SAP Public Sector Summit 2026

Kevin O’Leary’s success story began in his native Canada, “with a big idea and zero cash.” In 1986, he founded SoftKey Software Products, later to be called The Learning Company, in his Toronto basement. Under O’Leary’s leadership, the company became a giant in its sector before it was acquired for $4.2 billion. In 2000, O’Leary founded O’Leary Ventures, a generalist venture capital investment platform that has since invested in start-ups and early-stage companies across virtually every sector. In 2003, he co-founded Storage Now, a leading developer of climate-controlled storage facilities, which was later acquired for $110 million. His next investment, Stream Global Services, was later acquired for $820 million.        

More About Kevin O’Leary

In 2006, O’Leary joined the Canadian cast of Dragon’s Den, the international business reality show and forerunner of the U.S. Shark Tank franchise. His tough critiques and brutal honesty made him a popular judge. In 2009, he was invited to join the founding cast of ABC’s Shark Tank, alongside Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, and Barbara Corcoran. Shark Tank continues to be one of the most popular television programs of all time, garnering multiple awards and nominations, including four Emmy awards. Reflecting his commitment to “eco-preneurship,” O’Leary also co-hosted The Discovery Channel’s Project Earth series, which explored radical ideas to combat global warming.

O’Leary currently serves as chairman for a portfolio of companies that reflect his guiding principles for business. They include venture capital investment platform O’Leary Ventures; Beanstox, an automated internet-based investment advisory service; and O’Shares Investments, which provides ETFs for long-term wealth management. He is the founder of O’Leary Financial Group, and Chief Sommelier of award-winning O’Leary Fine Wines. Since 2021, O’Leary has also been a strategic investor in WonderFi, now one of the largest regulated crypto asset trading platforms in the world.

A strong believer in financial education and fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs, Kevin O’Leary is the author of a bestselling series of books: Cold Hard Truth; Men, Women and Money; and Family, Kids and Money. He has spoken to future entrepreneurs at Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Notre Dame, Waterloo and McGill. Corporate speaking audiences have included Ernst & Young, MassMutual, First Third Bank, Constant Contact, Comcast, Zendesk, Cisco Systems, National Conference of State Legislatures, and ExxonMobil.

O’Leary serves on the investment committee of Boston’s prestigious 200-year-old Hamilton Trust. He is an avid chef, wine lover, world traveler, photographer, electric guitarist, guitar collector, and die-hard New England Patriots fan.

Mr. O’Leary received an honours bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and psychology from the University of Waterloo and an MBA in entrepreneurship from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.

Ms. Rosie Bauer is the Assistant Deputy for Acquisition and Systems Management (Data – Engineering – Software) under the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology). In this position, Ms. Bauer supports the implementation of modern software practices including agile software development and DevSecOps, data centricity, and digital engineering across the DASM and ASA(ALT).

Her previous assignments within Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) Software Engineering Center (SEC) included Division Chief for the Intelligence Support Division (ISD) and Communications Network Division (CND). During her time with SEC, she was responsible for providing cyber compliant software quality product to the DCGS family of systems within the Program Executive Office Intelligence Electronic Warfare & Sensors (IEWS) and multiple Army tactical network family of systems within the Program Executive Office Command Control Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) portfolios. She oversaw multiple branch chiefs, 120+ Army civilians and 80+ contractors with annual budget in excess of $84 - $100 million per year.

Her previous assignment was as Branch Chief for the Tactical Network Operations within Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Space & Terrestrial Communications Directorate (S&TCD) where she was responsible for the research and development of the next generation cyber security capabilities resulting $5 million per year increase of reimbursable support and the oversight of 20 civilians and 10 contractors. Over the course of her 22 years of federal service, Ms. Bauer has held many positions of different responsibilities to include Associate Director of the Research and Development portfolio within S&TCD, and Branch Chief of Network Operations Branch. Ms. Bauer led the requirement, and approval of the first multi-Directorate and multi-Command technology base program totaling $60M over the course of 4 years, within what used to be known as U.S. Army -Communications, Electronic, Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC).

Former additional assignments include project leadership, test engineer, and systems engineer for the United States Army CERDEC S&TCD supporting the various programs within PEO C3T, PM TR and PM TN. Ms. Bauer also supporting field exercises as part of various Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programs.

