Ground Truth: AI for Business Summit 2026

Keynote: AI in the the Enterprise From Capabilities to Deployment

Bio

Ramayya Krishnan is the Dean Emeritus and W. W. Cooper and Ruth F. Cooper Professor of Management Science and Information Systems at the Heinz College Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. He is an expert in data and decision analytics and digital transformation. He served as President of INFORMS in 2019 and helped lead the creation of its AI strategy.

He is an AAAS Fellow (section T), an INFORMS Fellow, and an elected member of the National Academy of Public Administration.  He chaired the AI futures Committee of the National AI Advisory Committee to the President and the White House office of AI Initiatives office and was chair of the DOD’s RAI academic council. He directs the CMU-NIST cooperative research center on AI measurement science and engineering and is an international ambassador at UK RAI.

Keynote: How AI is Rewriting Business Strategy

Bio

As President of Global Clients and Agency Solutions at Google, Karen leads a diverse organization of
sales, marketing, product and technical specialists working with Google’s largest customers. This $50+
billion enterprise is strategically positioned to help leaders navigate the convergence of a rapidly
changing consumer environment and the advanced development of AI technology in every facet of
business. She also oversees Google’s expanding presence in the Midwest as site leader for Chicago
engaging in community development and policy leadership.

Karen’s early career included leadership roles in CPG, Anheuser-Busch and Frito-Lay, and executive
leadership at IPG creative agencies, FCB and Zipatoni. She graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from
the University of Missouri with continuing executive education at Harvard Business School and
Northwestern University. Karen currently lives near Chicago and in her spare time she enjoys tennis, golf
and fly fishing.

Keynote: AI Adoption Starts with Human Behavior

Bio

Kristen Berman studies how people actually act in the marketplace, as opposed to how they should or would perform if they were completely rational. Kristen co-founded Irrational Labs, a behavioral product design company, which has worked with companies including Google, PayPal, Facebook, Netflix and hundreds more. They are at the forefront of bringing behavioral economics to life to increase the health, wealth, and happiness of users. She co-authored series of workbooks called Hacking Human Nature for Good.

Building a Global AI Capability

Bio

Rob Bradford is currently the VP of Global Business Services (GBS) for Kimberly-Clark. He is a proven executive leader, who has spent 35 years building and running shared services, outsourcing, and GBS organizations.  

Over his career, Rob has built four of the highest rated and most admired GBS organizations in the world, as voted on by his peers and by SSON.  Before joining Kimberly-Clark, he was VP of GBS at Zimmer Biomet, SVP of GBS and Head of Global Transformation at AkzoNobel, VP of GBS at Becton Dickinson, and Managing Director at KPMG.  Rob brings unique perspective to this industry, as one of the few people who has held senior leadership positions within an outsource provider, a GBS consultancy, an outsource contract negotiation advisory firm, and has been the leader of five multi-functional, multi-regional, green-field GBS buildouts.  

He is a thoughtful and insightful leader who is motivated by solving complex challenges, innovating and pioneering new technologies and methodologies, and driving transformative change.

Keynote: Deploying AI for Impact

Bio

Nassar Nizami is the Chief Information Officer at Exact Sciences, a leading biotechnology company dedicated to eradicating cancer through tests that help prevent cancer, detect it earlier, and guide treatment. He leads the company’s technology strategy, digital transformation, cybersecurity, and enterprise data initiatives, with a strong focus on applying artificial intelligence responsibly to improve healthcare outcomes.

Prior to joining Exact Sciences, Nassar served as Executive Vice President and Chief Information and Digital Officer at Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Health, and Jefferson Health Plans. He has also held senior leadership roles at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Yale-New Haven Health System, where he led large-scale technology transformations and served as the system’s first Chief Information Security Officer.

Nassar is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, including HIMSS, Gartner, Becker’s Health, Evanta, UBTech, and HealthImpact. He is passionate about advancing healthcare through AI-driven innovation, strong data foundations, and trusted, secure platforms. He holds an MBA from Columbia University and graduate degrees in computer engineering and electrical engineering.