Tuesday, May 2 to Friday, May 5
Executive Connections is back by popular demand! This four-day “event within an event” is designed to provide senior-level professionals with exclusive networking opportunities and a VIP experience to remember. And this year’s program has been re-engineered to provide more value than ever before!
Led by highly rated executive coach and leadership expert Patti Blackstaffe, this program will feature an intensive one-day workshop, access to select keynote speakers, facilitated networking activities, and dedicated meals in an exclusive networking lounge. The highlight of the one-day workshop will be an interactive case study activity with Rosalia Hajek, a top IT executive with the MGM Resorts Group.
Executive Connections includes all relevant Standard Conference Pass benefits plus:
- Access to the one-day Executive Connections workshop featuring leadership and strategy programming plus a hands-on case study*
- Exclusive programming designed to deliver maximum value to senior-level professionals
- Up-close-and-personal interaction with keynote speakers Matthew Luhn and Sara Ross
- Facilitated networking at exclusive breakfasts and lunches
- Dedicated lounge and networking space that will be available throughout the week during show hours
- Invitation to HDI’s VIP reception for speakers, the HDI Strategic Advisory Board, and other senior-level attendees
- Access to premium, reserved seating at all general sessions
Invest in your growth as an IT leader and access the people and insights driving this industry forward. Must qualify to attend.
* You must register for a Premium Executive Connections Pass to participate in the one-day workshop.
Case Study Overview: The Shifting Landscape and The Future of Work
As part of the Executive Connections program, you will join an interactive and engaging case study as MGM Resorts International's Rosalia Hajek, Business Information Security Officer, shares an in-depth overview of her company's challenges in tackling its security touchpoint scheme. Roll up your sleeves as we dissect this case study and identify relevant considerations about managing a role-based access control strategy.
With the complexity of the digital work environment, impacted by the breathtaking advancements of technology and distributed work, a core challenge is providing secure access to employees and customers. This complexity is especially true for MGM Resorts International, operating twenty-one resort locations and various business subsidiaries. To address the service and support needs of a large international, diverse, and distributed environment and reduce vulnerabilities, they reduced the complexity of their access challenge by tackling their security touchpoint scheme.
This is a unique opportunity to dig into a global market leader’s real challenges and advance your leadership thinking about how to tackle complexity and rollout new strategies effectively.
Must register for a Premium Executive Connections pass to attend this session.
Executive Connections Facilitators
Patti Blackstaffe, CEO, Digital Leader Advisor, Strategic Sense Inc./GlobalSway
Patti Blackstaffe is an impassioned author, speaker, and consultant specializing in leadership, governance, and transformation. She has led transformations for various initiatives in the enterprise tech stack, including ERP, ITSM, CRM, HRM, and cloud-powered platforms. Patti's ability to visualize connections and interdependencies in her early roles in IT outsourcing and systems integration led her to lead teams delivering systems in the MEAA region until she launched her firm in 2008. With a systemic and human-centred approach, she helps companies improve digital leadership and facilitate governance refresh programs for digital environments. Patti is a Fellow of the Institute for Digital Transformation, an HDI Top 25 Thought Leader for 2021/2023, an Industry Advisor for the University of Calgary Business, Technology, Management and Analytics Program and has served on many non-profit boards.
Rosalia Hajek, Business Information Security Officer, MGM Resorts International®
Rosalia Hajek has been providing executive level leadership for Information Technology, Technology Risk and Cyber Security teams for close to 20 years, designing and implementing best-in-class, enterprise-wide, cyber security, risk, and compliance programs at top-tier, global companies, in both public and private sectors. She is a Business-Driven Information Security Protagonist, who is passionate about driving alignment of top technology risks for varied industries like healthcare, insurance, gaming, hospitality and entertainment. Throughout her professional career, she has matured security metrics by more than 35%, and has positively impacted more than 23M collective clients. Currently Ms. Hajek is the leader of the enterprise Business Information Security Office, at the global gaming and entertainment leader - MGM Resorts International, where she leads a center of excellence to drive prioritized focus to scale foundational cyber security, privacy, and compliance controls. Seen as a key strategic partner, her favorite mantra garnered from her passion in improv is: “yes, and…”, in finding dynamic security solutions, that accelerate functional area fiscal goals, and strengthen foundational enterprise shared processes. Ms. Hajek is a Computer Science Engineer and has her M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California, Advanced Executive Education from Anderson School of Business UCLA and numerous certifications such as CISM, CSM, CSPO and PMP. She is a CISO Governing Board Member for the Evanta SCAL CISO and Consero Advisory organization. She is a very active member in CHIEF as well, and has been a speaker at Evanta, ISSA, ISACA, CHIEF, and IANS conferences speaking on varied topics such as cybersecurity, HIT, technology risk, women in technology/cyber security/business, STEM, and leadership.