Ms. Bauer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Systems Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, John, and 3 children, William 22, Alexa 20, and Gabriela 11

At U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Mr. Sanjeev “Sonny” Bhagowalia currently holds the Senior Executive Service (SES) position of Assistant Commissioner (AC), Office of Information and Technology (OIT) and CBP Chief Information Officer (CIO). Mr. Bhagowalia has over 40 years of senior technical, managerial, and executive leadership experience in private industry, the U.S. Government, and state government. Mr. Bhagowalia has spent over 26 of those years in senior executive capacity, including over 22 years as a member of the SES, one year as a Senior Level (SL) in the Federal Government, and three years as a Senior Executive in State Government. He has held key CIO leadership roles at five government agencies: Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, State of Hawaii, U.S. Department of Treasury, and CBP.

He also served in senior executive leadership roles as a Deputy Associate Administrator for Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies at General Services Administration, and as a Program Management Executive / Assistant Director at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Bhagowalia also spent 14 years in Industry at Boeing, a Fortune 30 company, ultimately serving for five years in senior technical leadership roles as a Chief Engineer / Manager and as an honorary Senior Principal Engineer in the Boeing Company.

He has used his knowledge of Information Technology / Information Resource Management (IRM), cybersecurity, and business process re-engineering to transform and secure organizations, and has helped the Federal CIO / Chief Technology Officer to roll out foundational White House Government-wide initiatives such as Open Data, Federal Cloud, FedRAMP, and the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative.

Mr. Bhagowalia has received over 50 awards from the U.S. Government and Industry, including a rare distinction of two Presidential Rank Awards for Meritorious Executive Service; three Federal 100 Awards; four Golden Gov Executive of the Year awards (including three in a row); two Wash100 awards; State Gov Executive of the Year; Government CIO of the Year; Government Innovator of the Year; NASA Silver Snoopy; NASA Award of Merit; Asian American Chamber of Commerce Elite Titan; Service to the Citizen; and the White House Champion of Change. He led the team that won the Chief Information Officer 100 award for data.gov; and “Best of the Web” State Portal award from Center for Digital Government for Hawaii.gov.

He was inducted into the Boeing Technical Excellence Fellowship Program in 2014, recognizing the top one percent of engineers and scientists in the Boeing Company; the 2014 Federal Enterprise Architecture Certification Institute Hall of Fame; and the 2015 National Defense University IRM College Hall of Fame. Mr. Bhagowalia has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering (EE) and a Master of Science (MS) Degree in EE from Louisiana State University, and an MS in IRM from Syracuse University. He is also a twice-distinguished graduate from the National Defense University, U.S. Department of Defense, with an IRM Diploma and Federal CIO Certificate.

Anil (Neil) Chaudhry is a Senior Advisor at the USDOT Highly Automated Systems Safety Center of Excellence (HASS COE) specializing in artificial intelligence. He is currently on detail from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), where he is the Senior Advisor for Artificial Intelligence. Neil joined PHMSA after serving as a Fellow in the White House Leadership Development Program at the Office of the National Cyber Director in the Executive Office of the President. Prior to his assignment at the White House, Neil was the Director for Federal AI Implementations at the Federal AI Center of Excellence within the Technology Transformation Services (TTS) at the General Services Administration (GSA). In this role, he advised multiple federal departments, agencies, and entities on establishing mature data governance and management practices; developing innovative approaches for leveraging data as a strategic asset; and laying the foundation for advancing data discovery, access, and use through artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other emerging technologies. Neil also served in critical leadership positions within US Customs and Border Protection, and as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Defense Business Transformation Agency. Prior to joining federal service, he served as an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps and a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Transportation Corps. Neil volunteers his time with non-profits that provide career opportunities to under-represented populations in technical fields such as robotics and data analytics. He also serves as a mentor in various veteran-focused organizations and causes, and is a certified Project Management Professional and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Practitioner. Neil received a J.D. in Labor Law from Western New England University, an M.S. in National Security Strategy from National Defense University, an M.S. in Management Information Systems from Florida Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in Architectural Engineering from The City College of New York.

Ms. Ashley Evans is the Director of Data and Digital Transformation within the Department of Navy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller), Financial Management Systems (FMS). In this capacity, she is responsible for digital transformation solutions for the Department of Navy financial management workforce, including data, analytics, and systems modernization projects that meet the needs of the warfighter.

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Evans served as a Highly Qualified Expert (HQE) in the role of Chief Product Officer for Business Analytics and later for Algorithmic Warfare at the Department of Defense Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (DoD CDAO). There, she was responsible for the overall product strategy for all CDAO platforms and capabilities offered as a service to the DoD enterprise. Ms. Evans conducted a large-scale user research and re-architecture effort of the enterprise data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) platform known as Advana to best support user needs at scale. She also launched Advana University and countless other data, analytics, and artificial intelligence user support services, all while overseeing a nearly $200M budget.

