The Future is Connected: Insights on Smart Products from the Front Lines of Innovation
Mark Benson, Head of SmartThings, Samsung
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The Future is Connected: Insights on Smart Products from the Front Lines of Innovation
Mark Benson, Head of SmartThings, Samsung
Connected products are reshaping the way consumers live and how companies deliver value. In this session, Mark Benson, Head of SmartThings at Samsung, will explore the rapid evolution of connected devices from two key perspectives: the industry-wide shift toward smart ecosystems and the experience of companies that design and build these products. Drawing on Samsung’s leadership in the connected home and IoT space, Mark will share lessons learned from developing SmartThings, including the challenges of interoperability, the role of data in creating seamless experiences, and the future of consumer expectations. Whether you are building smart products or adapting your business to work within a connected world, this session offers a front-row view into what is next.
Key Takeaways:
Ecosystems Over Devices: Understand how the shift from individual products to connected ecosystems is changing business models and customer engagement.
Producer Perspective: Gain insights into the design, development, and delivery of smart products from one of the world’s leading technology companies.
Looking Ahead: Learn what trends are shaping the next wave of connected innovation and what your organization can do today to stay ahead.
Mark Benson
Head of SmartThings
Samsung
Mark oversees SmartThings’ growth and development strategy, furthering its mission to achieve mass smart home adoption with a unified and intelligent home experience.
Prior to SmartThings, Mark held executive leadership roles at several technology companies across industries ranging from software development to design and manufacturing. Mark is a recognized speaker on the value of connected products to users and businesses and has authored several technical papers on strategic planning, organizational behavior, competitive strategy, product management, software engineering leadership, data analytics, and information security. Mark is also the author of The Art of Software Thermal Management for Embedded Systems (Springer 2014).
Mark earned a Master of Science in Software Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Bethel University.
The Future-Stack Revolution: Product Management Reimagined for the AI Age
Denise Tilles, Chief Product Officer and Founder of Grocket, Co-Author of Product Operations: How Successful Companies Build Better Products at Scale
Enjoy a highlight clip from this session:
The Future-Stack Revolution: Product Management Reimagined for the AI Age
Denise Tilles, Chief Product Officer and Founder of Grocket, Co-Author of Product Operations: How Successful Companies Build Better Products at Scale
The traditional product management role is evolving rapidly as AI tools reshape how we build products and deliver value. Denise Tilles, Founder and Chief Product Officer of Grocket and co-author of Product Operations: How Successful Companies Build Better Products at Scale, presents a new framework for “Future-Stack Product Management” — where product managers take end-to-end ownership of processes and problems, balanced across strategic, operational, and tactical capabilities. In this session, Denise reveals how successful PMs are leveraging AI to automate lower-value tasks while focusing on higher-impact strategic work, and how organizations can develop these future-ready capabilities to accelerate time to value while maintaining commercial focus and competitive advantage.
Key Takeaways:
Rebalancing the PM Role: Discover how to shift from the typical 65% tactical focus to a balanced 33-33-33 distribution across tactical, operational, and strategic work, using AI to handle routine tasks while elevating strategic impact.
AI-Enhanced Skill Development: Learn specific AI tools and techniques for developing capabilities across all three stacks — from using GenAI for user research synthesis and roadmap generation to leveraging AI for competitive analysis and market research.
Commercial Value Creation: Understand how Future-Stack PMs create measurable business impact through resourceful prioritization, commercial mindset development, and clear AI-human role delineation that drives faster problem-solving and better customer solutions.
Denise Tilles
Chief Product Officer and Founder of Grocket,
Co-Author of Product Operations: How Successful Companies Build Better Products at Scale
Denise Tilles is the Chief Product Officer and Founder of Grocket, with over a decade of experience leading product strategy and operations. She has worked with top organizations including Bloomberg, Sam’s Club, and athenahealth to strengthen product capabilities in strategy, operations, organizational design, and operating models.
