2023 Summit Agenda in Development and Updated Weekly
Our Summit tracks are: Exemplify, Empower, and Educate.
Exemplify is for female C-suite leaders, Empower is for those making their way up the ranks, and Educate is for those who wish to learn – either greater technical knowledge or more on mentoring, philanthropy and STEM Outreach.
At the SIM Women Leadership Summit, we focus on leadership. We have sessions on board pursuit, race relations in tech, DEI & Belonging, personal development & well-being, communications & storytelling, empathy and engagement, global data privacy, security, as well as angel funding for diverse female and LGBTQ+ founders, and how to hire diverse talent.
We focus on those topics that are relevant to the leaders we need to be today and into tomorrow.
8:00 - 8:30
Mentoring Circles
Guggenheim Ballroom
Breakfast
Guggenheim Foyer
8:30 - 9:30
Welcome & Opening Keynote
Guggenheim Ballroom
Speakers: Mark Taylor & Kristen Lamoreaux
9:35 - 10:00
Breakouts
EXEMPLIFY | Board Diversity - Top Mistakes & Top Tips
EMPOWER | Modern Management Mentor
The ‘broken rung’ on the career ladder for women is leading teams, (Women In The Workplace Study 2023). Whether you inspire and lead managers or you are managing a team for the first time – this high-impact session is for you. Our session together will focus on three key strategies especially effective for hybrid managers – managing work by outcome, impact of strengths-based work alignment, and a new way to think about work priority.
EDUCATE | How to Automate Disruption
10:00 - 10:20
Networking Break
Guggenheim Foyer
10:20 - 10:55
Breakouts
EXEMPLIFY | Technical Debt - How NOT to be a Case Study
We’re all aware of the phrase “good debt” as it relates to our personal fiscal responsibilities, but technical debt is a tightrope leaders walk daily – one slip and you end up in the news and the latest case study in what NOT to do. We’ve assembled a panel of leaders who will candidly discuss their thoughts on untangling technical debt while balancing innovation and growth initiatives.
EMPOWER | Talent Development - “How To” in a “We Can’t” Economy
As leading indicators and pundits mimic Chicken Little with their “The sky is falling” recession predictions, leaders are faced with defending or justifying every expense and/or cutting programs to the bare bones; unfortunately, the training and development of your teams often falls to the cutting room floor. Though salaries are slowly adjusting downward to saner levels, key facets in IT will remain in high demand. It is still a “candidate market.” How can you compete if you can’t offer new employees further development? How can you retain your current workforce if their skills are going stale? How relevant will your company be if every person is 3 years behind the pace of technology?
We have gathered thought leaders who have continued to cultivate their employees despite budget cuts, overwhelming time demands, and changes in work location structures. Listen and learn “How To” make Talent Development successful in a “We Can’t” economy.
EDUCATE | Business Architecture
11:00 - 11:25
Breakouts
11:30 - 12:00
Dollars & Sense – An Economic Look Ahead
Guggenheim Ballroom
The mixed signals we’re seeing – the boom of IT across mid-sized and smaller organizations versus the layoffs at the tech giants – coupled with the mixed economic predictions make forecasting for the future challenging.
We’ve invited two economic thought leaders to share their perspectives – global, national, and regional to the Chicago area. They’ll highlight what key indicators to watch and tell us if the old adage is true: Where Tech goes, the world follows.
12:00 - 12:50
Luncheon & Keynote
Guggenheim Ballroom
12:50 - 1:10
Networking Break
Guggenheim Foyer
1:10 - 2:15
(Un)Common Ground Storytelling Series with ITSMF and HITEC
Guggenheim Ballroom
The social injustice tragedies that took place in 2020 crystalized an existing need within the technology community to empower all leaders to have conversations about race in the workplace. The Society for Information Management (SIM) and Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) are partnering on a quarterly webinar series titled (Un)Common Ground bringing together members from our organizations to share their personal narratives surrounding career origins and journeys, leadership development and advancement, and the impact of race, bias, and lack of inclusion.
The (Un)Common Ground session will feature three venture capitalists – one Black, one White, one Latina – who will share their personal stories and then participate in a moderated Q&A. They will share career journeys and mission to make a difference among Black, LGBTQ, and Latinx founders as we continue to explore "(Un)Common Ground."
The intentions behind the (Un)Common Ground series are to:
- Educate and equip our leaders to lead a multi-cultural organization (closing ignorance gap, empathy) and share strategies, data, and tools
- Raise awareness of the challenges for Black leaders in technology - both conscious and unconscious
- Create more sensitivity and openness around the advancement of people of color in tech
- Encourage leaders to have difficult conversations because the understanding and trust that is gained is priceless
We want the result of the series to be a call to action - not one that is demanded, but one that is offered. We're hopeful that attendees will be inspired and strive to remove obstacles and bias from their hiring and promoting practices, be deliberate in their development and inclusion across their teams and have stronger relationships and engagement with their peers and employees.
2:15 - 2:30
DEI Workshop: Race & Grace
Guggenheim Ballroom
2:30 - 2:50
Networking Break
Guggenheim Foyer
2:50 - 3:30
Breakouts
EXEMPLIFY | Executive Storytelling - A Framework for Success
EMPOWER | Navigating Conflicting Priorities
The original session title was “Balancing Conflicting Priorities” but as you’ll learn from this session, balance is an illusion. We make the best decision with the information we have, and we move forward. The difference between success and failure is in your reasoning and communication with partners.
EDUCATE | Recruiting Top Talent - Should you Compromise?
A CIO once said, “You get the team you deserve. Hire quickly and compromise, you’ll get the team you deserve. Stay thoughtful and focused, you’ll get the team you deserve.” Incredibly insightful, but this was said twenty years ago.
Whether you are a Fortune 100 or a Fortune 1000, if you’re hiring within tech, you’re competing. The days of “Post & Sort the first 200 applicants” are over – “Post & Hope” isn’t an option today. Even when you have a great story to tell, the spike in compensation packages can keep you from getting the talent you want. How do you prioritize the skills you need? How far should you stretch your “culture add” mentality? How can you make your hybrid workplace policy equitable, yet still attractive?
We’ve gathered HR, recruitment, and technology leaders to share their stories and lesson learned. Heads up: There’s no ONE WAY to be successful, but you can learn new ideas and methodologies to enhance - or in some cases, rework – your recruitment strategy!
3:35 - 4:30
Closing Keynote
Guggenheim Ballroom
4:30 - 5:30
Networking Cocktail Reception
Guggenheim Foyer