Before that role, as an HQE, she was the Strategy and Operations Director for the DoD Office of the Undersecretary of Defense, Comptroller (OUSD(C)); she authored and launched the first-ever 2022-2026 DoD-wide Financial Management (FM) Strategy on behalf of OUSD(C) with a five-year outlook and a transformation program focused on delivering unified campaigns and initiatives. Additionally, as a co-founder of the Advana platform that was grown from within OUSD(C), she was responsible for authoring the first Advana Strategy, developing a strategic planning framework to align priorities across 500+ analytics application development teams to common outcomes, and launching countless user support services which directly led to 1,000% exponential growth of Advana’s user base during her tenure. She also co-founded Executive Analytics on Advana to bring DoD-wide performance metrics for review to the Deputy Secretary of Defense (DEPSECDEF) via the Deputy’s Management Action Group (DMAG).

Prior to her tenure in the public sector, Ms. Evans held several financial management positions in the private sector where she led large financial management transformation projects in the automotive, utilities, technology, professional services, consumer products, and pharmaceutical industries.

Ms. Evans holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Seton Hall University with concentrations in Finance, Management, and a minor in Asian Studies.

Mr. Justin Fanelli is the CTO for the Dept of Navy and the Technical Director (TD) of PEO Digital. As CTO, his office is laser focused on measurably improving technology-driven mission outcomes within the Dept of Navy. As TD, his Program Executive Office is expediting the performant, secure transformation of enterprise information technology infrastructure. Central to both of these roles is unleashing the private-public mesh to innovate faster with higher value on investment outcomes than ever before seen. He currently serves as an Advisor for various national Science and Technology agencies and advisory boards inside and outside of government.

Within Dept of Navy roles, Mr Fanelli’s team has recently been recognized for transforming modern service delivery including multi-billion dollars savings and leap ahead impacts with the Etter Award. Within Defense Healthcare, Mr. Fanelli’s teams delivered the first one-stop data enterprise for revolutionized healthcare and research outcomes. Previous roles for Mr. Fanelli have included Chief Data Architect for Defense Health, Technical Director for Navy Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education (MPTE), Executive Lead for Navy’s Digital Transformation in 5G and DevSecOps, Service Chiefs Fellow at the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), Principal Engineer for Navy Enterprise Business Systems, and DOD Chief Systems Engineer for Command and Control (C2).

Outside of the office, Mr. Fanelli has most recently taught graduate courses at Georgetown University. He has lectured at a dozen other universities including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Dartmouth and Penn. He advises on innovation and recently gave a TED talk on innovation adoption; ask him about what the Innovation Adoption Kit can do for you. He holds a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, a Masters degree in Electrical and Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and is a Senior Executive Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is certified in Lean Six Sigma, Agile Development, GIAC Security Leadership, Defense Acquisition University Engineering and Program Management, has served as Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on Technology (MCOT) Board Member, North Catholic High School Alumni Association President, currently serves as an advisor to National Science Foundation startups, a partner at NextGen Ventures, volunteer and speaker at TechImpact, AFCEA and is a member of the Cosmos Club. Recent awards include National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Award, Civilian Exemplary Achievement Award, Secretary of the Navy’s Innovation Award, Project Management Institute’s Project of the Year, Federal Health IT Innovation Award and he is a Fed100, two time Defense50 and FedHealth100 honoree. He lives in Arlington, VA and loves book recommendations.

Ms. Alaleh Jenkins is currently Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller), where she oversees the management of the Department of the Navy's (DON's) annual budget exceeding $257 billion while leading the DON's community of over 10,000 financial managers. She spearheads the DON's financial management transformation, including the financial statement audit and modernization of financial systems. These efforts support mission accomplishment for Fleet commands, Marine Expeditionary Forces and all naval forces within the Department. She also serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) where she launched the DON's Financial Management strategy to improve and transform DON Financial Management operations.

Previously, Ms. Jenkins served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Operations), where she was responsible for the DON accounting and financial management matters; her primary responsibility was developing and implementing Department-wide accounting and finance policies and procedures as well as overseeing the Department’s financial statement audit. Ms. Jenkins also served as Director, DON Office of the Chief Management Officer. She served as the principal executive to the Under Secretary of the Navy (UNSECNAV) on all matters related to business transformation of the DON with a specific focus on advancing progress toward auditability.

