8x8

Jared Smith-Mickelson serves as 8x8s Vice President of Engineering. Jared joined 8x8 in 2015 to modernize the companys tech stack and development practices. He has led a variety of technology groups, including unified communication apps, core telephony, and analytics, and currently oversees the company’s contact center engineering efforts. He is especially passionate about customer value, quality, and iterative design. Prior to 8x8, Jared built and ran R&D at Jive Softwares Palo Alto headquarters. There, he delivered industry-first communication and collaboration solutions for large enterprises, most notably social search, mobile, vanity metrics, and the app store. He has also held senior leadership posts at Cisco and early stage start-ups. Jared began coding at the age of nine, holds Bachelor and Masters degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, and is a member of the Sigma Xi research society.

AVANT Communications

Drew Lydecker is the President and Co-founder of AVANT Communications. Drew comes from a family of entrepreneurs who have continually pushed the envelope in disrupting the status quo by focusing on high value and high touch solutions. Drew built AVANT to fill a void in the market created by the accelerating pace of change in IT. Prior to this, Drew worked as a Voice & Data specialist at CDW where he played a key part in helping CDW become one of the largest telecommunications agents in the world.

Avaya

Alan Masarek is President and Chief Executive Officer. He brings over 30 years of software and cloud-based business experience. Alan is an industry innovator with deep expertise in enterprise communications, information technology and business services. He most recently served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Vonage Holdings Corp. In this role, which he held from November 2014 to June 2020, Alan led the company through an era of transformation from a VoIP-based residential phone provider into a global enterprise cloud communications company. Over the course of his tenure, Vonage completed eight acquisitions and its market capitalization increased severalfold. As importantly, Mr. Masarek led a revitalization of Vonage’s culture, creating a talent-driven organization with a culture of agility, technology innovation and customer centricity.Prior to Vonage, Alan served as Director, Chrome & Apps at Google, Inc. from June 2012 until October 2014, following Google’s acquisition of his prior company, Quickoffice, Inc. Alan was Co-founder and CEO of Quickoffice from June 2007 to June 2012. Under his leadership, Quickoffice became one of the world’s most widely used mobile productivity software solutions, engaging more than 26 million registered users at the time of Google’s purchase. Alan earned his M.B.A., with Distinction, from Harvard Business School and his B.B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia.

Avaya

Jayesh (Jay) Patel serves as the Global Vice President of Product Management at Avaya, bringing over 30 years of experience as a seasoned global executive. His expertise lies in developing and implementing growth strategies, innovating products, and driving profitable revenue growth. Prior to his role at Avaya, Jay held the position of Chief Product Officer at Kandy Communications, a provider of white label cloud communications solutions to service providers. In this capacity, he contributed to the development and success of innovative communication solutions. Before his tenure at Kandy Communications, Jay served as the Chief Product Officer at Vonage, a leading business cloud communications provider. There, he led product management for UCaaS, CCaaS, and CPaaS product lines, playing a pivotal role in the post-acquisition portfolio diversification and integration, which led to significant revenue growth. Earlier in his career, Jay held various leadership positions at Motorola, where he spearheaded corporate strategy and product development. His diverse experience positions him as a strategic leader with a proven track record in shaping successful product strategies and driving business growth.

Brightpoint AI

Dr. Dipika Mirpuri is a visionary leader and seasoned expert in the field of artificial intelligence. As the CEO of Brightpoint AI, she spearheads the companys innovative endeavors in AI, leading a team dedicated to pushing the boundaries of technology. With a profound expertise in areas such as defect detection, document management, computer vision, and machine learning, Dr. Mirpuri is at the forefront of transforming industries through cutting-edge solutions. Her career is marked by a commitment to excellence, driving advancements that bridge the gap between human intelligence and technological innovation. Driven by a passion for leveraging AI for real-world impact, she has played a pivotal role in the development of groundbreaking solutions that optimize processes and enhance efficiency. Dr. Mirpuris leadership extends beyond the confines of her title, as she actively contributes to the discourse surrounding the responsible and ethical use of AI. Her commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the world of technology, coupled with her dedication to creating a positive impact on society, establishes Dr. Dipika Mirpuri as a prominent figure in the realm of AI and leadership.

