Alessandro Perilli is a Vice President leading the Agentic AI Platforms and Strategies research program. Alessandro’s core research coverage includes emerging AI technologies, global AI market trends, the state of enterprise AI, and sovereign AI.

Most recently, Alessandro founded Unstable Reality, an AI R&D lab in London, where he worked as Chief of Research, developing synthetic media generation solutions for creative studios, ad agencies, and large end-user organizations.

Among other projects, Alessandro published a weekly newsletter dedicated to tracking how AI is reshaping jobs, workforce productivity, and business operations.

Previously, Alessandro served as a senior leader at Red Hat, focused on business and product strategy. Across roles, Alessandro has also worked as an advisor to Fortune Global 2000 companies, helping IT decision makers translate emerging technology shifts into actionable and risk-informed strategies.

Throughout his career, Alessandro has often delivered keynotes at industry and vendor events, focusing on the state of the union and emerging trends in cybersecurity, virtualization, and cloud computing.

Kathy Lange is Research Director for IDC’s AI, Data, and Automation Software practice, focused on Unified AI Platforms Life-Cycle Tools and Technologies. Ms. Lange’s core research explores the evolution and adoption of unified AI platforms that support the full life cycle of traditional, generative, and agentic AI. It analyzes tools, technologies, and platforms for building, training, tuning, and scaling AI solutions across their end-to-end life cycle. She focuses on how enterprises can leverage these platforms to scale AI responsibly, optimize AI software infrastructure for inferencing, and orchestrate composite AI applications. The goal is to provide actionable insights for suppliers and buyers to operationalize AI at scale.

Before joining IDC, Kathy spent over twenty years at SAS. She led Analytics Consulting, Analytics and Text Analytics PreSales, and Competitive Intelligence teams. Kathy’s expertise helped organizations gain value from analytics, data science, machine learning, and AI. She was a frequent speaker, presenter, and moderator at SAS’ Executive Briefing Center and at industry conferences. Her most recent role as Director of Competitive Insights examined key AI life-cycle competitors and market technologies. Competitive assets provided tactical and strategic insights for sales, marketing, and product management.

Marlanna Harrington is a Research Analyst on the data, analytics, AI, and automation team. Ms. Harrington’s research concentrates on data platforms, including data warehouses, lakes, and lakehouses, focusing on data storage and management. She examines core technologies for implementing analytic data platforms across various environments, data modeling techniques, and emerging open table structures. Her research closely aligns with the data control plane that helps govern and manage data, all in preparation for analytics that provide data-driven solutions to impact business operations.

Marlanna has covered a wide range of research topics during her time at IDC. She started out in consumer research analyzing consumer attitudes, behaviors, technology usage, spending, brand perceptions, etc. When transitioning over to the data and analytics team at IDC, Marlanna focused on data analytic tools and their impact on enterprise decision-making. Her research was centered around business intelligence, geospatial data management and analytics as well as enterprise performance management software.

Timothy Law is a Research Director for AI & Automation, responsible for the generative AI lifecycle tools and technologies research practice. Mr. Law’s core research coverage includes the evolution of generative AI infrastructure and platforms, foundation models, developer tools, observability solutions, agentic systems, and generative AI services.  This research analyzes the trends and developments in the AI software markets, including the costs, benefits, and impact of generative AI technologies.

Mr. Law has more than 20 years of experience in AI, machine learning, and data analytics. Mr. Law has extensive experience in marketing and sales of AI and data analytics solutions for enterprise software vendors including Domino Data Lab, Dataiku, Oracle, and SAP. As Director of Product Marketing at Domino Data Lab, Mr. Law launched a portfolio of generative AI solutions. Previously, at Oracle, Mr. Law managed influencer communications for a portfolio of AI services, chatbots, machine learning platforms, and analytics solutions.  Additionally, Mr. Law began his career developing machine learning solutions for the lending and credit operations of a $4.9 billion bank and consulting with large enterprises on building predictive maintenance solutions to enhance field service operations.  

Priti Sabadra is a technology executive and engineering leader with more than two decades of experience leading global product management and engineering teams driving enterprise software innovation across healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences.