In December 2014, Ms. Jenkins was appointed to Senior Executive Service while serving as the Assistant Deputy Chief Financial Officer (ADCFO) within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) (OUSD(C)). She provided direct support to the Deputy Chief Financial Officer on developing and interpreting DoD accounting and finance policy and promoting standard financial management processes and systems, as well as ensuring an enterprise-wide audit strategy was properly implemented. While serving in the OUSD(C), Ms. Jenkins served as the Director for Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR). In this position, she was responsible for advising the Deputy Chief Financial Officer on all issues related to financial management reform and audit.

Prior to becoming the FIAR Director, Ms. Jenkins served as a client service director with PricewaterhouseCoopers. In this position, she was responsible for assisting DoD clients in the development and implementation of solutions to improve financial practices and prepare for auditability through discovery and remediation, driving change at all organizational levels within the organization.

Ms. Jenkins is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Defense Financial Manager. She holds a Defense Financial Management Certification, Level 3, and is an accomplished leader with more than twenty-eight years of experience in federal and private sector financial statement audit, business transformation, and large-scale and complex financial management engagements. Ms. Jenkins has received various personal awards, including the Presidential Rank Award, Secretary of the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service, the Association of Government Accountants Achievement of the Year Award, the American Society of Military Comptrollers Team Achievement for Distinguished Performance, the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board Pillar Award, Washington Exec's Pinnacle Awards DoD Government Executive of the Year.

Mr. James Johnson was assigned as the Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) and Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) on March 24, 2024 and September 8, 2026.

As the PAE/DCIO, Mr. Johnson is responsible for the management and oversight of DLA's Major Automated Information Systems programs. He is the corporate provider of acquisition management services and provides overall direction and guidance for the development, acquisition, testing, systems integration, product improvement, and fielding for assigned DLA programs. DLA’s portfolio also includes acquisition projects and programs, which Mr. Johnson manages on behalf of Department of War-wide sponsors.

Before being assigned as the PAE/DCIO, Mr. Johnson’s most recent assignment was as the Director, Strategic Capabilities and Processes Office, responsible for leading the PAE/DCIO’s strategic direction in achieving the DLA Digital-Business Transformation as well as managing the agency’s Business Capability Management process. In addition, Mr. Johnson was responsible for the review of the health of all programs within the PAE/DCIO. Prior to his tenure as the Director of Strategic Capabilities and Processes Office, Mr. Johnson held a variety of increasingly responsible positions at DLA, including Portfolio Manager, Financial Management and Human Resources, responsible for the oversight, acquisition expertise and lifecycle sustainment of multiple programs and agency applications. Mr. Johnson has also held numerous Program Management positions, where he was responsible for the acquisition, development and lifecycle management of both DoW and DLA programs.

Mr. Johnson retired from the Marine Corps after serving for 22 years, where he held a variety of IT leadership billets. Mr. Johnson’s final tour was as the Protocol Officer, Marine Barracks, Washington,

D.C. Upon his separation from the Marine Corps, Mr. Johnson worked as a Technical Integrator at SAIC in support of Marine Corps Systems Command. He entered federal civilian service in May 2009 as a procurement team lead with the Marine Corps System Command, where he was responsible for managing internet technology procurements for all operational Marine Corps units. Mr. Johnson was promoted in April 2010 as the Project Lead for the entire Marine Corps IT Procurement Process. In this role, he managed the Marine Corps Commercial Off-the-Shelf IT procurement process used by over 50 programs of record, and all stations, posts, and bases within the Marine Corps enterprise.

Mr. Johnson holds a Masters of Science degree in Information Systems Management from Colorado Technical University, a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree in Computer Information Systems from Campbell University, and is DAU certified at level three in Program Management. Mr. Johnson has received numerous awards to include the Navy Accommodation Medal (multiple awards), and the Navy Achievement Medal (multiple awards).

Lauren Knausenberger is a technology executive and corporate board director with experience advancing technology and transformation within mission-critical government and defense environments. She currently serves as Chief Business Officer for Defense Unicorns, a $1B defense technology startup that makes it easy to rapidly and securely deploy mission-critical software across the enterprise and to disconnected and tactical edge environments.

She also serves on the board of EnerSys (NYSE: ENS), where she chairs the Cyber and AI Committee, and advises Colossal Biosciences, private capital, and the government on technology, cybersecurity, and growth across energy, biotechnology, and defense sectors.

