poweredUP Tampa Bay Tech Fest Sessions
Geek Row Exhibition Hall
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Location
First Floor Attrium
Summary
Check out live demos all day long!
Featured companies:
Geographic Solutions
SmartChoice
Big Panda
DigiCert
DGR Systems
Opening Remarks
Opening Remarks (12:00 - 12:10 PM)
Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
-
Meghan O'Keefe - Executive Director, Tampa Bay Tech
Tampa Bay’s Innovation Economy: Industries, Investments & Companies Moving Here
12:12 - 12:42 PM
Location
Bayfront Theater
Summary
This discussion explores the growth of Tampa Bay’s technology economy, including investment trends, industries gaining traction, and companies choosing to relocate or expand here.
Workforce in the Age of AI: Workforce & Talent Presentation
12:44 - 1:04 PM
Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
-
Jason Dunham - SVP, Hays
Summary
This session presents data and trends around the evolving workforce, focusing on how artificial intelligence is reshaping hiring, skills demand, and career paths.
Technology Policy & Regulation: Policy Trends Impacting Technology
1:06 - 1:36 PM
Location
Bayfront Theater
Summary
This panel explores policy and regulatory trends shaping the technology industry, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data privacy, and global competitiveness. This is becoming more important for all companies. What do local companies need to know that cant afford these types of people in their organization? What is happening at the state and federal level we need to know about?
Building Billion-Dollar Companies in Tampa Bay
1:38 - 2:08 PM
Location
Bayfront Theater
Summary
This discussion features local technology leaders who have built companies to significant scale, sharing insights on why Tampa Bay is an attractive place to grow technology businesses and what the region needs to reach its full potential.
Intermission
Intermission (2:08 - 2:28 PM)
Location
Bayfront Theater
Keynote Presentation
2:30 - 3:10 PM
Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
-
Brett Winton - Chief Futurist, ARK Invest
From Pilot to Production: Scaling AI in the Enterprise
3:12 - 3:42 PM
Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
-
Brian Beesley - Slalom
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Marianne Kirkland - Director of AI & Digital Transformation, TD SYNNEXMarianne Kirkland leads the Digital and AI Responsible Transformation team at TD SYNNEX — a Fortune 500 (#73) global IT company with ~23,000 employees. The team serves as the central destination for AI at TD SYNNEX—bringing together approved technologies, trusted guidance, education, and resources to help teams innovate responsibly. Career Background: Marianne's tech career spans mainframe programming, C++ development, and global IT consulting. She joined TD SYNNEX as an IT Delivery Lead and SharePoint Development Team Manager before stepping into AI leadership in April 2024. She is also a passionate mentor for young people in STEM.
Summary
This session explores how organizations move beyond experimentation and deploy artificial intelligence across enterprise systems.
AI & Cybersecurity: Autonomous Defense
3:44 - 4:04 PM
Location
Bayfront Theater
Summary
This session explores how artificial intelligence is transforming cybersecurity and enabling automated threat detection and response.
Closing Remarks
Closing Remarks (4:20 - 4:25 PM)
Location
Bayfront Theater
Speakers
-
Meghan O'Keefe - Executive Director, Tampa Bay Tech
Radically Connected Happy Hour
4:30 - 6:00 PM
Location
First Floor Lobby
Summary
Network with your peers and make new connections during the peak networking time of the day. Bars will be open so use your comp drink tickets to have a beverage or 2, and cheers to a great day!
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