to honor the late Supreme Court justice and his career-long commitment to social justice and “common human dignity”. The Council for Economic Education named Dan as its 2017 Visionary for promoting economic and financial literacy to create a better-informed society. Rutgers University bestowed upon Dan an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, and he also delivered the University’s 252nd anniversary commencement speech.
Dan has frequently been recognized by Fortune as one of the "Top 20 Businesspersons of the Year" and in 2021, named to Fortune's 50 World's Greatest Leaders list. He has also been named one of the top 100 Most Creative People by Fast Company and, in 2019, he was named one of Glassdoor's Top 50 CEOs. In addition, he has been recognized as one of the top 10 Most Innovative CEOs in Banking.
Dan previously served as Group President at American Express. Prior to joining American Express, Dan was President of the Prepaid Group at Sprint Nextel Corporation following its acquisition of Virgin Mobile USA, Inc., where he led the company as its founding CEO for eight years. Earlier in his career, Dan was President and CEO of Priceline Group, Inc., where he led the company through a period of rapid growth and expansion. He also spent 18 years at AT&T, where he held a series of positions, including President of the Consumer Markets Division.
Dan is actively involved in the World Economic Forum, as a member of the International Business Council, and the Board of Governors and Board of Stewards for the Future of Financial & Monetary Systems platform. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Business Roundtable. In addition, Dan is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and an International Advisory Council member of the Singapore Economic Development Board. Dan is a Director of Verizon Communications, Inc., and previously served as Non-Executive Chairman of NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec Corporation). He also serves on the boards of The Economic Club of New York and Autism Speaks. Dan earned a BA from Middlebury College and an MBA from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business. He is an avid mixed martial arts practitioner.
Ethan Mollick
Salil Parekh
Client Speakers
Alex Bermudez
Chasity Parhm
Federico Cohen Freue
Federico Cohen Freue is executive vice president, AI & Data Operations at Mastercard, and is accountable for the company’s impact from AI & Data efforts. He is responsible for scaling Mastercard's AI book of business, building Mastercard's enterprise AI capabilities, and AI workforce activities such as upskilling, and techincal communities. He additionally leads Mastercard's office of Enterprise Transformation, reimagining workflows with AI capabilities.
Prior to this role, Fed was senior vice president, Integration Executive with accountability over acquisitions for Mastercard's Data & Services business. He led end-to-end integration for several companies, including Dynamic Yield. He is a seasoned AI and operations leader, having held senior leadership roles in product management, pricing, and investment prioritization throughout his tenure at Mastercard.
Fed joined Mastercard via the acquisition of Applied Predictive Technologies (APT), where he led the firm’s Latin America & Caribbean practice. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. with Distinction in Applied Statistics and Econometrics. He sits on the advisory board for the University of Virginia’s School of Data Science.
Jason Ballard
Automotive Operations and Supply Chain. Since joining Toyota in 2003, Ballard has had several roles across IT. During the first few years of the company, Ballard led strategic direction of technology product and services. Over the past decade his energy has been on business technology delivery, providing solutions with tangible outcomes that enables all areas of the business towards their strategic objectives. Ballard has had the opportunity to work in the areas of design, supply chain, manufacturing. and corporate functions. Ballard took on the responsibility of IT platforms, cloud engineering, infrastructure, global digital transformation, and in late 2021, the lead on the new EV battery plant in North Carolina. In August 2024, Ballard shifted out of IT to Supply Chain Management to lead a North American-wide transformation. As of May 2025, Ballard now leads a new function driving digital transformation against a customer-centric portfolio across Automotive Ops and Supply Chain.
Joe Sueper
Joe Sueper serves as Chief Technology Officer at Nu Skin Enterprises, where he leads the company's global technology strategy, digital transformation initiatives, enterprise architecture, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and innovation agenda. In his role, he is responsible for advancing Nu Skin's technology capabilities to enhance customer experiences, support global operations, and accelerate business growth through digital platforms and emerging technologies.
With extensive experience in technology leadership, Joe has been instrumental in modernizing enterprise systems, driving cloud adoption, strengthening data and analytics capabilities, and leveraging AI and automation to improve operational efficiency and customer engagement. He is passionate about aligning technology investments with business outcomes and fostering a culture of innovation across the organization.
At Nu Skin, Joe focuses on building scalable, secure, and future-ready technology platforms that enable the company to deliver personalized experiences, support its global distributor network, and adapt to rapidly evolving market opportunities.
Kumar Venugopal
Laura McCanlies
Laura McCanlies is a transformative leader with over three decades of experience leveraging technology and data to drive business operations and customer growth across diverse industries, including Consulting, Pharmaceuticals, High-Tech, Engineering, and Impact Investing. Laura expertise has benefited both startups and prominent Fortune 250 corporations. She was recognized by Forbes Next in 2024 as one of the 50 exceptional CIOs at the forefront of technological innovation and strategy, she is passionate about the intersection of AI and humanity.
