About Kenny Austin: :  Kenny Austin is a strategic leader with over 25 years of experience guiding global technical services across pre-sales engineering, professional services, customer success, and support. As Chief Customer Officer at Parasoft, he oversees initiatives that help organizations maximize the value of software testing and quality platforms to achieve business outcomes and long-term success. Kenny’s career spans leadership roles at KPMG, IBM Global Services, Smarsh, and Micro Focus, where he built high-performing teams and drove customer-centric innovation. He brings deep expertise in operational excellence, consultative engagement, and scalable service delivery. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Centenary College and a Master’s in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Arlington. Kenny contributes to advisory boards with a focus on enterprise technology strategy, customer enablement, and outcome-driven transformation.

About Asim Syed: Asim Syed is a seasoned technology and business transformation leader with over two decades of experience in enterprise IT strategy, digital transformation, and operational excellence. He has led and scaled global transformation programs, guiding organizations through modernization, cloud adoption, and innovation that unlock tangible business value. Asim brings strong expertise in AI-enabled transformation, emerging technology adoption, growth strategy, and consulting-led solution design. With experience managing high-performing global teams, he is known for translating innovation into practical outcomes that improve efficiency, reduce cost, and accelerate growth. As an active member of university advisory boards at UTD and UTA, Asim contributes industry insight, mentorship, and forward-looking perspectives to help shape future-ready technology talent and academic programs.

About Brian White: Currently serving as Head of New Product Introduction for the Ericsson North America Market, Brian is a thirty-year veteran managing the development and delivery of network and software solutions primarily for telecommunications service providers. As an evangelist for the innovation driven by analytics and transformative digital solutions Brian has led the creation of strategies for migrating to next generation technologies, evolving businesses to new business models and optimizing business operations.

About Eric Haney: Eric Haney is the Chief Technology Officer for Lone Star Analytics. He has been in this role since 2018 and his previous positions include Deputy CTO Eric Haney is the Chief Technology Officer for Lone Star Analytics and previously served as Deputy CTO and Lead Analyst at the company. In his current role, Eric is responsible for guiding the technical direction of the company. He manages the development and roll-out Lone Star’s core software applications, TruNavigatorTM, AnalyticsOSTM, and TruPredictTM. His principal goal is to connect individuals with the information required to make pragmatic, objective decisions. Eric completed his doctorate in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington culminating in his dissertation, Data Engineering in Aerospace Systems Design & Forecasting. His academic research team’s collaborations with DARPA and NASA have been published in The Aeronautical Journal.

Ashok Nayak: Accenture Digital, Managing Director, Applied Intelligence

About Arezou Mobasher: Arezou Mobasher is a Director of Decision Support and Operations Research with nearly two decades of experience applying advanced analytics, optimization, and decision science to complex operational and network challenges. Arezou has deep expertise in operations research, decision science, and advanced analytics, with prior leadership and consulting experience across the airline, transportation, and analytics sectors. With deep expertise in operations research, data driven strategy, and large scale optimization, Arezou has led high impact analytics teams supporting executive level decision making in complex operational environments. She is passionate about developing future analytics leaders and strengthening the connection between academia and real world application. Arezou holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from the University of Houston, along with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering from Sharif University of Technology.

Nathaniel Richmond: Nathaniel Richmond is a Senior Analytics Engineer at Netflix on the Ads Forecasting team. Before joining Netflix in 2025, he worked at Shopify, Keurig Dr Pepper, and BNSF Railway. He holds a M.S. in Mathematics and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematical & Computational Sciences from the University of Iowa. The unifying thread throughout Nathaniel’s graduate studies and cross-industry career has been the application of mathematical tools to solve and automate complex logistics problems. Although Nathaniel’s academic background is in Operations Research, recently he has branched out into machine learning and product analytics. His favorite projects involve collaboration with colleagues from different disciplines. Over the past several years, Nathaniel has worked on applications like demand forecasting, inventory replenishment, next best product recommender systems, agent-based simulations, and various optimization algorithms. He holds a patent for a locomotive-based computer vision system. Nathaniel spent several years volunteering as a pro-bono IT consultant for Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County, where among other projects he created an automated form-scanning software that reduced manual data entry. Nathaniel is heavily involved with INFORMS, where he previously chaired the Railway Applications Section and served on the Professional Recognition Committee. In his free time, Nathaniel roasts his own coffee, plays soccer and ultimate frisbee, enjoys board games, and spends time with his partner and his Portuguese Water Dog. He loves to travel and experience different cultures, especially the food.

