On October 24 – 25, 2024, the inaugural TechForward MBA Conference: Innovation at the Intersection of AI kicked off at Scheller College of Business.
The conference began with a Tech Trek to Tech Square companies Home Depot Orange Works, Engage, ATDC, and Southwire Spark. The tour throughout the Centergy One innovation offices gave students a look inside some of the innovative happenings in the Atlanta tech scene. Afterwards, students joined a networking Exhibition Hall that gave them the opportunity to network one-on-one with companies like Home Depot, AWS, Intuit Mailchimp, Google, and Microsoft. The evening culminated in a conference kickoff and welcome reception in the CODA building, sponsored by Cisco.
Analisa Wade, Full-time MBA ’25 and co-president of the Tech Club, delivered the welcome, building conference excitement, and creating a warm introduction for Scott Herren, CFO at Cisco and Georgia Tech alumnus. Scott then welcomed President Ángel Cabrera who gave remarks about the power of innovative thinking and our potential as business students.
Friday, the conference kicked off bright and early with breakfast sponsored by the MBA CHARGE Leadership program. Students, faculty, alumni, and business professionals were welcomed by Microsoft Atlanta-sponsored giftbags and included additional items from Chick-fil-a and retail giant, SHEIN. Guests networked early and had time to converse before the opening keynote address by Juan Perez, SVP and CIO of Salesforce.
After the opening, conference attendees broke off into pre-established groups for the panel breakout sessions. The conference offered three separate tracks: Big Tech, featuring speakers from Microsoft, Nvidia, and Google; Retail Tech, featuring speakers from SHEIN, Spanx, and Nvidia; and Startups and VC, featuring speakers from Tech Square Ventures, Collab Capital, Atlanta Tech Village, and Techstars.
From there, attendees transitioned into a sponsored Chick-fil-A lunch and then transitioned into a lunch keynote address by Tony Paikeday, senior director of AI at Nvidia. After Tony’s talk about “Strategies for Driving Innovation in Tomorrow’s AI-Powered Enterprise,” Rose Espiritu, Evening MBA ’25, led an impactful panel conversation on “Adapting to Change: Innovating with AI.”
After lunch, guests had the opportunity to get hands-on with workshops including Microsoft Copilot, AI and the Future of Work, and Creating a Culture of Ethical AI, sponsored by the Cecil B. Day Program for Business Ethics. This offered the perfect segue into the conference closing talks by Donald Beamer, speaking on the ways the City of Atlanta is embracing innovation and a fireside chat on the future of entrepreneurship with Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the Scheller College of Business, and Sean Henry, CEO and co-founder of Stord.
Students were quick to share their feedback on the conference, stating:
“Thrilled to have attended the TechForward Conference this week—undoubtedly one of the highlights of my MBA journey so far. The chance to connect with inspiring industry leaders, and innovative professionals shaping Atlanta’s tech ecosystem was truly invaluable.”
“Very impressed with the TechForward Conference organized by students Rose Espiritu, Brooke Patterson, and Analisa Wade, with the support of Cisco CFO R. Scott Herren. With this incredible talent in the heart of Tech Square, the future of business is bright!
“Absolutely enjoyed the panel discussion! It was enlightening to hear about the best practices for gaining AI literacy and how we can effectively integrate those insights into our daily tasks. Looking forward to implementing these strategies!”