Cisco

Alexander is A growth-minded technical leader with over 25 years expertise for High Tech applications in engineering management, highly experienced in Unified Communications, Customer Relationship Management, Wireless, Security, and Data Networking Solutions. Currently Alexander is the Americas Collaboration Engineering Theater Leader for Global Enterprise, US Commercial, and the US Public Sector Pursuit Segments for Cisco Inc.

Cisco

Company Nurse powered by Lintelio

Henry Svendblad is the chief technology officer of Company Nurse and President of the newly formed tech-focused venture, Lintelio. Henry draws upon over 25 years of experience leading technology teams across multiple verticals including healthcare, retail, marketing, and education. He has held positions as a CTO, VP of technology, and group director of technology solutions. Henry’s focus always has been helping organizations align business strategy with technology investments to ensure growth, productivity, security, and competitiveness. He can be reached via email, @hsvendblad on Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Compliology

Jesse Tuttle, also known as Hackah Jak, is a worlds former most wanted hacker that has breached countless Fortune Companies, Foreign and Domestic Government and Military systems. Jesses past as a hacker has been analyzed in university case studies, textbooks, and research projects. His exploits have been reported in newspapers from New York to LA, across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He began his adventure to the dark side in 1994 by hacking his high school network. While searching online via dial-up BBS (bulletin board system) and newsgroups for hacking/phreaking tools, he discovered the world of pirated software (warez). Seeing an opportunity to provide warez to other students in his school, he took to IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and AOL (America Online) where he joined as a distributor and then became a software cracker. By 1996, he had carved out a niche for himself, specializing in reverse engineering Microsoft products like Windows Operating Systems, Outlook, Exchange, and IIS Web Server. His expertise in cracking registrations and uncovering zero-day exploits earned him respect and invitations from several hacker communities. Jesse shared his zero-day discoveries and began applying them by hacking websites and other internet-connected systems. His reputation as an expert in Windows exploitation led p4ntera to invite him to join Hackweiser in 2000. With Hackweiser, Jesse provided zero-day exploits for trading within the community and participated in defacing web servers, aimed at social recognition, and boosting Hackweisers underground status. The post-9/11 era in 2001 marked a significant turn for Jesse. While leading a hacking movement to gather information related to al-Qaedas cyber army, he supplied this intelligence to the U.S. Government and Military. This collaboration resulted in Jesse being contracted to pen-test and secure government and military systems. Arrested in 2003, while working with the FBI to take down a human trafficking network in his hometown, he got caught in a jurisdictional dispute between local and federal law enforcement. This conflict led to a prolonged pre-trial house arrest of 4 years, 4 months, and 28 days, heavily impacting his personal life. To move on and prioritize his family, including his wife and young daughter, Jesse accepted a plea deal in December 2007, ending this difficult period. In 2010, Jesse resumed his professional pursuits, delving into freelancing and consulting. He expanded his skillset to include web application development and geolocation-based gaming activities by 2013. His expertise spans a broad range of areas, including but not limited to cybersecurity, hacking, web/software engineering, and data compliance. He has been trained as a Certified Ethical Hacker, Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator, and Licensed Penetration Tester. Today, Jesse offers his broad experience and skills as a consultant and freelancer to a worldwide clientele, ranging from startups to Fortune-level enterprises.