Her experience spans both B2B and B2C companies across industries such as SaaS, healthcare, fintech, media, nonprofit, and more. Previously, she built and led product teams at Cision, Condé Nast, and Understood.
Denise is also the co-author of the 2023 book Product Operations, written with renowned product expert Melissa Perri.
Racing Ahead with Data & AI: Leading Tech Innovation from Pit Road to the Boardroom
Logan McLeod draws on a distinguished career spanning leadership roles at General Motors, Dell, and TForce to deliver this session for us. Most notably, as CIO for GM Motorsports, he pioneered the industry-first SaaS platform that integrated native AI across major racing series including NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA, WEC, and Formula One optimizing workflows and team performance. In this session, Logan will share his playbook for accelerating digital transformation through data and AI. You’ll gain insights into scaling enterprise-grade solutions in high-velocityenvironments, managing organizational complexity, technology risk, and turning high-stakes innovation into real business outcomes.
Key Takeaways:
Driving Strategic AI Adoption: Learn the art of delivering high-impact AI solutions under pressure, whether on the racetrack or in the boardroom.
Building Scalable Tech Platforms: Discover crucial lessons from launching a motorsports SaaS platform across global racing series and how they translate to mainstream enterprise environments.
Leading Organizational Change: Gain key strategies for guiding cross-functional teams through digital transformation and aligning stakeholders around a unified technology vision.
Logan McLeod
Senior Executive Advisor – Data & AI
McLeod Enterprises, LLC.
Logan McLeod is the principal of McLeod Enterprises LLC. His career in technology spans General Motors, Dell & TForce, and he is renowned for driving technological advancement across Motorsport, Automotive, Manufacturing, and Logistics sectors. A recognized strategy leader in data, transformation, and AI strategy, Logan possesses a strong capability for building and advising high-performing teams.
As the former Chief Information Officer & Director for GM Motorsports, Logan was instrumental in establishing an industry-first Motorsports Technology SaaS Platform, providing critical support for elite racing series including NASCAR, Indycar, IMSA, WEC and Formula One. In this role, Logan championed the native integration of AI to radically optimize the workflow of racing end-to-end. Real-time AI Analytics created foundational competitive advantage resulting in many championship wins across 2023 and 2024.
Logan’s impactful contributions extends to his tenure at General Motors, where he led the transformation of the Global Data Management ecosystem, transitioning from numerous external suppliers to a robust in-house IT organization, insourcing from dozens of external suppliers. Logan also directed the Strategic Incubation Office, tasked with developing internal consultancy for seamless technology solution development. Their expertise has been recognized with prestigious accolades, including the CIO Excellence in IT in re-imagining real-time vehicle telemetry systems and data fabric architectures supporting global manufacturing. Logan is a compelling speaker on the transformative power of AI in high-speed racing and enterprise-wide technology innovation.
AI at Promega: Empowering Innovation and Wellness Through Emerging Technologies
Sandra Gardner, Chief Information Officer, and Mark Sehmer, Manager of Emerging Technologies, Promega
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AI at Promega: Empowering Innovation and Wellness Through Emerging Technologies
Sandra Gardner, Chief Information Officer, and Mark Sehmer, Manager of Emerging Technologies, Promega
At Promega, the journey into AI is not just about advancing technology—it’s about supporting people. Join Sandra Gardner, Chief Information Officer, as she shares how Promega is taking a thoughtful, human-first approach to exploring AI. Through their adoption, Promega has moved quickly to identify areas where AI can add business value while staying grounded in its culture of employee well-being. From initial steps in building a dedicated emerging technologies function to embedding emotional and social wellness into future plans, this session offers a candid look at how Promega is balancing innovation with empathy. Sandra will also introduce Promega’s newly formed Emerging Technologies team, led by Mark Sehmer, Manager of Emerging Technologies, who will highlight some of the impactful early-stage projects underway across the enterprise.
