CDAO Chicago Returns This August, Bringing Together the Midwest’s Data and AI Executives

CDAO Chicago will return on 11 and 12 August 2026 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Chicago Magnificent Mile, bringing together more than 250 senior data, analytics, and AI leaders for two days of strategic insight and peer to peer networking. Now in its ninth year, the Corinium Global Intelligence conference has become one of the Midwest’s established gatherings for Chief Data Officers, Chief Analytics Officers, and enterprise technology executives.

Key Highlights

• CDAO Chicago takes place 11 and 12 August 2026 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Chicago Magnificent Mile

• More than 250 senior data, analytics, and AI leaders expected, alongside 40+ expert speakers

• Keynote from Jimmy Kozlow, Chief Data Officer at Northern Trust, on the first 90 days of enterprise AI transformation

• Confirmed organizations include Gannett, JPMorgan Chase, JLL, TruStage, and The Hershey Company

• Registration is now open

A Ninth Year Built Around Governance and Scale

This year’s edition arrives as enterprises move past AI experimentation toward the harder work of building scalable governance frameworks and trusted data foundations. Across two days of keynotes, executive panels, and interactive discussions, attendees will explore how leading organizations are operationalizing AI while strengthening data quality, compliance, and enterprise decision making. The theme mirrors what other Corinium conferences in the CDAO series have flagged this year: governance has become the defining mandate for data leadership, not a secondary concern.

Who Is Speaking

Featured keynote speaker Jimmy Kozlow, Chief Data Officer at Northern Trust, will deliver a session examining the decisions, risks, and priorities that determine the success of modern data and AI programs, with practical guidance on the first 90 days of transformation efforts. He is joined by senior leaders from Gannett and the USA Today Network, JPMorgan Chase, JLL, TruStage, Health Network One, Mars Veterinary Health, The Hershey Company, and Athletico, representing financial services, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, consumer goods, and technology.

What the Agenda Covers

Sessions span data governance and compliance, AI applications in business, data driven decision making, responsible and ethical AI, enterprise analytics strategy, data quality and modern data platforms, and the leadership and culture shifts required for organizational transformation. Corinium has positioned the conference as a forum where executives can openly benchmark strategies with peers rather than sit through vendor pitches, a format that has also defined events like D&A Live’s summer gathering on scaling enterprise AI.

Beyond the main agenda, attendees get executive networking sessions, interactive roundtables, solution demonstrates, and one on one conversations with technology providers supporting enterprise data modernization. Organizers say the goal is to help executives leading data transformation programs, building AI governance frameworks, or developing data driven cultures walk away with insights they can apply immediately.

Why the Timing Matters

Corinium’s own research ahead of the event points to a widening gap between enterprises that have moved AI into production and those still stuck running pilots. That gap is exactly the working problem CDAO Chicago is built to close, giving practitioners a room full of peers who have already solved the same governance, staffing, and infrastructure questions rather than a stage full of vendors pitching platforms. For an event now in its ninth year, that format has proven durable precisely because it prioritizes practitioner time over sales time.

The Chicago date also lands ahead of a busy fall conference season for enterprise data and AI leadership, with sibling Corinium events including CDAO Fall in Boston and CAIO Fall, alongside CDAO Dallas later in the year. Together they form a circuit that gives data and AI executives recurring touchpoints throughout 2026 rather than a single annual checkpoint.

Registration and Press Details

Registration for CDAO Chicago is open now at the event’s official registration page. CDAO Chicago is part of Corinium Global Intelligence’s global portfolio of executive conferences on data, analytics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. Media inquiries can be directed to inquiries@coriniumgroup.com.

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