The AI Leadership Forum agenda has been shaped in close collaboration with a steering committee of experienced board members and executives, ensuring the program addresses the most critical and relevant topics for today’s leaders.
Partner, Freshfields; Former Acting General Counsel, US Department of Defense
Beth leads the firm’s strategic risk management practice. With a deep background in national security and technology, Beth regularly advises boards of both private and public companies on risk management and governance, including advising on governance related to artificial intelligence, data practices and cybersecurity, content management, and geopolitical events.
Beth has worked at senior levels across the U.S. federal government, most recently serving as the Acting General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in 2021. Previously, Beth served in various roles for the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), including as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, as a Professional Staff Member and Counsel to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. and in the White House as Associate Counsel in the Office of the White House Counsel. In the White House, Beth provided led responses for the office on cybersecurity and national security matters, including the response to the largest U.S. government data breach at the Office of Personnel Management.
Beth has lectured at the UC Berkeley School of Law on surveillance law and technology, at Stanford University’s law and international policy schools on cyber law and policy, and at Stanford Business School on cybersecurity for executives. She serves as a senior adjunct fellow for the New York University School of Law’s Center for Law and Security and as an affiliate at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC).
3:00 – 3:30 pm
A Regulatory Check-in: What Does the Future Hold Here and Abroad?
CEO and Chief AI Strategist, Averanda Partners; Board Chair, Director & Advisor
Joyce Li, CFA is a seasoned investor, board director, entrepreneur and AI strategist. With nearly two decades of experience managing multi-billion-dollar investments and serving on boards, Joyce is recognized as a “Top Artificial Intelligence Voice” on LinkedIn.
She serves as an advisory board member to OpenBB, at the forefront of bringing open source to the financial services industry. Joyce is a member of the NYSE Board Advisory Council Network, and co-chair of the AI task force at Athena Alliance.
11:25 am – 12:15 pm
What Creates Value?
Sonita Lontoh is a public company board director, strategic advisor and former Fortune 100 senior executive who focuses on digital innovation, artificial intelligence and sustainability. She has extensive global experience in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. She serves on the NACD’s Blue Ribbon Commission on board culture and on the NACD/World Economic Forum/CGI’s Climate Advisory Council.
In addition to her role on the boards of Sunrun and TrueBlue, she serves on the advisory board of UC Berkeley Engineering’s Jacobs Institute of Design Innovation and as a advisor to Sway Ventures, a VC firm investing in early to mid-stage category-creating enterprise or consumer companies.
10:35 – 11:25 am
Beyond Productivity and Cost-Cutting: How AI is Solving Big Problems and Creating New Business Models
Alissa Hsu Lynch is a member of board directors of The Honest Company and American Ballet Theatre and host of the podcast The Leadership Dance.
She rose rapidly through the ranks at Johnson & Johnson from Assistant Brand Manager to Worldwide Vice President and made her imprint on iconic consumer brands including Johnson’s Baby, Aveeno, Neutrogena, and CeraVe (at Bausch Health), as well as J&J’s medical device business. She then made a leap to Google, where she pioneered strategic partnerships with Fortune 500 companies to drive digital transformation in healthcare through the innovative application of data, analytics, and AI. She is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, holds two design patents,and was an Entrepreneur in Residence at DigitalDx Ventures.
1:45 – 2:45 pm
AI 101: Establishing a Practical Understanding of How GenAI Does (and Doesn’t) Work
President & Chief Legal Officer, Salesforce
Sabastian Niles is President and Chief Legal Officer at Salesforce, where he oversees Salesforce’s global legal and corporate affairs organizations, including government affairs, public policy, the office of ethical and humane use of technology and responsible AI, and global legal affairs.
In his role, Sabastian serves as a trusted advisor and leader to stakeholders, helping customers, partners, policymakers, and industry leaders prioritize trust, impact, and responsibility in an AI-first world, particularly in the era of AI agents. He oversees Salesforce’s commitment to responsible and ethical AI innovation, crafting and implementing policies that put trust at the forefront. Through collaborative efforts with stakeholders, he oversees how we navigate evolving opportunities, risks and regulations, ensuring responsible and sustainable practices.