Key Takeaways:
AI as a Business and Human Enabler: Explore how Promega is beginning to tie AI opportunities to both business performance and organizational well-being.
Laying the Groundwork: Hear how Promega is approaching AI exploration with intentionality, including the formation of a team focused on emerging technologies.
Leading with Care Through Change: Learn how Promega is cultivating technology literacy and preparing to support emotional readiness as AI adoption grows.
Sandra Gardner
Chief Information Officer
Promega
Sandra Gardner is a dynamic technology leader with over 25 years of experience driving strategic innovation across healthcare, insurance, and government sectors. As Chief Information Officer at Promega Corporation, she leads with a commitment to kindness, curiosity, and respect, ensuring IT strategy aligns with business growth and fosters a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
Previously, Sandra held executive leadership roles at WPS Health Solutions, where she spearheaded large-scale technology transformations, achieving over $70 million in cost savings, restructuring teams of nearly 450 technologists, and securing top national usability ratings for provider portals. Her expertise in IT governance, data strategy, and emerging technologies has positioned her as a trusted advisor in bridging the gap between technology and business outcomes.
A passionate advocate for innovation, Sandra excels at solving complex challenges, optimizing organizational structures, and delivering technology solutions that create lasting impact.
Mark Sehmer
Manager of Emerging Technologies
Promega
Mark Sehmer is a seasoned technology leader based in Stoughton, Wisconsin, currently contributing his expertise at Promega Corporation, a global biotechnology company headquartered in Madison. With a robust background in emerging technologies and a commitment to advancing scientific research, Mark plays a pivotal role in supporting Promega’s mission to provide innovative solutions for the life sciences industry.
Mark’s educational background includes studies at the University of Wisconsin–Stout, where he focused on fields that have equipped him with a solid foundation in technology and innovation. His commitment to advancing scientific research and his contributions to technological advancements underscore his pivotal role in supporting Promega’s objectives in the biotechnology sector.
Steering Committee
Alberto Ruocco
Position title: SVP & CIO Alliant Energy
Michael Waisbrot
Position title: CTO UW Health
Technology Track Sponsor
The Technology track is proudly sponsored by Denodo and YASH Technologies.
Denodo is a leader in data management. The award-winning Denodo Platform is the leading logical data management platform for transforming data into trustworthy insights and outcomes for all data-related initiatives across the enterprise, including AI and self-service. Denodo’s customers in all industries all over the world have delivered trusted AI-ready and business-ready data in a third of the time and with 10x better performance than with lakehouses and other mainstream data platforms alone. For more information, visit denodo.com.
YASH Technologies is a digital transformation specialist & systems integrator trusted by 100+ Fortune 500 companies. YASH merges top-tier advisory and consulting capabilities with in-depth technology expertise to architect end-to-end, impactful, and value-centric transformation for enterprises across diverse industries.
As the Technology Practice Director, Heidi Rozmiarek leads the technology practice of the UWEBC. She works with member companies to ensure education, research, and advisory service offerings are aligned with the needs of the membership. Heidi brings over 20 years of experience helping companies achieve operational success by leveraging technology and data through her work in consulting and senior leadership positions in software development, data management, and enterprise applications. Heidi’s diverse background includes extensive experience in the healthcare industry, where she spent over a decade leading technology and analytics initiatives for healthcare providers, insurers, and life sciences companies.
Heidi holds an MBA from the University of South Dakota, a BS in Computer Science, Marketing, and Finance from Morningside University, and a Master’s Certificate in Accounting from Edgewood College.
Highlights from last year's Technology Track
Here are a few highlights from last year’s Technology track:
The Future is Connected: Insights on Smart Products from the Front Lines of Innovation
The Future-Stack Revolution: Product Management Reimagined for the AI Age
Racing Ahead with Data & AI: Leading Tech Innovation from Pit Road to the Boardroom
AI at Promega: Empowering Innovation and Wellness Through Emerging Technologies
Sandra Gardner
Mark Sehmer