Currently serving as the Chief Information Officer of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. Her previous roles include Chief of Technology and Analytics at IDB Invest, where her innovative approach set her apart, and Global Director of Business Insights at Jacobs Engineering, where she established the department from the ground up. At Tokyo Electron US Holdings, she managed Enterprise Solutions and Business Intelligence, providing services to eight subsidiaries across the United States due to M&As, and launched TEL’s global client digital portal. Laura's IT management journey began in Mexico with Sanofi and continued through her early experiences in tech consulting at E&Y and Data General.
Laura holds an MBA and a BS in Computer Science from Tecnológico de Monterrey. She is a Board member of the Post Classical Ensemble in Washington, DC, and actively participates in the Austin Venture Social Partner program, serving as a strategic advisor to socially conscious startups such as Allies Against Slavery and Whisper Co. As an Executive Coach of Digital Transformation at the American University Business School and an invited speaker at the American University in Sofia. Laura is dedicated to mentoring and empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs. Her experience and commitment to social impact make her an asset to any nonprofit board.
Infosys Speakers
Anant Adya
Inderpreet Sawhney
Rafee Tarafdar
Rafee is a Unit Technology Officer and heads the Strategic Technology Group at Infosys that focuses on building next generation platforms, capabilities and solutions. The Strategic Technology Group comprises of Technology Strategists defining and driving large transformational programs and platforms, Power Programmers who work as full stack developers on complex engineering projects for clients and Expert Trackers who bring in deep technical expertise in emerging technology areas and are involved in building platforms and solution for Infosys.
He has over twenty years of IT experience and the first phase of his career focused on coding and developing products for the Manufacturing and Banking industry. In the second phase, he concentrated on consulting, architecting and delivering transformational solutions for the Retail, Consumer Goods and Logistics industries. Now, in the third phase, he is directed towards building deeper architecture, technology and programming capabilities within Infosys, developing new Go-To Market solutions and building platforms for Infosys and their clients. His current research interests include operating models for sustainability and skills development, published in The Live Enterprise: Create a Continuously Learning and Evolving Organization (McGraw-Hill).
Event Emcee
Mariana Atencio
From her earliest days, Mariana Atencio was drawn to people and stories. Combining them into a career in journalism was a natural fit. It was there Mariana honed an essential skill for her work – the ability to build trust and connection on purpose. That work gave Mariana a window to study human nature and organizations that led her to become an expert on trust.
The journey there wasn’t so simple. It began when she was mugged on a mountain trail in her native Caracas, Venezuela. As she knelt with a gun pressed to her forehead, she realized Caracas was a deteriorating place and she decided to pursue journalism in America.
Mariana knew America from spending summers there with her younger sister. Years later she spoke on the TEDx stage about those trips and the feeling of being an outsider struggling to adjust to a new country. That TEDx talk, “What Makes You Special,” catapulted Mariana onto the global stage and has been viewed more than 25 million times. It established her as a global authority on the power of authenticity as a trust multiplier.
A scholarship to Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism School paved the way for Mariana’s 15-year career. She went on to become a hard-working news anchor for Univision and a national correspondent for NBC News, also filing for ABC. Her reporting has been honored with a Peabody Award, a Gracie Award, and three national Emmy nominations.
Mariana reported from environments where the stakes were high and lives were upended – anything from Cat 5 hurricanes to international conflict zones. “I would engage people at one of the worst times of their lives, and I needed to build trust fast so they understood I was trying to bring their story and an understanding of their situation to the viewers,” she said.
Mariana also interviewed top leaders from politics, culture, sports, and business – from Pope Francis and the King of Spain to icons like Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal. Mariana translated their lessons into practical, leadership-ready frameworks.
Today, she brings those tools to organizations and leadership teams, helping them close the Trust Gap so decisions move faster, collaboration strengthens, and execution becomes more consistent especially during periods of change.
The success of Mariana’s TEDx talk led her to expand her message in her bestselling book Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real, showing why “being real” is not a soft skill but the secret weapon in a world saturated with noise and AIgenerated content.
Since leaving network news, Mariana has become a sought-after speaker on leadership, organizational culture, trust, and executive communication – as well as a host and moderator for high-profile gatherings, where she is known for guiding leaders in deep and candid conversations that deliver real insight. She is also the creator of The Trust Advantage newsletter.
Mariana is a frequent on-air analyst across major news networks, a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, and serves on the board of the future Smithsonian American Latino Museum in Washington, D.C.