SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 21
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Trade show
9:00 AM
“A Look at Healthcare: Managing Your Cloud & AI” – Shane Rodabaugh, System Vice President, IT Infrastructure, Baptist Health System
10:00 AM
“Bardstown Bourbon: A Case Study of How ERP, Robotics, & AI Are Changing Bourbon Production” – Aaron Butler, Senior Project Manager at Bardstown Bourbon Company
11:00 PM
Corporate Panel Discussion: “Examining Your Next Cybersecurity Spend – Beefing Up For AI & Cyber Resilience”
Panel Participants:
- Moderator: Dawn Yankeelov, CEO of TALK
- Jeff Jarecki, CISSP, CCSP, GSLC, GICSP, CCSK, Volta, Inc.
- Joe Harrington, Senior Manager of Cybersecurity, Texas Roadhouse, Inc
- Maurice Stepteau, CISO, Hardscuffle Inc. (an area insurance conglomerate)
12:00 PM
Keynote: “The Current & Future State of Quantum Computing,” – Duane Martin, Quantum Computing Sales Director, & Sr. Quantum Computing Ambassador, IBM. (1 hour session)
Box Lunch will be served for all attendees and tradeshow booth personnel
1:00 PM
“NEW: The KY Cyber Threat Intelligence Collaborative and Its Real-Time Sharing”- James Meece, CISO, Louisville Metro Government
Looking Ahead: Data Management & AI’s Role
Panelists:
- Moderator: Da-Wyone Haynes, Global Manager, Infrastructure Security Event Management & Web Security Services, Aegon TransAmerica & FBI InfraGard National MidWest Regional Representative
- Keith Johnson, Executive Vice President, Obviam
- Nathan Cecil, U of L Graduate, Data Analytics
- Dinuk Abeysinghe, AI & Data Productivity Sales Leader
- Roy H. Peek, Storage Software Sales SME – Southeast National Market IBM Technology
2:00 PM
“Cybersecurity Analytics: Definition, Solution, and Use Cases” – Richard Connor, CEO, Lockstock Cyber Security
3:00 PM
“AI in Software Development: A Case Study” – Sarah Bhatia, Principal Product Lead, Slingshot, and Doug Compton, Principal Developer, Slingshot.
3:00 – 6:00 PM
Golf Simulator Room Opens until 6:00 PM –Pre-Sign Ups Earlier in Day in Golf Simulator Room.
4:00 – 6:00 PM
TALK Cocktail Hours. Heavy Appetizers. Cash Bar.
4:00 PM
Tradeshow Ends.
SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 22
9:00 AM
Breakout Session-“Tech Startup Overview–OnMyWay Commerce: In-Vehicle Transactions Ahead,” Jim Greene, VP of Partnerships, OnMyWay Commerce (30 minute session)
Trade show continues until 3:00PM.
Workshop:
“How to Build a Simple Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Pipeline” – Justin Tindle, Director of Software Development, E-Blu Solutions
930 AM
Breakout Session-“Roundtable Discussion: Understanding the Lou. Econ Dev Alliance’s Role in Tech.” Trevor Pawl, CEO, Louisville Econ Dev Alliance (30 minute session)
10:00 AM
TALK SESSION
Edward McCabe, Founder/Principal, The Rubicon Advisory Group
CISM CRISC CGEIT CDPSE COBIT SABSA – Workforce Training – Certifications Overview & Signups (30 minute session)
Fireside Chat: “Entering AI: Digital Twins modeling in the Data Center,” – Eric Poynter, World Wide Technology, Consulting Systems Engineer, Consulting Systems Engineer | OH & KY SLED
10:30 AM
TALK SESSION
“Winning at the Recruitment Game – What to Consider to Move Up the Ladder”
- Michael Newkirk, Healthcare National Sales Director, Experis Health Solutions
- Dan Lutes, Sr. Business Development Manager , TCI
- Chris Rittmuller – Sr. Business Development Manager , TCI
Moderator: Sam Smith, Senior VP, ASB Resources
11:00 AM
Panel: “What’s New for the Defender’s Guide on Cyber Enforcement 2026.”
Moderator: Kathie McDonald-McClure, Partner, Bricker Graydon Wyatt.
Panelists:
Adel Elmaghraby, Speed School Director of Industrial Research and AI Innovation, University of Louisville.
Colin Glover, Cybersecurity Coordinator, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Kentucky (Region IV).
Dennis McGough, Senior Manager, LBMC’s Cybersecurity practice
Kevin Cornwell, CPA, CISA, CITP, CMMC RP Cybersecurity Risk & Compliance Associate Director
“Domain Aware Hallucination Mitigation.” Speaker: Sahil Garg, Senior Manager, AI & Cloud Computing, CVS Health.
“Protecting your organization’s High Value Assets – Integrating Cybersecurity into Physical and Protective Security Programs” – James Kelly, Solutions Engineer, Mandiant
11:30 AM
“De-Identified Data: Can AI See Through the Mask?” – Jesse Chowning, Cybersecurity Manager, LBMC
12:00 PM
Keynote with Luncheon / Networking.
Keynote: “Traditional Cybersecurity vs. Next Gen,” Terry Roberts, Founder & CEO, WhiteHawk, Inc.
1:00 PM
Spotlight Panel: “Regional AI Research & Startup Developments.”
Moderator: Terry Roberts, WhiteHawk.
Panelists:
- Dr. Kelly Cohen, President, North American Fuzzy Information Processing Society (NAFIPS), Brian H. Rowe Endowed Chair in Aerospace Engineering, Director AI Bio Lab, Digital Futures, University of Cincinnati
- Jon Salisbury, CEO, and Chief AI Officer, Nexigen
- Omar Emam, MD, AI researcher, University of Louisville
2:00 PM
Fireside Chat: “Understanding the AI & Data Center Picture.” Doug Large, Technology Advisor, Oakmont Technology Solutions with Scott Klink, Regional Director of Architecture, Trace 3
3:00 PM
Trade Show teardown.
Pictures from Techfest 2025