Previously, Ms. Knausenberger served as Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at SAIC, which provides engineering, digital, artificial intelligence and mission solutions across the defense, space, civilian and intelligence markets.  In her role at SAIC, Ms. Knausenberger led strategy, AI-enabled transformation, rapid capability development, strategic technology partnerships, and SAIC Ventures.

Prior to SAIC, Ms. Knausenberger was Chief Information Officer of the Department of the Air Force, where she was responsible for Enterprise IT, Data and Artificial Intelligence, and Cybersecurity, and supported 20,000 cyber operations and support personnel around the globe with a portfolio valued at $17B. She was responsible for the cybersecurity strategy, policy, risk management, and overall posture of the Department’s diverse global technology enterprise.  She was also responsible for the digital transformation and modernization of the enterprise, including modernization of networks, cloud development and migration, software development, data modernization, AI and Analytics, and digital learning platforms.

Ms. Knausenberger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Decision and Information Sciences from the University of Maryland, and a Master of Business Administration from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two young daughters. They enjoy traveling the world, listening to music, and trying great local food.

Mr. Gregory G. Koval is a member of the Senior Executive Service, serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management Systems (DASN FMS). He is responsible for the portfolio management and resourcing of financial management systems for the Department of the Navy (DON). This role includes completing current legacy system migrations to Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), supporting both Navy General Fund and DON Working Capital Fund audit activities by implementing advanced analytics, and upgrading the DON’s financial management capabilities in the next generation ERP+ system.

Prior to becoming the DASN FMS, Mr. Koval was the Assistant Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources (Resources), Headquarters Marine Corps, Pentagon. He served as the Senior Accounting, Audit, and Resources Advisor to the Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources, the Chief Financial Officer of the Marine Corps. Mr. Koval led the Marine Corps to a historic first unmodified audit opinion on the Marine Corps General Fund Financial Statements, establishing Marine Corps as the first Department of Defense Military Service to achieve this goal. His responsibilities included all aspects of financial operations from leading the full financial statement audit remediation strategy to the implementing a sustainable internal control environment; managing quarterly and annual financial reports; preparing the annual statement of assurance; and implementing financial system controls. Additionally, Mr. Koval developed and executed the strategy to stabilize the Marine Corps data and processes in the Defense Agencies Initiative (DAI) general ledger post migration while under full financial statement audit.

Previously, Mr. Koval served as the Deputy Director, Financial Operations, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller). As the DON’s Chief Accounting Officer, he was responsible for accounting and financial operations, including the oversight of the Financial Improvement and Audit Remediation (FIAR) program. He also served as the Acting DASN Financial Operations, during his tenure. Mr. Koval led remediation strategies that resulted in the downgrade of several audit material weaknesses for the Navy.

Chris Kraft is a seasoned executive and technology leader with extensive experience driving transformational change across the public and private sectors. Currently serving as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the U.S. Secret Service, he oversees enterprise IT operations, software, and cybersecurity, managing a $100M annual budget and a workforce of 400 personnel. In this role, he has implemented initiatives to streamline operations, enhance service delivery, and align technology with mission-critical priorities, including advancing the agency’s adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) for protective operations.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Kraft held several senior leadership roles at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including Acting Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Deputy CTO for AI and Emerging Technology. He led enterprise-wide AI adoption, deploying DHS’s first generative AI platform, DHSChat, and establishing the DHS AI Corps, the largest dedicated federal AI team. His efforts in AI governance, workforce enablement, and modernization have positioned DHS as a leader in responsible AI innovation.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Kraft served as Assistant Administrator for Financial Systems at FEMA, where he modernized financial systems and introduced robotic process automation (RPA) to enhance efficiency. In the private sector, he held executive roles at SiriusXM, leading large-scale financial system integrations and IT transformations. Mr. Kraft holds a Juris Doctor from The George Washington University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Decision Sciences/Management Information Systems from George Mason University.

Robyne Lyons was named Chief Information Officer of the Integrated Enterprise System Office (IESO) in October 2023.  She oversees the Commonwealth’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system supporting human resources, payroll, travel, finance, funds management, budget planning, procurement, plant maintenance, flexible real estate, sales and distribution, analytics, and reporting.

Robyne has over three decades of information technology experience working as a consultant and for the Commonwealth.  Focusing on IT initiatives of application deployments, upgrades, migrations, building organizations, providing vision, guiding enterprise level initiatives, and deploying new solutions.  She has been a key member of the IESO team for nearly two decades and held various roles including SAP Deployment Manager, SAP Program Manager, and Director of the Bureau of Technical Operations and Service Delivery.  As bureau director, Robyne focused on innovations, analytics, change and risk management, strategy, cultural awareness and team building, relationship development, operations, IT investment and portfolio management. Under her leadership, the bureau recently implemented a data lake, Business Technology Platform (BTP), and SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) among its many initiatives.

Robyne and her team have earned notable recognitions for their accomplishments, including the SAP America’s Innovation Award for 2020 and the Pennsylvania Excellence in Technology in 2019.

Steve Nulter serves as the FM Marketplace Manager and a senior business analyst and acquisition advisor in the Financial Management Quality Service Management Office (FM QSMO), within the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service.

Mr. Nulter has been with the FM QSMO since Treasury’s initial pre-designation following the issuance of M-19-16 by OMB in early 2019. In partnership with GSA, Steve led efforts to establish the government-wide acquisition solution which provides access to the commercial offerings of the FM Marketplace (including cloud-based core financial systems) and currently oversees the associated functions.

Mr. Nulter has two decades of federal procurement and shared services experience. He has been directly involved in delivering shared services to a variety of agencies, managing procurement operations, advising on agency financial system modernization efforts, supporting policy initiatives, and leading strategic acquisition efforts for common needs.

William Russell is a Director in GAO’s Contracting and National Security Acquisitions team. He oversees a portfolio of topics related to NASA acquisitions, defense industrial base management, and federal contracting. 

William joined GAO in 2002 and has served as Acting Director in GAO’s Homeland Security and Justice team, managing a portfolio of issues related to aviation security, surface transportation security, and DHS research and development. He also managed audits covering a wide range of issues related to defense acquisitions, export controls, CMMC, and protection of critical technology. 

William earned a master’s degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University. 

Katie Noyes serves as the FBI’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO), responsible for leading the organization’s AI strategy, mission alignment, and governance within the Office of the Chief Information Officer. She previously served as a Section Chief and the organization’s lead on next generation technologies and lawful access challenges and as the Senior Technology Advisor for Technology Policy, charged with leading the FBI’s 5G/information and communications technologies and services and internet governance and technology standards development work. From 2011 to 2019, she served multiple roles, to include as the head of the Terrorist Screening Center’s Policy Office and International Engagement Program. Ms. Noyes started with the FBI in August 2007, serving as the first Intelligence Program Coordinator in the San Diego Field Office. Prior to joining the FBI, Ms. Noyes served as an Intelligence Subject Matter Expert with the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, assisting leadership, software developers, data scientists, and mathematicians with developing a capability to narrow the search space for high value targets. She has served over 25 years in the Intelligence Community, starting as an Army Military Intelligence Officer serving tours in South Korea and Iraq, and later in counterintelligence with the Defense Intelligence Agency and DoD Counterintelligence Field Activity. Ms. Noyes has a bachelor’s degree from Boston University, a master's degree in National Security Studies and Resource Planning from the National Defense University Eisenhower School and an Executive Chief Information Security Officer Certificate from Carnegie Mellon University.

Natalie Buda Smith is the Director of Digital Strategy for the Library of Congress, charged with Artificial Intelligence and Innovation. A leader in digital transformation through data, technology, and human-centered practices, she has over 30 years' experience working with variety of organizations across the world. With a passion for solving complex technology problems and creating innovative solutions, she is strongly committed to products and services that adhere to best practices in inclusion and accessibility.

Adam Starr is Chief Information Officer and Senior Advisor to the Director at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, where he is transforming the digital infrastructure that supports the federal workforce from first job application through retirement. His mandate: modernize core HR systems to provide the best possible service to the American people.

Previously, he led AI at Proofpoint, where his models processed billions of emails daily to protect organizations around the world. His work sat at the intersection of machine learning, cybersecurity, and organizational transformation. 

Trained as a mathematician and business operator, Adam focuses on turning AI from research into real systems that work—securely, reliably, and at scale. He earned a B.A. in Pure Mathematics from Pomona College and an MBA from Stanford University, where he served as Chair of Campus Life and a Friend of Arjay Miller. Outside of work, Adam is a competitive board gamer, an avid explorer of contemporary art, and a frequent instigator of late-night debates about technology and the future.

Trevor joined the Department of Commerce in early 2023 as the Director of The LAB, the Department’s Acquisition Innovation Advocate, and the Department-level Industry Liaison. The LAB’s mission is to inspire, connect, and empower the acquisition workforce to improve mission outcomes by embedding the proficiencies of innovative acquisition techniques into the foundation of acquisition teams throughout the Department by working with acquisition teams who volunteer to work with The LAB. 

Trevor has been a steadfast advocate and acquisition innovation leader for over 9 years, frequently supported OFPP, most recently in supporting the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul. Trevor previously supported DHS at the Procurement Innovation Lab helping DHS and other federal agencies foster a culture of innovation by testing innovative procurement techniques and sharing those stories across govcon. The work included coaching and consulting with acquisition teams, hosting webinars, launching the PIL’s YouTube channel and PILCasts, and creating/instructing governmentwide trainings like the PIL Boot Camps and Coaching Clinics. 

When not at work you can find him biking, hiking, and playing basketball, golf, and lacrosse across the DC metro area with his wife and two girls.

Kevin Walsh is a Director in the Information Technology and Cybersecurity team at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Since joining GAO in June 2006, he has overseen work on various critical areas, including artificial intelligence, Chief Information Officer authorities, the Census, cybersecurity, cyber insurance, global cybercrime, the Department of Defense's financial management, legacy IT systems, and major modernization efforts across the government.

His leadership has significantly contributed to GAO's High Risk areas, notably in Ensuring the Cybersecurity of the Nation and Improving IT Acquisitions and Management. Additionally, Walsh has highlighted the challenges associated with modernizing the Federal Aviation Administration's IT systems, highlighting that such efforts will require substantial time and financial investment.

Prior to joining GAO, Kevin worked as a financial analyst. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in economics and received a master’s degree in business administration from Virginia Tech. He currently resides in Maryland with his wife and children. 

With over 20 years of experience in partner sales, direct sales, strategy, and P&L management within global Fortune 500 organizations, Rishi is a seasoned business leader with a keen focus on driving growth through innovative business models, building new practices, and developing unique portfolio strategies.

Rishi Bhaskar serves as the Director of World-Wide Public-Sector Partners at Amazon Web
Services (AWS). He leads the indirect business across government, education, nonprofit, health care and life sciences, and national security sectors. His 25+ year career spans software development, strategy, partner sales, direct sales, business leadership, and P&L management at Fortune 500 companies.

Before AWS, Rishi served as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Verticals and Partnerships at JMA Wireless, a Syracuse-based 5G technology company. There, he led modernization programs for the Department of Defense.

Before his tenure at JMA Wireless, Rishi held leadership positions at Ericsson, he held two key positions. First, he led the North America Energy and Public Sector verticals, managing strategy, sales, and execution for government agencies, utilities, and oil and gas customers. Later, as head of Ericsson's Global Hyperscaler Customer Unit, he led a global managed service business while also developing strategic alliances with cloud organizations. His earlier roles include leading the Public Safety Broadband business at Motorola Solutions and managing the North American indirect business at Alcatel-Lucent.

Rishi holds dual bachelor's degrees from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in
Information Systems Management and Health Science and Policy. He completed executive
education at both London Business School, studying customer experience, and UC Berkeley's
Haas School of Business, focusing on accelerating change.

A Washington, DC native, Rishi lives in the DC metropolitan area with his wife and three sons. He enjoys golf, fitness, reading, travel, cooking, and family time.

Phani Dhar is the Global Head of Public Sector, SAP on AWS at Amazon Web Services. A technology executive with 25+ years across AWS, Google Cloud, and SAP, he specializes in SAP-to-cloud migration, GTM strategy, and partner ecosystems. He currently focuses on helping customers become autonomous enterprises by leveraging AWS and SAP agentic AI services, and is a trusted advisor to government, defense, utilities, and transport organizations navigating large-scale digital transformation.

Trevor Skove is a Deloitte Consulting Manager and public sector finance transformation leader with more than 12 years of experience across federal, state, local, and higher-education organizations. His work spans SAP-enabled budgeting and planning, ERP transformation, financial reporting, outcome-based budgeting, automation, and AI. Trevor currently leads operating and capital budgeting transformation for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, including the migration of capital budgeting activities to SAP Analytics Cloud Planning.

Jamison Braun leads SAP Americas’ U.S. Public Services practice, which encompasses federal, state, and local government, as well as the higher education, aerospace and defense, and healthcare industries. He is responsible for leading strategy, business operations, revenue performance, customer relationships, and overall customer satisfaction throughout the United States. 

Jamison joined SAP from Salesforce, where he served as Vice President of Global Public Sector, driving growth across Autonomous Agents (AI), Slack, and Field Service for government customers. Prior to Salesforce, Jamison led NATO and European Defense organizations, helping modernize citizen engagement and mission outcomes.

Before entering the private sector, Jamison spent four decades as a senior uniformed officer in the U.S. Department of Defense. His final post was at U.S. European Command, where he served as Chief of Staff and Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, leading coordination across a 51-country area of responsibility.

A recognized transformation leader, Jamison launched the Department of Defense’s inaugural cloud initiative with the Department of the Air Force and pioneered enterprise-wide human capital modernization efforts, including the establishment of the first Office of People Analytics to support data-driven portfolio decisions.

Jamison holds multiple graduate degrees in business, systems analysis, and international strategy, is a graduate of Harvard University’s Executive Program, and is a recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Disney Innovation Award. He is based in San Antonio, Texas.

Bill Greeves is an Industry Advisor at SAP, supporting state and local government, education, and nonprofit clients in modernizing complex systems and transforming business operations. He brings over 20 years of public sector technology leadership experience, including eight years as CIO, Innovation Officer, and Deputy County Manager for Wake County, North Carolina. Recognized for his innovative leadership by Government Technology and Public CIO magazines, he is also co-author of the Social Media in the Public Sector Field Guide.

Martin leads strategic initiatives that help public sector organizations accelerate digital transformation and innovation. With over two decades at SAP, including global leadership responsibilities across Public Services industries, he has advised government, defense, education, and non-profit organizations on modernization strategies and large-scale transformation programs. His work focuses on enabling mission success through AI, data-driven decision-making, cloud technologies, and ecosystem collaboration. 

Brian Laird is an Executive Advisor for Public Sector and Defense at SAP, where he helps senior government leaders connect enterprise technology to mission and business outcomes.  A retired member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), he brings 30+ years of combined military and civilian service across the Army, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the Navy.

Within the federal government, Brian held three executive roles.  As Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer, he directed the budgeting, execution, and solvency of a $10B+ Navy Working Capital Fund and $2.5B in appropriated funds, additionally serving as the Senior Accountable Official for the auditability of a ~$47B supply inventory.  As Chief Information Officer, he was the Navy's senior executive lead for automation, data analytics, and cyber protection across all end-to-end supply chain activities.  As Supply Chain Integration Executive, he oversaw supply, storage, and distribution activities across the Navy's global network of Fleet Logistics Centers.

Prior to serving as an SES in the Navy, Brian worked at DLA, integrating the agency's global storage and distribution capabilities into Combatant Command and Military Service plans. He began his career with more than a decade as a U.S. Army commissioned officer, leading units in both command and staff roles.

A prior senior member of the Defense Acquisition Corps, Brian holds an MBA, a PMP certification, is a former Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and is a member of the Society for Defense Financial Managers (SDFM).

Leslie Casson Stevens has been engaged in government financial management for over 30 years. As an auditor, she led the audits of large local government organizations and publicly traded corporations. She spent nearly a decade implementing financial management systems at several US Federal government agencies and consulting on organizational and financial management challenges. Leslie was responsible for enterprise-wide accounting and financial reporting operations and financial management systems while serving as the Comptroller of the Smithsonian Institution.

Leslie joined SAP in 1998, on the team that extended the SAP core financial management functionality to accommodate the requirements of US Federal government accounting and reporting. Today, she is SAP’s Industry Executive Advisor for the US Federal market.

David Vallejo is vice president, Head of SCM Innovations Product Marketing at SAP. His global organization leads strategy and growth initiatives for SAP’s SCM portfolio which encompasses solutions for product lifecycle management, manufacturing, planning, logistics, assets and service management as well as the Business Network. The suite of AI-first solutions enable customers to orchestrate their supply chain with confidence to become risk-resilient, adaptable, and sustainable in their supply chain operations.

David joined SAP in 2014 and has held various leadership positions before attaining his current role. During David’s tenure he drove the successful launch of SAP’s Supply Chain Business Network focusing on direct materials collaboration across the extended supply chain and driving the customer co-innovation program as product owner for SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP).

Prior to joining SAP David helped many global companies define and implement their strategy around supply chain transformations and has been honored with the “Pros-to-Know” award in 2014 by the Supply & Demand Chain Executive Board. He held several global leadership roles managing customer delivery, solution management and product management at E2open and icon-scm.

David is a Computer Science graduate (Dipl. Ing.) from the Berufsakademie University of Applied Science in Mannheim, Germany.