In response to the COVID-19 crisis, which caused the cancellation of the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, we are introducing the 2020 MIT Sloan CIO Digital Learning Series.

We will host monthly webinars, from June through October, to bring together the best academic and industry thought leaders for discussions about leadership and technology in this digital age.

We will be gathering your feedback after each event as part of an agile process aimed at delivering a terrific attendee experience. While there is no charge to attend, we encourage you to become a supporter, which you can do when you register.

Top Davenport will introduce AI in the Post-Pandemic Enterprise and then moderate a panel on Creating the AI Powered Enterprise.

Intro: AI in the Post-Pandemic Enterprise

The COVID pandemic and resulting economy require substantial changes in how organizations capitalize on and manage artificial intelligence. Since AI relies on past data to learn, what happens when that data provides little insight into the current business environment? And AI must now meet a new standard of value; how can companies move beyond AI pilots and proofs of concept to actual production deployments? Overall, how do we preserve AI's transformative power in a period of retrenchment?

Panel: Creating the AI Powered Enterprise

Recent advancements in automated machine learning are radically changing the cost, quality, and speed of AI creation, validation, deployment, and management. Applications of AI and machine learning that were economically and practically infeasible just a few years ago are now possible.  What new business models and customer experiences does this make possible?

We'll discuss the last episode and preview what's coming in July. We will also discuss attendee feedback as well as updates to the program. Join the conversation and help us evolve the MIT Sloan Digital Learning Series.

Keri Pearlson will present her thoughts on cybersecurity in the COVID-19 environment and then lead a panel discussion to determine how secure we really are.

Intro: Keeping our organizations cybersecure in the COVID-19 environment

Almost everyone is working from home these days and it's created a strange, chaotic environment for each of us. As we all learn how to communicate, share WIFI, and take meetings remotely, we must also think about keeping ourselves and our teams cybersecure. Technology won't keep our organizations secure enough -- our behaviors will. What are the ways malicious actors are trying to get our money, steal company data and infiltrate with our systems? This presentation outlines actions you can take to both raise awareness and change behaviors of those around you to keep everyone more secure.

Panel: Cybersecurity – How secure are we?

Answering this question is no simple task. There are technology answers, management answers, risk answers, supply chain answers and probably a few more. CIOs want to be able to answer this question for their C-level colleagues, their boards, and all stakeholders. In this session, we will discuss different approaches to knowing how secure you are, and what metrics are commonly used to provide support for your answer.

We'll discuss the last episode and preview what's coming in August. We will also discuss attendee feedback as well as updates to the program. Join the conversation and help us evolve the MIT Sloan Digital Learning Series.

Irving Wladawsky-Berger will hold a fireside chat on the post-pandemic workplace and then Paul Michelman will lead a panel on customer experience strategies.

Fireside Chat: What Will the Post-Pandemic Workplace Be Like?

Existing digital infrastructures made it possible to respond to COVID-19 by transitioning three-quarters of office workers to remote workers in just a few months. Remote work has a number of important benefits -- companies gain access to a wider talent pool, and employees gain needed flexibility -- but can high levels of productivity, teamwork and innovation be maintained in this new normal? Employees will be working remotely at least part of the time. CIOs need to provide an acceptable workplace experience - including speed, reliability, security, and availability. This panel will discuss steps CIOs can take, including a new generation of workplace applications, to cope with the post-pandemic workplace.

(Irving Wladawsky-Berger, moderator, with Mehdi Daoudi and Eash Sundaram)

Panel: Driving Customer Experience Strategies Through Technology

CIOs have been helping their executive teams drive customer experience strategy with technology for years. With the advent of AI, IoT, and process mining technologies, new insights can be generated to determine the C-Suite strategy for improving customer experience and growing the bottom line. In the post-pandemic world, how can these technology tools help formulate your strategy for better customer experience, employee satisfaction, and operational efficiency, so that your organization can achieve sustained success?