Compliology

Reesë Tuttles journey in tech began under the guidance of a former world-famous Black Hat hacker - her father. Accepted to College at 13, she began her pursuit of a formal education in tech. She earned an Associate Degree at 16 then a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at 17. Additionally, she completed four more associate degrees and became a Certified Encryption Specialist, all before graduating from high school with a STEM Honors Diploma. Work experience was built interning at two Fortune 100 companies, The Kroger Company in IT Product Development and General Electric in Secure Cloud Dev-ops. She co-opted several semesters at a financial firm focusing on cyber security, encryption, and compliance. Additionally, she worked on a Freelancer.com Preferred team which was the focus of a Freelancer Blog Success Story. Compliology.com (for resellers) and ManagedComply.com (for the retail market) are startups specializing in Data Compliance and Cyber Security, providing an innovative solution based on her experiences along with collaborations from law firms, lenders, insurance providers, top tech experts, and seasoned bug-bounty - former black hat hackers. These platforms are designed to provide a framework that addresses the complex data compliance challenges presented by FTC Safeguards (GLBA), CMMC, IRS 4557, NIST, and other International, National, and State level data regulations and frameworks. Accolades include multiple Hackathon victories including Major League Hacking, several speaking engagements at conferences. She received US Presidential “President’s Volunteer Service Award” for developing web platforms for nonprofits. Contributions to the Ohio Department of Education in establishing pathways to professional certifications for students. Leadership roles in TechOlympics (the nations largest youth-run tech conference) and INTERalliance (a 501c3 nonprofit connecting companies with talented tech youths). In her free time, she enjoys being a violinist and an athlete. She has earned her black belt in Mixed Martial Arts, and recognition from US Lacrosse as All-Academic and First Team All-State Girls Lacrosse Goalie. As a passion project, she fully rewired a 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle. Currently, at 18, shes a 5th year Software Development student at the University of Cincinnati. Her senior project involves inventing a multifunctional 5G and LAN-connected IoT network device targeting MSPs. Connect with Reesë on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/reesebess/

CPaaS Acceleration Alliance

Robert is a CPaaS industry pioneer with 25+ years of success in crea:ng winning products andGTM strategies. He has a passion for how thoughAul design and technologies converge todeliver great customer and employee experiences. As CMO and head of product at IntelePeer,Robert spear-headed the delivery of low-code / no-code tools, AI-powered analy:cs andprocesses, and end-user applica:ons in the CPaaS industry.

Cresta

Devon Mychal is the Senior Director, Head of Product Marketing at Cresta, where he is responsible for go-to-market strategy, product evangelism, thought leadership and market research. Born out of the Stanford AI Lab and backed by investors like Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Greylock Partners, Cresta uses generative AI and behavioral modeling to help the worlds leading contact centers maximize the value of their customer conversations. The Cresta platform analyzes every interaction, uncovers insights and behavioral best practices that lead to better business outcomes, and reinforces them with an integrated approach to automation, personalized coaching, and real-time agent assistance. Prior to Cresta, Devon led product marketing for CCaaS leader Talkdesks AI and WEM business units during a period of exponential growth, contributing to key organizational decisions as a member of the companys strategy steering committee under the COO. In previous roles, Devon helped define the nascent employee experience platform category at Dynamic Signal (acquired by FirstUp) and covered the business impact of emerging technology trends as an analyst and go-to-market strategist at Deloitte. These experiences have positioned Devon as a subject matter expert on using innovative technology to drive transformational change within large, complex organizations, with a focus on the practical application of artificial intelligence in high-volume sales and customer service environments.

Dialpad

Jim Palmer is the VP of AI Engineering at Dialpad overseeing AI efforts. His teams manage custom speech recognition (ASR), natural language processing & understanding (NLP/NLU), Generative AI & LLMs as well as AI Engineering to power real-time AI features in all Dialpad products at scale. Jim was the Co-Founder and CTO of TalkIQ that was acquired by Dialpad in 2018 and has since built out the AI team and expertise.

Epic IO

eProc Solutions

Oren Rosen is a seasoned technology entrepreneur with an expansive career that began in 1990, marking the start of a lifelong pursuit of innovation in the IT sector. His foundational roles in IT provided a solid base from which he gained a broad understanding of the operational and strategic facets of the industry. Throughout his career, Oren has played a vital role in developing multiple companies before honing in on his current venture. Oren leveraged his extensive experience to establish eProc Solutions, where he continues to drive forward advancements in IT support. As the CEO of eProc Solutions, Oren has been pioneering the development of the eProc Control Center, aiming to revolutionize IT team operations and boost organizational productivity. His vision has consistently focused on enhancing the efficiency of IT services, enabling rapid resolution of service tickets, and reducing the need for remote control interventions and ticket escalations. Orens commitment to eProc Solutions embodies his dedication to empowering IT departments, ensuring they can deliver swift and effective support essential for the success of modern enterprises. His strategic consultation services to large organizations reflect his deep understanding of their IT needs and his unique ability to translate his vast experience into actionable, cutting-edge solutions.

