Hear from AstraZeneca, Prudential Financial, Target and more at CIO’s Future of Work Summit

Michelle Greene, SVP and CIO at Cardinal Health, has no issue using her title as a stick to remove obstacles preventing her team to get work done. But the rest of the time, she says she focuses on teamwork, not titles.  “If no one wants to work with me, they’re not going to work for me,” Greene says, just one of the insights she shares at CIO’s Future of Work Summit

Focusing on talent, technology, culture and leadership, the summit, held virtually February 15-17, will feature speakers from major companies, consultancies, and academia to help IT leaders navigate their way through the complexities of a vastly changed corporate landscape.

What advice does McKinsey & Company have for retaining employees – beyond compensation and benefits? Kicking off the summit on Tuesday, Senior Partner Aaron De Smet will share strategies for stemming the “great attrition.” Later, Stacey Goodman, EVP & CIO at Prudential Financial, will give a from-the-trenches viewpoint on upskilling and retraining talent to maintain a motivated and hardworking workforce. And Sabina Ewing, CIO & VP at Abbott, will share how she is developing a more holistic, data-driven and differentiated talent strategy at the health care and medical device company.

Author and workforce consultant Dr. Bev Kaye will give an interactive workshop on proven engagement strategies for busy IT leaders as well as a live discussion on the link between employee engagement and a true sense of belonging at work. And Metrigy President and Principal Analyst Irwin Lazar will address gaps in the strategies companies have developed to support collaboration in hybrid work settings.

On Wednesday, speakers will focus on the impact of AI and automation on human work. Geoff Colvin, senior editor at large at Fortune, considers what automation will do to our jobs and earning potential and what IT executives need to know to lead their organizations into that future.

Two case studies will show how major companies are successfully using automation to achieve business results. Anna Åsberg, VP R&D IT at AstraZeneca, will share how the biopharma company introduced AI to its workflow to improve the speed and efficiency of its life-saving work in drug discovery, while Yelena Pevzner, CIO for Corporate Technology at Ally, will discuss how improving employee experience using tools including automation can create a better customer experience.

For insight into how venture capital sees the future of work, Kanu Gulati, a partner at Khosla Ventures, will discuss what she looks for in AI and automation startups.

Not everyone is sold on automation. Bob Lewis, president of IT Catalysts, and InfoWorld contributing editor Isaac Sacolick, will debate whether AI has hit the trough of disillusionment or is reaching its promised potential. Separately, Sacolick will delve into the world of hyperautomation, where AI automation and low-code applications meet.

Amy Loomis, IDC’s research director for the future of work, will dig into research insights covering three critical areas for automation opportunities: how to automate to enable work productivity and employee engagement; automating the intelligent digital workspace and workplaces; and how to lead an automated organization.

On Thursday, speakers will explore building culture in a new area of hybrid work, health/safety issues, and commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Lorraine Hariton, president and CEO of Catalyst, will confront the empathy deficit among managers and how to fix it, while Tsedal Neeley, a professor at Harvard Business School, will explore the future workplace culture when that workforce is virtual, distributed and global.

Many organizations are examining how to create an equitable, innovative and employee-centric culture. Sharing their work on the subject will be Brian Abrahamson, CIO of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Battelle; Nicole Ford, VP and CISO at Carrier; and Nancy King, SVP of product engineering at Target Corporation.

Tackling the subject in an interactive workshop, consultant and former CIO Chris Laping will coach attendees on keeping teams inspired and connected. And Matthew Finnegan and Mike Elgan of ComputerWorld explore the case for digital ethics when it comes to tracking the activity of remote and hybrid workers.

Throughout the summit, sponsors including Everbridge, Firstup, Google Chrome Enterprise, IBM and others will share innovative solutions for modernizing your workplace.

Additionally, IDC will present the winners of its Best in Future of Work North America Awards including a conversation with overall winner PVH Corp. and winners of its Culture and Augmentation categories.

Check out the full summit agenda here. The event is free to attend for qualified attendees. Don’t miss out – register today.