SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

SPEAKERS AT THE CLOUD ARCHITECTURE

CONFERENCE – SEPTEMBER 26, 2024

Bryan Ashley, VP, Product Marketing, Aviatrix

 

As a seasoned and dynamic technology executive and network engineer, I have cultivated a career defined by driving transformative initiatives and leading teams to unparalleled success. Throughout my journey, I have navigated the landscapes of both start-ups and renowned brands, earning a reputation as a trusted partner to CEOs and a catalyst for growth. In my recent role as Vice President of Product Management at Aviatrix, a cutting-edge technology startup, I was recruited to define and direct the product strategy to drive growth. I led a team of talented engineers and developers, ensuring that our product offerings aligned perfectly with the rapidly evolving needs of our target market. By shaping the roadmap for product development, I was able to ignite revenue growth and expansion, creating a core product strategy that significantly boosted customer consumption.

Kumar Harsh, AVP, International App Dev & Architecture Leader, CNA Insurance

 

Kumar Harsh has a close 20 years on experience in building and designing enterprise applications. He has worked on large IT initiatives for large financial institutions which includes CNA, VISA and AMEX. In his current role as the AVP for Solutions and Architecture at CNA he and his team is responsible for architecting and delivering global applications. He has worked cross various cloud initiatives in various regions across UK and Canada providing value to the business. He is based out of Chicago, USA with his family. 

Karthik Jambulingam, Sr. Director of Enterprise Architecture, Batteries Plus

 

 

As a highly motivated and passionate technology leader, I bring a wealth of expertise in developing and implementing technology strategies that align with business goals and objectives. With extensive experience leading teams, scaling IT execution, and collaborating with business leaders, I have a proven track record of delivering innovative solutions that drive growth and profitability.

 

My areas of expertise include spearheading digital transformation initiatives, delivering high-impact solutions for retail omnichannel platforms, cloud migration, microservices architecture, test automation, modernizing payments, and enterprise search solutions.

 

As a passionate mentor and coach, I am committed to empowering enterprise architects to maximize their potential and drive exceptional results. In summary, I am a dynamic and results-driven technology leader with a demonstrated ability to deliver transformative solutions that generate value for businesses.

Ray Koukari, Sr. Digital Specialist, Equinix

 

Ray has over fifteen years of leadership and hands-on expertise in Infrastructure and Security. He collaborates with clients, spanning from medium-sized non-profits to Fortune 10 companies. Ray’s forte lies in designing scalable infrastructure and cloud solutions, bolstering cybersecurity measures, and optimizing IT operations. His strategic problem-solving abilities and adept team management consistently yield exceptional results. Ray is a catalyst for innovation and efficiency, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional growth.

Marc Kreppel, Account Manager, Ctera

 

Marc is a creative sales executive with over 20 years of experience helping companies best leverage technology to achieve measurable business outcomes. Since starting a consulting business while in college, Marc developed passion for enabling client success and growth through adoption of technical solutions. He gained manufacturer and integrator solution selling expertise in the New York metro enterprise sales and financial services accounts. Marc’s focus on performance and cost optimization of technical solutions has fostered his success with excellent communication, relationships, and sales execution to support clients’ needs.

Lance Shaw, Industry Evangelist, Nasuni

 

Proven product and solutions marketing leader focused on enterprise software, cloud, data protection, and security technologies. Experienced at creating go-to-market strategies, positioning, and value propositions that resonate and differentiate in the hybrid cloud storage marketplace. 

Richard Shoobridge, Enterprise Solutions Architect, Rolls-Royce

 

Worked for several companies over my 50 years in the IT Architecture and Program Management field that covered several vertical markets including aerospace, manufacturing, financial, medical, warehousing, distribution, insurance, and transportation markets.

 

Most recent work has been with Rolls-Royce of North America as Enterprise Architect (for Application Development and Security), US Defense and Civil programs/projects, enterprise level cloud standardization & migration though the philosophy of ‘Cloud First’, AI/ML, FOSS standardization and support of other architects in tools/security/infrastructure spaces.

Derek Townsend, Cloud Solutions Architect, TierPoint

 

With over 20 years of experience, Derek has extensive experience architecting cloud-native solutions using Azure and AWS. In addition, Derek has a proven ability in designing solutions that increase efficiencies and reduce costs.

 

As a trusted advisor, Derek applies problem resolution, analytical and operational skills to all initiatives and develops strategic requirements and solutions for each project.

Nageswaran (Nag) Vaidyanathan, Former EVP CTO, Hexure, Former CTO, Duck Creek Technologies

 

With over 30 years of diverse technology experience, Nag Vaidyanathan is a Technology Executive leading high-impact teams in the US, Europe, India, and nearshore locations, driving multi-product engineering, innovative architecture, digital transformation, legacy modernization, and cloud-based solutions.

 

Nag’s technical expertise is complemented by a strategic vision that has driven impactful business outcomes. He is a published academic author in Augmented Reality, Cybersecurity, and Cloud Technologies. His leadership style is characterized by empathy, collaboration, and innovation working at the intersection of people, process and technology.

 

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Nag is actively involved in various board and advisory roles. He serves on the board of Health4Silvers, an elderly healthcare start-up in India, and is an advisor for CHRP Technologies, a loss prevention platform. He contributes to research as a member of the HBR Advisory Council and supports students and entrepreneurs through the Advisory Board of IACS and mentoring programs with Menttium Corporation.

 

Outside of work, his interests include helping the underprivileged in India, mentoring, global travel, Indian Classical music, building cross-cultural relationships, and teaching.

Florentin Zlatea, Head of Enterprise Architecture for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure, The Kraft Heinz Company

 

Florentin Zlatea is a seasoned security practitioner with a focus on the information security and infrastructure domains, comprising architecture, design, and implementation.

 

He began his career as a network systems engineer, and his enthusiasm for security got him into various IT and cybersecurity positions at companies such as Lucent Technologies, Alcatel- Lucent and Accenture.

Security is everyone’s responsibility, and as such, his objective is to help adopt this mind-set across the technology industry and assist in developing solutions with a strong security architecture as a vital component of success.

 

Florentin holds the position of Head of Enterprise Architecture for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure at Kraft Heinz Food Company and his areas of interest include cybersecurity frameworks, Zero Trust, Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture and Outcome-Driven Metrics.