360 Direct Access

Craig Radford is a nationally recognized figure, renowned for his expertise as a business leader, motivational speaker, and co-founder of 360 Direct Access. Over the past 25 years, Craig has become a household name as one of the pioneers who shaped the telecommunications industry for the Deaf and hard of hearing community. While Craig has made a lasting impact by driving accessibility, developing a ground-breaking telehealth program, and creating extensive job opportunities for Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, he continues to create change through initiatives like the Direct Video Calling program, endorsed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Furthermore, as Avodah’s Equity Partner, Craig is leading the newly formed accessibility business and strategizing ways for AI to profoundly impact the everyday lives of the Deaf and hard of hearing community. Craig’s work and leadership have been widely recognized with numerous accolades, including the Travelability Peoples Choice Award, Travelability Sharks Tank Top 3, Destinations International Top 4 Most Innovative, Tampa Bay Wave Top 15 Startups, Disability: IN Peoples Choice Winner, and Disability: IN Pitch Perfect Champion (out of over 500 Disability Owned Business Enterprises (DOBE). His company was also a Venture Atlanta Finalist, and 360 Direct Access has been certified by the FCC. Craig’s no-nonsense practical advice on diversity, equity, and inclusion in business has reached hundreds of thousands through diverse media channels, including Forbes, Business Insider, Sanctuary Magazine, CNN, and many others. A great communicator, Craig’s presence has lit up stages in front of audiences ranging from 50 to over 5,000 people, sharing the spotlight with several renowned visionaries. As a builder with an impressive portfolio of achievements, boasting his contributions to three successful business exits, including a record-breaking private equity acquisition valued at nearly $1 billion, Craig brings a distinctive blend of skills to the table. With his wealth of experience, he not only inspires but also ignites hope among aspiring leaders to unlock their full potential. When he is taking a break from reshaping our everyday lives, Craig loves attending his children’s sports games and events. Having been involved in sports his whole life as an athlete and coach, Craig has, alongside his coaching staff, helped lead the USA Deaflympics basketball team to gold in 2014 (Samsun, Turkey) and silver in 2015 (Taipei, Taiwan). He is currently the Executive Director for USA Deaf Basketball.

360 Direct Access

Vannessa LeBoss is the Chief Development Officer and co-founder at 360 Direct Video.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Aruun Kumar is a seasoned IT professional with over 2 decades of extensive experience in designing and building enterprise grade application platforms. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a proven track record of building software solutions with a strong focus on creating highly scalable, distributed architectures, driving application modernization, and leveraging advanced performance engineering and AI-powered automation. His technical proficiency spans a diverse range of skill sets, including cloud computing, databases, Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, distributed and database technologies. Recognized as a thought leader and an innovator, Aruun has multiple patent submissions and publications to his name. He is a recipient of prestigious awards, including the Platinum Genius Medal from American Express and the companys highest honor, the Ed Giligan Innovation award. With a Masters degree in Information Technology from the University of Massachusetts and multiple industry certifications, including the highest-level professional certification in AWS, Aruun bring a well-rounded academic and professional background to the table. He has been spending a lot of time lately in building Generative AI applications on AWS and is confident in his ability to provide an insightful speech on the latest advancements in the area of Generative AI and Cloud computing, drawing upon his extensive expertise.

AP2T Labs

Jesse Tuttle, also known as Hackah Jak, is a former world’s most wanted hacker who breached Fortune 500 companies, top universities, and foreign and domestic government and military systems. His exploits have been analyzed in university case studies, textbooks, and research projects, with media coverage spanning from New York to LA, across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. • Jesse’s journey into hacking began in 1994 when he breached his high school network and became involved in the underground world of warez. By 1995, he had moved on to reverse engineering software, and by 1996, he was developing zero-day exploits, trading them within elite hacker communities. In 2000, he joined Hackweiser, a notorious hacker group, where he supplied exploits and participated in high-profile web defacements. In 2001, Jesse became a central figure in the First Hacker World War and later organized the second Cyber War against al-Qaeda following 9/11. In a shocking revelation after his arrest in 2003, it was uncovered that Jesse had been working as an intelligence asset for the FBI since 2001. His work included intelligence gathering during 9/11, hacking and securing sensitive systems, and even hacking and taking down a global human trafficking network. • Today, Jesse is the Chief Hacking Officer and Ethical Threat Actor™ at AP2T Labs™, a Cyber Threat Research and Training™ company, where he leverages his deep knowledge of hacking and cybersecurity to educate and prepare organizations against real-world cyber threats. He also provides consulting, training, and strategic guidance to businesses ranging from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises. • Hackah Jak featured on the PodCast, Modem Mischief. https://www.modemmischief.com/episodes/bonus-hackweiser • Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessetuttle/ • Jesse will be available at Booth #2056 AP2T Labs™`

AP2T Labs

Reesë Bess Tuttle is a Cyber Threat Researcher whose extraordinary journey in technology began under the mentorship of her father, a renowned former Black Hat hacker. • By the age of 19, she had earned five college degrees in science and technology, alongside multiple cybersecurity certifications. Her professional career includes internship roles at Fortune 100 companies such as Kroger IT and General Electric, where she specialized in IT product development, secure cloud DevOps, and cybersecurity. She also contributed to encryption and compliance projects at financial firms. She has been featured in a Freelancer.com success story about her work as a member of the Freelancer Preferred Team. • Beyond her technical achievements, Reesë has been celebrated for her leadership and innovation. She has secured multiple hackathon victories, received the U.S. Presidential Volunteer Service Award for her nonprofit technology initiatives, and held leadership roles within INTERalliance—a nonprofit connecting companies with talented tech youth and hosting TechOlympics, one of the nation’s largest youth-run tech conferences. • A true multidisciplinary talent, Reesë is also a skilled violinist, a black belt in mixed martial arts, and a classic car enthusiast who restored and rewired a 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle. • Today, Reesë is the Co-Founder and Threat Researcher at her cybersecurity startup AP2T Labs™, a Cyber Threat Research and Training™ company, where she leverages her expertise in threat analysis, advanced research, and real-world simulations to address today’s most pressing cyber threats. Additionally, she serves as Secretary for IEEE SA P1947 Standards for Quantum Cybersecurity Framework. • Connect with Reesë on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/reesebess/ • Reesë will be available at Booth #2056 AP2T Labs™

Ask-RAI

Isidore (“Izzy”) Sobkowski is a recognized global technology leader with over 45 years of hands-on experience with advanced AI solutions. Mr. Sobkowski holds a US Patent for Ethical Artificial Intelligence. His experience spans Digital Transformation, R&D, intellectual property, and technology delivery with a demonstrated history of successful ideation and deployment of high-tech projects and businesses including CIO of NYC Health and Human Services, Global Technology Strategist at Microsoft, Artificial Intelligence Lead for Surveillance and Compliance at New York Stock Exchange, and Division Vice President at Computer Associates. Mr. Sobkowski won the Microsoft Award for Best Product of the Year and has achieved the coveted upper right-hand position in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Professional Help Desk, a company he founded, and for his underlying AI technology called Experience-Based Reasoning (EBR). He is the recipient of the Innovation of the Year Award from the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). Mr. Sobkowski holds both Bachelor and Master degrees in computer science with a specialty in Computational Linguistics. He is a published and peer-reviewed author and an international speaker.