(Paul Michelman, moderator, with Gail Evans, Akash Khurana, and Dr. Renée Gosline)

We'll discuss the last episode and preview what's coming in September. We will also discuss attendee feedback as well as updates to the program. Join the conversation and help us evolve the MIT Sloan Digital Learning Series.

Naomi Eide will lead panel #1 on the increased importance of business continuity and resilience planning. James Manyika and Rodney Zemmel will then team up to lead panel #2, one doing an introductory presentation and the other moderating the panel.

Panel #1: The Increased Importance of Business Continuity and Resilience Planning

Competitive pressures pushed companies to focus on efficiency, just-in-time inventories, and low-cost suppliers. Experts warned global enterprises that they should pay more attention to resilience, especially for their highly complex supply chains. COVID-19 demonstrated the need to plan for an unpredictable future so as to withstand turbulent events. The panel will discuss the measures being adopted by different companies as they consider how to rebalance the trade-offs between resilience and efficiency in their global operations.

(Naomi Eide, moderator, with Mark Anderson, Barry Libenson, and Aarti Shah)

Presentation and Panel #2: Building the Post-Pandemic Enterprise

Digital infrastructures have kept nations and economies going during the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic has now made the case for accelerating their journey toward an even faster changing digital future. Enterprises need to find the proper balance between what worked before and what now needs to happen to succeed in the post-pandemic new normal. They should leverage the crisis to increase the rate and pace of their digital transformation. As Rahm Emanuel famously said in 2008: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” The panel will take a comprehensive view of the key changes we can expect to see in the next generation, post-pandemic enterprise.

(James Manyika and Rodney Zemmel, presenter/moderator, with Sebastian Grady, Sandy Pentland, and April Sandoval)

We'll discuss the last episode and preview what's coming in October. We will also discuss attendee feedback as well as updates to the program. Join the conversation and help us evolve the MIT Sloan Digital Learning Series.

Mike Grandinetti will kick-off this episode leading panel #1 about how the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation. George Westerman will then lead panel #2 about building a digital-ready culture. Finally, Allan Tate and Guy Snodgrass will close the Digital Learning Series talking about leadership in times of crisis.

Panel #1: Digital Transformation on the Fast Track

The coronavirus pandemic has transformed our daily lives. Remote work has become a necessity, and many are not going back to the office. Telemedicine has become critical for protecting patients and health-care workers while providing much needed care. Schools have been forced to shift to virtual learning options as campuses remain closed. Events around the world, including the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, have had to transform to a virtual format. How can CIOs cope when digital transformation becomes critical to survival?

(Mike Grandinetti, moderator, with Stephen Franchetti, Zachary Smith, Graham Wilkinson and Zeeshan Tariq)

Panel #2: Building Digital Ready Culture in Traditional Organizations

In the search for a faster and more innovative culture, leaders can be tempted to copy digital-born companies such as Amazon and Google and Uber. But great leaders resist the temptation, since those cultures can require policies that traditional companies can’t adopt and can generate consequences they don’t want to risk. Rather than try and fail to replicate the cultures of digital startups, leaders can build a digital-ready culture that enhances speed and innovation while building on the unique characteristics of traditional companies. In this session, we’ll discuss the three steps to creating a digital-ready culture, and how leaders have built those elements in their firms.

(George Westerman, moderator, with Shamin Mohammad and Cynthia Stoddard)

Fireside Chat: Leadership in Times of Crisis

CIOs don’t typically get leadership training from the cockpit of a fighter jet, but these are not normal times. Those that find opportunities to positively impact their community while staring down a pandemic, a faltering economy, and a rising tide of social unrest will distinguish themselves. With no manual to guide them and no time to prepare, these leaders need to see the bigger picture, adapt to the situation, and take calculated risks to address the rapidly changing needs of customers and employees. Months spent at sea in close quarters onboard an aircraft carrier, flying fighter jets while rapidly analyzing and acting on large amounts of data, and the need to handle rapidly changing circumstances all seem more real in today’s uncertain environment. In this fireside chat, we’ll find out what CIOs can learn from the U.S. Navy’s Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN).

(Allan R. Tate with Guy Snodgrass)