AI Panel
Friday, March 28 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Octavia N. Howell, Chief Information Security Officer, Equifax Canada Co.
Recognized as the 2024 Canada CISO of the year and one of Canada's Top Women in Cybersecurity Octavia Howell has spent her career protecting some of the world's largest financial institutions from cyber-attacks. She serves as Equifax Canada's Chief Information Security Officer. Octavia received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Spelman College and holds multiple industry certifications. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, the International Information Systems Security Consortium (ISC2), Co-Chairs the CISO Forum for the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (TSMF), and sits on the Advisory Board of SiberX Octavia believes "A team is only as strong as their leaders and each leader casts a shadow that they will be held accountable for." She genuinely believes that we are placed on this earth to help each other achieve greatness (whatever that may be). One thing for sure, Octavia lives by Mary Church Terrill's "Lift while you climb." In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her family and cheering her daughter on in Competitive Acrobatic Dance and her son in Track and Field.
Chad Wasserman, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, HCA Healthcare
Chad Wasserman is senior vice president and chief information officer of HCA Healthcare, one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services.
A 28-year veteran of HCA Healthcare, Wasserman leads more than 7,000 colleagues in the Information Technology Group (ITG), which provides global IT strategy solutions and support for HCA Healthcare and its hospitals and sites of care. He oversees the group’s array of solutions including infrastructure, cloud, automation, data engineering, software development, enterprise systems and clinical technology initiatives.
Previously Wasserman served as senior vice president and chief operating officer for ITG, after serving as VP ITG Service Line and Corporate Solutions. He has served in a variety of senior leadership positions for the company including vice president ITG Digital Patient Experience and vice president ITG Infrastructure Services and Operations. Prior to 2017, Chad was CIO of Parallon Business Performance Group.
He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Nashville Technology Council. Wasserman is an HCA Healthcare Hope Fund board member and sits on the Belmont University Business Solutions and Analytics Advisory Board.
Wasserman earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Villanova University and his master’s degree in business administration from Tennessee State University.
Curley Henry, Chief Information Security Officer, Southern Company
Curley Henry, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Southern Company, is responsible for managing cybersecurity strategy and risk across all Southern Company affiliates and business units. Since 2015, Henry has served in executive roles at the company, including Deputy CISO.
Henry works closely within the utility industry, engaging with state public service commissions, Department of Energy, the National Labs, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and leaders from other utilities. He also engages in the cybersecurity technology industry, working closely with executives who are developing innovative solutions to pressing challenges.
Henry has almost 30 years of experience in information technology and cybersecurity. Before joining Southern Company, he served in senior leadership roles at E* Trade Financial, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM. Earlier in his career, Henry was a Department of Defense consultant where he led a team to design, build and manage the first 24x7 security operations center for the U.S. Army Reserve Command. He began his career in the military and was a founding member of the U.S. Army Reserve’s Information Operations Command, which provided cyber security and information assurance support to installations and units across the continental United States.
Henry studied engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology before joining the military. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Saint Leo University and completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School. He serves as the Chair of Propel’s Cybersecurity Steering Committee, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Technology Security Coalition, Georgia Tech’s Parent Board and is a staunch advocate for Women in Technology’s Single Mothers Program.
Joshua Jones, CEO, QuantHub
Joshua Jones is CEO of QuantHub, a Birmingham-based education technology company that helps people prepare for a data-driven future. As an online learning platform, QuantHub provides personalized learning paths in data and AI skills for students, professionals, and corporations, preparing them for future job demands.
Prior to his role at QuantHub, Jones was founder and CEO of StrategyWise, an award-winning data science and AI consulting firm. StrategyWise provided data science strategy to global firms ranging from Samsung and Toshiba to Southern Company and Chick-Fil-A. StrategyWise was recognized as one of America’s fastest-growing companies three years in a row on the Inc 5000.
A lifelong entrepreneur, Jones’s career experience has spanned 6 startups, 45 countries and 4 languages. He has been quoted by Forbes, CIO.com, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and Entrepreneur Magazine, and is a TEDx alum and regular speaker and lecturer in universities and conferences across the US.
Joshua received his Master of Business Administration at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Alabama.