Our Speakers

Prerak Garg

Prerak Garg is a visionary product leader and strategist in the field of artificial intelligence, currently serving as Senior Director at Microsoft.

At Microsoft, he has been instrumental in shaping the AI strategy and investments, specifically in healthcare. He was the driving force behind Microsoft’s entry into the healthcare space and the subsequent development of DAX Copilot: the first of its kind, a Generative AI-driven clinical documentation solution.

Prior to Microsoft, Garg served as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, focusing on the development and implementation of artificial intelligence solutions at top healthcare companies. Garg is celebrated as a thought leader, frequently sharing his insights as an author and speaker across various industry platforms. He also holds esteemed fellowships at the British Computer Society and the Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Before joining Microsoft, Garg worked as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where he specialized in creating and applying artificial intelligence solutions for leading healthcare companies. Garg is recognized as an expert, often writing and speaking about his insights on different industry platforms. He also has prestigious fellowships at the British Computer Society and the Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Lucas Petty

Lucas Petty is the CEO of AI Daddy, an AI viral influencer, an experienced startup consultant,
university guest lecturer, speaker, and AI expert whose goal is to inspire and educate people to use AI; so that together, we can change every person's life for the better. As you’ll hear him say often, ``Make life easier with AI.``
By sharing how AI in business can transform work, Lucas imparts expert insights to leaders and their teams so they can drive business results. Audiences worldwide describe his talks as “deeply relevant, moving and actionable.”
Lucas is a fierce advocate for AI in business and life, he imagines a world in which the majority of people wake up and use AI to reclaim their freedom, express their creativity, and end the day fulfilled by their work. He believes the future is AI, and rather than AI being a threat, AI is the key to unlocking our greatest potential.
Prior to AI Daddy, Lucas spent 8 years as a startup operations consultant, analyzing and improving business processes to help entrepreneurs launch and scale their business.

Philippe Benitez

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 77,000 employees on five continents. The Group is investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations – Big Data, artificial intelligence, connectivity, cybersecurity and quantum technology – to build a future we can all trust. Trust is essential for societies to flourish, with humans playing a central role in every critical decision. Thales's high-tech solutions, services and products help companies, organisations and governments to achieve their goals and ambitions. And in each of our five vertical markets — digital identity and security, defence and security, aerospace, space, and transport — our customers play a vital role in society.

Marcus McGehee

Recently, I've discovered what my ``superpower`` is, and it's being able to communicate a complex idea into something that's easy to understand and implement. My mission is now to help those working in the mental health and coaching field make sense of the incredibly complex and evolving world of digital marketing.

Marketing agencies have gained somewhat of a negative reputation in recent years, and it's not unwarranted, I have spoken to many clients who have been flat out scammed by other agencies. One of my core principles in my business is that I spend the extra time it takes to educate my clients on what to expect, what realistic expectations should be, and the theory of why they should implement certain strategies.

With over a decade of experience in digital marketing, I've worked with some of the biggest media companies in the country, including Gray Television and Advanced Digital.

Varun Saxena

I'm Varun Saxena, a seasoned consultant specializing in technology and business integration. My journey is defined by a commitment to excellence and collaboration. From unraveling complex data sets to architecting innovative strategies, I thrive on delivering tangible results that exceed expectations. I believe in the power of collaboration to inspire innovation. By fostering meaningful partnerships and leveraging diverse perspectives, I create environments where possibilities flourish. In a constantly evolving landscape, I embrace change and push boundaries to redefine what's possible. With a relentless spirit of innovation, I guide organizations towards sustainable growth and success.

Jay Tchakarov

Jay has over 20 years of experience in engineering and go-to-market for big data, machine learning and AI within growth-stage B2B technology companies. Leading cross-functional teams, Jay’s constant emphasis has been on a ``problem-first`` philosophy, ensuring engineering endeavors and products align with customer and end user needs and aspirations. Currently, as the CEO of Allganize, Inc., Jay is committed to the company’s mission of harnessing AI to revolutionize the work lives of office professionals worldwide.

Ariel Cai

Ariel is a seasoned strategist and GTM leader with a global track record of launching and scaling disruptive technology products. With experience at TikTok and DiDi (world's biggest ride-hailing platform), Ariel played a pivotal role in crafting international growth strategies and leading cross-border expansions. As an innovator driven by impact, Ariel honed her expertise during the Stanford GSB Sloan Fellowship, focusing on entrepreneurial leadership and scaling new ventures. Currently at LMNT, a venture backed voice AI pioneer, Ariel is leading GTM, driving the adoption of LMNT's cutting-edge speech models to revolutionize human-computer interactions.