AVANT

Stephen Semmelroth is driving the channel’s vision for Cloud and Cyber Resilience. At AVANT, he is responsible for driving strategic growth in advanced solutions and maximizing the Trusted Advisor’s capability to capture meaningful revenue. Stephens perspective has been shaped through crucibles like West Point, leading soldiers in war zones, waking up paralyzed and learning to walk again, founding and selling a company, and forging next generation channel programs. An experienced keynote speaker, podcast host, and dedicated mentor, Stephen influences the next generation of business and technology leaders, ensuring a lasting impact on the tech industry.

AWS

Santhosh is a results-oriented Senior Software Architect with over 18 years of experience leadingand delivering innovative software solutions for enterprises specializing in nancial institutionsand cloud migration.Over the last decade Santhosh has worked with several leading Financial Institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, Fidelity and Visa, helping their teams accelerate their journey to Cloud andmodernizing their application stacks while adhering to the strict security requirements andregulatory guidelines.He specializes in application modernization and cloud native architectures with a keen interest inachieving cost eciency through innovative use of cloud native and managed services.With a penchant for AI and ML, he has spearheaded multiple innovative solutions on adoptingGenerative AI models and tools for real world solutions while ensuring the solutions are builtresponsibly and in a secure manner.

AWS

Arte Merritt leads Bedrock GTM for Startups. Previously he was the Global Partner Lead for Conversational AI. He is a serial entrepreneur having founded a Generative AI optimization platform, the leading Conversational AI analytics platform that he grew to 20,000 customers and multiple acquisition offers, and a mobile analytics platform that he sold to Nokia. He is a frequent author and speaker on Gen AI and Conversational AI. Arte is an MIT alum.

AWS

I specialize in driving digital transforma4on within the FinTech and financial services sectors,helping organiza4ons navigate the complexi4es of cloud adop4on, AI integra4on, and datadriven innova4on. My work is centered on enabling financial ins4tu4ons to modernize theirinfrastructure, improve opera4onal efficiencies, and stay ahead of regulatory and riskmanagement requirements.By transforming legacy systems into cloud-na4ve plaGorms and incorpora4ng AI/MLcapabili4es, I help businesses unlock new opportuni4es for growth, op4mize their processes,and deliver scalable solu4ons that meet today’s demands while preparing for the future.Whether it’s enhancing credit card processing systems, automa4ng risk analy4cs, or ensuringregulatory compliance through modernized solu4ons, I focus on outcomes that deliver realbusiness value.I’m passionate about helping organiza4ons not just meet current demands, but innovate andlead in the future. By empowering businesses to adopt cuMng-edge technologies, I aim todeliver sustainable results that enhance growth, mi4gate risk, and enable long-term success inthe rapidly evolving financial landscape.

AWS

Black Land Ownership

My work is intentionally disruptive and confrontational and does not meet racist or sexist ideology where it is. I believe in providing teams and individuals with the vocabulary and language necessary to have challenging conversations in a productive manner, reconcile conflict that arises and provide information around awareness of cultural biases as well as tools to mitigate bias. My work is not performative and its not a checklist of what to say in order to sound “woke”. I start by surveying the overall structure of a company and the specific companys culture in order to work in custom fashion with each institution, group or community. I stay away from generic templates and instead create a custom made analytical survey and a solution-based problem-solving protocol that is uniquely suited to the company, institution or groups needs.

CBTS

CITY Furniture

Clearly IP

Tony Lewis is a seasoned leader and visionary in the eld of telecommunications; heserves as the CEO of ClearlyIP Inc. With a wealth of experience spanning decades fromsmall start-ups to publicly traded companies with 500-plus employees, Tony has playeda pivotal role in shaping the landscape of communications and telephony solutions.Tony’s strategic vision of building new innovative products and a focus on building aworld-class partner network has allowed ClearlyIP to expand its capabilities and offer amore comprehensive suite of communication solutions. That, combined with strategicacquisitions, has positioned ClearlyIP as a leader in adaptable and robust businesscommunications.

Click2.ai

Robert, Founder & President of Click2.ai, Engage Partners, MTK Staffing, and Manasys, is avisionary entrepreneur and AI consultant with over two decades of leadership experience instaffing, recruiting, and marketing. Robert has founded and led multiple companies,demonstrating a deep understanding of the transformative power of technology in businessgrowth. His commitment to AI accessibility and effectiveness has positioned him as aleader in empowering small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to break throughchallenges such as limited resources and technical complexity. Robert believes AI is notjust a tool but a necessity for modern businesses seeking sustainable growth. At Click2.ai,Robert drives innovation by leading a team dedicated to redefining digital marketingstrategies through AI-powered tools that assist with a click of a button, automating contentcreation, audience targeting, and campaign optimization. His leadership continues toinspire SMBs to adopt transformative technologies for measurable results.

CloudHesive

Patrick Hannah is the CTO and co-founder of CloudHesive, a cloud consulting and managed services provider. At CloudHesive, Mr. Hannah leads CloudHesive’s Technology Operations, Product Management and Product Development Teams. Prior to co-founding CloudHesive, Mr. Hannah held technology management positions in organizations not only well known in South Florida but also nationally and internationally. In his most recent position, Mr. Hannah was the senior manager of the cloud engineering team at Pegasystems – an enterprise software company located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. Hannah, while at Pega helped grow their cloud platform into a solution capable of supporting the most stringent requirements from enterprise customers in regulated industries. Prior to Pegasystems, Mr. Hannah spent 8 years at Arise Virtual Solutions – a work-at-home BPO in Miramar, Florida. During his tenure at Arise, Mr. Hannah designed, implemented and managed the companies contact center platform which allowed Arise to not only expand out of the South Florida market to a national presence but expand internationally as well.

Consumer Technology Association (CTA)

Brian Comiskey is the Senior Director of Innovation and Trends, and resident Futurist at the Consumer Technology Association, charting how technology will shape tomorrow. Brian is responsible for the thematic stock indexes developed and maintained by CTA and Nasdaq as a part of a more than decade long partnership. Covering a variety of sectors including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, gaming, and robotics, Brian and his team manage a portfolio of 18 thematic indexes with more than 20 products and $13B in assets under management tracking these indexes across listings in more than a dozen countries.Prior to joining CTA, Brian worked in media strategy and tech policy consulting for the private and public sectors.Brian holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from the College of William & Mary.

Crexendo

Patrick Jean is a forward-thinking technology leader with over a decade of experiencedriving innovation in cloud communications, AI, and automation. As the Director of SalesEngineering at Crexendo, he helps businesses navigate the rapidly evolving UCaaS andCCaaS landscape, leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance communication, elevatecustomer experiences, and optimize operations.With a unique blend of deep technical expertise and strategic problem-solving, Patrickexcels at bridging the gap between complex technology and real-world businessapplications. His passion for AI-driven automation and next-generation communicationsolutions makes him a key industry voice, guiding organizations toward smarter, moreefficient digital transformation.

