TRACK SPEAKERS

Unleashing Human Capital: Architecting Success in Digital Transformation

Tonjia Coverdale, Chief Strategy Officer for Operations & Technology, Associated Bank

Discover the power of human capital in driving successful digital transformation initiatives in this captivating session. Led by Tonjia Coverdale, Chief Strategy Officer for Operations & Technology of Associated Bank, gain valuable insights and practical strategies for unleashing the potential of your workforce. Explore the art of architecting agile talent frameworks, fostering a culture of innovation, and equipping employees with the skills needed for the digital era. Join us and unlock the keys to architecting success in digital transformation through the unleashing of your organization's most valuable asset: its people.

Key session takeaways:

• Learn how to strategically architect agile talent frameworks to align with digital transformation goals.
• Gain insights into fostering a culture of innovation and continuous learning to drive digital success.
• Discover effective strategies for equipping and upskilling your workforce to thrive in the digital era.

Tonjia Coverdale

Chief Strategy Officer for Operations & Technology, Associated Bank

Tonjia Coverdale has recently taken on the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer in Operations and Technology at Associated Bank. Tasked with the pivotal responsibility of steering the bank's operations and technology strategic plans, Coverdale brings a wealth of nearly three decades of experience in the technology sector.

A seasoned technology executive, Coverdale's expertise is a blend of industry best practices, academic insights, and hands-on research. Her illustrious career includes a significant stint at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Here, she pioneered the enterprise data partner solutions team, spearheaded the finance technology team, and championed strategic initiatives that catered to over 25,000 associates. Her leadership in modernizing various facets of the enterprise, from performance management to legal technology, stands testament to her capabilities.

Academically, Coverdale boasts a Ph.D. in Business Administration with a specialization in Information Science and Systems from Morgan State University. She also holds an MBA in Computer Information Systems from Georgia State University and a Bachelor's degree in Information Science and Systems, again from Morgan State University.

Beyond her corporate achievements, Coverdale is an active community member. She serves on advisory boards of initiatives like Project Lead the Way and Per Scholas, promoting technology education and career opportunities.

Data Science Teams Driving Tangible Results

Anne Marie Liska, Director - Partner Analytics, Zillow Group

Building and maintaining Advanced Analytics teams, tools, and infrastructure is expensive and time consuming. Many teams fall into a rut of building models based on the data available rather than business processes leading to expensive trivia. Join Anne Marie Liska to learn how to prioritize and capitalize on the best use cases to drive business value. This session will include multiple strategies for value-driven teams including: small vs large team alignment, leveraging business expertise, maintaining a balanced portfolio from ideation to implementation, and data science risks.

Anne Marie Liska

Director - Partner Analytics, Zillow Group

Anne Marie Liska is an experienced advanced analytics leader passionate about leveraging innovative analytics solutions that drive business value. Currently, she leads the Partner Analytics team of data scientists and business intelligence analysts at Zillow Group. In this role, Anne Marie has built a project roadmap to strengthen the agent partnership business through advanced analytics. Previously she worked at CUNA Mutual Group, leading a team of data scientists and engineers building a development pipeline of new advanced analytics use cases from ideation through implementation. While at American Family Insurance, Anne Marie was part of the Strategic Data & Analytics division and Digital Transformation Office. In addition to her experience in insurance, she has also led analytics work in the education policy, medical devices, transportation, and machine tool industries.

Anne Marie holds a master's degree in economics from George Mason University and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin – Platteville. Additionally, she was a founding board member of the Women in Big Data, leading their transition from a grassroots organization to a funded non-profit.

Large Language Models: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Glenn Fung, VP, Head of Data Science, Liberty Mutual Insurance

Large language models, such as ChatGPT, have revolutionized the field of natural language processing (NLP) and have become a topic of great interest in the research community and in the industry. These models have shown impressive results in various NLP tasks, such as language generation, translation, and sentiment analysis, and have even surpassed human-level performance in some cases. However, there are also concerns about the use of large language models, particularly around issues of bias, privacy, and power. The hype around these models has also led to unrealistic expectations and a tendency to overlook the limitations and potential negative consequences of their use. In this talk, we will explore both the benefits and the issues surrounding large language models, with a specific focus on ChatGPT with Glenn Fung, Head of Data Science for Liberty Mutual Insurance.

Key session takeaways:

• Learn the advantages of using models, such as their ability to generate high-quality and diverse text, and their potential applications in various fields.
• Understand the ethical and technical challenges associated with model use, including concerns around data privacy and algorithmic bias.
• Cut through the hype surrounding large language models and learn considerations for a thoughtful and informed approach to their development and use.

Glenn Fung

VP, Head of Data Science, Liberty Mutual Insurance

Glenn Fung is Vice President of Data Science & Machine Learning at Solaria Labs of Liberty Mutual. This global team is dedicated to shaping the future by exploring trends and developing innovative products to protect customers in an ever-changing world.

Glenn's main areas of expertise are machine learning, data mining, and optimization, with a special focus on designing and developing predictive models using real-world data and expert knowledge. He is passionate about developing efficient algorithms and mathematical models using state-of-the-art optimization techniques.

Glenn's vast experience and expertise have helped shape the insurance industry's future.