John Wyss

My enduring passion has been building more powerful software platforms to enable enterprises to more effectively fulfill their mission at scale, including:

* Powerful deployment automation, configuration management and compliance solutions (Microsoft, ServiceNow, Chef) and device management and provisioning at planet scale (Cisco Control Hub)
* The world's most secure and scalable Key Management and Encryption SaaS platform, based on Intel's Confidential Computing (Fortanix)
* Breakthrough targeting solution for algorithm-driven ad placement and UX, including patented new ad formats (Bing) and application monetization (Intuit App Store)
* Workflow automation and orchestration for business process and SecOps (Microsoft BizTalk, Windows Workflow, ServiceNow, Fortanix)
* Developer experiences to build connected ecosystems and broaden platform value (Microsoft Speech SDK, Commerce Server SDK, Intuit Developer platform, ServiceNow Technology Alliances, Webex Control Hub APIs, Fortanix)
* Managing enterprise collaboration services, deployment, user and device management, media path optimization and troubleshooting (Cisco Control Hub for WebEx)
* Security and compliance policy-based management, remediation and quorum approvals (ServiceNow, Cisco, Chef, Fortanix)

In the process, I have been lucky enough to work with amazingly talented people who have taught me a great deal. My best days are when I can help others be their best selves. Thank you to those who have been part of my journey so far!

Joe Merrill

Joe Merrill is the co-founder and Partner of Sputnik ATX VC, based in Austin, Texas. Merrill is a former U.S. diplomat and served as a political, economic and consular officer at U.S. Embassies in Bosnia, Nigeria, and South Korea as well as postings at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C..

After leaving the State Department, Merrill worked in corporate treasury, finance and development at Deere and Company before entering the private equity world at a Carlyle-Apollo education fund, Apollo Global. Overall, Joe has over $3 billion of transaction experience in venture investing. Merrill has also founded and exited two start-ups, Pan Am Education and Smart FundEd.

At Sputnik, Joe is rabid about helping early-stage founders aggressively grow their business. He loves to identify and simplify complex economic problems that wicked-cool start-ups can solve.

Joe holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies from University of California, Davis and a MBA in from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He enjoys running around Town Lake in Austin and early morning swims at Barton Springs!

Bryan Plaster

With 25+ years of experience in technology, I have a proven track record of building innovative AI solutions and leading successful customer success teams. I am the co-founder and CEO of Intelligage, a company that invented Revenue Intelligence in Realtime and was the first to bring AI to customer success through Remote Meetings and regression analysis. I have also built many products from scratch as an engineer, architect, and product manager, and managed $150M ARR subscriptions as a chief customer success leader.

My mission is to help companies utilize AI in a responsible and ethical manner, so that they can leverage this incredible technology to accelerate their GoToMarket and not be held down by worry around social and legal regulation. I am also a fractional Chief AI Officer, an investor, a published author, a top 50 CS influencer, and a top 30 most followed in CS.

Ravi Venugopal

A dynamic enterprising leader, serial entrepreneur & data evangelist with strong entrepreneurial, organizational and technical skills.

Specialize in helping clients needing cost-effective ModelOps - AIML implementation , Big Data management, Cloud, SaaS solutions. Providing dedicated and cost-effective ROI solutions for customers by implementing and leveraging latest technologies and best shore models. Proven track of results-driven performances in growing organizations.

Shuhei Umemoto

Shuhei is an international (Japan and US) experienced professional in the management consulting industry. He began his career at Toshiba's medical imaging division's finance department before transitioning to A.T. Kearney Tokyo, where he focused on strategic planning for manufacturing and healthcare industries. Then he transferred to A.T. Kearney's New York office as a Senior Manager, Shuhei led multiple M&A strategies and digital transformation for US high-tech firms. He is the head of Generative X's US business expansion.

Grace Lanni

Grace is a tech entrepreneur and media producer. She began working with teams leveraging AI years ago, and her first hands-on experience was at an OpenAI workshop early last year. These days, Grace leverages AI to create ideas for a first draft of articles, summaries, and various social posts. As a Branding Strategist, she is super careful about what and how her communications are shared as well as the ethics of AI. Grace believes learning how to smartly leverage AI Tech is a necessity for her projects and is thrilled to have the opportunity to emcee AI EXPO in Austin ‘24.