Cube Group

Charl is an electronics engineer who has spent the past25 years hands-on with high-tech implementations andresearch: from mobile phone accessory development toadvanced audio DSP systems, from satellitecommunications to transit announcements systems.Charl has been involved in machine learning researchsince 1999, including the early concepts that became theembeddings and convolutional neural networks widelyused today. He has founded multiple companies bornfrom his life-long fascination with communications andconnecting things together to create powerful newapplications.The Cube Group of companies today collaborates withCustomer Experience experts across the globe, indelivering hundreds of millions of customer interactionsand points of experience each year, across a wide rangeof industries such as healthcare, insurance, retail,education and construction.

Deepgram

Peter Griggs co-founded DeepAI, where he served as CEO for six years, scaling it into a widely recognized AI platform. Now leading voice agent product development at Deepgram, he specializes in building conversational AI agents that drive real-world impact at scale.

Deepgram

Since joining Deepgram in 2020, Lauren Sypniewski has been tackling the complexity of conversational speech, aligning data labels and insights with the needs of machine learning models. With a unique background in communication and academia, she thrives at the intersection of messy voice data and technical application, combining creative problem-solving with the scaling of global labeling processes to drive success in data-driven environments. Lauren holds an MFA in Writing from Emerson College and is based in Deepgrams Ann Arbor, Michigan office.

Dickinson Wright PLLC

A partner in Dickinson Wright’s Washington, D.C. office, GlennRichards has a distinguished track record in communications law. Hispractice encompasses a diverse clientele, including VoIP and cloudcommunications service providers, satellite and wireless carriers,broadcasters, equipment manufacturers, and trade associations. Hebrings extensive experience in navigating transactional matters andrepresenting clients before regulatory bodies such as the FCC andstate public utilities commissions.In addition to his regulatory work, Glenn is highly regarded for his workin negotiating complex global telecommunications service contracts onbehalf of large corporations. He is sought after for his experience inadvising investors on managing regulatory risks associated withmergers, acquisitions, IPOs, and financings within thecommunications sector. By offering comprehensive guidance andstrategic counsel, Glenn empowers clients to make informed decisionsand mitigate potential challenges, thereby maximizing opportunities forsuccess in an ever-evolving industry landscape.

ECI

FBI | Peak Activity

Rob is a distinguished figure in digital innovation, keynote speaker, and authority on emergingtechnologies. With over 10 years of leadership in digital transformation, Rob has steeredFortune 100 companies through the tech revolution, focusing on areas like spatial computing,digital twins, generative AI, and machine learning. He is also a familiar face on the Today Showand a featured expert in Forbes. A true strategist and innovator, Rob’s contributions extendbeyond the private sector as a Strategic Engagement Advisor with the FBI where he focuses onArtificial Intelligence. This has allowed him to brief teams including the FBI, DOD, DepartmentOf State, DHS CISA and more on the national and international landscape.

Fireflies.ai

Krish Ramineni is the Co-Founder and CEO of Fireflies.ai, an AI meeting assistant that transcribes, summarizes, and analyzes meetings. Named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Krish was one of the youngest Product Managers at Microsoft, leading projects in customer voice. Fireflies is used by millions of users including those inside 75% of Fortune 500. Krish is an active angel investor in AI startups like Perplexity.

Florida Atlantic University

Dr. Fernando Koch is a researcher and technologist specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Generative Intelligence, with extensive experience in academia, entrepreneurship, and solution architecture. He is a Research Professor at Florida Atlantic University. He also works as a Startup Advisor, Angle Investor and co-founder of LangSmart.ai, which is building the next generation of Intelligent AI Pipelines. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and has dedicated his career to advancing Artificial Intelligence, Multi-Agent Systems, and Edge AI. His professional journey spans academia, industry, and research, with positions at IBM Research, Samsung Research, Florida Atlantic University, Melbourne University, Korea University, and others. He has co-edited six books, published more than 80 scientific papers, and holds over 100 patent applications.

GenIQ Advisors

Charity Queret, a seasoned expert with over two decades of experience in data management, is now demystifying Generative AI (GenAI) for businesses. With a proven track record of leading projects and fostering client engagements across North America, Europe, and South America, Charity is dedicated to making GenAI accessible and actionable for organizations of all sizes.Charity simplifies the complexities of GenAI, enabling businesses to harness its transformative potential. She works closely with teams to identify key use cases, assess readiness, and develop strategic roadmaps for successful GenAI adoption. By bridging the gap between the technical aspects of GenAI and its practical business applications, Charity empowers organizations to leverage this groundbreaking technology for innovation and growth.

IBM

IBM

Ashwin Balu is an award-winning leader and keynote speaker with over a decade of experience in data analytics and AI. As Principal Manager for IBM Canada’s Client Success team, he helps clients solve complex business challenges at scale, focusing on technology modernization, generative AI, hybrid cloud, analytics, and sustainability. He has worked with countless Fortune 500 companies, guiding them on transformative technology journeys that drive industry leadership through innovation.Following roots stemming from the IBM Development Lab, Ashwin has led IBM missions at both the worldwide and the market levels – in the business partner ecosystem, technical sales, product management, technical enablement, sales enablement, and client success arenas. Notably, he has served as the Worldwide Sales Enablement Manager for storage, cloud and sustainability software, and as a Worldwide Technical Sales Leader for data warehousing. His ability to effectively communicate complex technologies to technical, sales, and business leaders alike is one of his greatest strengths. He is equally comfortable collaborating with CxOs to solve big-picture challenges or working hands-on in technical environments.A passionate lifelong learner with a growth mindset, Ashwin holds a Masters in Computer Science, an MBA, and management credentials from Harvard Business School. He has deep expertise in areas ranging from AI, Data Science, Machine Learning, and Strategic Execution. Beyond his professional accomplishments, Ashwin is a sought-after public speaker, an engaging leader, and a generous contributor to his local community.Dedicated to nurturing trusted, long-lasting client relationships, Ashwin’s leadership style is built on empathy, candor, and purpose. A world traveler, sports enthusiast, and dedicated father of three, he brings positivity, creativity, and a solution-focused approach to every challenge he faces.

IBM

Melissa Hadley is the Southeast Regional Strategy Leader for AI Productivity. She helps innovators like each of you in this room with assessing AI value, driving outcome-oriented technology strategy, and leveraging AI Assistants to optimize businesses. Her IBM career started in Chicago where she specialized in the Financial Services industry and how to leverage middleware and integration in that space. She pivoted to intelligent automation, content management, decision management and RPA in Insurance and Public Sector. Now, she advises organizations on leveraging AI in a transparent, safe, and ROI-driven way. Melissa lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, is passionate about diversity inclusion, and sits on the board of several Employee Resource Groups at IBM. Shes a pilates fanatic, amateur chef, loves to travel, and plans to run her third marathon in April of 2025 - The London Marathon!

