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Vivek Kundra      

Executive Vice President of Emerging Markets, Salesforce.com and Chief Information Officer of the United States (2009-2011)

Vivek Kundra was appointed as the first United States chief information officer by President Obama and was responsible for managing $80 billion in annual technology spending, adopting game changing technologies, strengthening the cybersecurity posture of the nation and launching an open government movement which has been replicated around the world. Prior to joining the Obama administration, Kundra served as the chief technology officer for the District of Columbia and as assistant secretary of Commerce and Technology for the state of Virginia. Currently, he serves as the executive-vice president of Industries for Salesforce.com and is the chair of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Future of the Internet. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The World Economic Forum selected Kundra as a Young Global Leader, representing a group of exceptional young leaders who share a commitment to shaping the global future. Kundra has been recognized as the 2011 “Government Executive of the Year” by TechAmerica; the 2009 “Chief of the Year” by InformationWeek for driving unprecedented change in Federal IT and as the 2008 “IT Executive of the Year” for his pioneering work to drive transparency, engage citizens and lower the cost of government operations. Kundra also served as a joint fellow at Harvard at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.

Speech Topics

Overcoming Technology Challenges: The Best Defense is a Good Offense

A mild economic recovery and a focus on containing costs have put tremendous pressure on executives all over the world—particularly in the technology space. As organizations of all sizes are grappling with how to keep a focus on innovation while doing more with less, many are finding it hard to make progress and get buy-in for necessary investments in technology. As leaders face these headwinds, many are left wondering how they can build a foundation for an extremely agile business that enables innovation, growth and collaboration. Vivek Kundra, the nation’s first Chief Information Officer, has received high acclaim for spearheading countless programs which have resulted in massive shifts in efficiency, transparency and accountability. Kundra offers insight on topics and challenges that can be tailored to your organization, including:

  • Balancing innovation and cost leadership—how do you measure project performance and allocate IT investments accordingly?
  • How countries can architect a better future through building blocks of innovative technologies
  • Replacing subjective judgments about projects with objective, data-driven analytics
  • How to evaluate IT projects for rescoping and cancelation
  • The increasing importance of cybersecurity in protecting our nation’s critical infrastructure
  • How technology companies can disrupt the public sector market

Leading Change and the Challenges of Transformation

As the nation’s first Chief Information Officer, Vivek Kundra was faced with the tremendous challenge of leading the federal government’s information technology bureaucracy at a time when cutting costs, increasing efficiency and driving innovation was of paramount importance. Having managed the $80B federal technology budget, Kundra’s efforts yielded significant progress in transforming the way technology is purchased and managed by bringing best-in-class private sector solutions to solve massive public sector inefficiencies. The result has been a highly transparent, efficient and accountable environment focused on making systems and information useful to the public. In this keynote presentation, Vivek Kundra shares his experience leading change across the world’s largest consumer of information technology—the U.S. government—and the lessons every organization can use when leading a transformation in a change-averse environment. Kundra also explains:

  • His leadership principles and how to use technology to create lasting change
  • How to create a transparent and accountable environment that sheds light on what’s going on within an organization
  • The importance of action-oriented, executable and nimble methodologies
  • People are our biggest asset; How do you source people using the Silicon Valley approach?
  • How do you tap into the power and creativity of people to keep innovation optimal and stay on top of the latest technologies?
  • How to confront the tough decisions that need to be made to keep your organization growing and competitive

Big Data, Big Opportunities

Data. Our lives are surrounded by it and it only grows as technology encompasses our lives. Whether documents, emails, social media artifacts, images, medical records, web search information or collecting information on human behavior like how people drive to work or even use their thermostats, many leaders have a hard time trying to figure out how—and what—to evaluate when using big data to determine organizational strategy, enhancing products or simply making life better for consumers. Drawing on his experiences leading efforts as the CIO of the United States and as the EVP for emerging markets for Salesforce.com, Vivek Kundra illuminates audiences on the power and opportunities that lie within big data. From how data is being used to transform transportation, education and health care to how information is being used to make smarter products, Kundra shares:

  • How to use big data: what to pay attention to and what to avoid
  • What cutting-edge ways big data is being used to increase organizational efficiency, product design, the bottom line—and people’s lives
  • How collaboration and big data are the future of technology

Cyber Security: Keeping Your Business Ahead of the Curve

With continuing reports of foreign governments hacking into businesses and governments around the world, cyber security has moved from being just an IT problem to being one of the top issues facing corporations today. As we all grapple with what these cyber threats mean for our business, personal and national security, technology visionary and Salesforce.com EVP Vivek Kundra helps audiences understand the importance of being on the offense when it comes to protecting your organization's vital interests. As a member of the Obama Administration, it was Kundra’s responsibility to lead the Federal government’s cyber security initiatives, improving response times, outcomes and the processes that hindered the cyber security management capabilities of the world’s largest purveyor of IT services. Today, Kundra helps audiences understand: - Current cyber threats and best-in-class counter measures

  • What the business and government community needs to do to broadly confront the cyber security issue

  • How cyber security is now an organizational problem and what both IT and organizational leaders need to do to get all stakeholders on the offense in confronting this issue

  • How collaboration lays a crucial role in ensuring security

News

From First Ever Federal CIO To Business Development Executive ...
Vivek Kundra, Former US Government CIO turned EVP of Emerging Markets for salesforce.com (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Vivek Kundra has had the kind of ...

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