Large Enterprise Finalists

Neil Cowles is Interim Executive Vice President, Enterprise IT and Business Services for Kaiser Permanente. He leads enterprise technology, shared services, and business operations that support more than 12 million members. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Information and Technology Officer, leading technology modernization, operational transformation, and responsible AI adoption. Cowles joined Kaiser Permanente in 2012 and has held multiple leadership roles driving innovation, affordability, operational excellence, and enterprise scale.

Under joint leadership with operations, medical groups, and many partners at Kaiser Permanente we completed one of the largest health IT transformations in the organization’s history, consolidating 12 electronic health record instances across California into two enterprise platforms. More than 20 million patient records were migrated through extensive planning, testing, and collaboration across thousands of employees. The Northern California cutover was completed in less than three hours, with zero canceled appointments or procedures and no disruption to patient care. One month later, Southern California completed its migration even faster, demonstrating the power of disciplined execution, continuous learning, and enterprise-wide teamwork.

Ger Dwyer has 30+ years of experience in finance and technology leadership roles in Automotive, Internet and Telecoms sectors in Europe, Africa and the U.S. He is currently Chief Information Officer at all-electric automotive company Rivian where his responsibilities include overseeing global applications development and IT infrastructure to scale the company’s manufacturing capabilities and business processes. Prior to Rivian, Ger held a variety of roles at Alphabet, including serving as Waymo’s first CFO.

My team built the applications and infrastructure that enabled Rivian to scale our vehicle production capabilities, critical as we launch R2, our new midsize SUV. Partnering with Facilities and Manufacturing Engineering, our manufacturing site in Normal, Illinois was expanded with a new 1.1 million sq. ft. facility. We replaced legacy architecture with a resilient cloud and on-premises infrastructure, which in turn provided the platform for an applications architecture combining best-of-breed and custom in-house applications. A global, multi-discipline team collaborated tirelessly to deliver these capabilities, setting Rivian up to increase the annual production capacity of the site to 215,000 vehicles.

Kumar Mishra is Chief Information Officer at Grocery Outlet, where he leads enterprise technology, Business Solutions, Product Management, Development & AI, IT Operations, Cybersecurity, Data & Analytics, and Enterprise Process Management. With more than 25 years of global technology leadership, he is driving business transformation through AI, data, cybersecurity, and technology simplification. Kumar has a proven track record in building high-performing organizations and leveraging technology to accelerate innovation, operational excellence, and sustainable business growth.

Under my leadership, the Business Technology organization stabilized a major enterprise transformation while advancing long-term modernization. We significantly improved system reliability and support performance, restored business confidence, and delivered key capabilities that enhanced store operations and operational efficiency. We also established a technology simplification roadmap and a scalable operating model designed to support business growth, accelerate technology innovation, and deliver meaningful long-term cost efficiencies. At the same time, we defined a multi-year strategy to strengthen data foundations, simplify architecture, and accelerate AI-enabled business capabilities, positioning technology as a strategic driver of sustainable growth, innovation, and operational excellence.

Ravi Thota is the Global Chief Information Officer of STACK Infrastructure, a leading global developer and operator of hyperscale data centers powering AI and cloud growth. He leads the network, cybersecurity, and OT platforms that customers depend on directly, making technology a driver of revenue across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. With more than 25 years of executive leadership experience, Ravi builds high-performing global teams and creates secure, scalable platforms that deliver lasting competitive advantage.

Under my leadership, STACK’s technology organization became a direct driver of business value, not just a support function. My team built the network, cybersecurity, and data center platforms that hyperscale and AI customers depend on directly, while unifying operations across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC into one globally aligned organization. We embedded AI into core business processes and matured cybersecurity across both IT and operational technology, building the operating model behind STACK’s growth into a multi-billion-dollar, AI-ready data center platform.

Tanya Townsend, CDH-E, CHCIO, MSMI, LCHIME is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Digital Officer at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. With more than 25 years of healthcare IT leadership, she specializes in digital transformation, innovation, operational excellence, and developing high-performing teams. A past CHIME Board Chair and Becker’s Healthcare IT Leader to Know, Tanya is recognized for leading enterprise technology strategy, mentoring future executives, and advancing technology that improves patient care and organizational performance.

The Digital Transformation program at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health is driving innovation to improve care quality, operational efficiency, and patient access through a structured, outcomes-focused framework. Key achievements include redesigning Surgical Site Infection reporting, saving staff hours annually while reducing manual effort by 70%; automating revenue cycle processes, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, repurposing FTEs, and capturing additional dollars in monthly charges; and expanding Digital Front Door capabilities through MyChart self-scheduling, resulting in a 36.3% increase in online primary care scheduling, an 18.6% increase in waitlist acceptance, and a 17.1% increase in patient self-scheduling this past year alone.

Ajay Waghray is Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at PG&E, leading technology, cybersecurity, data, and AI to advance safe, reliable, and affordable energy delivery. With more than 30 years of leadership experience, he previously served as CIO of Verizon Enterprise Solutions and Verizon Wireless and CTO at Assurant. He serves on the boards of Avocado Systems and Title Resource Group and holds advanced degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and West Virginia University.

Under my leadership, PG&E transformed technology, security, data, and AI into enterprise capabilities that advance our mission to deliver safe, reliable, affordable, and clean energy. We modernized customer, billing, grid, and digital platforms; strengthened resilience across one of the nation’s largest utility technology environments; and established AI as a governed, value-driven capability. The significance is clear: better customer and coworker experiences, stronger wildfire mitigation through analytics and real-time monitoring, and major transformations aligned to PG&E’s True North Strategy -positioning technology as a strategic enabler of safety, reliability, affordability, and future growth.