Chicago AI Week

Chicago AI Week 2025 (June 17–18, 2025) marks the third edition of this premier gathering of global AI leaders from industry, government, and academia. Building on the success of 2024, which welcomed 500+ attendees for a week-long program featuring over 50 sessions and 120 speakers, this year’s event will further elevate dialogue on responsible AI, innovation, and cross-sector collaboration.
The 2025 edition is powered by AI 2030 in partnership with 1871, and DPI, and is supported by a distinguished Advisory Group featuring leaders from both the public and private sectors across a wide range of industries. The program will include AI Industry Day, Responsible AI Day, hands-on workshops, executive roundtables, and high-impact networking events.
Together, we’re shaping the future of AI from Chicago to the world.

Day 1:
Registration and Welcome 8:00-9:00

Opening Remarks 9:00a-9:10a

• Xiaochen Zhang, AI 2030; Co-Chair, Chicago AI Week
• Betsy Ziegler, CEO, 1871; Co-chair, Chicago AI Week
• Maryam Saleh, Executive Director, Kaplan Institute

Opening Remarks: Chicago AI Week Advisory Group 9:10a-9:20a
Kristi Dula, Deputy Director - Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Technology, Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, State of Illinois (TBC)

Keynote Fireside Work Reimagined: How AI is Reshaping the American Dream
9:20a-9:50a

• Xiaochen Zhang, AI 2030
• Taylor Stockton, Chief Innovation Officer, United States Department of Labor

Panel: What Does Responsible AI Look Like in Highly Regulated Industries?
9:50a-10:35a

• Chair: Xiaochen, AI 2030
• Clare Dussman, Director of Digital Trust, United Airlines
• David Gordon, Partner & Head of Chicago Litigation Group, Sidley Austin
• Gregory Estevez, Regional Director, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency

Break

Panel: Does AI Investing Deliver Real ROI for enterprises? 10:50a**-** 11:30a

• Marisa Mann, former Managing Vice President, Gartner (Chair)
• Jennifer Suerth, Senior Vice President of Virtual Construction, MEP, and Operations Technology, Pepper Construction Group
• Abhijit Dasgupta, VP, Global Demand Digital Technologies, Mars
• Firas Ben Hassan, Program Owner of AllianzGPT, Allianz

Panel: What Role Will Responsible AI Play in Shaping the Next Generation of Financial Services? 11:30a-12:10p

• Chair: Vivek Mullick, Managing Director, Accenture
• Arjun Ravi Kannan, Director, Data Science Research, Discover Financial Services
• Priyanka Saxena, VP, Visa
• Derek Ferguson, Chief Software Officer, Fitch Group

Lunch & Networking 12:10p-1:00p

Panel: How Do You Identify, Prioritize, and Mitigate AI Risks ? 1:00p-1:40p

• Chair: Laura Graves, Partner, Gritmind
• Jesus Gonzalez, Intangible Assets Global Collaboration Co-Leader, AON
• Philip Dawson, Head of AI Policy, Armilla AI
• Naveen Dhar, Senior Director at Microsoft

Panel: Are We Building AI Products That Uplift People or Replace Them? 1:40p**-**2:20p

• Debbie Pollock-Berry, Chief People & Culture Officer PLEZi Nutrition (Chair)
• Scott Hamerink, Senior Partner, Publicis Sapient
• Almira Kolaneci, Global SVP, Information Technology, Retail AI, and Digital Commerce, Circana
• Megan McNeil, Director of Product, Samasource

Panel: What Happens When AI, Quantum, and Next-Gen Infrastructure Collide?
2:20p-3:00p

• Chair: Xiaochen Zhang, Executive Director, AI 2030
• Ismael Faro, VP Quantum+AI, IBM
• Kate Waimey Timmerman, Chicago Quantum Exchange
• Anne Lee, CTO, AI Research Lab, Bell Labs Solutions Research

Break 3:00p-3:30p

Are We Using AI in Healthcare to Empower Patients or Just Automate Providers?
3:30p-4:10p

• Chair: Gulé Rayna AI, Data, and Analytics Strategy at Salesforce
• Michael Hyzy, VP of Strategy & Innovation, CGI
• Anil Saldanha, Chief Innovation Officer, RUSH
• Ngan MacDonald, Director, Data Innovation Lab, Mathematica

