Featured Speaker(s)

Bill Gargano, SVP, RCMT As SVP of the Life Sciences Practice, Bill leads the development and creation of RCM Technologies Practice Offerings. Working with the group's senior members, the team has created a suite of offerings addressing both business and IT industry challenges and needs, from strategy to implementation and support. They encompass business process transformation, technology deployments, as well as regulatory and compliance for biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer markets.

Prior to RCM has managed Life Science consulting firms such as CGI and Collaborative Consulting, Taratec Development (now Cap Gemini) as President and COO, DMR, and Pharma Bio-Serv. Bill has a broad range of experience in the industry both domestically and internationally (Canada, Europe, Eastern Europe, South America, and Asia).

Bill has advised and supported numerous clients on IT Organization Management, Manufacturing expansion, Clinical Optimization, Computer Validation Strategy, including the development of risk-based approach, Part 11 and Annex 11, Pre-Approval Inspection (PAI) readiness, and business technology transformation.

Karla Viglasky, Global CIO, W. L. Gore & Associates
Karla Viglasky serves as the Enterprise IT leader (Global CIO) and leads the global IT team, a position she began with Gore in October of 2018.
Karla has a hybrid skillset and her sweet spot is at the intersection of technology and business. Her background is a blend of both, which creates a unique perspective on developing and implementing digital strategies.

Karla has held leadership positions in both business and IT at The Dow Chemical Company, Honeywell International and ITT Corporation where she served as the Global CIO. After ITT, she spent two years in the startup world to help emerging companies scale and grow. She rejoined the corporate world with Axalta in 2015 as the Americas CIO to build and lead global IT teams, strategies and platforms for digital, data, enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), human resources, and research and development technology. She has led large system (SAP) deployments at Dow Chemical, Honeywell, ITT and Axalta.

Her areas of expertise are in large Digital, ERP and SAP transformations, business driven IT strategy, customer facing applications and big data analytics. She has worked for large corporations, carve outs, startups and new IPOs, giving her experience that enables a balanced and tailored approach to speed, stability and scalability in IT strategies.

Karla earned a bachelor's of science in industrial engineering from Purdue University and a master's of business administration with an area of specialty in eCommerce from the University of Michigan

Karla is a native of Hawaii, USA and currently resides in Kennett Square, PA with her husband Rich, her son Trey and their two Great Danes. Her hobbies include spending time with her family, Dungeon & Dragons, Mahjong, Legos and travelling, mostly back to Hawaii.

David Katzman, Head of Customer Experience & Strategy, Onshape
David Katzman focuses on reimagining how products are developed and deployed in the digital era. His expertise includes determining product market-fit and business strategy, as well as advising leaders on adopting new processes to build innovative products. He currently leads Customer Experience and Strategy for Onshape at PTC.

Prior to PTC, Katzman was the vice president of Sales and Customer Success for Onshape -- the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product development platform company where he was instrumental in working with early customers and product development to determine product-market fit. In addition, David was heavily involved in designing, implementing and overseeing business operations and policies - from customer success and sales to partnerships and business development. Onshape was acquired by PTC for $470 million in October 2019. Previously, Katzman was a senior consultant at Deloitte Consulting.

Katzman holds an MBA from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, and a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering and economics from Tufts University. An avid fan of Boston sports teams and aspiring grill master, he also enjoys riding his Peloton, and boating with his wife and young daughter.

Heather Hollis, GM, GoodKid (Comcast)

Heather leads Comcast's in-house creative agency start-up GoodKid, an entirely new, full-service advertising and marketing capability in Comcast's Xfinity marketing group. She's currently building a team and operations that will efficiently deliver award-winning, industry-recognized, and talked-about creative that drives Xfinity business and cost savings. In doing so, Heather seeks to define new approaches that bridge technology and marketing.

A 20-year veteran of the entertainment and interactive design industry, Heather joined Comcast in 2011. She's spearheaded experience design for Comcast's Digital Center of Excellence, where she pioneered theDigital Firstcustomer experience initiative, creating and simplifying digital interactions throughout the full customer lifecycle.

Heather guided her team to an Emmy win forOutstanding Achievement in an Interactive Media Program: User Experience and Visual Design awarded toXFINITY TV on the X1 Platform.She was granted nearly a dozen patents for products and services developed under her direction.

Before joining Comcast, Heather held various roles in the industry, including Senior Creative Director at Electronic Arts, Creative Director at Turner Broadcasting, and multiple posts at Hearst, Harper Collins, Women.com, and A&E Television. Heather earned a B.A. from Colgate University and Interactive Telecommunications M.P.S. from New York University.

MODERATOR:
Parna Sarkar-Basu, CEO, Brand and Buzz Marketing, and V.P. Brand Marketing, WITI. A tech evangelist, Parna Sarkar-Basu serves as a strategic advisor to transformational leaders and technology pioneers, and helps them launch and reinvent companies. Her expertise includes changing market perception, building market relevance, corporate (re)-positioning and new market entry as well as helping companies raise funds and navigate the digital era.

Recipient of multiple awards, Parna has been instrumental in propelling tech companies into innovation leaders in highly competitive markets, including artificial intelligence, enterprise software, storage systems, robots, consulting services and manufacturing.

A Forbes contributor, Parna writes and speaks on a range of topics, including cognitive robotics, innovation for social good, digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI) and impact on the workforce, and marketing trends.

A champion of STEM initiatives, Parna builds and supports programs to inspire women in technology and future innovators. Parna is the V.P. of Marketing for WITI (Women in Technology International), a leading advocate of innovation, inclusivity and STEM. She also serves on various boards including WITI Boston and American Marketing Association Boston.