About Sanjiva Srivastava: Sanjiva is the Senior Director and Head of People Analytics for Sam’s Club, Global Technology and Corporate Functions at Walmart. He leads teams that provide data driven actionable insights to support people and operational leaders in enhancing employee engagement, productivity and retention. His work also contributes to driving improvements in Club Sales, profitability as well as Member satisfaction and income. The team leverages research, open-source tools, NLP, LLM, geospatial analysis, BI tools, and other AI/ML solutions to deliver insights and recommendations to business leaders and operators. Sanjiva has over 25 years of industry experience in leveraging emerging technology to solve complex business problems and to create new business opportunities within Total Rewards, HR, Finance and Information Technology. Sanjiva holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science from Utkal University (India) where he was the topper and an Executive MBA from Sam Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. Sanjiva also completed a certification course in Applied Data Science from MIT. Sanjiva enjoys running marathons, music, photography and traveling to new places.

About Tony Scanio: Tony Scanio is currently the Director of Data Management and Business Intelligence for the International Supply Chain at CHRISTUS Health.  His focus is on improving reporting capabilities for faster, more accurate decision making for the department.  He joined CHRISTUS Health in early 2015 after several years as an International Regional Sales Manager for a Fortune 300 company.  He has conducted business in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and English and has specific experience in analytics, data visualization, process improvement, international sales, and international management.   In addition to his career at CHRISTUS Health, Tony currently serves as the 1st Vice Chair for the North Texas District Export Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting exports from North Texas through education and collaboration.  As part of the District Export Council, Tony has had the opportunity to work with UTA students during the annual Exporting with the Experts program.   Tony earned BBAs in International Business and Marketing and minors in Spanish and Music from Texas Tech University, and a Professional MBA from Texas Christian University.  In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and music.

About Daniel Windle: Daniel Windle is the Director of Sales Operations for Trinity Industries. His current role includes responsibility for maintaining and improving relevant economic and industry data, forecasting sales and industry activity, and improving sales processes. He has been with Trinity Industries since 2013 serving as a Marketing Analyst for Energy Markets, a Data Scientist, and a Principal of Market Intelligence. Daniel has a BA in Economics and Political Science from Trinity University and an MS in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University. He has been a speaker at both the Annual Meeting and Business Analytics Conference hosted by the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS) and has served as a Roundtable and Cluster Chair for the INFORMS Railway Applications Section.

About Asim Ghanchi: Asim Ghanchi is a technology executive with over 25 years of experience leading large-scale software engineering and digital transformation at BNSF Railway, one of North America's largest freight rail networks and a Berkshire Hathaway company. As Head of Software Engineering, he oversees teams responsible for mission-critical systems spanning cloud platforms, AI-enabled applications, machine learning, and enterprise data — all operating at national scale in a highly regulated, safety-critical environment. Over his career, Asim has led initiatives in systems modernization, applied AI, and full asset lifecycle management, consistently connecting technology strategy to operational outcomes. He brings a practitioner's perspective on what it takes to build, scale, and lead engineering organizations in complex industries. A graduate of UT Austin, where he earned his B.S. in Computer Science, and UT Arlington, where he earned his M.S. in Information Systems, Asim is passionate about helping the next generation of technology leaders bridge the gap between academic preparation and real-world industry demands. He joins the CIDT Advisory Board to help shape curriculum, strengthen industry connections, and ensure UTA students are equipped for the challenges and opportunities defining the future of digital transformation.