Genesys

Dr. Peter Graf is the Chief Strategy and Operations Officer at Genesys. In his role, he is responsible for developing, communicating, sustaining and executing the Genesys strategy. He oversees strategy management, business development, business transformation and operations, information technology, sustainability, and executive and employee communications. Prior to joining Genesys in 2017, Peter held a variety of executive leadership positions in strategy, development, and marketing throughout his more than 25 years in the global enterprise software industry, most notably as an Executive Vice President at multinational software corporation SAP. Peter earned a doctorate in artificial intelligence from Saarland University and a master’s degree in computer science and economics from Technical University of Kaiserslautern in Germany.

Genesys

GFI Software / Ignite Tech

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.

HCL Tech

I am pleased to introduce , Arturo Guzman who has joined HCLTech to develop and support the GTM and sales strategy for Nippon’s Hybrid workforce solution in North America. Arturo has joined us with 30 total years of professional experiences in both corporate and private sectors, the first 13 years of which has been as a business proprietor and General Manager for his family’s 4th generation automotive recycling company est. in 1980. His automotive business was covering domestic and international revenue activities with the support of over 15 employees. The domains of his responsibilities were director of operations, investments, supply chain sourcing, marketing, employee development - relations, financial - accounting activities, & oversight of all regulatory compliances across a variety of government agencies. The last 17 years of his career has been in the corporate sector working for companies such as SAP, ADP, Workday, and IBI to support large global enterprise organizations with a variety of platform transformation and modernization projects. He has extensive experience as a trusted advisor with varieties of PaaS & SaaS solutions like HCM, ERP, Business Intelligence, cloud migrations, process automations, enterprise performance management, Data Management, API Integration Solutions, UX, CX, and EX. He has extensive experience in formulating GTM strategies for sales optimization with targeted markets, operational cost / revenue analysis, workshop discovery sessions, business case evaluations, solutions alignment with business value propositions on multi-million-dollar transformation projects. Over the years he has collaborated very closely with the following types of teams to support the overall evaluation process: SE’s, SI’s, PM’s, MSP’s, HRBP’s, BDR’s, Enterprise Architects, Channel Partners, Cloud Service Providers, and Implementation partners. Please join me in Welcoming Arturo to the HCLTech family and all the best in his new role. I request you to share this mail with your teams and please encourage them to connect with Arturo.

IBM

Large Language Models and other Generative AI technologies. Prior to her current role at IBM Research, Kate was a leader at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, a joint research partnership between MIT and IBM Research; Kate ran the Lab’s corporate membership program, supporting industry members as they co-invested in the Lab’s AI research technologies. Kate earned her MBA at MIT Sloan and previously worked at Deloitte Consulting as a Senior Consultant within the Strategy and Operations practice. Kate also holds a B.S. in Statistics from Cornell University

IntelePeer

Frank is the President and Chief Executive Officer at IntelePeer. He has been a guiding force in driving the company’s growth and achieving its mission to become a dominant force in the AI-driven Communications Automation Platforms market. With IntelePeer’s platform, businesses can solve for the automation needs of both the enterprise contact center as well as the specific needs of regional and local offices. The Company’s platform lowers the cost of doing business while improving customer experience and accelerating ROI. Frank founded and grew CommTech Corporation between 1990 and 2001 to be an early leader in the communications software sector before selling the company to ADC, a leading provider of broadband solutions for the telecommunications industry, for $178 million. Prior to founding CommTech, he worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories as the lead data communications architect for a $1.4B winning bid to the IRS.? Frank received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Master of Science in Management from Stevens Institute of Technology and participated in the Wharton Executive Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania. He was also selected as a QuantumShift’s Top Entrepreneurs in America for 2017 by KPMG’s Private Markets Group and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

Intradiem

Results-oriented Executive with a solid background of experience in service, sales & technology disciplines, highlighted by significant accomplishments. Highly analytical, innovative, and organized with a history of developing effective strategies for overcoming challenges and improving operations through the application of sound business expertise and advanced technology.

