Gateway to Innovation 2023

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

8:00 am

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This event has passed but please enjoy the recordings of our sessions below!

About the Event

The Gateway to Innovation Conference is the region’s premier single-day event designed for the IT executive community. This is an amazing opportunity to network with your peers, learn from experts, and explore ways to gain a competitive edge with technology. 1904labs is thrilled to be the Executive Track sponsor again this year, with panel sessions geared towards the unique challenges facing senior leaders.

View the full agenda.

Our Sessions

Using AI to Enhance Your Business? 4 Things You Must Do to Avoid Wasting Millions

10:45-11:30am CST | Room 232 - Second Floor

Recent advances have brought AI into focus as a must-have for business. But, despite what technologies like ChatGPT might suggest, you can’t just flip the switch and turn on AI if you want to achieve actual value. Join our session to learn about the 4 things you need to get right before AI-enabling your business to achieve real ROI - and it’s about much more than just data.

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The Right Vendor for Your IT Project: Executive Discussion

3:15-4:00pm | Executive Panel - Room 105 - First Floor

There are a lot of options to get IT projects done when you don't have the capacity or skills in house. Staff augmentation, offshore, the big 4 consultancies, boutique vendors - how do you pick the right one for your initiative? Of even greater importance, how do you ensure that the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars achieve needed results for the business? Listen to our panel discuss how, and when, they know to reach for right tool from their toolbox to deliver the optimum outcomes for the business.

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Speakers

Brandon Fischer

Practice Director, Decision Science & Data Engineering at 1904labs

Brandon has spent his career in the data science and analytics space both as an executive and expert Data Scientist, leading teams and building machine learning capabilities for enterprise brands. With experience driving innovation at clients in the automotive, CPG, energy, finance, pharmaceutical, technology, telecom, financial services, and travel industries, Brandon is now leading both our Data Engineering and Decision Science practices to bring his expertise in analytics, machine learning, and AI to all our customer engagements.

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Kelly Hopson

Director, Modern Software Engineering

As the Practice Director of Modern Software Engineering at 1904labs, Kelly Hopson and her team develop and implement cloud-native software solutions, web and mobile applications, and modern DevOps for clients across a diverse array of industries, including leaders in the financial and healthcare sectors. A St. Louis native, Kelly relocated to Chicago where she graduated cum laude from DePaul University and later developed applications for the United States Air Force. Other past clients include Centene, Bayer, Bloomberg, and TransUnion. A leader with passion for technology and people, Kelly’s work is inspired by a user-centered design approach and an ever-evolving tech stack.

Sean Walsh

Managing Director & Co-founder at 1904labs

Sean has split his 30 plus year career between working in large organizations – IBM, Accenture, Cambridge Technology Partners, and Novell – and leading and/or co-founding several venture and private equity backed startups. He has provided solutions to Fortune 500 clients in a diverse set of industries.

In addition to servant leadership his areas of expertise include Sales, Operations, Lean Six Sigma (green belt), Agile Software Development, Human Centered Design and Service Design.

Sean is based in St. Louis and is married with three children. He is an avid runner having completed 17 marathons overall which includes a streak of seven straight Boston Marathons (2012 thru 2018). He is also on the board of the Cortex Innovation Community.