Iowa Technology Summit 2026 - Technology Association of Iowa
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Iowa
Technology
Summit

April 6-7, 2026   |   Des Moines

Learn where tech is heading from the Iowans building it. Connect with industry peers tackling the same challenges. Grow your network and your career at Iowa’s premier tech conference.

Presented by

Connect

Connect your peers and be part of Iowa’s vibrant tech ecosystem. Exchange ideas, share experiences, and build meaningful connections in a welcoming environment.

Learn

Great ideas gain momentum when we share them. From dynamic keynotes led by Iowa’s technology leaders to engaging panels and technical deep dives, explore six diverse content tracks designed to spark insight and action.

Grow

Get engaged to empower your teams and gain practical insight on how to work more efficiently and effectively—regardless of company size, industry, or role.

Keynote Presentation

Satturu will share a practical leadership perspective on navigating digital change without losing what makes an organization strong. Attendees will hear how technology-enabled evolution depends as much on leadership, culture, and decision-making as it does on tools, and how organizations can balance stability, growth, and innovation while strengthening resilience, security, and productivity.

Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Casey’s

Event Details

Monday, April 6, 2026

Summit Opening Party

Kick off the Summit with an evening of networking, drinks, and heavy hors d’oeuvres at the stunning Krause Gateway Center. 

4:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Krause Gateway Center
1459 Grand Ave, Des Moines, Iowa

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Iowa Technology Summit

The Summit begins early with breakfast, followed by the keynote address, impactful breakout sessions, demos, networking and more!

7:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Community Choice Convention Center
833 5th Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa

Registration

Registration includes access to the Opening Party on April 6th and all sessions on April 7th.

For questions about the Summit, contact events@technologyiowa.org.

Session Tracks

Explore six engaging content tracks designed to serve a wide range of interests and expertise across Cybersecurity, Data, Innovation, Leadership, and Transformation.

The sixth track — the Summit Sandbox — brings these disciplines together through small, informal, facilitator-guided conversations built for honest dialogue and practical problem-solving.

Each session is thoughtfully curated to deliver meaningful insights and actionable strategies to support your professional growth.

Stay tuned for additional speaker and session announcements.

Navigate the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity in this track. Learn about the latest threats, cutting-edge security strategies, and best practices for safeguarding digital assets. Ideal for professionals seeking to enhance their cyber defense skills and knowledge

Explore the multifaceted world of data in this track, encompassing broad areas like data governance, analytics strategies, and data-driven innovation. Engage with concepts crucial for harnessing data effectively in various sectors across Iowa’s technology landscape

Dive into the world of innovation, where groundbreaking ideas and technologies are reshaping industries in Iowa. This track highlights innovative approaches and solutions that are driving progress and setting new standards across the state’s tech landscape.

Explore the dynamics of effective leadership in the tech industry. This track focuses on leadership strategies, skills, and insights that are key to guiding teams and organizations to success in Iowa’s evolving technology sector.

Discover real use cases of how companies in Iowa are driving innovation, leading digital transformation, and modernizing their operations. This track showcases how businesses are successfully transitioning from legacy systems, adopting cutting-edge technologies, and implementing creative solutions to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.

The Summit Sandbox is a small-group, discussion-based experience designed for people who want to talk through real challenges, hear how others approach similar problems, and share what’s worked (and what hasn’t).

Session Types

Sessions vary in type and length to foster interactive learning, spark discussion, and highlight real-world examples. Discover the session types you can expect:

Agenda

*All times subject to change

Monday, April 6

Summit Opening Party

NETWORKING

Kick off the Summit with an evening of networking, drinks, and heavy hors d’oeuvres.

PRESENTED BY

Tuesday, April 7

REGISTRATION
7:00 AM - 8:15 AM / Grand Concourse

Check-In + Expo Hall Open

Start your day by checking in to receive your name badge and agenda. Then, explore the Expo Hall or take your seat for the keynote.

STUDENT TRACK
7:30 AM – 7:55 AM

Summit Student Welcome

STUDENT ATTENDEES ONLY*
SPEAKER

Cody McClelland

Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Dharan Jeevagan

Director, Technology Delivery & Operations - Health Tech, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Jamie Wagner

Program Coordinator, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield

WELCOME
8:15 AM – 8:25 AM / BALLROOM B

Opening Remarks

SPEAKER

Brian Waller

President, Technology Association of Iowa

SPEAKER

Sanjeev Satturu

SVP & Chief Information Officer, Casey’s

9:20 AM – 9:45 AM / GRAND CONCOURSE

Break + Expo Hall

Take a break from sessions and head to the Expo Hall to connect with partners, discover new solutions, and recharge with complimentary snacks and beverages.

