Paul Gormley
Paul Gormley is a Project Manager at Iowa State University’s Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS), where he has spent more than 25 years
36 industry experts sharing real-world AI strategies
Meet the leaders from Pella, Deere, Principal Financial, Rockwell Collins, and more who are bringing AI to Iowa's industries.
Paul Gormley is a Project Manager at Iowa State University’s Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS), where he has spent more than 25 years
Edgar Ortiz is a cybersecurity and AI governance leader and Managing Partner at CMIT Solutions of Des Moines and Overland Park. He works with small
Dr. Patrick Johanns is Associate Professor of Instruction and Former Director of the Online Master of Science in Business Analytics at the University of Iowa
Shawn FitzGerald works at the intersection of storytelling, strategy, and emerging technology. As both communicator and business problem solver, he helps organizations identifying and eliminating
Jon Eads, PhD is the Innovation Program Director for Grain Processing Corporation, a subsidiary of Kent Worldwide, where he works to identify, develop, and scale
Hamad Dada | Chief Executive Officer & Lead R&D, SoundSafe.ai | Hamad Dada is an AI and cybersecurity expert focused on applying multimodal AI in
Curt Winegar is a Sr. Data Analytics Strategist at Pella Corporation, where he leads the company’s Data & AI Literacy program and helps teams turn
Dr. Celina Peerman is an organizational psychologist and leading voice on uncertainty in the workplace. Daily, in companies around the State of Iowa and beyond,
Doug Jacobson is Director of the Iowa State University Center for Cybersecurity Innovation and Outreach and an Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor. He has worked
Aaron Warner is the founder and CEO of ProCircular, an information security and privacy firm serving mid-market organizations in healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, and financial
Kacy Webster, CEO of Profit Quiver, is a Business Transformation Strategist and Certified AI Consultant who helps leaders aim precisely at what matters most—people first,
Vijay Kalivarapu has a Ph.D. majoring in Mechanical Engineering and co-majoring in Human-Computer Interaction from Iowa State University. He is currently a Senior Artificial Intelligence
Nick Nystrom is a Member Experience Lead specializing in end‑to‑end health insurance journeys—including Invite, Shop, Enroll, and Welcome. He combines human‑centered design with data‑driven insight
Ben McHone is a Staff Engineering Consultant at Source Allies, specializing in deploying agentic AI systems to production. He focuses on metric‑driven development and real‑world
Matt Vincent founded Source Allies, an Iowa‑headquartered consultancy specializing in Data & AI with multiple GenAI systems in production delivering measurable ROI. He works with
Justin Claycomb serves as the Assistant Director of Data Science at Principal, where he specializes in operationalizing AI and scaling analytics solutions across the enterprise.
Melissa Hollis is the Director of Data Analytics at Principal Financial Group, where she leads the Applied AI and Analytics teams within the corporate division.
Aditya Balu is a Data Scientist at the Translational AI Center (TrAC) at Iowa State University, with over 14 years of experience in AI and
Dominique Hain is a Technology Consultant at Rockwell Automation specializing in applied AI for industrial automation. A home-grown ISU graduate, she helps manufacturers adopt practical,
Travis Arndorfer is a Creative Director with 20 years leading strategy and creative for brands ranging from global powerhouses to mighty regional players across manufacturing,
Neal Rabogliatti has been working in the online optimization and strategy market since 1997. His experience covers the beginnings and evolution of SEO and has
I’m an AI & Data Platform Engineer with 20+ years of experience across Azure Data Factory, Azure Databricks, AI Foundry, Power BI, .NET Core, Function
Rachel Holmes is an AI Strategist at Zirous, guiding organizations in applying AI to deliver practical, business-aligned outcomes. She advises clients, champions enablement, and leads
Tara Louisa Allen is a marketing educator, consultant, and program leader specializing in practical, human-centered applications of artificial intelligence for business. She serves as Director
Neeraj Singh, sales development manager for Danfoss Power Solutions, is a global industrial technology leader with 18+ years across hydraulics, mobile machinery, automotive, and agriculture.
Brandon Carlson is the founder of Lean TECHniques, a technology and management consultancy based in Des Moines specializing in Digital Transformation, IT Modernization, and Software
Levi Sperry:Levi Sperry is a Senior Data Analyst at Life Care Services, where he designs and deploys enterprise analytics solutions supporting more than 120 senior
Dinakar Kesavapillai: Dinakar is the Director of Marketing & Sales Systems at LCS, based in Des Moines. Dinakar has 22 years of experience leading teams
Adam Engel is the Owner of Running Robots Inc., a digital marketing agency of 10 based in Iowa City serving 150+ organizations nationwide.
Bill Schmarzo is a data science and AI strategist, keynote speaker, and author of seven books, including his most recent, The AI-Human Edge: Winning with
Andrew Severin is a broadly trained biologist with over 20 years of experience in molecular biology, genomics, and bioinformatics across diverse species. His work focuses
Jacey leads AI, Data Science and Advanced Analytics for Pella Corporation. Pella Corporation, based in the U.S, is one of North America’s largest manufacturers of