Bennett Borden

Founder & CEO
Clarion AI Partners

Bennett Borden is a globally recognized authority on the legal, technological and policy implications of AI. His career has focused on helping clients use the power of AI to drive strategic outcomes and improve business operations.

As a lawyer, data scientist, and AI ethicist, Bennett has made significant contributions to the field of AI governance and algorithmic bias testing. He has built a reputation as a trusted counsel to major generative AI companies and Fortune 500 companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Amazon, and dozens of others.

His deep understanding of AI governance has helped him establish programs in a variety of industries, including technology, insurance, financial services, labor and employment, manufacturing, retail, health, and life sciences.

Bennett’s background in US Intelligence, and his roles as Chief Data Scientist and Partner at DLA Piper, and Founder and Chair of the Information Governance Initiative, have shaped his understanding that electronic information reflects human thought, choice and conduct. He has developed strong relationships with US Federal and State legislators & regulators and governmental entities worldwide, and has been influential in the writing and passing of several AI regulatory laws.

Bennett’s passion for AI has led him to open a boutique AI Law Firm that specializes in helping promote AI for Good and AI for All, ensuring that AI technology isn’t reserved solely for the wealthiest companies and the largest law firms.

Lisa Hooker

Managing Partner
Global Technology Practice Leader
ZRG Partners, LLC

Lisa Hooker is located in the Austin office of ZRG Partners and is the Global Technology Practice Leader and a member of the Board practice. She is also an active member of the firm’s Private Equity Practice and the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Practice. She brings a career spanning more than 20 years of executive search consulting and has delivered board and leadership projects for Fortune 500, mid-cap, and SMEs as well as private equity, pre-IPO, and venture-backed clients in the technology sector. Lisa serves as a trusted advisor to the C-suite and boards of directors on topics including CEO succession, board efficiency, director onboarding, and leadership assessment and development.

Prior to joining ZRG Partners, Lisa was a Partner at Odgers Berndtson and was a founding Partner of BridgeStreet Partners executive search. She also served as the Vice President and North American Technology Practice Leader for A.T. Kearney Executive Search and Managing Partner, Technology Practice Leader, and Member of the Board of Directors for Ray & Berndtson. Lisa began her career at MCI Telecommunications, where she held numerous sales and marketing roles. She lived in Los Angeles for nearly a decade and New York for 20 years prior to moving to Austin.

Passionate about diversity as well as connecting businesses with exceptional talent, Lisa brings dedicated expertise in communications, AI/Machine Learning, MarTech, cloud, cybersecurity, IoT, and SaaS. A strategic and collaborative business leader with extensive, broad-based experience aligning talent to achieve organizational goals, Lisa is focused on delivering superior business results to her clients.

Hollie Castro

Founder
HC Advice

Hollie Castro is a distinguished business leader with over 25 years’ experience enhancing shareholder value through strategic business growth and transformation at global companies. A five-time Chief Human Resources and Administration Officer and trusted Advisor to the C-Suite and Boards with experience spanning Fortune 500 companies to late-stage start-ups, Hollie has driven ROI and governance of talent investments while architecting cultures that propel IPO readiness and global expansion.

Hollie has exemplified strategic leadership across multiple key transitions in her career. She played an instrumental role in leading companies through the shift from private to publicly traded status, including at Groupe Dynamite and YETI, ensuring a seamless transition and long-term growth. Hollie also oversaw the successful privatization of BMC Software during its sale to Bain Capital and Insight Partners. Her leadership was pivotal in the global market expansion of Groupe Dynamite, YETI, BMC Software, and Talisman Energy, driving international market entry and positioning these companies for success. Additionally, Hollie’s experience spans global mergers and acquisitions, having overseen more than 25 acquisitions, including major deals with Miro, BMC Software, Cisco, and GE. Throughout her career, she has worked closely with top-tier investors, including Accel and ICONIQ Capital at Miro and Cortec Group at YETI, helping to structure and secure strategic investments that fueled business growth.

Pradeep Ittycheria

Chief Technology Officer
Alegeus

Pradeep Ittycheria is the Chief Technology Officer at Alegeus, a Vista Equity company, bringing over 25 years of experience as a product-oriented technologist, driving innovation and growth across private equity-backed companies.

Known for leveraging cloud-native architectures, AI, and data science, Pradeep has delivered impactful solutions, including developing a pre-paid payments wallet, modernizing banking platforms at Kasasa, and creating high-performance ad-tech platforms at Vericast. Pradeep is an empathetic, data-driven leader who builds trust through transparency and authentic communication. He received his MBA from Rice University and holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science.

Nir Rikovitch

CPO
MARA

Nir Rikovitch is Chief Product Officer at MARA, where he leads product management and strategy of digital-energy technologies into production-grade systems.

Previously, he served as Director of Product Management at Blue River Technology (John Deere), co-founding Deere’s autonomy effort and shaping product strategy for autonomous construction machinery and advanced driver-assistance systems. Earlier roles include product leadership in autonomous vehicles at Cruise, where he focused on internal tooling and ML deployment velocity. He also held R&D and product posts in industrial automation and robotics, such as SkyX and Clearpath Robotics and is a named inventor on multiple manufacturing , multiagent and autonomy patents.

Mark Schmitz

Senior Partner
Culture Practice
ZRG Partners, LLC

Mark is a dynamic and accomplished executive with a proven track record as an entrepreneur, corporate leader, and consultant. His career spans decades of partnering with global organizations across diverse industries to accelerate growth, enhance culture, and deliver measurable shareholder value.

Known for his expertise in leadership, talent, and strategic consulting, Mark has held impactful roles at industry-leading firms, including MindGym, Korn Ferry, KinderCare Education (formerly Knowledge Universe), Right Management, and PRC Inc. In these positions, he has guided organizations through transformative talent and organizational initiatives, driving sustainable success through innovative solutions.

A recognized authority in organizational transformation, Mark is passionate about helping leaders unlock their potential, foster thriving workplace cultures, and navigate the complexities of today’s business environment.

Thomas Seifert

CFO
Cloudflare

Thomas Seifert is Chief Financial officer of Cloudflare where he oversees the company’s worldwide finance, IT, and data science organizations. Before joining Cloudflare he served as chief financial officer of Symantec. Prior to Symantec he served as chief financial officer at Advanced Micro Devices where he additionally served as interim chief executive officer. Previously, he served in a variety of executive leadership roles before at Infineon and Siemens. He serves on the board of directors of ICEYE, Fruitist and Personio. Mr. Seifert holds a B.A. in Business Administration and an M.B.A. from Friedrich Alexander University, and an M.A. in Economics from Wayne State University.