CYBERSECURITY TRACK
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
WORKSHOP
SPEAKERS

Ty Coffee

Principal, UHY

Stacie Grimm

Principal, UHY

DATA TRACK
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
AUDIENCE-DRIVEN PANEL
PANELISTS

Pierre Hakim

VP, Data & Analytics, Casey's

Sarah Merwine

Director, IT - Data & Analytics, Ruan Transportation Management Systems

Matt Pelham

VP, IT Architecture, Data & AI, Sammons Financial Group

MODERATOR

Laks Krishnamoorthy

VP, Data & Analytics, EMC Insurance Companies

INNOVATION TRACK
9:45 AM - 10:15 AM
MINI KEYNOTE
SPEAKER

Nate Sepich

Sr. Software Engineer, Lean TECHniques

LEADERSHIP TRACK
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Executive Interview
SPEAKERs

Dave Ashton

CIO, Holmes Murphy

Dan Keough

Chairman & CEO, Holmes Murphy

MODERATOR

Susan Hatten

CMO, Holmes Murphy

TRANSFORMATION TRACK
9:45 AM - 10:15 AM
MINI KEYNOTE
SPEAKERs

Abby Kennedy

Team Leader, Customer Experience Research & Strategy, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Jenni Ross

Director, Experience Strategy & Design, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield

SANDBOX TRACK
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
PROBLEM-SOLVING
FACILITATORS

Tracey Akins

Director of Shared Services: AP, Payroll & Master Data Management, Wells Enterprises

Megan Modlin

President Client Services & Operations, Source Allies

John Unsen

Senior Vice President of Systems, VGM Homelink

David Ziemann

Senior Solutions Engineer, LaunchDarkly

STUDENT TRACK
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM

Coming Soon

PANEL - STUDENT ATTENDEES ONLY*
SPEAKER

Joe Riesberg

SVP & CIO, EMC Insurance Companies

PANELISTS

Coming Soon

INNOVATION TRACK
10:25 AM - 10:55 AM
MINI KEYNOTE
SPEAKER

Phillip Shaka

Sr. Director, Technology & Strategy, Primary Health Care

TRANSFORMATION TRACK
10:25 AM - 10:55 AM
MINI KEYNOTE
SPEAKER

Anshul Bansal

Sr. Manager, Sourcing and Procurement, Accenture

10:55 AM - 11:25 AM / GRAND CONCOURSE

Break + Expo Hall

Take a break from sessions and explore the Expo Hall to connect, learn, and fuel up with complimentary snacks and beverages. 

DEMO HUB
10:55 - 11:05 AM
DEMO PRESENTATION
PRESENTER

Jenna Chamra

Chief Customer Officer

DEMO HUB
11:15 - 11:25 AM

Demo Presentation

PRESENTER
CYBERSECURITY TRACK
11:25 AM - 12:05 PM
MINI KEYNOTE
SPEAKER

Kyle Hauswirth

Information Security Officer & Cyber Security Engineer, Ames National Corporation

DATA TRACK
11:25 AM - 12:05 PM
CASE STUDY
SPEAKER

Jeanna Schoonmaker

Sr. Director, AI & Analytics, Insight Global

INNOVATION TRACK
11:25 AM - 12:15 PM
AUDIENCE-DRIVEN PANEL
PANELISTS

Debbie Dean

VP, Health Analytics Solutions, GDIT

Kim Huffman

CIO, Workiva

Kirstin Slepicka

CTO, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield

MODERATOR

Tyler Wyngarden

VP of Strategic Partnerships, TAI

PANELISTS

Ann Collins

Executive Vice President - Chief Financial Officer, EMC Insurance Companies

Natalie Merrill

CFO & COO, Bound

Heidi Leavengood

CFO, Ruan Transportation Management Services

MODERATOR

Chris Wright

Managing Director, Protiviti

TRANSFORMATION TRACK
11:25 AM - 12:05 PM
CASE STUDY
SPEAKERS

Nate Halbmaier

Technical Lead, Telligen

Aditya Paturi

Director of Product Development, Telligen

SANDBOX TRACK
11:25 AM - 12:15 PM
PROBLEM-SOLVING
FACILITATORS

Tracey Akins

Director of Shared Services: AP, Payroll & Master Data Management, Wells Enterprises

Megan Modlin

President Client Services & Operations, Source Allies

John Unsen

Senior Vice President of Systems, VGM Homelink

David Ziemann

Senior Solutions Engineer, LaunchDarkly

12:15 PM - 1:20 PM / BALLROOM B + GRAND CONCOURSE

Lunch + Expo Hall

Enjoy lunch and short presentations from Lunch Sponsor, Source Allies, and Opening Party Sponsor, Lightedge.