About Robert Hinojosa: Currently serving as the Head of AI/ML, EA for Staples, leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Enterprise Architecture (EA) initiatives throughout the enterprise. His career is marked by a commitment to innovation and excellence in technology landscapes across many retail organizations, where he has been instrumental in building seamless experiences that deliver on customer promises, transform business, and upskill the workforce. In his previous role at Ashley Furniture Industries, he served as the Chief AI Officer, responsible for leading the AI strategy, plan, and transformation across the organization. He serves as an industry advisor for other academic and business institutions, including University of Texas at Arlington (College of Business, ISOM), Texas Christian University (College of Science and Engineering, Computer Science), Wisconsin Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) for AI, and retail-focused and executive groups. He looks forward to the journey of enabling AI across the enterprise, empowering the workforce, and helping customers make doing business with Staples even easier.

About Bo Gu: Bo Gu is a Director of Data Science & Generative AI at AT&T's Chief Data Office, where he leads the development and delivery of generative AI solutions to enhance operational efficiency across call centers. He also oversees a segment of the internal "Create and Deploy AI" platform, designed for data scientists, citizen data scientists (CDS), and business analysts (BA). Prior to AT&T, Bo held leadership roles in data science and analytics at Caesars Entertainment and PepsiCo, and founded a SaaS startup in China. Bo is active in the Asian community, serving as President of the DFW IT Association and as Membership & Engagement Officer for InspirASIAN National.

About Neer Patel: Neer Patel is an innovation-driven technology leader with over 20 years of experience in cloud development, API engineering, and software solutions. As VP of Cloud & Platform Engineering at General Motors Insurance, Neer has led transformative initiatives within the FinTech sector, focusing on rapid product delivery and cloud scalability. Currently, he is exploring the potential of AI to further innovations and increase business value. Neer emphasizes innovation-focused, servant leadership, fostering team empowerment and collaboration. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and hosted internal podcasts on software development in the cloud. As a proud 2006 graduate of UT Arlington, Neer actively contributes to the university community. He is a founding member of the Dean's Leadership Circle in the College of Business, serves on the Information Systems and Operations Management Advisory Board, and is a member of the 1895 Society. Additionally, he’s a Life Member of the UT Arlington Alumni Association and has held leadership roles there, including President and Vice President of Students & Scholarships. Beyond UT Arlington, Neer has been dedicated to the Epilepsy Foundation Texas for over 25 years, serving on their board and volunteering each summer at their camp for children with epilepsy.

About Samar Khan: Founder, TripAI Technologies. A product and technology services company focused on using AI for various aviation, travel and hospitality use cases. 20+ years of broad experience in developing, delivering, and maintaining mission critical software in multiple industries. Sustainability, cloud, and AI technology leader in the aviation, travel, and hospitality industry. Expert in building Offshore, Nearshore Teams for US Corporations for over a decade in multiple countries. Graduated with a BS from the University of Texas at Arlington and an MBA from SMU Cox. "Samar strongly advocates for 'Smarter Together for AI and Sustainability' and collaborates with international organizations on aviation and travel sustainability and decarbonization efforts."

About Vino Kingston: Vino Kingston is a Data, AI, and Decision Intelligence executive with more than 30 years of experience leading enterprise-scale transformation across Fortune 10 and highly regulated organizations. His career spans aerospace and defense, automotive and electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing, energy, and public sector institutions, where he has consistently driven measurable business impact through data- and AI-led operating model change. Beginning his career in Instrumentation and Control Engineering, Vino developed a deep foundation in real-time systems, industrial automation, and closed-loop control—experience that continues to shape his approach to modern enterprise transformation. Over time, he has led large-scale data and AI strategies that integrate business processes, applications, platforms, governance, and automation into cohesive, outcome-driven ecosystems. Vino is particularly known for advancing organizations from traditional data-driven analytics toward knowledge-driven decision systems, leveraging ontology-based models, AI, and automation to enable real-time, accountable decision-making at scale. His leadership has supported complex initiatives including enterprise data platforms, data fabric and data mesh operating models, AI governance, and decision automation across mission-critical value streams. A strategist who bridges vision and execution, Vino has built and led high-performing global teams, partnered closely with executive leadership, and delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in business value through improved decision quality, speed, and predictability. His leadership experience includes senior roles at Lockheed Martin, Hewlett-Packard, Canoo, Ford Motor Company, and the City of Houston. He currently focuses on enterprise AI transformation, decision intelligence, and operating model evolution in support of next-generation, AI-enabled enterprises.