IgniteTech

IgniteTech’s Chief Product Ocer, Thibault Bridel-Bertomeu, brings a unique blend of AI theoretical expertise, proven leadership in software team management, and entrepreneurial success as a founder of a SpaceTech start-up. With a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, his transition into the tech industry embodies a rare fusion of deep technical knowledge and practical application in cutting-edge software solutions. Thibaults visionary approach is further evidenced by his pivotal role in founding Re CAE, where he steered the development of autonomous space navigation technologies, demonstrating not only his innovative spirit but also his ability to lead complex projects from conception through to market delivery. His four years working with the French military as a software team leader and architect have imbued Thibault with a robust understanding of the strategic implications of technology in high-stakes environments. At IgniteTech, Thibaults leadership style, characterized by agility, foresight, and an unwavering commitment to product excellence, positions him uniquely to drive the companys product strategy forward. His work transcends traditional boundaries, merging theoretical insights with practical applications to shape the future of IT solutions. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibaultbridel/

IgniteTech

Eric Vaughan, CEO of IgniteTech and GFI Software, is a visionary leader at the forefront of the AI revolution. With over 30 years of experience in the technology industry, Vaughan has founded and led three software companies, demonstrating a deep understanding of the transformative power of technology. In recent years, Vaughan has become a vocal advocate for AI-first thinking, recognizing the urgency of this paradigm shift for businesses. He believes that AI is not just an exciting development but a necessity for companies to remain relevant in the rapidly evolving technological landscape. His passion for AI is not driven by mere excitement but by a deep-seated belief that if businesses do not adapt, they risk being left behind. Vaughans commitment to AI transformation is evident in his bold initiative of AI Mondays, where the entire company dedicates one day solely to Gen AI—no calls, no visits, just pure innovation. This initiative is a testament to his belief in the transformative power of AI and his commitment to driving its adoption within his companies. Vaughans journey is a testament to the urgency of adopting AI-first thinking and the transformative power of AI in business. His leadership and vision have positioned IgniteTech and GFI Software at the vanguard of the AI revolution, demonstrating the potential of AI to transform businesses and industries.

IKIN

Blake entered the world of technology with the mission to Gamify the business sector. After his service inthe United States Navy, Blake’s work focused on the gaming sector building hardware and softwaresystems to advance simulation. He then transitioned into the corporate world to lead initiatives at IBMWatson and HIA Technologies with the mission to use advanced Artificial Intelligence to embodyintelligence within 3D avatars for consumer engagement. Blake and his team utilized Computer Vision,Machine Learning, and in-house built hardware to automate the tedious 3D animation creation pipelinefor Triple-A Studios such as Electronic Arts, 2K Studios, Disney, and Nickelodeon during his time atFaceware.Blake now leads an Elite Team at IKIN harnessing and guiding Gen AI to create a platform for bandwidthoptimization of Video as well as enabling companies to generate new content with an emphasis onBrand and Object Realizm.

Intetics

Pavlo Yalovol is a forward-thinking executive with over two decades of expertise in softwaredevelopment and business process management. His robust portfolio of designed and completedprojects showcases Pavlo’s ability to translate complex technological challenges into tangiblebusiness solutions.As the Vice President of Innovation, he leads initiatives to integrate AI/ML power into Inteticsclients’ products, contribute to the design and implementation of AIsolutions, and drive substantialprocess improvements within the company.

Iterate.ai

Shomron Jacob is the Head of Applied Machine Learning & Platform at Iterate.ai. Shomron began his career as a software engineer but soon found himself learning ML/AI and switched his professional direction to follow it. He has worked on AI projects for some of the biggest and most innovative companies in the country. He lives in Silicon Valley.

J Arnold & Associates

Jon Arnold is Principal of J Arnold & Associates, an independent analyst practice providing thought leadership and go-to-market counsel, with a focus on the business-level impact of digital transformation on the future of work. Core areas of expertise include unified communications, collaboration, cloud platforms (UCaaS, CCaaS and CPaaS) Artificial Intelligence, speech technologies, Internet of Things, contact centers and customer experience. He has been consulting in many of these areas since 2001, and his independent practice was founded in 2005. JAA is based in Toronto, Ontario, and serves clients across North America as well as in Europe. Jon’s thought leadership can be followed on his widely-read, award-winning JAA’s Analyst Blog, with ongoing commentary on Twitter and Linked in. In addition, Jon produces a monthly podcast with long-time colleague Chris Fine - Watch This Space – which is a regular feature in his monthly newsletter, JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review. In January 2023, Jon was named as a Top 100 United Comms Influencers 2023, and in 2022, was included in “16 UCaaS influencers to Follow”, “16 Hybrid Work Influencers to Follow” and “16 CCaaS Influencers to Follow”. In December 2021, Jon was listed in “Top 50 Contact Center Twitter Accounts to Follow”; also in 2021, Jon was included in “Who’s Who in Unified Communications?”, and “Who’s Who in Telecoms?”. During 2020, Jon was named a “Top 100 Unified Comms Influencer”, and a “Top 10 CX Contact Center Influencer You Need to Follow”; in 2019 a “Top 50 Unified Comms Influencer”, and a “Top 30 Contact Center Influencer”; and in 2018, Jon was included in a listing of “Top 10 Telecoms Influencers”, and “TOP VoIP Bloggers to Follow”. Previously, in both March 2017 and January 2016, Jon was cited among the Top Analysts Covering the Contact Center Industry. Also in 2017, Jon was cited as a Top 10 Telecom Expert, and Six Business Communications Thought Leaders to Follow. Before that, GetVoIP.com named Jon a Top 50 UC Experts to Follow in 2015, as well as a Top 100 Tech Podcaster in 2014. For JAA’s blog, it was recognized as a Top Tech Blog in 2016 and 2015, and has had other similar accolades going back to 2008. As an analyst, Jon regularly attends leading events in the tech space, often as a speaker, including Enterprise Connect, ITExpo, Future of Work Expo, Channel Partners, Cloud Conventions, SCTC and others. Additionally, Jon is a UC Expert with BCStrategies, is a long-serving Council Member with the Gerson Lehrman Group, and is regularly invited to judge industry awards events. He is frequently cited in both the trade press and mainstream business press, serves as an Advisor to emerging technology/telecom companies, is a board member of the U.S.-based SCTC, and an Advisory Board member for UCX USA.