Kaseya

Metrigy

Robin Gareiss is CEO and Principal Analyst at Metrigy, where she oversees research product development, conducts primary research, and advises leading enterprises, vendors, and carriers. For 25+ years, Robin has advised hundreds of senior IT executives, ranging in size from Fortune 100 to Fortune 1000, developing technology strategies and analyzing how they can transform their businesses. She has developed industry-leading, interactive cost models for some of the world’s largest enterprises and vendors. Robin leads Metrigy’s Digital Transformation and Digital Customer Experience research. She also is a widely recognized expert in the communications field, with specialty areas of contact center, AI-enabled customer engagement, customer success analytics, and UCC. She is a sought-after speaker at conferences and trade shows, presenting at events such as Enterprise Connect, ICMI, IDG’s FutureIT, Interop, Mobile Business Expo, and CeBit. She also writes a blog for No Jitter. Additional entrepreneurial experience includes co-founding and overseeing marketing and business development for The OnBoard Group, a water-purification and general contracting business in Illinois. She also served as president and treasurer of Living Hope Lutheran Church, led youth mission trips, and ran successful fundraisers for children’s cancer research. She serves on the University of Illinois College of Media Advisory Council, as well. Before starting Metrigy, Robin was President and Co-Founder of Nemertes Research. Prior to that, she shaped technology and business coverage as Senior News Editor of InformationWeek, a leading business-technology publication with 440,000 readers. She also served in a variety of capacities at Data Communications and CommunicationsWeek magazines, where she helped set strategic direction, oversaw reader surveys, and provided quantitative and statistical analysis. In addition to publishing hundreds of research reports, she has won several prestigious awards for her in-depth analyses of business-technology issues. Ms. Gareiss also taught ethics at the Poynter Institute for Advanced Media Studies. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, and American Medical News. She earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois.

Mission Cloud

Dr. Ryan Ries holds over 15 years of leadership experience in data and engineering, over 20 years of experience working with AI and 5+ years helping customers build their AWS data infrastructure and AI models. After earning his Ph.D. in Biophysical Chemistry at UCLA and Caltech, Dr. Ries has helped develop cutting-edge data solutions for the U.S. Department of Defense and a myriad of Fortune 500 companies.

Mitel

Luiz Domingos is an innovative and passionate technology executive with more than 20 years of experience and an extensive record of leading global R&D, product management, and project teams to deliver disruptive and high-quality enterprise communication and collaboration solutions, contact center and network management products, and cloud services to the market.As Mitel Chief Technology Officer and Head of Large Enterprise R&D, Luiz leads the company’s technology vision and strategy, fostering introduction of new technologies, portfolio innovation, and implementation of highly reliable and scalable products.Throughout his career, Luiz has held key positions at Siemens, Unify, and Atos driving the delivery of new products, vertical offerings, and complex solutions across a wide range of technologies. Prior to Mitel, Luiz served as Chief Product and Technology officer for Unify, where he managed the complete Unify portfolio and was responsible for the development and launch of disruptive cloud solutions. Luiz holds a dual bachelor’s degree in electronics and telecommunications engineering from Parana Federal University UFPr in Curitiba, Brazil and executive education from INSEAD Paris. He also holds a PMP certification from the Project Management Institute as well as several patents with the US Patent office.

MobiDev

NICE

Kevin Lee heads global digital sales for NICE. He joined the company at the beginning of 2021 to help lead the growth and development of the company’s digital portfolio. Focusing on strategy, acquisition and sales, Kevin helps customers navigate their digital transformations into the self-service era. With 15+ year experience in cloud and software sales and marketing, his comprehensive approach to account management allows him to understand and solve his clients’ largest initiatives.

NICE

RingCentral

Mike Stowe is an avid technologist with a goal of helping businesses adapt with technology and industry changes to help ensure their business is not only successful but can maximize efficiency. With over 20 years’ experience in technology Mike has helped thousands of businesses both large and small through major industry shifts. At RingCentral he is focused on helping businesses adopt cloud communications technologies to help unlock new ways of communicating with customers globally, including through voice, SMS, team messaging, social channels, video, fax, and artificial intelligence.

