Executive Series

No matter what your role, if you are a decision maker today in any company, there is likely an expectation that you are able to understand and make decisions on technology. This often looks like an operational need, such as, a Director of Finance who is being asked to review proposals for cloud service providers or a HR Director working with a vendor to make decisions on learning management systems.

However, it also impacts strategic decisions as it is clear that companies can harness technology not only to lower costs and drive value but also position themselves better for new opportunities and growth. This strategic need is on every executive's plate.

This course is designed to provide executives from any field with the knowledge & tools to provide strategic support to their company. This unique session will be taught by industry leaders and will include the following topics:

• History of Computing: From the first computer to the cloud.. How did we get here? There are some important lessons and decisions that were made that have built computing to what it is today. This session will explore our modern history of computing and the major decisions, development & individuals whose work influences the keys we press, the computing languages we use and the way we work today and in the future
• Why Platform Companies Win? Platform business models are springing up fast and tend to outperform other business models. Why is this? Is there some magic associated with platform businesses that every company should pay attention to? This class will explore why platforms tend to outperform virtually every other type of business model, and how to incorporate a platform model into your technology strategy, regardless of its current composition
• Convergence: AI, IOT, Networks: Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) is the next key step for IoT(Internet of Things) – transforming the process of analyzing data and turning it into actionable, strategic insight. IoT will help with a new generation of AI enablement due to the aggregation nature of IoT. At its core, IoT is gathering massive amounts of data. And as that data is processed through the data-hungry algorithms of AI, the analytical and action parts of IoT will be greatly enhanced. But most businesses today are collecting a great deal of data without a comprehensive plan of what to do with it, how to act on it, and understanding of the qualitative insights needed to maximize the value of quantitative data. This class will show you how to develop a competitive edge in your business.
• Developer Culture: Engineering culture is the set of common beliefs and values that will later impact the way people in the organization make decisions or actions around software development. The foundation of your developer culture becomes the foundation of your innovation cycle, decision-making frameworks, and productivity of your team. An experienced engineering leader will share how to maximize your team’s output, and ways executives in other functional areas can support your CTO, Chief Product Officer, and entire engineering team.
• How to Decompose a Monolith: Are you facing a Monolith? In software engineering, a monolithic application describes a single-tiered software application in which the user interface and data access code are combined into a single program from a single platform. A monolithic application is self-contained and independent from other computing applications. This conversation will discuss how to make decisions on decomposition of monoliths, what you will need to be successful, and some compelling case study stories which will deepen your understanding of how to inform this decision.
• Security & Resilience: There is an ever growing sense of urgency around cybersecurity. Cyber threats have jumped to the top of every CEO’s list and if you have not been in a meeting about cybersecurity (which is hard to believe) you will be in the discussion soon, regardless of your role. Companies are allocating large amounts of resources to cybersecurity, but do we really know what it means to be cyber ready? This discussion will look at it means to be "cyber ready" and dig into the strategy of security & resilience.
• A View into DevOps: DevOps combines Development and Operations to increase the efficiency, speed, and security of software development and delivery over traditional processes. A more nimble software development lifecycle results in a competitive advantage for businesses and their customers. This conversation will sharing insights & strategy of building frameworks that work today, but also remain relevant and ahead of trends & needs.
• UX as a Strategy: User experience (UX) design is the process design teams use to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users. At its core, UX encompasses everything about how your product looks, feels, and works for your users or customers. This involves the design of the entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, design, usability and function. This session will discuss how UX Strategy is capable fo transforming how products are designed to how trust is built.
• Plus discussion, networking and further Q&A w/ Speakers.  There will be daily round table talks, where the attendees will be asked to share a topic or speaker they'd like to hear from. .

2022 Class Schedule:

Monday, August 1st:

• 11:00am-12:30pm ET/8:00am-9:30am PT - History of Computing
• 12:30pm-1:30pm ET/9:30am-10:30am PT- Welcome & Networking w/Erynn Peterson
• 2:00pm-3:30pm ET/11:00am-12:30pm PT- Why Platform Companies Win
• 3:30pm-4:30pm ET/12:30pm-1:30pm PT - Small Group Breakout

Tuesday August 2nd:

• 11:00am-12:30pm ET/8:00am-9:30am PT - Convergence: AI, IoT, Networks
• 12:30pm-1:30pm ET/9:30am-10:30am PT- Small Group Breakouts
• 2:00pm-3:30pm ET/11:00am-12:30pm PT- Data & Strategy
• 3:30pm-4:30pm ET/12:30pm-1:30pm PT - Roundtable Talk (topic will be decided by attendees)

Wednesday August 3rd:

• 11:00am-12:30pm ET/8:00am-9:30am PT -Developer Culture
• 12:30pm-1:30pm ET/9:30am-10:30am PT- Welcome & Networking w/Erynn Peterson
• 2:00pm-3:30pm ET/11:00am-12:30pm PT- How to Decompose a Monolith
• 6:00pm-7:30pm ET/3:00pm-4:30pm PT - Security & Resilience

Thursday August 4th:

• 11:00am-12:30pm ET/8:00am-9:30am PT - A View into DevOps
• 12:30pm-1:30pm ET/9:30am-10:30am PT- Small Group Breakouts
• 2:00pm-3:30pm ET/11:00am-12:30pm PT- UX as Strategy
• 3:30pm-4:30pm ET/12:30pm-1:30pm PT - Roundtable Talk (topic will be decided by attendees)

Friday August 5th:

• 11:00am-12:30pm ET/8:00am-9:30am PT Roundtable Talk (topic will be decided by attendees)
• 12:30pm-1:30pm ET/9:30am-10:30am PT- Wrap Up & Review 

Lectures are sold individually, but you must attend the full series to access the networking & talks. 

 Full class costs $750.  (Attendance is included in a GDI Personalized Memberships - and is discounted 75% to GDI Members and Scholars)  Learn more about membership here.