Kaseya

Fred Voccola is the Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Kaseya, the leading global provider of AI-powered cybersecurity and IT management software for managed service providers (MSPs) and small to mid-size businesses (SMBs). Prior to becoming the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Fred Voccola served as Kaseya’s Co-Founder and CEO leading the company to record growth over ten years of excellence. Before Kaseya, Mr. Voccola served as president and general manager of Yodle’s Brand Networks Division, providing digital and market automation solutions to small and medium businesses. In 2016, Yodle successfully was sold to Web.com (NASDAQ: Web). Prior to that, Mr. Voccola was president of Nolio, Inc., a devops SaaS company, where he drove 100% year-over-year growth and successfully sold the business to CA Technologies. Mr. Voccola also co-founded and served as president and CEO of Trust Technology Corp., where he drove significant growth over three years prior to the company’s sale to FGI Global. Earlier in his career, Mr. Voccola co-founded and served as COO of Identify Software, substantially growing the business during his five-year tenure, culminating in a sale to BMC Software. He then served as vice president of worldwide sales and services at BMC Software. In addition, Mr. Voccola has held various management and executive roles at Intira (acquired by Divine Systems) and Prism Solutions (acquired by Ardent Software/Informix/IBM). Mr. Voccola holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.

Kellanova

Brandel Kremer is a seasoned leader with over 18 years of experience driving innovation and aligning technology solutions with business objectives across global organizations. She has a proven track record of executing large-scale projects, including leading four successful Managed Service Provider (MSP) transitions, most recently managing a $4 million transition that streamlined service delivery and enhanced operational efficiency. Brandel has demonstrated expertise in SAP data operations, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and process automation, leveraging tools a variety of state of the art technology tools to deliver a multitude of impactful global projects. Her leadership is underscored by a commitment to fostering collaboration, driving strategic initiatives, and delivering measurable results that support long-term business goals. Brandels dedication to excellence data analytical approach to problem solving has consistently positioned her as a trusted partner in large scale transitions. Beyond her professional achievements, Brandel is an advocate for Foster Care in Michigan; and has been a dedicated foster care parent liaison for nearly a decade.

Kore.ai

Marashlian & Donahue, The CommLaw Group

Brian is an experienced attorney and engineer with 25 years of expertise in technology law, focusing on AI, privacy, and data security compliance and risk management. After starting his career as a project engineer, he represented technology clients in contract, regulatory, and intellectual property matters. Brian also guided AI systems development as General Counsel for an AI engineering firm specializing in trustworthy AI/ML. Brian is a certified lead auditor under ISO 42001, AI Management System Standard, and an active member of the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s Executive Circle and Impact AI Summit Steering Committee.

Memorial Healthcare System

With over two decades of experience in healthcare technology leadership, Bhavesh is a visionary in driving digital transformation. His expertise in strategic planning and team leadership has led to significant improvements in clinical and operational outcomes. As a VP of Information Technology at Memorial Healthcare System, he has spearheaded initiatives that enhanced consumer experience and operational efficiency, resulting in substantial cost savings. His achievements include leading a diverse team to strengthen cybersecurity, rationalizing applications to eliminate redundancies, and leading various AI initiatives, ultimately improving service delivery and customer satisfaction. His educational background includes master’s degrees in computer science and biomedical engineering, reflecting a deep understanding in healthcare.

ModMed

Venkatesh Jayaraman (VJ) serves as chief technology officer at ModMed, where he is responsible for providing strategic direction and technical leadership for the product engineering organization. VJ has over 25 years of technology and software development experience and an extraordinary record of success in technical leadership, cross-functional product development and software architecture. He has a proven record of building business agility using Lean-Agile practices while managing large-scale enterprise organizations across multiple geographies. Before joining ModMed, VJ was part of the executive leadership team at Vertex Inc., where he led the cloud/SaaS transformation of the product engineering organization, including cloud operations using agile methodology, modern DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering principles. Prior to Vertex, VJ was in various leadership roles at Citrix Systems and Motorola, where he built and scaled agility across a globally distributed engineering team to achieve software engineering excellence. VJ holds a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Florida and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from India’s National Institute of Technology. He is married with two children and loves to play tennis, volleyball and soccer.

Outshift by Cisco

Kumaran Ponnambalam is a technology leader with 20+ years of experience in AI/ML, Data and Analytics. His focus is on creating robust, scalable Gen AI models and services to drive effective business solutions. He is currently leading Generative AI initiatives at Outshift by Cisco, building next-generation AI innovations and products to help enterprises. In his previous roles, he has built conversational bots, ML platforms, data pipelines and cloud services. A frequent speaker at technology conferences, he has also authored several courses on the LinkedIn Learning Platform in AI/ML and Big Data.

OZ Digital Consulting

OZ Digitial Consulting

With over a quarter century of technology and digital engagement strategy experience,Steve is a seasoned leader possessing a skillset that encompasses cloud, artificialintelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), data analytics, and business intelligencesolutions. He has worked in a diverse array of industries ranging from financial services,pharmaceutical, and insurance to healthcare, manufacturing, and government.Working with Fortune 500 companies—including Microsoft, AWS, Pfizer, Aflac, SAP, IBM,Cigna, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Liberty Mutual, Deloitte, and others—Steve hasconsistently driven digital transformation and delivered innovative solutions to addresscomplex business challenges. His previous leadership positions have included GlobalTechnology, Strategy, and Applications Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and GlobalSenior Applications, Automation, and DevOps Leader at Deloitte.

PayPal

Dan received his PhD in Computational Theoretical Physics from The Ohio State University in 2023, specializing in Bayesian statistical methods and mathematical modeling. Upon graduation, he joined PayPal as a Machine Learning Scientist. Currently he is part of the Strategic ML team focusing on digital wallet analytics. During his tenure, he has worked extensively in areas including causal inference, A/B testing, time series forecasting, explainable AI, and root cause analysis. Most recently, he has expanded his expertise to include generative AI applications.

PDI Security/Network Solutions

Amir Ahmed is a Sales Engineer at PDI Technologies, specializing in cybersecurity and network solutions. With over 20 years of experience providing enterprise-level security and networking solutions, he has been instrumental in delivering innovative security solutions across various industries. At PDI Technologies, Amir focuses on integrating human expertise with advanced AI to provide comprehensive protection across entire security ecosystems. He is passionate about helping organizations enhance their security posture through real-time threat detection, AI-powered automation, and unified visibility across their tech stacks. You’ll often find him at cybersecurity and networking events, doing what he loves—engaging with industry professionals, discussing PDI’s innovative cybersecurity platform, and demonstrating its real-time threat detection and response capabilities.

PDI Technologies

Prolifics

Protech

Ana Stojkovic Kneževic is an accomplished professional with a dynamic career spanning projectmanagement, business development, and technical expertise, particularly in the field of artificialintelligence (AI). Born on October 5, 1983, Ana has established herself at the intersection oftechnology and communication, exploring how augmented reality influences cross-culturalcommunication as a PhD candidate in Communicology. Her academic foundation includes aMaster of Science in Mechatronics Robotics and Automation from the Faculty of TechnicalSciences, University of Novi Sad, along with an educational background in electricalengineering from Mihajlo Pupin High School.Ana’s career is distinguished by diverse experiences in AI, IT, animation, and film industries.She has played pivotal roles in both early-stage companies and established enterprises, drivinggrowth, overseeing product development, and fostering essential relationships with clients andinvestors. Recognized for her entrepreneurial mindset, she has launched and managed projectsthat integrate AI with creative industries, achieving innovative solutions and advancing industrystandards. Ana has shared her insights on AI-related topics at several conferences, includingthe AIBB & WEB3BB in Tokyo and as a Chairperson for Computer Vision Summit in London.Fluent in English and conversant in Spanish, with beginner-level proficiency in French andPortuguese, Ana’s linguistic skills complement her extensive expertise in project managementmethodologies such as Agile, Waterfall, Scrum, and Kanban. Her technical acumen spansvarious project management tools and programming languages, along with a thoroughunderstanding of quality and information security management standards like ISO 9001 and ISO27001.Ana is renowned for her ability to bridge the gap between technical requirements and businessobjectives, leveraging her deep knowledge of multicultural communication to enhanceorganizational processes and client relations. Her objective is to further utilize her extensivebackground in project management, business development, and technical skills to optimizecompany operations and drive innovation, particularly at the nexus of AI, IT, and creativeindustries.