Before joining Salesforce in 2023, Sabastian was a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where specialized in advising global companies on corporate governance, enterprise risk oversight, stakeholder and shareholder affairs, strategic investments, and mergers and acquisitions. His expertise also includes championing sustainability initiatives and fostering strong stakeholder relationships.
Recognized as one of the highest-ranked attorneys in the country, Sabastian is actively involved in several advisory and nonprofit roles, including serving on the Aspen Institute’s Business & Society Board of Advisors and as a director of Literacy Partners, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering families and individuals through education.
Sabastian earned his law degree from Harvard Law School, where he co-founded the Harvard Association of Law and Business, and holds undergraduate degrees in Economics, Finance, and Decision and Information Sciences from the University of Maryland.
3:30 – 4:15 pm
AI and Your Workforce: An Optimistic Vision
Sean is counsel in the strategic risk and crisis management practice based in Washington, DC. Sean’s practice is cross-disciplinary, focusing on both high-stakes investigations in Congress and before federal agencies, as well as regulatory strategy and controversies in complex, highly regulated industries. He also consults on product design, compliance, and commercial matters, especially related to internet platform services, content moderation, machine learning artificial intelligence, and big data.
Prior to joining Freshfields, Sean was investigative counsel for the US House of Representatives. In that role, he conducted dozens of depositions of key witnesses, including members of Congress, and led inquiries as lead attorney investigating criminal allegations including corruption and fraud, conflicts of interest, campaign finance issues, and ethics violations under House rules.
Earlier in his career, Sean was an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP, where he specialized in complex litigation and white-collar defense. He is now also an adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center teaching a seminar on ethics, professional responsibility, and career development.
3:00 – 3:30 pm
A Regulatory Check-in: What Does the Future Hold Here and Abroad?
Chief AI Officer, Avanade
As Avanade’s Chief AI Officer, Florin Rotar drives the global AI strategy and execution across all parts of the business, spanning leadership, sales, solutioning, delivery, capability and partner ecosystem. He also accelerates Avanade’s internal transformation, identifying new ways AI can disrupt—and improve—how we work, operate and deliver for our clients.
Florin previously served as Chief Technology Officer at Avanade, where he led the strategic development of a portfolio of solutions and services centered on emerging technologies and innovation. He is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and was recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the Top 10 CTOs to Watch in 2023. Florin is passionate about people-first AI innovation and co-authored the book, We the People: Human Purpose in a Digital Age: A Guide to Digital Ethics for Individuals, Organisations and Robots of All Kinds.
10:35 – 11:25 am
Beyond Productivity and Cost-Cutting: How AI is Solving Big Problems and Creating New Business Models
Angie Ruan is the Chief Technology Officer, Capital Access Platform at NASDAQ. An award-winning industry leader, Ms. Ruan holds four technical patents and has been instrumental in driving digital transformation across many industries, including enterprise application, e-commerce, payment, and capital markets. She most recently served as Vice President of Engineering at Chime before returning to NASDAQ where she was the Senior Vice President of Global Technology, responsible for overseeing the development of Key Market Technology Products and Corporate Platforms. Prior to joining Nasdaq, Ms. Ruan served as the Global Group Technology Vice President of consumer experiences and platform for American Express, where she was responsible for the digital transformation of American Express web and mobile technology. Before then, she was the Unit CIO for U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business, and was also Head of Engineering for Global PayPal Retail and Merchant product lines. As well, she held various executive engineering leadership roles at eBay including building the eBay messaging system, creating the eBay mobile platform, and transforming the DevOps organization.
Recognized as one of Silicon Valley’s Women of Influence, Ms. Ruan holds an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and studied undergraduate in Computer Science at Tsinghua University of China.
11:25 am – 12:15 pm
What Creates Value?
Dominique Shelton Leipzig founded the Global Data Innovation Teams at two successful international law firms where she provided strategic guidance to companies with a cumulative market capitalization of more than $3 trillion. Dominique has trained and coached over 50,000 professionals on AI privacy and security, including Fortune 100 executives, board members and leaders at major companies and universities, and judges on privacy, AI, and cybersecurity to keep your business ahead of the curve. She is also a trusted advisor to policymakers in Washington, where she is working closely with lawmakers charged with crafting the nation’s first legislative and regulatory framework on artificial intelligence.
