Moderator
Lane Cooper
Contributing Editor CIOLane has 30 years of experience as a communications executive, consultant, researcher, editor and reporter analyzing the business and technology industry.
He is the Publisher and Editorial Director of BizTechReports, an independent reporting agency that covers the industry analyst community, as well as Contributing Editor to CIO.com, CSO.com, Network World and Computerworld. In this capacity, Lane meets with over 600 senior technology leaders — including CIOs, CTOs, VPs and Directors — every year moderating executive events that discuss emerging digital transformation developments
Upcoming and recent events
CIO 100 Leadership Live Chicago
Welcome and Introduction
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
10:00 - 10:05 am
CIO 100 Leadership Live Boston
Welcome and Introduction
Thursday, September 24, 2026
10:00 - 10:05 am
Return on Transformation: Time, Talent, and Tradeoffs
Thursday, September 24, 2026
11:50 - 12:25 pm
Transformation rarely goes according to plan. CIOs break down the real costs behind major initiatives, including budget overruns, organizational friction, and failed bets. This session focuses on what leaders learned the hard way and how they course-corrected to deliver results that stuck.
What’s Next for the CIO: Preparing for the Next 12–24 Months
Thursday, September 24, 2026
4:00 - 4:35 pm
The pace of change is accelerating. In this closing conversation, CIOs reflect on what’s coming next, from AI economics to organizational redesign. Attendees will leave with a clear sense of priorities and the decisions that will define success in the near future. Come with questions!
2026 CIO 100 Awards & Conference
Why the Builder Economy Rewards Design and What CIOs Should Do Differently
Monday, August 17, 2026
2:00 - 3:30p
Ryder Cup C Session Full. Pre-registration is required. While many organizations believe they have invested heavily in AI because they have launched dozens of successful pilots, those pilots frequently fail to scale into sustained business advantage. This is because they often lack the architectural foundation that allows intelligence to compound…
Understanding Knowledge Management and Unlocking Its Full Potential in the Era of AI
Monday, August 17, 2026
4:00 - 5:30p
Ryder Cup C Session Full. Pre-registration is required. Join enterprise technology leaders for an interactive discussion on how AI is redefining knowledge management and why it has become a critical enabler of successful enterprise AI initiatives. As generative and agentic AI adoption accelerates, organizations are finding that AI success depends…
The State of the CIO 2026: From Pilots to Production
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
9:10 - 9:55a
Ryder Cup Ballroom CIOs are under increasing pressure to convert AI experimentation into sustained, measurable business impact. This opening session sets the context for the conference by examining how leading enterprises are moving from pilots to production—what’s accelerating progress, where friction remains, and how CIOs are balancing speed, governance, and…
What Failed: Lessons from the Front Lines of Transformation
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
1:50 - 2:25 PM
Ryder Cup Ballroom Transformation rarely follows a straight line. In this candid session, panelists share initiatives that didn’t deliver as expected, across AI, security, and enterprise transformation—and the course corrections that followed. The discussion focuses on early warning signs, false assumptions, and the practical changes leaders made to recover momentum…
Five Moves Enterprise Technology Leaders Are Making Now
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
4:00 - 4:40p
Ryder Cup Ballroom As expectations on technology leadership continue to evolve, CIOs, CDOs, CAIOs, and others, are making a series of deliberate strategic shifts that will define the next 12 to 24 months. This session synthesizes the five most impactful moves leaders are prioritizing right now—where they’re doubling down, what…
25 Years of CIO Lessons in 45 Minutes
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
9:05 - 9:50a
Ryder Cup Ballroom A rare, candid conversation with CIOs reflecting on 25 years of technology leadership. This panel cuts through hype to explore what has genuinely changed—and what surprisingly hasn’t—across cycles of innovation, operating models, and executive expectations. Attendees will hear how seasoned CIOs recalibrated their role over time, what…
The Hidden Economics of Transformation
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
11:15 - 11:50a
Ryder Cup Ballroom Beyond ROI slides, CIOs must navigate the real economics of transformation. This session explores how technology leaders actually fund, justify, and sustain large‑scale initiatives while managing cost pressure, shifting priorities, and heightened executive scrutiny. Attendees will examine the financial levers, operating models, and metrics CIOs are using…
CIO 100 Leadership Live New York
Location: East Hub
Executive Roundtable: Beyond the Pilot - Building the Infrastructure for Real AI Returns
Thursday, July 16, 2026
8:30 - 9:45 am
For most organizations, the real barrier to AI impact isn’t the model, it’s everything required to scale it.The cause is rarely the technology. It’s fragmentation: disconnected tools, conflicting governance models, and strategies that drift from real business goals. At the same time, the cost of running cloud-based AI at scale…
Location: Forum
The New CIO Mandate: Delivering Growth, Not Just Technology
Thursday, July 16, 2026
10:05 - 10:35 am
The role of the CIO has fundamentally shifted from operator to business leader. Today’s CIO must balance AI investment, cost discipline, and measurable business outcomes. This opening sessions sets the tone for the day, exploring how leading CIOs are redefining value creation, influencing the board, and turning technology into a…
Location: Forum
Return on Transformation: Time, Talent, and Tradeoffs
Thursday, July 16, 2026
11:25 - 11:55 am
Transformation rarely goes according to plan. CIOs break down the real costs behind major initiatives, including budget overruns, organizational friction, and failed bets. This session focuses on what leaders learned the hard way and how they course-corrected to deliver results that stuck.
Location: Forum
AI: From Experimentation to Enterprise Impact
Thursday, July 16, 2026
2:15 - 2:45 pm
Many organizations have moved beyond pilots, but few have achieved scaled impact. This session goes inside real enterprise AI deployments, unpacking what worked, what failed, and what it actually takes to operationalize AI across the business. Expect honest lessons on governance, cost, talent, and how to move from hype to…
Location: Forum
Think Like a VC: Investment Shifts Towards Focused AI Applications
Thursday, July 16, 2026
2:45 - 3:15 pm
Top investors share where they are placing bets, which technologies are overhyped, and what signals CIOs should pay attention to. This session helps technology leaders separate real innovation from noise and align their roadmaps with where the market is heading. Come with questions!
Location: Forum
What’s Next for the CIO: Preparing for the Next 12–24 Months
Thursday, July 16, 2026
4:00 - 4:30 pm
The pace of change is accelerating. In this closing conversation, CIOs reflect on what’s coming next, from AI economics to organizational redesign. Attendees will leave with a clear sense of priorities and the decisions that will define success in the near future. Come with questions!
CIO 100 Leadership Live Los Angeles
The Business Case for AI
Thursday, April 16, 2026
2:15 - 2:45 pm
Your CFO wants numbers. Your board wants confidence. Your team wants direction. CIOs who’ve moved past the pilot stage share frameworks for measuring AI impact that hold up to scrutiny, including how to structure the business case, where the ROI actually shows up, and what happens when it doesn’t. Come…
Data Is the Advantage: How CIOs Build Trust, Fluency & Enterprise Readiness
Thursday, April 16, 2026
2:45 - 3:20 pm
Every executive believes data matters. Fewer agree on what to do about it and even fewer get it right. In this session, C-level leaders share how they are elevating data from a fragmented technical asset into a trusted, enterprise-wide advantage. The discussion focuses not only on tools or architectures, but…
CIO 100 Leadership Live Atlanta
Executive Roundtable: Understanding Knowledge Management and Unlocking Its Full Potential in the Era of AI
Thursday, March 5, 2026
8:30 - 9:45am
This interactive roundtable will explore how CIOs are reassessing knowledge management as a strategic capability rather than a legacy support function. We will examine real-world scenarios across IT service management, customer engagement, HR, finance, and compliance, where AI-driven interactions depend on precise understanding of organizational context. The discussion will highlight…