PwC

In 2023 I spent a year on the leadership team of PwCs network wide “Ai First” digital transformation of our global audit business - working closely with our partners at Microsoft. This provided a fascinating insight into the Fifth Industrial Revolution - and in particular seeing first hand how Gen Ai Ai and agentic frameworks will actually transform accounting, finance and audit. I first discovered my passion for serving technology companies when I left rainy Manchester in the fall of 1999 and crossed the Atlantic to PwC. Who knew at that point I would stay stateside for over 25 years serving technology clients ranging from pre revenue start-ups to multinational public companies in Boston, New York, Washington DC, Baltimore and Tampa? I am so fortunate to work with some of the country’s brightest, most innovative and disruptive technology companies. My greatest passion is the PwC teams that I work with. I am able to mentor some of the most highly qualified and motivated individuals to help them obtain a rich and diverse experience and to reach their goals. Together we help our clients build trust with their stakeholders and help them solve important problems.

Salesforce

GenAI and Exploit AI Security Expert @SalesforceThreat Modeling Cloud ServicesLeading Security Champions program @SalesforceRed Teaming and Research GenAI (Current Research: Multimodal Prompt injection)Member of OWASP Builder CommunityBug Bounty Hunter - Live Hacking events for Hackerone

Seedfunders

Tahl has had an extensive career, predominantly in Silicon Valley. Early on, he worked for system integration companies, pioneering some of the first factory automation projects at Ford and GM. He later transitioned to the finance industry, becoming the CTO of Providian Financial, a Fortune 500 company eventually acquired by Chase. At Cisco, Tahl built and managed a global enterprise architecture consulting practice, expanding it to 13 countries. He then moved to Visa, where he oversaw the companys enterprise architecture group and was responsible for the technology master plan. During his tenure at Visa, Tahl was introduced to the startup world through technology due diligence for acquisitions. His team played a key role in the $1.6 billion acquisition of Cybersource as well as the acquisition of Playspan.Just as he was preparing for retirement, Tahl founded Lifestate, an IoT healthcare startup, in 2015. He successfully exited the company in 2019 and relocated to Florida.Currently, Tahl is an AI Technologist, advising companies, participating in AI-focused panels, and engaging in hands-on generative AI development. He is also a guest lecturer on AI at Florida International University (FIU) and Florida Atlantic University (FAU). As an active angel investor, Tahl is a partner and board member with Seedfunders. He continues to support the startup ecosystem by mentoring new ventures and delivering his highly sought-after pitch class periodically.

SignalWire INC

Anthony has more than 25 years of experience in software engineering, beginning with the webhosting boom in the mid-90s, which eventually led to a career dedicated to advancingProgrammable Unified Communications.Anthony was the original founder and author of the 2005 Open-Source telecom softwareplatform FreeSWITCH. Today, the FreeSWITCH platform is used as a critical component byenterprises worldwide, including Zoom|Phone, Five9, Amazon Connect, Vonage, and Dialpad.With the promise of 5G, the Internet became increasingly reliable for bi-directionalcommunication. In late 2017, Anthony founded SignalWire together with a team of the bestminds in the industry. The goal of SignalWire is to make communication and programmabilityseamless between all devices with Software-Defined Telecom.SignalWires innovations continue to push the envelope of whats possible. SignalWires newvoice AI platform is the most comprehensive and cutting-edge voice AI toolkit in the market.SignalWire vastly simplifies otherwise complex operations and infrastructure requirements. WithSignalWire, embedding telecommunications services into any existing organization becomesviable and speeds up any existing initiative in an era where go-to-market is critical. Its investorsinclude the founders of Zoom, Yahoo and Barracuda Networks, T-Mobile ventures, DeutscheTelekom, STORM Ventures, and P7 Ventures.

Site Impact

Michael Conway is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Site Impact, where he oversees a range of technology initiatives and manages the company’s core applications, systems architecture, and data infrastructure. He also helps maintain Site Impact’s relationships with industry standards groups, academic partners, and local tech communities.Before joining Site Impact in 2023, Michael spent six (6) years as the CTO at Bidtellect, leading its Product and Technology teams. There, he transformed the company’s platforms into a leading Demand Side Platform (DSP) for Native ads by leveraging emerging AI technologies to enhance performance in the openRTB marketplace.Earlier in his career, Michael served as Vice President of Engineering at Millennial Media, guiding the evolution of its self-service advertising platform and big data ecosystem. After the company was acquired by Verizon/AOL in 2015, he became Senior Director of Data Services, integrating data from more than 15 subsidiaries into a centralized system.Michael remains engaged with both academia and the broader tech industry, sitting on Florida Atlantic University’s Industry Advisory Board for the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, the board of the South Florida Technology Hub (where he also chairs the Talent Committee), and contributes to multiple working groups with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Tech Lab. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth and an MBA from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

SIVOTEC BioInformatics

SpiceX

Mike Ryan is the visionary CEO of SpiceX, a leading low-code/no-code application platform revolutionizing how businesses automate and innovate. With a relentless drive to empower 20,000+ organizations by 2032, Mike is shaping the future of digital transformation, enabling companies to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and scale effortlessly. Much like Generative AI, which creates high-value outputs from simple prompts, SpiceX transforms complex business challenges into elegant, automated solutions—without requiring deep technical expertise. Under Mike’s leadership, SpiceX acts as an AI for business automation, allowing enterprises to generate dynamic workflows, intelligent decision-making tools, and seamless integrations as effortlessly as AI generates text, images, or code. A seasoned innovator and strategic thinker, Mike’s expertise spans AI-driven automation, enterprise SaaS, and contact center transformation. His commitment to integrity, service, and innovation drives SpiceXs mission to impact over 24 million lives, ensuring that businesses of all sizes can leverage automation and AI-powered efficiency to thrive in the digital era.

The ODP Corporation

Richard Coggins has held various IT leadership & engineering positions during his 26-year tenure at The ODP Corporation, serving both in the UK and for the last 19 years in South Florida. In his current role as a Distinguished Engineer, Mr. Coggins is a hands-on Generative AI practitioner, developing enterprise AI solutions that enhance automation, efficiency, and business innovation. As the creator of The ODP Corporation’s Personal Assistant, an in-house AI tool with 6,500+ active users, he has transformed knowledge sharing, associate productivity, workflows and enterprise decision-making.

