CIO TOMORROW

2021 COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS

CIO Tomorrow will be following safety protocols based on CDC and local guidance.

For the safety of all attendees, masks or face-coverings will be required.

Additionally, the Columbus Business First staff will not be in attendance if they have tested positive for Covid-19, do not feel well, or have been exposed to anyone who has Covid or Covid-like symptoms within the past 14 days, and expect all event attendees to do the same.

In your attendance, you acknowledge that you are aware of the risks involved with attending this event during the COVID-19 pandemic and acknowledge that you are choosing to do so voluntarily.

Furthermore, you agree to waive and release Columbus Business First, American City Business Journals, Inc. or the Hyatt Regency Columbus from liability for any claim, including any claim related to Covid-19.

When you arrive at the conference, CIO Tomorrow will provide one of the following badge labels to show/share your preference for physical greetings with other conference attendees.

RED – No Contact – 6 feet apart. No exceptions

YELLOW – Elbows Only – Still being cautious

GREEN – Hi-Fives & Handshakes – Frequent Handwashing

SESSION ONE | LEADERSHIP

PANELIST

LACHANDRA BAKER

Senior Director, Employee Engagement & DEI
National Church Residences

Lachandra B. Baker, MBA, ABC, CTA (she/her) is the Senior Director of Employee Engagement & DEI at National Church Residences.

She received her bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University, majoring in Hospitality Management and Communications. She received her MBA with a Marketing specialization from the University of the Southwest. She is an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) and a Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) for the Greater Columbus Region. She is a graduate of Cornell University's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certification program and was recently named one of Columbus’ Future50 leaders.

Mrs. Baker is an award-winning communicator and four-time TEDx speaker/performer. She is very active in the community and volunteers through Experience Columbus and Besa for many events, activities, and festivals around the city.

In her free time, she enjoys experiencing new cultures, eating great food, and doing fun projects with her family.

SESSION ONE | LEADERSHIP

PANELIST

MERI BRACE

Vice President of People Success
Test Double

Meri Brace (she/her) is the Vice President of People Success at Test Double, a remote software consultancy across the US and Canada whose mission is to improve the way the world writes software. Meri’s focus is on building high performing teams who build great software.

She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Muskingum University, majoring in education and psychology. Meri recently joined Test Double after 17 years in the fast-paced, dynamic and constantly changing intersection of technology, business and people development. Her work has spanned startups, midsize, and large global organizations, and covered a variety of industries.

Meri serves on the National Board of Directors for Pink Ribbon Girls (a non-profit focused on supporting and empowering those who are currently in the fight against breast and gynecological cancers) and is an active member of TechLife Columbus, CultureFirst Columbus, RainbowUA, BREATHE Coalition (Understanding White Privilege) and the T200-LIFT Program.

In her free time, Meri enjoys the experiences created when she’s traveling, exploring the arts and food scene, and networking in the community.

SESSION ONE | LEADERSHIP

PANELIST

GREG TACCHETTI

Chief Information and Strategy Officer
State Auto Mutual Insurance Co

Gregory (Greg) A. Tacchetti, has been the State Automobile Insurance Companies (State Auto) Senior Vice President and Chief Information & Strategy Officer since August 2015. Greg was co-founder and owner of AssureStart, a company that sells small business insurance online, before joining State Auto in 2015. He was Chief Administrative Officer of Fireman's Fund Insurance Company and Allianz of America, and held senior operations, underwriting and finance roles with Safeco and GEICO.

Greg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Maryland and an Executive MBA in Business and Finance and Strategy from the University of Washington.

In his current role, Greg has been charged with transforming the State Auto IT organization and developing overall business strategy. As part of a larger transformation effort, he is also crafting a long-term plan to build a multimodal IT organization that can work across the enterprise to create systems architecture and revamp business processes to increase efficiencies, lower costs of system ownership, and make State Auto’s offerings more profitable.

He was named “One of the top 15 People to Watch in Insurance Technology” in 2015 by Insurance Networking News. 2014 winner of the IASA Technology Innovation Award. In 2019, the State Auto team earned a CIO100 top innovation award, and Greg was named the Most Admired CIO for Central Ohio in 2020.

SESSION ONE | LEADERSHIP

MODERATOR

MICHAEL BABB

Vice President, Information Technology
Columbus State Community College

Dr. Michael Babb is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Columbus State Community College in Columbus, Ohio. Michael joined the College in September of 2016, and serves as the executive officer of information technology services, including enterprise systems, technology support, infrastructure engineering and support, classroom technology, mobility, data security and more.

Previously, he was employed with IBM and AT&T for more than 20 years; in his last position he was the Executive Director of Global Service Delivery for AT&T’s worldwide web service offerings. He holds a doctorate from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, an MBA from Northern Illinois University, and a BS in Computer Science from North Central College.

SESSION ONE | STRATEGY

SPEAKER

SHAWN BECKER

Managing Director | Technology, Strategy & Advisory
Accenture

Specializing in standing up high-performing, product-based teams and organizations, Becker is a leader in Accenture’s cloud and agility business. His work in complex delivery has helped his clients positively impact more than 60 million customers. Becker has extensive experience shaping organizational transformations and also provides thought leadership for Accenture’s financial services enterprise agility capabilities.

SESSION ONE | TECHNOLOGY

SPEAKER

CHRIS BERK

CIO
Expedient

Chris Berk serves as Chief Information Officer at Expedient. He has more than 25 years of information technology and leadership experience. As CIO, Chris serves as a member of the Expedient senior leadership team focused on maintaining information systems functions and processes that enable reliable and secure IT infrastructure and positive client experiences. Prior to joining Expedient, Chris was CIO of Covetrus, where he served as a member of the executive leadership team and led enterprise infrastructure, business systems, and application development.

Additionally, Chris led IT efforts for M&A activities, including Covetrus’ IPO, and major global supply chain technology initiatives. Prior to his position at Covetrus, Chris held various technology leadership roles—including CTO, CIO, and Enterprise Program Management—across several industries, including health care and digital marketing.

Chris is a longstanding member of the Columbus CIO Forum and has served as a guest lecturer for the Central Ohio IT Leadership Development Program. He also served as both a judge and steering committee member for the TechColumbus Innovation Awards. Chris earned both an undergraduate degree in management information systems and an MBA from the Ohio State University.

When not working, Chris enjoys spending time with his family, skiing, traveling, watching Buckeye football, wine/beer/bourbon tasting, and riding his Suzuki Burgman. 

SESSION ONE | TECHNOLOGY

SPEAKER

JEFF SCHMIDT

VP, Cybersecurity & Trustworthiness
Covail

Jeff provides strategic direction and leadership to Covail’s cybersecurity and trustworthiness practice and contributes thought leadership on all topics risk, security, privacy, and trustworthiness.

He has been with Covail for five years. Jeff has more than 25 years of information security and risk experience, contributing to Microsoft, FBI, JAS Global Advisors, Authis, ICANN, Bank of America, The Ohio State University, and Delta Risk, A Chertoff Group Company. Jeff authored “The Microsoft Windows 2000 Security Handbook” and contributed to several books including “Cyber Security Policy Guidebook.” He is an adjunct professor of systems security engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology and a Zurich Cyber Risk Fellow, Cyber Statecraft Initiative, at The Atlantic Council.

Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science in computer information systems and an MBA from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.

In 2008, he completed "the world's toughest foot race" – 135 miles through Death Valley and 8,360 feet up the side of Mt. Whitney.