Priti is deeply committed to the responsible and practical integration of AI into software products and engineering organizations. She champions evolving the software development lifecycle to include robust governance, transparency, and guardrails that help ensure AI systems are deployed safely, fairly, and effectively.

Rani Radhakrishnan, a Principal at PwC currently leads the AI Managed Services and Data & Insight teams in PwC US Technology Managed Services.

Rani excels at transforming data into strategic insights, driving informed decision-making and delivering innovative solutions. Her leadership is marked by a deep understanding of emerging technologies and a commitment to leveraging them for business growth.

Rani’s ability to align and deliver AI solutions with organizational outcomes has established her as a thought leader in the industry.

Her passion for applying technology to solve tough business challenges, and dedication to excellence continue to inspire her teams and help drive success for her clients in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Michael Makstman is San Francisco’s Chief information Officer leading the Department of Technology (DT). DT servers City departments, staff, and San Francisco residents by providing secure, reliable, and innovative technology services. Michael has previously served as the City Chief Information Security Officer and founded the San Francisco Office of Cybersecurity. He has recently been selected as one of the top 25 technology doers, dreamers, and drivers in the nation by the Government Technology Magazine.

Prior to joining the City and County of San Francisco, Michael served in executive roles at complex, regulated organizations in Healthcare, Finance and Technology industries for over 15 years. Michael is a founder and Co-Chair of Coalition of City CISOs (cityciso.org), an organization dedicated to promoting cybersecurity for local governments. He is a Fellow of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), the largest international organization of information security professionals, and holds Bachelor’s degree in Finance and IT from DePaul University and Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Jane Gong is the inaugural Director of Emerging Technologies for the City and County of San Francisco, where she leads the strategic implementation of AI and emerging technologies across 50+ City departments. Since establishing the Emerging Technologies team in December 2024, she has positioned San Francisco as a national leader in public sector AI—partnering with OpenAI to pilot ChatGPT Enterprise and spearheading the citywide launch of Microsoft Copilot Chat to 30,000 staff. Her work centers on balancing innovation with public accountability: piloting AI-powered tools to cut 311 call times, designing AI translation workflows to better serve San Francisco’s multilingual communities, and building San Francisco’s first AI inventory under the City’s AI Transparency Ordinance. A former tech founder and first-generation immigrant who once relied on City services herself, Jane is committed to ensuring that AI and emerging tech create opportunities for every San Franciscan, not just a select few.

Nick Bonfiglio is a recognized enterprise data leader with 28 years across product, engineering, and enterprise software, redefining master data through Agentic MDM at Syncari.

Neelesh Shastry is the CTO and Co-Founder of Syncari, a pioneer in data automation and agentic master data management. With over 20 years of experience spanning Adobe, Marketo, and SAP, Neelesh is known for driving innovation in data integration, governance, and security. He co-developed Syncari’s patented multidirectional sync engine and champions the shift from brittle integrations to data model-driven automation.

Geeta Pyne is a technology and AI strategy executive at TIAA with deep expertise in enterprise transformation, modern enterprise architecture, and AI-driven operating models. She helps organizations move from isolated AI pilots to scalable, secure, and governed intelligent systems that connect people, platforms, and autonomous agents. Across global enterprises, she has led platform modernization, reduced technical debt, and accelerated innovation through cloud, composable architectures, and AI-native capabilities. In addition to her executive work, Geeta advises startups and supports the next generation of leaders through her involvement with several industry and advisory organizations.

Ben Lilienthal is Co-Founder and CEO of ScreenMeet, where he is leading the company’s mission to modernize remote support through AI-powered solutions embedded directly into enterprise workflows. A serial entrepreneur with four companies founded and two successful exits to public companies, Ben has spent his career building collaboration and enterprise software solutions that help teams work more effectively. He graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College, earned his MBA from NYU Stern, and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. Outside of work, Ben enjoys surfing, mountain biking, and spending time with his family.

Dominic Sartorio is VP of Product Marketing at Denodo. Dominic has over 20 years of experience in the data management and governance market, having held various product and marketing leadership roles at Informatica, Protegrity, among other leading vendors.