The Silverlogic

Mark W. Jones is a forward-thinking business executive with a knack for aligning innovative technology solutions with dynamic business growth. With a career rich in technology initiatives from coordinating consulting engagements to Software implementations, to delivering custom technology strategies, Mark has played a pivotal role in empowering organizations to thrive in today’s digital landscape. In his current role at The SilverLogic, he’s instrumental in integrating AI-enabled solutions and leveraging proprietary technology to fuel client success. When he isn’t busy transforming the world of technology, you can find Mark exploring Legoland with his five kids in tow, honing fencing skills, or sneaking off for a quiet cup of coffee with his amazing and beautiful wife.

The SilverLogic

David Hartmann, Founder & CEO of The SilverLogic (tsl.io), architects platforms and innovative technology solutions for startups and enterprises in a variety of industries combining APIs and cutting-edge technologies. David has a passion for empowering small businesses through innovative technology solutions. With extensive expertise in integrating AI into business processes, David helps companies optimize operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth. By leveraging cutting-edge AI tools, he provides personalized solutions that address unique business challenges, ensuring that businesses can harness the power of AI to stay competitive and thrive in todays digital landscape. His mission is to streamline the process of bringing innovative ideas to life enabling more people to build amazing

TMC

Rich Tehrani is the CEO and group Editor-In-Chief of TMC, as well as the Founder and Conference Chairman of ITEXPO, a leading technology trade show held twice each year. Rich oversees a diverse portfolio of successful technology magazines, web sites and trade events at TMC, which recently celebrated its 44th anniversary. Rich has guided TMC’s ascension and evolution from a print publishing and trade show company focused exclusively on voice/data convergence and computer telephony integration (CTI) markets, into a media powerhouse covering all of today’s most important technologies – Wireless/Mobile, Cloud Computing, IP Communications, IoT, and more. Rich is TMC’s driving force in the creation and implementation of pioneering publications and events. Since launching TMCnet in 1995, Rich has pioneered the development of more than 300 online communities of interest, revolutionizing the online world and changing the way companies leverage their brands online. Rich is a media icon, maintaining an active role as an Editor-In-Chief and a very prominent technology blogger/social media participant. TMC’s event and online platforms serve as an incubator for new concepts from the leading minds in the technology space. Rich launched and oversees the ITEXPO Franchise (which is in its 34th installment) – and is constantly adding collocated events by using his creativity and ability to launch synergistic conferences. Various collocated events include: CVx (ChannelVision Expo), IoT Evolution Conference & Expo, IDEA Showcase, and MSP Expo. Aside from his contributions to the online media world, Rich is an active and engaged philanthropist. He a member of the local JCC, a Board Member of the UCONN Engineering Department, and the engineer behind the future TMC Technology Center at a local Boys & Girls Club. This is all in addition to being an active and involved father and member of the community in Fairfield County, Connecticut where he lives with his wife and two daughters.

TMC

Erik Linask is Group Editorial Director of TMC. During his tenure at TMC, he has supported the production and development of TMCs print publications and, most recently, managed the day-to-day operations of the industry’s leading Web site, TMCnet, which currently serves more than 1 million unique monthly visitors. Currently, he oversees TMC’s four print publications as well as TMCnet, and covers a wide range of topics in the IP Communications and Information Technology arenas, including his blog, Convergence Corner, on TMCnet. Erik also develops to conference programming for ITEXPO, and TMCs other communications and technology events, including Software Telco Congress. Prior to joining TMC, Erik was Managing Editor at Global Custodian, an international securities services publication, where he also managed the magazine’s survey research. Erik began his professional career at management consulting firm Leadership Research Institute.

Trussed AI

Ajay Dankar is the co-founder of Trussed AI, a startup enabling AI-policy-compliant scalingof Generative AI and Agentic AI applications. With nearly 30 years of experience in cloudproduct and engineering leadership, Ajay has held pivotal roles at Google Cloud, AWS,Adobe, and PayPal/eBay.At Google Cloud, he collaborated with enterprise customers to solve complex scaling andload-balancing challenges. At AWS, he led product management for Elastic Load Balancing(ELB), doubling its adoption while delivering signicant CAPEX and OPEX savings. At Adobe,Ajay drove cloud cost optimization and platform product initiatives for the Creative andMarketing Clouds on AWS and Azure.As founder and CTO of Finsphere, later acquired by Visa, he pioneered credit card frauddetection using mobile location data. A thought leader in Generative AI, Ajay is passionateabout helping enterprises build and scale applications that use Generative and Agentic AI inpublic and hybrid cloud environments. He holds a Master’s in Electrical Engineering andComputer Science from the University of Florida and a Bachelor of Technology from IITDelhi.

Trustpoint.One

At Trustpoint.One, Jerry is the Director of Trustpoint Cyber Services where he helps clients from many industries in information governance, generative artificial intelligence, and data privacy. He assists organizations in data discovery to comply with data privacy regulations and achieve information governance objectives. Jerry also serves as the Data Privacy Officer for Trustpoint.One, where he supports and maintains the organization’s data privacy program.Jerry has a collective 20 years of experience supporting organizations with information governance, compliance, legal, cyber, and data privacy needs. Jerry is a Florida-barred attorney, previously serving as a HIPAA Compliance Officer for a local health network and acted as the systems analyst and database administrator. He holds the CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPT, and CIPM certifications and is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. He currently resides in Gainesville, Florida.

Turbodocx

Nicolas Fry is the founder and CEO of TurboDocx, a platform transforming document and presentationautomation for Professional Services Teams. From drafting complex Statements of Work to Cloud DesignDocuments, TurboDocx’s advanced AI completes these tasks in minutes with seamless integrations.Starting as a developer, Nicolas grew into roles as a Solutions Architect and Sales Engineer, excelling atbridging technical solutions with business needs.Leveraging these experiences, he founded TurboDocx to streamline Technical Documentation and SalesPresentation workflows, enabling teams to spend more time in front of clients and less time at thekeyboard.Known for his results-driven approach, Nicolas prioritizes speed, efficiency, and innovation to deliverexceptional value.

Unified Office

Ray has spent the last 20+ years as an entrepreneurial technology professional, hehas extensive sales and customer engineering experience along with provenmanagement team leadership in dynamic, emerging technology companies. RecentlyRay played a key leadership role in professional and customer services, businessdevelopment, pre-sales and technical marketing while at Sonus Networks, a marketleader in Voice over IP technologies. Ray was a founding member of Sonus’s servicesorganization, recruiting many of its most senior members. From 1996 until 1999 Raywas a key technical leader and sales consultant for Cascade Communications’worldwide sales organization. During his tenure Cascade was purchased by AscendCommunications. Ascend, a leader in remote access technologies for the Internetmarket, was subsequently absorbed by Lucent in a merger. He attended theUniversity of Maine.

