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Speaker Biographies

AI / DATA INNOVATION STRATEGIES – SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES – July 16, 2026

 

Steven Davis, Information Security Operational Analyst, Zurich North America

Steven Davis is an Information Security Analyst at Zurich North America, where he leads the perimeter protection program, attack surface management, and assists with API management. He implemented the Regional Cyber Checklist, an assessment framework that captures project implementation details and security documentation requirements prior to production deployment. With almost 7 years of experience in cybersecurity and information security, Steven has led the metrics development and reporting for security controls, developed a dashboard for phishing training performance, and administered third party security assessment tools.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Security and a Master’s degree in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance. His current focus is on the impact of AI on the perimeter, including attack volume, attack complexity, and preparing for the new AI threat landscape.

 

Andrew Madson, Principal, Developer Relations, Fivetran

Andrew Madson is the Founding Head of Developer Relations at Fivetran, where he leverages over a decade of enterprise experience leading machine learning and data platform teams at institutions like J.P. Morgan Chase and MassMutual to empower the global data community. An evangelist for open source architectures, he is the author of the O’Reilly Media book The Definitive Guide to Apache Polaris, as well as two upcoming technical titles, AI-Ready Data (Wiley) and Data Transformation – The Definitive Guide (O’Reilly). Bridging industry and academia, he also serves as a graduate professor of data science and engineering across multiple universities.

 

Aaron McAllister, Field CTO, Cloudflare

As Field CTO for Retail at Cloudflare, Aaron McAllister helps the world’s leading retailers stay fast, secure, and resilient. With more than 20 years of real-world experience in cybersecurity and SASE, Aaron is known for his ability to distill complex technical hurdles into clear strategic advantages. Based in Denver, he is a frequent speaker and trusted advisor who moves beyond the “what” of technology to focus on the “why” for the modern retail landscape.

 


JC Peralta, CISSP, CCSP, Zurich North America

JC Peralta is a seasoned cybersecurity leader with more than 20 years of experience across IT and information security, specializing in Multi-Cloud security architecture and operations. He currently serves as a Business Information Security Officer (BISO) and Cybersecurity Architect at Zurich North America, where he leads cloud security initiatives focused on securing enterprise landing zones through Zero Trust and Defense-in-Depth strategies. JC brings deep expertise in the management and optimization of CNAPP, CSPM, and CWPP platforms, helping organizations strengthen cloud governance, risk management, and security posture across complex cloud environments.

JC holds a degree in Network Security and maintains several industry-recognized certifications, including CISSP and CCSP, along with multiple Microsoft Azure certifications and NVIDIA AI Infrastructure and Operations credentials. His background spans cloud security engineering, governance, compliance, and the secure enablement of modern AI and cloud technologies within highly regulated enterprise environments.

Recognized for his strategic and consultative approach, JC has a proven track record of leveraging AI-powered technologies to streamline security assessments and support the secure adoption of emerging AI platforms, including Microsoft Copilot and Azure AI Foundry. He regularly partners with executive leadership to translate complex cybersecurity risks into clear business context, lead high-impact security discussions, and align security transformation initiatives with business objectives, financial services requirements, and industry security frameworks such as the CIS Controls.

 

 

Nagesh Perumalla, Analytics Platforms Engineering, Discover Financial Services (Capital One)

Nagesh Perumalla is a Principal Infrastructure Engineer on the Analytics Platforms Engineering team at Discover Financial Services (now a Capital One company), where he has spent the past five years driving innovation in enterprise data platforms. Prior to joining Discover, Nagesh spent 12 years at Teradata Corporation in various roles, building deep expertise in data architecture, platform optimization, and database administration.
With a strong foundation in designing and implementing scalable, high-performance data ecosystems, Nagesh specializes in architecting real-time analytics platforms across cloud and hybrid environments. His work is rooted in a forward-looking approach to AI/ML, focusing on platform modernization, cost optimization, compliance, and advancing machine learning capabilities.
An award-winning technologist, Nagesh holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois. He is an avid reader and passionate lifelong learner and has earned numerous industry-leading certifications, including, AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty, Google Cloud Certified Professional Machine Learning Engineer, Google Cloud Generative AI Leader, Databricks Certified Machine Learning Professional, Snowflake Advanced Architect, Teradata Certified Master, and several others.
Nagesh brings a unique blend of technical depth and strategic vision to the panel, offering insights into how infrastructure engineering can accelerate AI and data innovation at scale.

 

 

Rathan Ramachandra, AVP – Senior Scrum Master, PNC

Bio to Come!

 


Jennifer Rush, Sr. Security GRC Analyst, Zurich North America

Jennifer R. Rush is a Senior Cybersecurity GRC Analyst and Lead Third-Party Risk Administrator at Zurich North America, where she leads the third-party risk inventory and security assessment program for more than 1,300 vendors and services, with responsibility for data integrity, reassessment strategy, and complex exception management.

She developed TARAA, a Third-Party Risk Assessment Assistant Agent, which helped reduce security analyst review time by 20%.

With more than 10 years of experience in cybersecurity GRC, Jennifer has led the design of tabletop exercises, security education and awareness programs, phishing simulations, business impact assessments, and vendor risk frameworks across organizations ranging from regional healthcare providers to global insurers.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, completed ISACA’s AAISM (Advanced in AI Security Management) training in 2025, and is currently pursuing the CRISC and AIGP certifications. Her current focus is on the intersection of AI governance, third-party risk, and operational security, with particular interest in the gap between the rapid deployment of AI and the slower evolution of governance framework development.