As InnoTech Austin heads into its 16th year, The HT Group is thrilled to announce that we’re the 2019 presenting sponsor.
“The HT Group has been a supporter of InnoTech and the IT community for a number of years,” says Executive Director of InnoTech Austin Sean Lowery. “By being a presenting sponsor this year, they’re taking an even stronger stance in supporting Austin’s tech community.”
Why did we take the leap?
“We are proud to be a big part of the technical community in Austin,” says The HT Group Founder/CEO Mark Turpin. “InnoTech has been an integral part of that community for 16 years now. We’re excited to help to bring some of the best minds in tech to Austin to enhance local knowledge and assist in pushing Austin to the forefront of innovation.”
And lucky us: This year’s InnoTech Austin will be EPIC. We asked Lowery what he’s most excited about. While it was hard for him to choose just a handful of highlights, the following four have him bursting with anticipation:
- Opening Keynote with Andi Mann, Chief Technology Advocate, Splunk. Mann has been at the forefront of business tech for decades and has built success at several Fortune 500 corporations (you know, the kind of tech companies that are household names). He’ll be opening the event as the morning keynote on Tuesday, November 19. And in case you didn’t know: That’s a big deal.
“Andi is always on the leading edge of tech,” Lowery says. “We’ve been trying to get him [as an InnoTech speaker] for years.”
Mann will lead a rare and valuable look into the minds of transformational business leaders—those pushing the boundaries of cloud, mobile, automation, analytics, machine learning, AI, IoT, cybersecurity, and blockchain.
- 2019 Women in Tech Summit. “This is our 6th year for Women in Tech and it just keeps growing. We have 200-250 attendees registered this year,” Lowery exclaims. He takes that responsibility seriously and believes the speaker lineup for this year’s summit is one of the best they’ve ever had. “There will be talks around the salary gap and equal pay, work/life balance, and more. No one has perfected those areas yet. There’s still so much to continue to explore.”
Among the speakers are Autumn Manning, EIR at Montey Fool Ventures and COO of Cratejoy, and leaders from HERdacity, GM, Schwab, Indeed, NFP, and the City of Austin. Learn more about the Women in Tech Summit here.
- 22nd Annual IT Executive of the Year Award. This annual award was first handed out years before InnoTech began so it’s no wonder it’s close to Lowery’s heart. “It’s a great time to celebrate all that our local tech leaders have done to help Austin grow as a technology community,” he says.
The award will be given at the CIO Gala Luncheon, a special event at InnoTech. We asked Lowery to reflect on how the role of CIO has changed since he first started handing out the award 22 years ago.
“The role of CIO was once very operational. They were very involved in the actual technology of their company. But now the role is so much more strategic. CIOs are now more involved in the human aspect of companies including employee development and revenue generation,” he reflects.
- A Doubling-Up on Security Topics. If this year’s InnoTech had a theme, it would certainly be security. “In fact, we have two security tracks this year, doubling the number of security topics that we’ll host,” Lowery adds.
Topics include DevSecOps automation, digital extortion and other trending threats, next-generation data protection, multi-cloud security, and privacy policies. Also back this year is the 2019 ISSA Security Summit Luncheon as well as the ISSA Capital of Texas Chapter cybersecurity war game exercise to promote education and preparedness. Do you have what it takes to outsmart cybercriminals?
Between sessions, be sure to stop by The HT Group’s Booth 203 to find out how we can help find top talent for your IT staffing needs.
“InnoTech is one of our favorite events every year because it gives us a chance to connect with so many of the tech executives who have shaped this city, many we’ve helped place into jobs or have helped staff up for success over the years,” says The HT Group President Chad Macy.
Learn more about the history of InnoTech in Austin through our previous Q&A with Lowery here. For more information and to register for InnoTech Austin, visit this link or contact us.