He holds a PhD in AI and has a background as an Applied Research Scientist at Amazon Alexa AI. As Founder of Syllotips, he now leads one of Italy’s most recognized companies in the enterprise AI agents space.

Prith Banerjee is Senior Vice President of Innovation at Synopsys.  Prith leads the Synopsys Innovation Group (SIG) which fosters advancements in EDA, Simulation & Analysis, and IP. Working closely with Fellows, Chief Technologists, Architects, and the Technical Leadership team, SIG shapes the company’s technology strategy and fosters cross-functional collaboration. The group engages with customers, partners, startups, and academia to refine and share Synopsys’ technology vision.

Prior to joining Synopsys, Prith served as Chief Technology Officer at Ansys, where he was responsible for guiding the company’s long-term technology vision. He has held multiple senior leadership roles across technology and industrial organizations, including Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Schneider Electric, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President at ABB in Zurich,and Managing Director of Global Technology R&D at Accenture. He also served as Senior Vice President of Research and Director of HP Labs at Hewlett-Packard, where he oversaw global innovation efforts.

Earlier in his career, Prith was a leader in academia, serving as Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago and as Chairman of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Northwestern University. He began his academic career as a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

A serial entrepreneur, Prith founded AccelChip, an EDA software company acquired by Xilinx, and BINACHIP, where he served as Founder, Chairman, and Chief Scientist. His research interests span electronic design automation and parallel computing, and he is the author of over 350 technical papers and has supervised 37 Ph.D. students.

Prith has been widely recognized for his contributions to technology and innovation. He was named one of Fast Company’s Top 100 Business Leaders in 2009 and is a Fellow of AAAS, ACM, IEEE and National Academy of Inventors. He is also a recipient of the ASEE Terman Award and the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award.

He earned his B.Tech. in Electronics Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, where he was awarded the President’s Gold Medal. He holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

As an AI Technical Solution Advisor specializing in aligning customer business strategies with our Business AI technologies. Ian acts as a trusted advisor to enterprise customers and sales teams, offering technical guidance on AI architecture, embedded use cases, and cloud transformation. With hands-on experience in data science and advanced analytics, Ian design scalable AI roadmaps and drive tangible business outcomes. He leads discovery workshops, shape customer AI visions, and support the full lifecycle of AI solution adoption to maximize customer value and impact.

Allice Shandler, a seasoned event management professional, orchestrates captivating and seamless experiences in the technology, hospitality, entertainment, and manufacturing industries. With a proven track record spanning the past 25 years, she skillfully designs and executes a multitude of events, both virtual and in-person, to bring together like-minded individuals for the purpose of sharing knowledge and forging connections. She is an energetic leader who enjoys leading with empathy and embodying the science of emotional intelligence.

From her time as an Assistant Cruise Director with Princess Cruises to her role as the National Virtual Events Manager and subject matter expert during the pandemic at KPMG Canada, and currently as the Director of events with IDC and Foundry, Allice’s journey reflects a mastery of marketing integration, project logistics, and alignment with sales strategies, all underscored by her meticulous attention to detail. Allice Shandler exudes a passion for hosting and connecting with peers both on the stage and during carefully crafted industry events. She brings an unmatched ability to curate engaging experiences that resonate across industries and captivate audiences around the globe.

Accomplished technology leader with over 30 years of experience driving digital transformation and innovation across the private and public sectors. With leadership roles at top IT services companies and government organizations, I bring deep expertise in enterprise applications, data analytics, cybersecurity, infrastructure modernization, and vendor management.

I currently lead high-priority initiatives to enhance department operations and constituent services through cloud computing, automation, AI, and emerging technologies. My strength lies in collaborating with stakeholders at every level and translating complex business needs into practical, impactful technology solutions.

A graduate of the prestigious California Information Technology Leadership Academy, I’m passionate about bridging IT and organizational strategy to help public sector organizations better serve the people who depend on them.

Areas of Expertise
Technology Strategy · Digital Transformation · Emerging Technology · Cybersecurity · SaaS/PaaS · Cloud Computing · Data Analytics · Stakeholder Management · Team Leadership · Mentorship