UponAI

Jody Gonzales has been a trailblazer in the telecom industry since 2001. Her career beganin sales, specializing in wholesale premise-based PBX systems from leading brands suchas Avaya, Nortel, Mitel, and Toshiba. With a knack for understanding client needs and apassion for innovation, Jody transitioned from sales to entrepreneurship in 2008, foundingher own company. Her business initially focused on hardware sales but quickly evolvedinto a full-service integration firm, expanding into video surveillance and premise-basedsecurity systems.In 2012, recognizing the growing demand for cutting-edge communication solutions, Jodyentered the world of VoIP and launched her own VoIP platform, MyVoIP. This ventureallowed her to provide tailored communication solutions to businesses of all sizes,solidifying her reputation as a leader in the telecom space.In 2023, Jody took her expertise to the next level by co-founding UponAI with her businesspartner, Bill McClain. This new venture focuses on AI voice agents designed for bothinbound and outbound call centers, as well as a wide range of business applications.UponAI specializes in creating scalable AI voice solutions tailored to small and mediumsized businesses while also catering to enterprise-level clients.With over two decades of experience and a proven track record of innovation, JodyGonzales continues to lead the charge in transforming business communication throughadvanced technology and AI-driven solutions.

Vidby AI

Denys Krasnikov - Co-Founder, responsible for business development, Google Cloud Innovator, Responsible AI Expert, PhD, Executive Member of Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Member of Hollywood Professional Association, 20 years experience in corporate and government relations. 10+ years in innovations and international economic cooperation. After graduating from the Innovations in Economic Development Program at Harvard University, Denys has invested his time and money in developing breakthrough life-changing technologies. Y Combinator School 19 Alumni, VP at Ukrainian League of Industrialists & Entrepreneurs, Harvard Innovation program alumnus, United Nations Individual Contractor.Krasnikov is an experienced speaker at various international events, including the recent LocWorld51 in Dublin(https://locworld.com/speakers/denys-krasnikov/). Google has invited to host 2MeetUp Los Angeles: Google Cloud Community Los Angeles from July 25-27 https://events.c2cglobal.com/events/details/c2c-events-los-angeles-presents-2meetup-los-angeles-google-cloud-community/.

Warner Telecom

Waymark

Alex Persky-Stern has been the CEO of Waymark since June 2022. He leads the company’s efforts to leverage generative AI to make video production radically easy and available to everyone. Under Persky-Stern, Waymark has signed banner deals with media names like  The E.W. Scripps Company, FOX TV Stations, Spectrum Reach, Gray Television and more. Persky-Stern has also overseen Waymark’s international expansion through partnerships in Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. During his leadership, the company has been featured in major publications as a leader in AI video, and was listed as one of the Fastest Growing Companies in the USA by the Financial Times. As a tech enthusiast, AI evangelist and entrepreneur, Alex is always looking for ways to leverage the latest in technological advancement to solve real business problems in the rapidly changing media industry. Alex is a Venture for America Fellow and holds a BA in Arts, Math-Economics from Wesleyan University.

Accure.AI

Former Gartner Analyst having authored or co-authored over 280 research notes,on emerging technologies like SD-WAN, 5G, mobile video, cloud CDN,Cybersecurity, IoT, etc. in the past decade. A frequent speaker at tech events, he isoften quoted in leading institutions like CNN, Wall St. Journal, etc. He is a formerCTO of one of the first video/WiFi smartphone firms. Currently an Advisor atLionfish Tech Advisors, and Tech Advisory Board Member at Accure.AI in the AIspace while on the board for a few startups and has advised Ofcom on 6G.

Ask-RAI

Beelinebill Enterprises

Bill Miller provides personalized services to founders, aspiring CEOs, and small and medium-sized company CEOs as an executive advisor, mentor, and coach. He is the author of the 2-time award-winning The Rookie CEO, You Cant Make This Stuff Up! He uses a framework he created to guide how people will lead, the culture they will create, and how they can deliver operational excellence for growth and profitability. As a senior executive who has led Marketing, Product Management, Business Development, Strategic Planning and Alliances, Development, and Operations in the past 30 years in companies of all sizes, including both venture-backed and privately funded early-stage startups to multi-billion-dollar multinational companies, his experience behind the scenes provides insight and value.

Cloud Voice Alliance

Jeff is a proven B2B marketing executive with a strong track record of delivering growth through multiple environments, including electronic, social, and traditional marketing programs. His Horizontally Integrated Marketing process uses Marketing Automation, Analytics, and elements of content, product, and traditional marketing to collect and analyze all the data generated along the Customer Journey from acquisition to sale. This data is used to determine precisely which activities generate real customers and which activities should be modified or retired. For the past decade, Jeff has consulted with several companies, helping them to grow both their user and channel partner base, driving record increases in top-line revenue. Previously, Jeff was the Director of Marketing for Sangoma Technologies, where he led the selection and implementation of a Marketing Automation Platform and used a variety of programs to create over 100,000 net new prospects and 140% growth in Marketing Qualified Leads. Prior to Sangoma, Jeff was enterprise marketing manager with Dialogic. In that role, he created and managed the market strategy for Dialogic’s Open Source, Fax, Fax-Over-IP and IVVR Markets. Before Dialogic, Jeff held executive product management and business development positions with several technology firms. He founded iFace.com, which was acquired by Rare Medium (Nasdaq:RRRR). Jeff holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and started in the technology sector nearly 30 years ago as an IVR developer. He has an extensive background in technology, product management, and marketing.

Comunicano, Inc.

Andy Abramson is a seasoned entrepreneur and marketing communications expert, best knownas the founder and CEO of Comunicano, a marketing communications agency. With a deepbackground in integrated marketing, advertising, event marketing, sales promotion, publicrelations, publicity, influencer relations, sports marketing, and the acceleration of SaaS-basedservices companies, Andy has established himself as a leader in the field of value-creatingstrategic communications.

IntelliVid Research

OnConvergence

Telarus

Jason Kaufman is currently a hybrid Cybersecurity Solutions Architect and Senior Field Solutions Engineer for Telarus, a Technology Solutions Broker. He has consulted with hundreds of companies of all sizes in various technology verticals including Contact Center, Network Design, IoT, Cloud, and Cybersecurity. Jason started his career as a Strategic Sales Engineer in the Unified Communication and Contact Center space where he designed the larger and more complex deployments for Star2Star Communications. He worked his way through the ranks from managing a Technical Account Management team to building and optimizing Support, Implementation, and DevOps teams for a Desktop as a Service organization before running the Operations absorbing the SDLC and Finops practices. As a Solutions Architect/Engineer, Jason has obtained his Azure Solutions Architect Expert and AWS Solutions Architect Associate certifications as well as a CISSP, CCSP, and CISM in Cybersecurity. He also holds over 110 other industry certifications expanding across the business technology stack. Jason is also a member of the Infragards Tampa, FL chapter.

TMC

Greg is a writer for TMCs family of digital properties, covering a broad range of business technologies. He brings more than 8 years of content writing and editing experience to TMC, having spent time as content producer and editor with USA Today Network and GateHouse Media. Greg earned his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.