Rumble Cloud

Michael Arsov joined Rumble on Dec 2023 as the VP of Cloud Sales and Enterprise Account Management. Formerly at Nokia for over 10 years, he held diverse roles, including:Procurement Manager for North America responsible for sourcing of network implementation materials and development of short-term and long-term roadmap for assessing and anointing strategic suppliers;Head of Supplier Innovation Execution where he led development of end-to-end solutions through strategic partnerships;Senior Transformation Manager at Nokia’s Global Transformation Group, leading teams and programs around the world, focused on improving operational efficiencies, supply chain optimization, revenue generation, go-to-market approach strategy. At his last role as Sales Program Director, Mr. Arsov led the global sales digital transformation and the overall go-to-market sales transformation.Mr. Arsov holds an M.S. in Project Management from Boston University and a B.S in Electrical Engineering from San Jose State University.

Salesforce

Tony Flores is a Director of Product Management within the Service Channels team at Salesforce, and leads their Contact Center Ecosystem product portfolio. He has been at Salesforce for over 4 years, and has over 15 years of product management experience within Enterprise Software and SaaS.

Sanas

Anant Singh, VP of Global Sales at Sanas.AI is a seasoned sales executive and AI evangelistwith over 15 years of experience in driving revenue growth and building high-performing dreamteams. At Sanas.AI, Anant is responsible for game-changing sales strategies to drive marketpenetration and skyrocket revenue streams. With a proven track record of crushing sales targetsand fostering strong client relationships, Anant brings a dynamic leadership style coupled with adeep understanding of market dynamics and customer needs. Prior to joining Sanas.AI, Anantheld senior sales roles at Observe.AI and Akamai Technologies where he consistently deliveredexceptional results and played a key role in driving business expansion.

Solid Rock

Juanita Coley is best known as the “Contact Center Whisperer” the CEO and Founder of Solid Rock Consulting. Solid Rock Consulting is a workforce management consulting firm. We are the people brands call to elevate and scale their customer experience.From teen mom to tech maven, Mrs. Corporate America 2022, Most Influential Tech Advisor and 2022 Top 25 Thought Leader. Juanita and her team of consultants has a global presence spanning the US, Canada, and EMEA markets.Juanita has worked with some of the leading tech brands like Google, Zoom, Five9, NICE etc. While Juanita has had an impressive career she’s just getting started. Her mission is to impact a million women & minorities making careers in Tech more visible and accessible, while having a transformative impact on the customer experience industry.

Sprinklr

Alex Diedrich is a seasoned AI Strategist with a passion for leveraging technology to drive meaningful business outcomes. For the past 7 and a half years, he has been an integral part of the Sprinklr team, pioneering innovative AI-driven solutions that redefine customer engagement and experience. At Sprinklr, Alex is a Lead Insights & AI Solutions Specialist, where he orchestrates the fusion of cuttingedge artificial intelligence with marketing and customer service initiatives. His expertise lies in harnessing AI algorithms to analyze vast troves of data, enabling companies to derive actionable insights and make data-driven decisions.

Telarus

Dan Foster is the chief revenue officer for Telarus. Dan, an inspirational and visionary leader, has provided market expertise to strategize and define opportunities that maximize revenue and shareholder return for multiple organizations. In his previous role at Ericsson, he pioneered the entry into the North America partner channel. In his more than 25 years of senior leadership experience in technology and data communications, Dan held the title of CRO at StratusWorX, Fusion Connect, Primus.ca, and two other companies. Under Dan’s stewardship as President and COO of MegaPath, the organization experienced exponential growth from $5 million to over $600 million via organic development and acquisitions. He has garnered industry recognition and awards throughout his career including being a five-time winner of Channel Chief by CRN. Dan received dual engineering and liberal arts degrees from Tufts University and graduated from Harvard Business Schools Executive PMD program.

Telco Systems

Jason Hyatt is General Manager and Vice President of Sales for Telco Systems in North America and Latin America. Jason leverages his 20+ years of experience across both the service provider (MCI Worldcom and Lumen) and technology (Calix, Cyan, and Ericsson) domains to build teams that grow shareholder and customer value through enabling broadband connectivity solutions for global communication.

