Bringing together the minds defining the age of intelligence

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The age of agentic AI is here, and it’s testing every enterprise’s data foundation. Intelligent systems that can reason, act, and improve on their own are moving from concept to reality—but only for organizations that can feed them with trusted, unified, and context-rich data. For data and IT leaders, this isn’t a future challenge. It’s a now problem.

That’s why the world’s top minds in data and AI will gather in Orlando next February for DataDriven 2026. The three-day event will unite Fortune 500 executives, researchers, academics, and startup innovators for a hands-on look at how enterprises are modernizing their data foundations to power intelligent systems. It’s where ideas meet execution—where the next generation of data leaders will define what it means to build and scale AI that actually works in the real world.

Defining the next frontier of AI

This year’s keynote speaker, Ethan Mollick—the Wharton professor and author of CoIntelligence—is among the most influential voices on how AI is reshaping work, education, and entrepreneurship. He joins an impressive lineup that includes Reltio Founder and CEO Manish Sood, Boeing’s Aarti Bajaj, Boston University Professor Emeritus Venkat Venkatraman, and former Salesforce CIO Jo-ann de Pass Olsovsky.

Across three days of mainstage sessions, panels, and workshops, leaders from Pfizer, Aon, Radisson Hotel Group, and other global brands will share how they’ve transformed fragmented, legacy data systems into intelligent, real-time data engines that power AI copilots, bots, and autonomous agents. Expect practical insights on governance, security, and scaling AI safely—alongside candid discussions about what’s working, what isn’t, and what comes next.

Photo: Manish Sood, a DataDriven 2026 keynote speaker

They’ll unpack what it takes to operationalize AI safely and effectively—how to build the data infrastructure that allows AI to think, act, and improve autonomously. Expect hard conversations about data governance, security, and the pace of AI adoption, along with practical advice from leaders at Pfizer, Aon, Radisson Hotel Group, and other global brands.

The AI promise vs. the data reality

A new Harvard Business Review Analytic Services study, Navigating Transformation in the Era of Agentic AI, reveals the gap between ambition and readiness.

• 91% of executives believe agentic AI will transform the future of work.
• Yet only 38% say their organizations are prepared to adopt it.

What’s holding them back? As Reltio CEO Manish Sood explains in the report, “Precision. Accuracy. Speed. A trusted data foundation is essential for unlocking value.” Without unified, governed, and real-time data enriched by relationships, transactions, and interactions—not just static records—AI agents can’t reason or act effectively.

Venkat Venkatraman, who will also speak at DataDriven 2026, reinforces that point: fragmented data prevents humans and machines from “singing off the same data page.” To thrive in the agentic era, he says, leaders must treat data unification as a strategic imperative, not a technical exercise.

The Stakes are high for data and IT leaders

The HBR survey found that data challenges—cited by 39% of respondents—rank among the biggest barriers to realizing AI’s potential, alongside the shortage of skills and clear strategy. As AI agents proliferate, they depend on accurate, connected, and interpretable data to make sound decisions. When that data is inconsistent or siloed, the risk compounds—bad inputs lead to bad decisions at machine speed.

That’s where the DataDriven community comes in. The event gives leaders a platform to share hard-won lessons from their transformation journeys—how they’re modernizing data architecture, building trust and lineage, and preparing their organizations to operate confidently in the agentic era.

The path forward: Building the foundation for Agentic AI

Both the HBR report and DataDriven’s 2026 theme point to the same truth: the future belongs to enterprises that treat data as a strategic asset, not a byproduct.

Organizations must:

• Unify fragmented data across systems and domains.
• Govern it responsibly, with transparency and lineage.
• Deliver it in real time to every application, user, and AI agent that needs it.

Trusted, intelligent data is the fuel of the next industrial revolution. Those who master it will shape the future of work, business, and society itself.

Join the conversation

DataDriven 2026 will bring together leaders shaping the next wave of data and AI innovation. The event will explore how organizations are addressing the complex challenges of unifying, governing, and activating data to support intelligent systems.

DataDriven 2026 will take place February 23-25, 2026, in Orlando, Florida. You can register here.