LUNCH PRESENTATION
12:20 - 12:35 PM

Coming Soon

PRESENTED BY
LUNCH PRESENTATION
12:40 - 12:55 PM

Coming Soon

PRESENTED BY
CYBERSECURITY TRACK
1:20 PM - 2:20 PM
DEEP DIVE
SPEAKER

Paul Suarez

VP & CISO, Casey's

SPEAKERS

Stephanie Meseck

Data Engineering Director, EMC Insurance Companies

Chad Miller

Senior Analytics Engineer, EMC Insurance Companies

INNOVATION TRACK
1:20 PM - 2:20 PM
WORKSHOP
SPEAKER

Matt Niblock

Division Practice Director - Applications, Cloud, & Experience, Sogeti

SPEAKER

Francis Musignac

Asst. Director, Engineering, Principal Financial Group

TRANSFORMATION TRACK
1:20 PM - 2:20 PM
Lightning talk
SPEAKERS

Collin Ellis

Executive Director of Information Technology, Musco Lighting

Ryan Schaap

CIO, Wells Enterprises

Travis Turnbull

Vice President & CIO, Pella Corporation

Coming Soon

Coming Soon

SANDBOX TRACK
1:20 PM - 2:20 PM
PROBLEM-SOLVING
FACILITATORS

Tracey Akins

Director of Shared Services: AP, Payroll & Master Data Management, Wells Enterprises

Megan Modlin

President Client Services & Operations, Source Allies

John Unsen

Senior Vice President of Systems, VGM Homelink

David Ziemann

Senior Solutions Engineer, LaunchDarkly

DATA TRACK
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
CASE STUDY
SPEAKER

Zach Umsted

Data Governance Manager, Wellabe

LEADERSHIP TRACK
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
FIRESIDE CHAT
SPEAKERS

Frank Vedder

SVP & CIO, LCS

Ryan Crane

Executive Director, NAMI Iowa

2:30 PM - 3:00 PM / GRAND CONCOURSE

Break + Expo Hall

Take a break from sessions and explore the Expo Hall to connect, learn, and fuel up with complimentary snacks and beverages. 

DEMO HUB
2:30 - 2:40 PM

Demo Presentation

PRESENTER
DEMO HUB
2:50 - 3:00 PM

Demo Presentation

PRESENTER
CYBERSECURITY TRACK
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM

Coming Soon

AUDIENCE-DRIVEN PANEL
PANELISTS

Taylor Erickson

Information Security Manager, Wright Services Corp.

Brett Leighton

Director, Digital Risk Management, John Deere

Lisa Vonstein

Director of Technology Solutions, CISO, Data Innovations

MODERATOR

Ryan Wood

CISO, VGM Group, Inc.

DATA TRACK
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
DEEP DIVE
SPEAKERS

Neeraj Deo

VP of Software Development, Athene

Venkat Gupta

SVP & Chief Data Officer, Athene

INNOVATION TRACK
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
DEEP DIVE
SPEAKERS

Ben McHone

Staff Consultant, Source Allies

Matt Vincent

Founder, Source Allies

LEADERSHIP TRACK
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
AUDIENCE-DRIVEN PANEL
PANELISTS

Jacey Heuer

Head of AI & Data Science, Pella Corporation

Theresa Swaim

AVP IT Solutions Delivery, F&G

Crystal Wells

Manager, Cotton and Sugar Engineering, John Deere

MODERATOR

Ryan Downing

VP - Information Technology & CIO - Enterprise Business Solutions, Principal Financial Group

SPEAKER

Aaron Meis

Associate Director AI Strategist, Collins Aerospace

SANDBOX TRACK
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
PROBLEM-SOLVING
FACILITATORS

Tracey Akins

Director of Shared Services: AP, Payroll & Master Data Management, Wells Enterprises

Megan Modlin

President Client Services & Operations, Source Allies

John Unsen

Senior Vice President of Systems, VGM Homelink

David Ziemann

Senior Solutions Engineer, LaunchDarkly

CLOSING
3:50 PM - 4:30 PM / LOCATION COMING SOON

The Summit Download

NETWORKING

Join us at ‘The Summit Download’ after the last session to unwind and connect. 

PRESENTED BY

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Sponsors

Thank you to our generous sponsors for supporting this event:

PRESENTING SPONSOR
OPENING PARTY + SUMMIT DOWNLOAD SPONSOR
LUNCH SPONSOR
PREFERRED EVENT PRODUCTION PROVIDER
CYBERSECURITY TRACK SPONSOR
DATA TRACK SPONSOR
LEADERSHIP TRACK SPONSOR
TRANSFORMATION TRACK SPONSOR
BOOTH SPONSORS
DEMO SPONSORS
SUPPORT SPONSOR
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