Thrive

UJET

As Chief Marketing Officer, Baker Johnson is focused on driving corporate growth by evangelizing how UJET’s ultra-modern, customer-and-user-centric approach to CX is radically disrupting the Contact Center ecosystem. He brings more than 15 years of leadership experience to the role driving branding and data-driven strategy transformations to fuel SaaS growth. He joins UJET having most recently served as Chief of Staff for Cisco Contact Center, and previously in marketing leadership roles with CafeX and Serenova. He holds a degree in Marketing and Business Economics from Louisiana State University.

Verint

John has worked for over 30 years in the field of Knowledge Management for Support & Service. He is currently Senior Director for KM Strategy at Verint. He has had KM-focused roles in many organizations including Microsoft, Lotus, KANA, Knova, Primus, and the Consortium for Service Innovation (CSI). He has worked in all phases of the customer support process, including telephone and online support, technical writing, knowledge management, applications development, and worldwide knowledge systems design. At CSI John co-chaired committees that created the Knowledge-Centered Support Strategy, the Multi-Vendor Support Model, and the Incident/Solution Exchange Standards. He has been acknowledged as an Industry Innovator by CSI and has published many papers and articles in Knowledge Management. His primary interest is in the effective creation and use of support knowledge to improve the customer experience and optimize the support process.

Verint

Jason Valdina is an accomplished customer experience professional and is the Senior Director of Engagement Channel Go To Market Strategy at Verint, a customer engagement software solutions provider based in New York. Previously, Jason ran product marketing and partnership programs for Conversocial, the conversational customer experience platform recently acquired by Verint. As a customer engagement channel veteran, Mr. Valdinas prior technology endeavors include social media analytics platform Graphika, live chat and messaging provider LivePerson, and email marketing automation platform Movable Ink.

Vonage

John Antanaitis is Vice President of Global Portfolio Marketing at Vonage, a global cloud communications leader helping businesses accelerate digital transformation. John is a customer-first marketing executive with 20+ years of experience in building loyal, high-performing teams and developing winning, global strategies to outpace market growth in B2B/B2C models for SaaS, cloud, services, high-tech hardware and consumer markets in both publicly traded and private equity companies. Prior to joining Vonage, John held senior leadership positions at Polycom, ZiipRoom Inc. (acquired by Bose Corporation), Vertafore and Riverbed Technology. He has spent his career working at a range of companies from start-ups to Fortune 100 enterprises, including Avaya and Nortel, gaining broad experience across marketing, product management, engineering and operations, bringing great expertise across industries and customer segments. He has also led teams that defined new categories and developed multiple $1B+ offerings starting from concept creation through successful launch and commercialization. John is based in Austin, TX and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BSME from University of Illinois.

Webex by Cisco

Aruna Ravichandran, SVP and Chief Marketing & Customer Officer for Webex by Cisco, is a visionary leader with over two decades of dynamic experience weaving technology and marketing into a powerful tapestry to drive revenue, elevate brand value, and foster human connections. With a people-first ethos, she guides the business toward innovation and brand evolution while shaping culture through inclusive initiatives and empathetic leadership. Aruna was recently recognized as one of the Elite 18 Customer-Led CMOs by Influitive and named UC Today’s Collaboration Leader of the Year. Before joining Cisco, Aruna led DevOps Marketing at CA Technologies (now Broadcom), spearheaded marketing and strategy at Juniper Networks, and held leadership roles in Engineering, Product Development, and Marketing during her 17-year tenure at Hewlett Packard. Aruna holds an MBA and an MS in Computer Engineering from Santa Clara University and a BS in Computer Science from Bangalore Institute of Technology (BIT). She graduated from the esteemed CMO Leadership program at Kellogg Business School in 2019. Aruna also serves on the board at Cal Polytechnic San Luis Obispo, Fast Company, Forbes Technology Council, and Vox Media.