She has authored three books on data leadership, with a fourth forthcoming from Forbes. She serves on the Advisory Board of the AI Governance Center and the Board of Directors of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
1:00 – 1:45 pm
TRUST: Establishing an Intentional Approach to AI and Data Governance
JoAnn Stonier serves as a Mastercard Fellow focusing on Data, AI and Privacy, having previously served as their Chief Data Officer and Chief Privacy Officer. She is a recognized global data strategist with extensive experience in artificial intelligence, data governance, science, platforms with an emphasis on responsible data design. She has advised industry executives, governments and NGOs on both commercial and non-profit solutions.
Currently, she serves as the co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Data Equity, is a member of the United Nations Expert Group on Governance and Artificial Intelligence and is a member of OmniCon Group’s AI Advisory Board.
11:25 am – 12:15 pm
What Creates Value?
Board Member, Ossia Inc.; Former Assistant Director for Cybersecurity, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Ms. Van Wazer is a global executive with deep fluency in technology coupled with strategic expertise in assessing and leveraging regulatory landscapes for bottom line results. An engineer, lawyer, and White House veteran, she has been involved in policymaking to facilitate many of the major technological transformations of the last 25 years, from cellular and Wi-Fi, to smart grids, the cloud, and AI. She has deep substantive expertise in disruptive innovation, cybersecurity, and privacy.
Van Wazer is Vice President, Global Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, for Akamai Technologies, a $4B cloud computing and cybersecurity services company operating in over 140 countries. Before joining Akamai, she was the lead for cybersecurity in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, handling cybersecurity policy, cyber incident response, and serving as White House lead for the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council, a public-private partnership to increase the cyber resiliency of the financial services sector. Her White House service includes a stint as Assistant General Counsel for OMB.
She is a member of the Board of Ossia Inc., a Redmond, WA-based technology company whose pioneering products transmit power wirelessly, eliminating the need for cords and batteries. At Ossia, she is Chair of the Regulatory Committee and a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees. She is on the boards of Georgetown University Law Center, Helen Keller International, and a past Chair of the Board of the Information Technology Industry Council, the largest technology trade association. She is a member of the North America Regional Advisory Council for ISC2, the global cybersecurity certifying organization.
1:45 – 2:45 pm
Cybersecurity 2030: Establishing Your AI Risk Posture
Eric Vaughan is an experienced technology and M&A executive recognized for his innovation in the enterprise technology space. As IgniteTech’s CEO, Eric is responsible for setting and executing the company’s vision, leading and motivating the global, remote-based IgniteTech team to continue to drive the company’s business to success in the eyes of its customers.
As the previous founder and CEO of 3 software and services companies, Eric is well known throughout the industry as an innovator, architect, and developer of a number of software, hardware, and integration solutions. With extensive technology-M&A experience on both the buy and sell sides, Eric has led teams through the full cycle of activities for over 60 M&A transactions including public-company buyouts, private equity/venture capital sales, and several divestiture transactions from IBM, with direct integration and CxO accountabilities for the acquired businesses post-close.
10:35 – 11:25 am
Beyond Productivity and Cost-Cutting: How AI is Solving Big Problems and Creating New Business Models
Board Member, Hitachi Ltd. and Humanetics Group; Former Global CIO, Siemens
Dr. Helmuth Ludwig is a Professor of Practice for Strategy and Entrepreneurship at SMU’s Cox School of Business in Dallas, where he teaches MBA courses, e.g., on Technology and AI Strategy. He serves on the Boards of Directors of Hitachi Ltd and Humanetics Group. He is also a senior advisor to Bridgepoint LLC and Zscaler, Inc.
From 1990 until 2019, he worked at Siemens in different functions and regions: global CIO (until 2019), CEO of Siemens Industry Sector North America (until 2014), and President of Siemens PLM Software (until 2010). Earlier in his career, Helmuth had several international assignments at Siemens in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
The AI Leadership Forum agenda has been shaped in close collaboration with a committee of experienced board members and executives, ensuring the program addresses the most critical and relevant topics for today’s leaders.
