2026 TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION
CONFERENCE AGENDA

8:30 AM – 9:30 AM

Registration Open  |  Exhibit Hall Open  |  Breakfast and Networking

9:30 AM – 9:45 AM

Welcome and Opening Remarks

• Kelly Schulz, Chief Executive Officer, Maryland Tech Council
• Secretary Coker, Maryland Department of Commerce

9:45 AM – 11:10AM

SME Sessions

9:45 AM – 10:30 AM

AI for Your Business – Hype Versus Reality

Andersen Consulting will share experiences from working with our clients and discuss how AI is different from previous tech revolutions. The session will explore what this means for your business now, in the immediate future, and in the near term, including how much time organizations have to adapt. Attendees will also examine whether it makes sense to make a big bet or take a more cautious, risk-mitigating approach to AI adoption.

• Dale Fedun, Partner, Head of Technology Transformation, Andersen Consulting

10:30 AM – 10:50 AM

MedTech

• Ivan George, Assistant Admin Dir (MISTCenter), Department of Surgery/Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Expert Speaker (TBA)

10:50 AM – 11:10 AM

AI Without the Hype: How Chat Agents Really Work and How to Use Them Well

AI tools like ChatGPT are everywhere but most people misunderstand what they actually do. In this session, we will break down how modern AI and large language models really work, debunk common chat agent myths, and explore their quirks and limitations. You will walk away with practical prompting techniques and real world guidance you can apply immediately without the hype or fear.

• Mo Ezderman, Director of AI, Mindgrub

11:10 AM – 11:50 AM

Quantum Panel

Moderator:

• Jason Michael Perry, Principal | Fractional Chief AI Officer, PerryLabs

Panelists:  

• Kimberly Mentzell, Director of Cybersecurity, Lead for Emerging Technologies, Department of Commerce
• Rick Muller, Senior Vice President, Federal Technical and Government Customer Engagement Lead, IonQ
• John Sawyer, Director, Strategic Research Initiatives at University of Maryland, Executive Director,  Mid-Atlantic Quantum Alliance

11:50 AM – 12:30 PM

Networking Break and Roundtables with Speakers

• Roundtable 1: MedTech
  • Ivan George, Assistant Admin Dir (MISTCenter), Department of Surgery/Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Johns Hopkins Medicine
    and Expert Speaker (TBA)

• Roundtable 2: AI for Your Business – Hype Versus Reality
  • Dale Fedun, Partner, Head of Technology Transformation, Andersen Consulting

• Roundtable 3: AI
• • Mo Ezderman, Director of AI, Mindgrub

• Roundtable 4: To be Announced

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

Networking Lunch

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

Keynote Fireside Chat

Gautam Mukunda will lead a fireside chat with Kelly Schulz, MTC’s Chief Executive Officer, where he will share his take on bold leadership, disruptive innovation, and making tough calls, skills today’s tech leaders need amid fast-moving change. His perspective, shaped by work across academia, industry, national security, and media, offers practical guidance for executives, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Click here to read his full bio.

• Gautam Mukanda, Yale School of Management Lecturer / Executive Fellow / Author of two books, ‘Picking Presidents: How to Make the Most Consequential Decision in the World’ and ‘Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter’
• Kelly Schulz, Chief Executive Officer, Maryland Tech Council

2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

SME Sessions

2:30 PM – 2:50 PM

NASA

• Greg Heckler, Deputy Program Manager for Capability Development, NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation Program

2:55 PM – 3:30 PM

Cybersecurity

• Chris May, Vice President of Security and Growth, Advantage.Tech
• Arshan Dabirsiaghi, CTO & Co-founder, Pixee.
• Christopher Fielder, Field CTO, Arctic Wolf

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

Cocktail Reception

3:50 PM – 4:30 PM

Cocktail Reception and Roundtables with Speakers

• Roundtable 1: Keynote
  • Gautam Mukunda, Yale School of Management Lecturer / Executive Fellow / Author of two books, ‘Picking Presidents: How to Make the Most Consequential Decision in the World’ and ‘Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter’

• Roundtable 2: Cybersecurity
  • Chris May, Vice President of Security and Growth, Advantage.Tech
  • Arshan Dabirsiaghi, CTO & Co-founder, Pixee.
  • Christopher Fielder, Field CTO, Arctic Wolf

• Roundtable 3: NASA
  • Greg Heckler, Deputy Program Manager for Capability Development, NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation Program