Yellow AI

Raghu Ravinutala is the CEO and Co-Founder of Yellow.ai, a global leader in generative AI-powered customer service automation. Since its inception, Raghu and his team have successfully expanded Yellow.ai’s presence across North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, with 1000+ customers in 85+ countries. The entrepreneurial bug had been conceded deep inside him for long before he co-founded Yellow.ai in 2016, with a vision to deliver conversational experiences that help enterprises achieve higher customer satisfaction and employee engagement. Previously, Raghu worked for 16 years with leading tech companies such as Texas Instruments, and Broadcom across leadership roles in Engineering, Product Management and Business Development both in the Bay Area and India. He was also an elected member of the NASSCOM Executive Council 2021-23 and a member of the Forbes Tech Council. Raghu has been recognized as the one of the top 50 SaaS CEOs 2023 by The Software Report and CX Leader of the Year at the CX Awards 2022. Raghu is an alumni of NIT Warangal, India where he completed his B-Tech in the year 2000. He enjoys a game of squash every now and then and believes in practicing an active lifestyle.

Zoom

Josh Stanley joined Zoom in 2019 and has been a part of bringing Zoom Phone to market from its infancy to now over 7+ million users. Josh leads Sales Strategy for the Zoom Customer Experience & AI Companion, focusing on expanding the product line, capturing new routes to market, and improving processes to capture greater market share. Prior to Zoom, Josh spent 9 years at Cisco in sales, leadership, and partner development roles. Prior to Cisco Josh spent 10 years managing different levels of a contact center with Merrill Lynch.

Metrigy

In her role at Metrigy, Beth Schultz conducts primary research and analysis to provide metrics-based guidance for IT, customer experience, and business decision makers. Additionally, Beth manages the firm’s multimedia thought leadership content and research agenda. With more than 30 years in the IT media and events business, Beth is a well-known industry influencer, speaker, and creator of compelling content. She brings to Metrigy a wealth of industry knowledge from her more than three decades of coverage of the rapidly changing areas of digital transformation and the digital workplace. Most recently, Beth was with Informa Tech, where for seven years she served as program co-chair for Enterprise Connect, the leading independent conference and exhibition for the unified communications and customer experience industries, and editor in chief of the companion No Jitter media site. While with Informa Tech, Beth also oversaw the development, launch, and management of WorkSpace Connect, a multidisciplinary media site providing thought leadership for IT, HR, and facilities/real estate managers responsible for creating collaborative, connected workplaces. Over the years, Beth has worked at a number of other technology news organizations, including All Analytics, Network World, CommunicationsWeek, and Telephony Magazine. In these positions, she has earned more than a dozen national and regional editorial excellence awards from American Business Media, American Society of Business Press Editors, Folio.net, and others. Beth has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and lives in Chicago.

Metrigy

Robin Gareiss is CEO and Principal Analyst at Metrigy, where she oversees research product development, conducts primary research, and advises leading enterprises, vendors, and carriers. For 25+ years, Robin has advised hundreds of senior IT executives, ranging in size from Fortune 100 to Fortune 1000, developing technology strategies and analyzing how they can transform their businesses. She has developed industry-leading, interactive cost models for some of the world’s largest enterprises and vendors. Robin leads Metrigy’s Digital Transformation and Digital Customer Experience research. She also is a widely recognized expert in the communications field, with specialty areas of contact center, AI-enabled customer engagement, customer success analytics, and UCC. She is a sought-after speaker at conferences and trade shows, presenting at events such as Enterprise Connect, ICMI, IDG’s FutureIT, Interop, Mobile Business Expo, and CeBit. She also writes a blog for No Jitter. Additional entrepreneurial experience includes co-founding and overseeing marketing and business development for The OnBoard Group, a water-purification and general contracting business in Illinois. She also served as president and treasurer of Living Hope Lutheran Church, led youth mission trips, and ran successful fundraisers for children’s cancer research. She serves on the University of Illinois College of Media Advisory Council, as well. Before starting Metrigy, Robin was President and Co-Founder of Nemertes Research. Prior to that, she shaped technology and business coverage as Senior News Editor of InformationWeek, a leading business-technology publication with 440,000 readers. She also served in a variety of capacities at Data Communications and CommunicationsWeek magazines, where she helped set strategic direction, oversaw reader surveys, and provided quantitative and statistical analysis. In addition to publishing hundreds of research reports, she has won several prestigious awards for her in-depth analyses of business-technology issues. Ms. Gareiss also taught ethics at the Poynter Institute for Advanced Media Studies. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, and American Medical News. She earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois.