Visionary Headliners, Rockstars &
Fab Facilitators
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Rockstar Insights
Shruti Ahluwalia
Vice President, Technology, AI, and Product Experience
The Institute of Internal Auditors
Shruti brings more than 15 years of experience leading AI-enabled platforms, digital product strategy, and enterprise transformation, all with the goal of achieving excellent customer experiences. Most recently at The Walt Disney Company, she led AI platform strategy across a $300M+ portfolio. She also held senior digital leadership roles at Citigroup and American Express, delivering measurable growth, operational efficiency, and customer impact. As co-founder and Chief Digital Officer of a healthcare practice, she built and scaled a technology-driven organization from the ground up.
Matt Cleary
Director, Strategic Innovation
Florida’s Natural Growers
Cody Gill
Executive Director, Partnerships
UCF
Cody helps companies navigate the university and build strategic, mutually beneficial partnerships across research, talent, academic programs, executive education, philanthropy, and innovation. In this role, he works across UCF’s colleges and institutes to connect corporate priorities with the right faculty, programs, and resources, serving as a front door for industry engagement with one of the nation’s largest and most innovative universities. His work is centered on bringing industry and higher education together to create opportunities for students, faculty, companies, and the communities they serve.
Cordell Hardy
Vice President, Research & Development, Food North America
Cargill
Cordell connects customer and consumer needs with scientific and technical capabilities to develop market-ready food solutions at Cargill. His experience spans formulation, sensory and technical validation, customer collaboration, manufacturing readiness and commercialization, giving him a practical perspective on how organizations define transformation and turn innovation ambitions into solutions that can scale.
April Joseph
Director of Business Optimization & Innovation
Southern Company Gas
Cordell connects customer and consumer needs with scientific and technical capabilities to develop market-ready food solutions at Cargill. His experience spans formulation, sensory and technical validation, customer collaboration, manufacturing readiness and commercialization, giving him a practical perspective on how organizations define transformation and turn innovation ambitions into solutions that can scale.
Tony Marchetta
Head of Innovation
Vitamix Corporation
Tony has over 25 years of experience at companies including Fortune Brands Innovations, Newell Brands, and Procter & Gamble. He brings practical experience leading global teams, designing innovation operating models, and building capabilities and cultures that turn ideas into growth.
Allison McGinley
Executive Director, Partnerships
UCF
Allison leads strategic engagement with corporate and foundation partners to advance innovation, research and student success. Before joining UCF, Allison spent 30 years at WKMG News 6 in Orlando, rising from intern to News Director and leading the station through major news events, transformative initiatives, and award-winning public service journalism. A proud UCF alumna, she served as Chair of both the Radio Television Digital News Association and its Foundation. She was inducted into the UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media Hall of Fame in 2022.
Ramya Ramadurai
Director, Enterprise Digital Transformation PMO
Lincoln Electric
Ramya leads strategic program execution, portfolio governance, and cross-functional alignment to connect transformation investments to measurable business outcomes at Lincoln Electric. With more than 15 years of transformation experience across manufacturing, higher education, media, and life sciences, Ramya brings a practical perspective on defining value, measuring impact, and turning innovation into disciplined execution.
Dr. Sterlena Taylor
Innovatist
Dr. Taylor, PhD, MBA, aka “the innovatist,” is an award-winning innovator, futurist, thought leader, scholar and expert in innovation with more than two intrapreneurial decades in global organizations, mid-size firms, and start-ups driving growth and transformation across diverse industries. She is an inspiring sought-after speaker and author who has shared at SXSW, Microsoft’s IGNITE, AI4, and many other innovation events. She offers thought-provoking and unique perspectives on the future of innovation and its impact on orgs and society.
Jason Swoboda
Director, Innovation
Tampa General Hospital
Jennifer Wolf
Executive Director, Partnerships
UCF
Jennifer is a strategic partnerships and philanthropy executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience advancing institutional growth, philanthropic investment, and cross-sector collaboration across higher education, healthcare, public media, and nonprofit organizations. She is recognized for cultivating transformative partnerships, aligning stakeholder interests around shared priorities, and translating ambitious vision into measurable outcomes that strengthen organizations and communities alike.
Master of Ceremonies
Brian Fitzpatrick
Partner, Events
Frost & Sullivan