PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly moving from experimentation to enterprise-wide transformation, but what does successful implementation actually look like inside today’s organizations?
Join senior leaders from innovative companies who are actively deploying AI solutions across finance and business operations as they share their experiences, lessons learned, and early results. Through a moderated discussion, attendees will gain an inside look at how organizations are identifying high-impact use cases, navigating implementation challenges, leveraging emerging AI agents and autonomous workflows, and measuring business value.
Complementing these practitioner perspectives, industry experts will provide broader market insights and observations from working with organizations at various stages of AI maturity. Together, the panel will explore common themes, practical frameworks, and actionable strategies that finance leaders can apply within their own organizations.
Whether your company is just beginning its AI journey or already advancing toward more sophisticated agent-driven capabilities, this session will help you separate hype from reality and better understand what’s next in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- How leading organizations are successfully deploying AI across finance and business operations
- Key lessons learned, challenges encountered, and strategies for driving adoption
- Emerging trends in AI agents, automation, and autonomous workflows
- Practical frameworks for identifying high-value AI opportunities
- How finance leaders can position their organizations to capitalize on the next wave of AI innovation
SPEAKERS
Michael Bayer | EVP & Chief Financial Officer | Wasabi
Michael joined the Wasabi team after spending 25+ years in various finance, operations, technology and business development roles, primarily for venture-backed technology and clean tech companies. His most recent role was at iZotope Inc. where he served as the CFO. Prior to that, he managed the IPO for MotherNature.com and acquisitions for LightChip and Revivio. Michael co-founded RPM Communications, where he led the launch of a 100,000-user mobile social network.
A chartered financial analyst, Michael is on the Steering Committee of The CFO Leadership Council and a frequent speaker and organizer of panels for CFOs and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and other financial publications. As an adjunct lecturer at Babson College, Michael teaches corporate finance to both graduate and undergraduate students. Michael holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BS from Babson College (finance and investments), and he previously studied computer science and economics at Brandeis University. He was honored as a 2018 CFO of the Year from the Boston Business Journal.
Marcos Bento | Senior Director of Business Intelligence | Wasabi
Marcos Bento is Senior Director of Business Intelligence at Wasabi, where he leads the company’s enterprise AI and autonomous systems. Since joining in 2022, he has built and deployed agentic workflows across Sales, Marketing, Finance, and other business functions, and designed the AI enablement program that put those tools into daily use.
Before Wasabi, he worked in M&A, early-stage investment, and strategy roles at companies in the US, Singapore, and Brazil.
He holds an MBA from Babson College and a degree in Business Administration from UFSC in Brazil. He lives in New York City with his wife.
Jim Blackwell | AI Market Leader | BDO
Jim Blackwell is the AI Market Leader in the BDO AI Advisory practice, where he helps organizations translate the promise of artificial intelligence into practical business outcomes. With more than two decades of experience in technology strategy, architecture, and delivery, Jim works with executive teams across the mid-market and enterprise to identify high-impact opportunities for AI, automation, and advanced analytics.
Since joining BDO in 2018, Jim has led numerous AI strategy engagements, helping organizations move from experimentation to measurable business value. His work focuses on building AI-enabled operating models, guiding leadership teams through governance and risk considerations, and identifying practical use cases that improve decision-making, operational efficiency, and growth.
Jim regularly advises CFOs, COOs, and executive leadership teams on how to responsibly adopt emerging technologies while aligning them with long-term business strategy. He is known for helping organizations move beyond isolated pilots to implement scalable AI capabilities that deliver measurable impact.
A frequent speaker and thought leader, Jim presents to executive audiences, industry conferences, and professional organizations on topics including AI strategy, agentic systems, automation, and the future of enterprise operations. His presentations focus on translating complex technology into practical insights business leaders can act on.
Prior to focusing on AI strategy, Jim led large-scale initiatives in cloud transformation, infrastructure modernization, data platforms, and enterprise automation. His background as a hands-on technologist gives him a pragmatic perspective on how innovation actually gets implemented inside organizations.
Jim began his technology career in 1998 as a Microsoft Systems Engineer and continues to work at the intersection of business strategy and emerging technology, helping organizations build practical pathways from innovation to measurable results.
EDUCATION
MBA in Data Analytics from the University of Southern Indiana
Bachelor of Arts from Ambassador University
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SPONSOR PARTNERS
Thank you to our valued Sponsor Partners. This event is open to members, sponsors, and special guests.