Can Legal Systems Keep Up with Rapid AI Advancements? 4:10p**-**4:50p

• Chair: Brian Arnold, Head of Legal & Compliance, Huntress
• James Gatto, AI Team Leader, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
• Zhaoying Du, Global Head of Legal, Motorola Mobility (a Lenovo Company)
• Chris Smith, Director and Associate Counsel, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

Q&A 4::50p-5:00p

Evening Program: Women in AI Leadership and Chicago AI Council Reception
5:00p-8:00p
Networking Reception 5:00p-6:00p

Panel Discussion- Celebrating Women Leaders in AI 6:00p-6:30p

• Chair: Lisa An Wong, Director, NBG Strategy and Ops, BMO Wealth Management
• Samura Atallah, Vice President, Platform Integration & GTM - Security & Collaboration, Cisco
• Almira Kolaneci, Global SVP, Information Technology, Retail AI, and Digital Commerce, Circana
• Clare Dussman, Director of Digital Trust, United Airlines

Chicago AI Council Launch Ceremony 6:30p-7:00p

• Chicago AI Council Members

Networking Reception 7:00p-8:00p

Day 2:
Registration and Welcome 8:00-9:00

Opening Fireside chat: AI & Academia 2030: A New Model for Human Potential
9:00a-9:20a

• Chair: Tonya Amankwatia, Head of AI 2030 Institute, AI 2030
• Raj Echambadi, President, Illinois Tech

Panel: How Should Universities and Industry Collaborate to Advance AI Research and Training? 9:20a-10:10a

• Chair: Tonya Amankwatia, Head of AI 2030 Institute, AI 2030
• Brad Spirrison, Corporate Engagement Lead, DPI
• Kristian Hammond, Professor of Computer Science, Northwestern University
• Brinnae Bent, Executive in Residence; Duke University

Break 10:10a-10:30a

Panel: The AI Powerhouse: How Governments are Shaping the Future of Artificial Intelligence 10:30a-11:10a

Chair:Xiaochen Zhang, AI 2030
Gabe Arrington, Senior Director of Operations, United States Air Force
Kristi Dula, Deputy Director - Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Technology, Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, State of Illinois (TBC)
Gilbert Villegas, 36th Ward Alderman, City of Chicago
Pierre Wellhoff, Director of the Chicago Office, Business France

Panel:
AI in the Content Game: Disrupting Marketing, Media, and Creative Industries
11:10a**-**12:00p

• Chair: Michael Kahn, Co-CEO/Chief Market Officer Talos Agent
• David Chivers, Founder, Digital Acceleration Partners
• Patricia Ratulangi, VP - Global Communications, Business Inclusion, Impact & Belonging, Nielsen
• Bryan Simkins - EVP, Technical Solutions, Transparent Partners
• Elise Temple, Vice President, Strategic Analytics & Insights, Global Customer Success Neuroscience, NielsenIQ

Lunch & Networking 12:00p-1:00p

Guardians of the Algorithm: Responsible AI Through the Security Lens 1:00p**-**1:40p

• Wendy Betts, CISO, Rotary International
• Katie Hanahan, Deputy CISO, American Medical Association (tbc)
• Ricardo Lafosse, Chief Information Security Officer at The Kraft Heinz Company(tbc)

Is AI Governance the Missing Link Between Innovation and Trust? 1:40p-2:20p

• Walter G Ferrer, Head of Compliance-Minna Technolgies, Mastercard
• Joe Peedikayil, Managing Director- North America Finance, Risk and AI Leader, Accenture
• Hitesh Patel, Global Head of Enterprise Risk, Invesco Ltd.

From Garage to Unicorn: Trends Shaping the Next Generation of AI Startups 2:20p**-**3:00p

• Armando Pauker, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Tensility Venture Partners
• Glenn Borok, Vice President, Jump Capital
• Samura Atallah, Vice President, Platform Integration & GTM - Security & Collaboration, Cisco
• Amr Awadallah, CEO, Vectara

Break 3:00p-3:15p

Startup Pitch 3:15p-4:00p

• 1871 AI and FinTech Innovation Lab startups

The Future of Decentralized Intelligence 4:00p-4:40p

• Sandra Rao, CEO, GBBC (tbc)
• Kristoffer Kizer, Principal, Iron Key
• Paul Hsu, Founder, Decasonic
• Jon McBee, XDC

Closing Remarks 4:40p-5:00p