Make AI useful
Move beyond demos toward governed systems tied to real business outcomes.
This event has ended
Data professionals will shape what AI becomes.
One focused day with the leaders turning trusted data, practical governance, and enterprise AI into measurable outcomes.
15 speakersData, AI, governance, media, healthcare and change
- Date
- Friday, October 9, 2026
- Time
- 8:00 AM–5:00 PM PDT
- Place
- Loyola Marymount University · Los Angeles
- Your pass
- All sessions + lunch + evening social
What changes after this day
Leave with a sharper way forward.
DAMA Days is built for the people translating AI ambition into working systems, responsible decisions, and measurable value.
Build trusted context
Connect strategy, governance, metadata, and architecture to AI readiness.
Lead the change
Turn operating reality and human judgment into adoption that can last.
Find your peers
Compare notes with leaders and practitioners solving the same hard problems.
A day with an argument
From trusted foundations to real transformation.
The program follows the questions enterprise teams are asking now—not a random stack of talks.
Morning
Understand the new language of AI.
Featured session: Token Illiteracy Is the New Data Illiteracy with Karen Pfeifer.
Late morning
Make data strategy the engine.
Strategy, curation, unstructured data, and the economics behind trustworthy AI.
Afternoon
Lead the human side of change.
CDO perspectives and practical guidance for moving teams through AI transformation.
Late afternoon
Ground agents in trusted context.
Agentic enterprise design, data governance, MDM, and measurable AI value.
View the full day
Registration / Breakfast / Exhibition Hall
Welcome / Opening
Intro
Peter Aiken, PhD
Agents in Data Governance & Stewardship
Eric McGee and Sarvesh Chinnappa
Token Illiteracy Is the New Data Illiteracy
Karen Pfeifer
Data Strategy Drives the Success of Any Data Initiative, Including Using AI
Marilu Lopez
Fireside Chat: Data Curation, Unstructured Data & the Future Economics of AI
Richard W. Kroon and Curt Mayers
CDO Panel Discussion: The Future of Data in the Age of AI
Peter Aiken, PhD, André Vargas, Flavia Lan, Sowgandhika Dusa and Albert Duntugan
Leading the Human Side of AI Changes
Aakriti Agrawal Kim
Grounding the Agentic Workforce: Architecting Data Governance and Context for Enterprise AI
Joshua "JT" Thomas
Agentifying the Enterprise for Real Transformation
Tamara Sipes, Ph.D.
From MDM to Measurable AI Value: A Practical Workshop for Building Trusted Business Context
Kinshuk Dutta
Event Wrap Up / Event Survey / Book Raffle
Preparation for CDMP Exam
Social Hour
CDMP Pay if You Pass Event
People doing the work
Credibility you can see.
Leaders from data management, enterprise AI, entertainment, healthcare, technology, and transformation.
Peter Aiken, PhD
President, DAMA International · VCU · MIT ISCDO
Marilu Lopez
Data strategist and author
Karen Pfeifer
Chief AI Officer, CDO & Data + AI executive
Tamara Sipes, Ph.D.
AI CTO, Cognizant · Enterprise AI strategy
Aakriti Agrawal Kim
Fortune 100 data leader · author · founder
André Vargas
Chief Data Officer, Creative Artists Agency
Plus 9 more voices
from across the data + AI ecosystem.
A DAMA Days differentiator
Put your knowledge to the test.
A pay-if-you-pass CDMP® exam is promoted as a separate add-on. Confirm the final exam date and logistics during registration.
Sponsors, exhibitors & partners
Supported by organizations moving the field forward.
