Technology

Iowa IT Symposium 2026

The Iowa IT Symposium is Iowa's premier single-day event designed exclusively for the IT executive community. The event serves as a conduit for IT professionals to build a stronger professional peer network and attain real-world knowledge on business-changing technology and management solutions. Attendees can expect a Symposium focused on relevant topics cur…

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18Speakers
0Sponsors
57On the bill · sessions
11Companies · in total
§I

Speakers

Programmed at Iowa, in alphabetical order.
Alyssa Bradshaw
AI Engineer III · Athene
Barry Britt
DevOps Engineer Lead · Athene
Becky Deitenbeck
Faculty · Des Moines Area Community College
Beth Sulú
Director of Data, Analytics & Business Intelligence · ITA Group
Chad Bruggemann
AVP Information Technology · Athene
Damon West
Best Selling Author and Speaker
Elizabeth Tweedale
Founder & CEO · Coco Coders
Erin VanWerden
Director, Creative Strategy - Communication Solutions Group · ITA Group
Jeremy Graves
Dean, School of Business & Innovation · Ohio Christian University
Kyle Daghighi
Senior Solutions Engineer · Rubrik
Larry Olson
Senior Solutions Architect · Xigent
Michael Meis
Associate CISO and Head of AI Strategy · The University of Kansas Health System
Randy Sunderman
VP Information Technology · Heartland Co-op
Rod Lucero
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) · Xigent
Scott Wilson
Senior Engineering Consultant · Source Allies
Suresh Reddy
Automation Architect Lead · American Equity Investment Life Holding Company
Todd Stewart
Application Architect · Heartland Co-op
Vicky Bang
Software Consultant · Source Allies
§III

Agenda

Selected from 57 sessions on the bill.
  • 10:00 AM

    Breakout Session #1

  • 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM CDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM Your local time (45 min)

    From Hype to Value: Measuring the Real ROI of AI Investments

    AI adoption is moving fast, but proving business value remains a challenge. In this session, Beth Sulú and Erin VanWerden will share their organization's real-world journey from AI…

  • 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM CDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM Your local time (45 min)

    How Athene Built an Agentic QA Assistant to Eliminate Test Case Creation

    Manual test case creation is slow, inconsistent, and heavily dependent on individual QA tribal knowledge - edge cases get missed, coverage varies by person, and it eats hours every…

  • 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM CDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM Your local time (45 min)

    Internal Talent Pipelines: Get Out Of Your Own Way

    The talent market has whiplashed in just a few years, swinging from frantic hiring to layoffs to today's tighter, pickier market where the specialists you actually need are still h…

  • 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM CDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM Your local time(45 min)

    Breakout Session #1

  • 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM CDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM Your local time(45 min)

    From Hype to Value: Measuring the Real ROI of AI Investments

    AI adoption is moving fast, but proving business value remains a challenge. In this session, Beth Sulú and Erin VanWerden will share their organization's real-world journey from AI…

  • 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM CDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM Your local time(45 min)

    How Athene Built an Agentic QA Assistant to Eliminate Test Case Creation

    Manual test case creation is slow, inconsistent, and heavily dependent on individual QA tribal knowledge - edge cases get missed, coverage varies by person, and it eats hours every…

  • 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM CDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM Your local time(45 min)

    The Culture Equation: Developing Your Multigenerational Team for Success in Today’s Workplace

    Healthy teams don’t just happen; they’re built with intention. The Culture Equation offers a practical, engaging look at what drives successful, connected teams and how to strength…

  • 10:45 AM

    Break

Intermission
Part the Second · For the Buyer

An audience of 11 companies, parsed from the program.

Eleven companies in attendance.

The numbers below are derived from the speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors on this page, cross-referenced into one ledger. They are the only thing here that 10times.com cannot tell you.

Who's in the room
0All threespeak · spons · exh
0Sponsoringsponsor only
11Companies Speakingspeaker only
Speakers by seniority

33% of the speakers carry senior titles: C-suite, Founder, VP, or Director-level.

  • C-suite317%
  • VP-level16%
  • Director / Head of211%
  • Manager / Lead211%
  • Engineer · IC633%
  • Other roles422%

Of 18 on the bill · classified by free-text title

Most-represented companies
  1. 01Athene3V
  2. 02Heartland Co-op2V
  3. 03ITA Group2V
  4. 04Source Allies2V
  5. 05Xigent2V
  6. 06American Equity Investment Life Holding Company1V
  7. 07Coco Coders1V
  8. 08Des Moines Area Community College1V
  9. 09Ohio Christian University1V
  10. 10Rubrik1V
  11. 11The University of Kansas Health System1V
Sponsors by tier

Tiers were not disclosed for this event.