Overview

October 18

As we look at building a post-pandemic future, organizations of all kinds are considering how they will approach the new normal. These organizations – from federal, state and local agencies to large corporations and small businesses – are strategically planning to change their environments and workflows to learn from pandemic operational practices.

Technology innovations and advancements have allowed many organizations to successfully negotiate the impacts of the pandemic. Now is the time to reflect on what we’ve learned, assess the value from our technology investments and develop smart strategies for the future.

To help facilitate the exchange of best practices and innovations, we are hosting a special summit to bring together top IT leaders from the public and private sectors.

This unique virtual event, on October 18 at 10 am PT/1 pm ET, will provide a chance to hear insights from federal, state and local IT decisionmakers, as well as tech leaders from some of the nation’s most innovative companies.

Please join us and your peers for this 90-minute summit, which will include:

Fireside chats with CIOs from leading public and private sector organizations
Discussions of how smart technologies can enable organizations to meet the evolving needs of the post-pandemic environment, including hybrid work and digital service delivery
A Q&A roundtable in which you and other IT leaders can share learnings, challenges and best practices across industries

Speakers

James Gfrerer

former CIO of Veterans Affairs

James P. Gfrerer was nominated by President Donald J. Trump to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer and was confirmed by the United States Senate on Jan 2, 2019. Prior to joining VA, Mr. Gfrerer was an Executive Director with a Big Four professional services firm for over three years. As a leader in the firm’s Advisory and Cybersecurity Practices he and his teams assisted commercial sector clients in business process optimization, risk management, cyber risk transformation, and managed services outsourcing. He worked in numerous industry sectors including industrial products, manufacturing, aerospace and defense, and healthcare. Ahead of his commercial sector tenure, Mr. Gfrerer was an active duty Marine Corps Officer, rising to the rank of Colonel. Throughout his 28 years of service, his assignments included specialties such as infantry, IT, training, and cybersecurity.

Rob Lloyd

Chief Information Officer, San Jose, CA

Rob Lloyd is Chief Information Officer for the City of San José, California, directing the diverse technology portfolio of the nation’s tenth largest municipality. The City’s 7,000 employees and $4.7B budget serve one million residents and 80,000+ businesses in heart of Silicon Valley. The City’s quest: To be as innovative as the community we serve. Over the past two decades, Rob has held C-level roles in the technology, government, and utilities sectors in California, Arizona, Oregon, and Colorado. His teams have earned over 25 national awards for engagement, operational excellence, and innovation through advanced uses of technology. Honors he has received include StateScoop LocalSmart City Executive of the Year; two-time Government Technology Magazine Top-25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers; National Diversity Council Distinguished CIO; eGov Pioneer; Arizona Top Tech Exec; and Phoenix Business Journal Forty Under 40. Rob earned his undergraduate degree at Beloit College, his MBA from the University of Colorado, and earned professional certificates from Stanford University and Colorado State University.

Karen Robinson

former Chief Information Officer, Texas

As the former CIO for the State of Texas, Karen has served on numerous national boards and committees fostering relationships across the state and country. Before leaving state government, Governor Perry presented her the Texas CIO of the Year award. She was recognized as Texas Public Sector Executive of the Year, and nationally by State Scoop Top 50 as a GoldenGov State Executive of the Year. During her role as the Texas CIO, Karen served as a member of the Dell President’s Advisory Board and named as a Computer World Premier 100 IT Leader. Karen is the former Chair of the Corporate Affiliate Committee (CAC) for The National Association of State Technology Directors (NASTD), and in August 2021 she became an honorary Lifetime Member of the National Association of State Technology Directors (NASTD). Karen is a past executive board member for The Texas Technology Consortium (TTC) and the Center for Technology, and a senior consultant for CMG Consulting. She is a former board member of Ridge-Lane National IT Consulting. Karen currently serves on the board for the Governance and Policy Committee for the National Association of Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). She is a board member of the Tanium SLED Advisory Council and also serves on the board for Night Dragon.

Mark Wheeler

Chief Information Officer of the City of Philadelphia

Mark Wheeler is the chief information officer for the City of Philadelphia and director of the Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT). Under his leadership, OIT has released the SmartCityPHL Roadmap and the City’s first IT Strategic Plan created with public engagement. Additionally, in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Education, OIT has launched PHLConnectED—the City’s response to ensure K–12 students have internet access for remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark previously served as deputy CIO and chief geographic information officer and oversaw the release of public web tools Atlas, OpenMaps, and Vacancy to visualize and use City property data.

Phil Bertolini — Moderator

Vice President, Center for Digital Government

Phil Bertolini is the Vice President of the Center for Digital Government (CDG), a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. Previously, he served as deputy county executive and CIO for Oakland County, Michigan. During his 31-year tenure, Phil built a world-class IT organization in the second-largest county in Michigan, just north of Detroit. As Oakland County CIO, he oversaw more than 150 employees serving over 1.2 million residents. In 2005, he was also promoted to deputy county executive, holding dual positions until his retirement.

Steve Emanuel — Moderator

Director Consulting Services, CGI

Steve joined CGI as a Director, Consulting Services in July of 2020. Prior to CGI he has held many public and private sector roles. Steve accepted an opportunity with Amtrak in 1998 as the Director, Network (Philadelphia) and was promoted in 2000 to Sr. Director, CIO of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) operations. In 2004, he was relocated to the DC Metro area to perform as the Acting Chief Information Officer (Washington DC) and awarded the position in April 2005 and departed in May 2007 after accepting a CIO position with Montgomery County, Maryland.After joining the County, he completed the first Enterprise Technology Strategic Plan to create the first enterprise view of technology, solutions and support. He also sponsored the County’s newest strategy for Public Safety identified as the Public Safety Systems Modernization plan. It was inclusive of a systems modernization strategy, a roadmap for CAD improvements and future improvements as well as the County’s Interoperability Communications Plan. Steve transitioned back to NJ serving as the Chief Information Officer for the State of New Jersey from2011 to 2016. Steve joined TenFour in 2016 as a Senior Industry Advisor for Public Sector and Regulated Industries, serving in the role through January 2019. TenFour’s model transformed the Information Technology industry and his role was to counsel public sector IT leaders to evolve their infrastructures into the Digital Age. Steve returned to the public Sector in February 2019 as the CIO for the City of Newark, NJ. He was responsible and significantly improved the City’s data resiliency through a yearlong initiative to update and fully secure the City’s data infrastructure.

Webinar

Sharing Solutions and Sharing the Journey: A Special Summit for Public and Private Sector IT Leaders