Taking place during the Gartner Summit, CDO Magazine hosted leading data, analytics, and AI executives for its Orlando Roundtable Exchange at Charley’s Steak House on March 10. Centered on the theme, “The Trust Stack: Governance, Access, Security, and What Agentic AI Demands Next,” conversations explored the foundational capabilities organizations must reinforce to support trusted data, responsible access, and secure AI deployment in an increasingly agent-driven landscape.

Leaders discussed the growing pressure to operationalize agentic AI, emphasizing the need for strong data controls before allowing AI systems to take autonomous actions in production. The conversations also delved into how governance models must evolve to become faster and more enabling, while balancing access, security boundaries around sensitive data, and the importance of treating critical datasets as reliable, well-governed data products.

Sharing his experience, Rob Golden, Great American Insurance Group Chief Data & Analytics Officer, says, “It was great to connect with old friends and make new connections at the CDO Magazine event in Orlando. I enjoyed the opportunity to share a meal, exchange ideas, and learn what’s driving priorities for leaders from the U.S. Army, one of the largest health networks in New York, and some of the industry’s most innovative technologists.”

For Chris Powers, Citi VP, Private Equity & Real Assets, what impressed him most was how authentic the conversations were. “At a time when AI is advancing so quickly, there is a clear recognition that we cannot allow the human dimension — trust, adoption, and impact — to be overshadowed by the technology itself.”

“That resonated deeply with me because data is my what, but people are my why,” Powers adds. “It was a privilege to be part of such a thoughtful exchange with leaders who are shaping the future of AI with both intention and humanity.” 

Corey Maxner, CDO Magazine Sr. Director, Community & Operations, highlights, “Bringing leaders together in Orlando for this Roundtable Exchange reinforced an important reality—agentic AI demands a stronger trust stack. Governance, access, and security are no longer back-office concerns; they are the foundation for responsible innovation and enterprise-scale AI adoption. It was inspiring to hear leaders share practical approaches to strengthening the trust stack across their organizations.”

Summing up the event, Barr Moses, Monte Carlo CEO & Co-founder, says, “CDO Magazine consistently convenes an incredible caliber of leaders, and this dinner was no exception. The conversations were thoughtful, candid, and deeply grounded in the real challenges data and AI leaders are navigating today. One idea that particularly stayed with me was the shift from thinking about ‘human in the loop’ to ‘human in the lead.’ As we build more agentic AI systems, the real opportunity is designing them so humans aren’t just checkpoints, but the ones setting direction, defining guardrails, and ultimately owning outcomes. The energy in the room reflected a shared excitement around building AI that amplifies human judgment rather than sidelining it, while also reinforcing how critical full visibility into data and AI systems is to building AI that organizations can truly trust.”

Special thanks to Monte Carlo, Databricks, Quest, Cyera, Qlik, and TrustLogix for their partnership in making the event a success.

*Rob Golden is a member of the CDO Magazine Global Board.

Executives attending the CDO Magazine Orlando Roundtable Exchange included: 

Serguei Antonov, NYU Langone Health Director, Data Governance & Management; Teddy Benson, Universal Destinations & Experiences Director, Data Architecture & Platforms; Rehgan Bleile, Women in Analytics Founder; Adelson Bredy, BNY VP, Data Management & Quantitative Analysis Strategic Sourcing; Jay Como, T. Rowe Price Global Head, Data Governance & Market Data Services; Rex Davis, RBC Chief Data Officer; Jasmine de Gaia, Wells Fargo Managing Director, Head, AI & Enterprise Data Assets, Chief Data Office; George Firican, The University of British Columbia Director, Data Governance & Business Intelligence; Jessica Fox, Citi SVP, Analytics & Business Data Enablement; Wendy Gilbert, Airlines Reporting Corporation Director, Data Services; Rob Golden, Great American Insurance Group Chief Data & Analytics Officer; Michael Grimes, Northwestern Mutual VP, Data Engineering & Governance; Jackie Guan, Crate & Barrel SVP, Data Analytics & AI; Gavin Hupp, Margaritaville at Sea Head, Digital & Data; Leighton Johnson, UK HealthCare SVP & Executive Director, Enterprise Data & Analytics; Abhishek Karanam, MV Transportation Director, Data & AI; Shailesh Khanal, NYU Langone Health Director, Enterprise Data Warehouse; Stephanie Lenzner, Baptist Health VP, Digital Data & AI; Kristen Loesel, Cardinal Health Director, Finance Analytics & Data Management; Francois Payen, Trane Technologies Supply Leader, Master Data Management; Chris Powers, Citi VP, Private Equity & Real Assets; Salema Rice, CDO Today Founder & CEO; Kris Saling, Manpower & Reserve Affairs U.S. Army Chief Technology Advisor; Pankaj Singal, First Citizens Bank Executive Director, Enterprise Data & Analytics; Kate Strachnyi, DATAcated Manager, Speaker Hub; Trista Stuve-Gravenish, Mayo Clinic Director, Data Library Metadata Stewardship Enablement; Scott Taylor, MetaMeta Data Storyteller; Sarah Vande Loo, Mayo Clinic Director, Data Literacy & Digital Fluency; Arunkumar Varadarajan, HF Sinclair Analytics Manager; Ranjit Vidhani, Flex VP, AI Strategy & Transformation; Andreas Welsch, Intelligence Briefing Founder & Chief Human Agentic AI Officer; Ashleigh Blalock, Monte Carlo Head, Demand; Mike Ebbers, Monte Carlo Strategic Account Executive; John Gathercole, Monte Carlo Regional VP, East; Tim Miller, Monte Carlo Chief Revenue Officer; Barr Moses, Monte Carlo CEO; Robin Sutara, Databricks Field Chief Data Strategy Officer; Thomas Loughran, Databricks Sr. Manager, Field Engineering Financial Services; Susan Laine, Quest Software Chief Technologist; Randy Rouse, Quest Software Field CTO; Laz Macias, Cyera Director, Sales Engineering; Thomas Mazzaferro, Cyera Chief Data Officer; Ernie Bono, Qlik Enterprise Account Executive; Adams Ropp, Qlik Regional Sales Director, Southeast; Ganesh Kirti, Trustlogix Founder & CTO; Ron Longo, Trustlogix CEO; Valerie Logan, Data Society Group Chief Strategy Officer; Corey Maxner, CDO Magazine Sr. Director, Community & Operations; Donna Medeiros, Data Society VP, AI & Data Advisory Head; Anthony Losanno, CDO Magazine SVP, Sales; and John Volupas, CDO Magazine Account Director.