Sydney • Sofitel Sydney Wentworth • 30 July 2026
Join us in the vibrant city of Sydney for this exclusive, free, in person event bringing leaders, practitioners and partners together around the real world of data and AI.
SAS Innovate on Tour will give you practical, evidence-based insights on how:
- Organisations make decisions confidently with AI they can trust.
- Industry specific SAS solutions give companies a competitive edge.
- Partners help scale AI across complex environments.
- Transparency and governance unlock innovation with AI.
Plus, you’ll connect with industry peers, experts and partners to share best practices of data and AI turning insight into action.
Whether you define strategy, build models, deploy systems or support clients, SAS Innovate on Tour is your opportunity to join us in our 50th year as a trusted partner across business, government and society.
SAS Innovate on Tour Sydney – register now to secure your place, as spaces are limited.
Keynote speakers
Duncan Robertson,
CEO, GetVerified
Reggie Townsend
Vice President Data Ethics Practice, SAS
Bryan Harris
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, SAS
Jared Peterson
SAS
Michele Eggers
Vice President, Marketing Shared Services, SAS
Deepak Ramanathan
Vice President, Global Technology Practice, SAS
Terisa Roberts
Global Director & Lead for Risk Modelling, Decisioning & Governance, SAS
Craig Jennings
VP, Financial Services for ANZ and ASEAN, SAS
Kellie Tomney
Future FITT™ Leadership Strategist | Future of Work
Duncan Robertson
CEO, GetVerified
Duncan Robertson is the CEO of GetVerified, a not‑for‑profit established by NZBA retail banks to strengthen New Zealand’s anti‑scams environment. With extensive experience operating at the highest level in banking, Duncan brings a strategic, prevention‑led, and collaborative approach to tackling emerging threats.
Under his leadership, GetVerified has rolled out the Confirmation of Payee (CoP) ecosystem, now fully embedded as a business‑as‑usual product in New Zealand. Duncan has also delivered the Fraud Intelligence Exchange (FIX) ecosystem, enabling banks to securely share confirmed fraud intelligence, freeze accounts faster, alert customers earlier, and recover or prevent millions in losses. He works closely with partners in New Zealand and offshore to strengthen cross‑industry scam‑prevention capabilities and controls. This includes as co-lead for the collaboration pillar within the NZ Governments “Anti scam Alliance”.
Reggie Townsend
Vice President Data Ethics Practice, SAS
Reggie Townsend leads SAS’ global AI Ethics, Governance and Social Impact organization, overseeing the company’s Data & AI Ethics Practice; AI & Society initiatives; AI Governance Advisory; Standards, Regulations & Risk Intelligence programs; and SAS’ Accessible & Adaptive AI efforts. He drives SAS’ commitment to trustworthy, human centric innovation across products, policies and partnerships.
A nationally recognized voice in AI governance, Reggie serves on the board of EqualAI and has advised the White House as a member of the National AI Advisory Committee. His career includes leadership roles in cloud, consulting and managed services for health care and life sciences. A frequent global speaker and advisor, Reggie has counseled government leaders worldwide, appeared on major stages and been published in JAMA.
A proud Chicagoan, Reggie is an engineering, business and leadership alum of Southern Illinois University, Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago.
Bryan Harris
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, SAS
As Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Bryan Harris is responsible for SAS’ award-winning software portfolio that empowers organizations with data and AI. In this role, he leads a global research and development (R&D) organization of nearly 4,000 people focusing on product design, engineering, advanced analytics and AI, industry solutions, modeling and quantum computing.
Under Harris’ leadership, SAS launched the cloud-native SAS Viya platform and unified the entire portfolio across industry solutions and models. He is also known for his dedication to fostering a purpose-driven, inclusive culture within the R&D organization. He has led several initiatives to support professional growth and encourage cross-divisional collaboration, all of which contribute to SAS’ reputation as a top employer in the technology industry.
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Keynote 2
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Keynote 3
General session speakers
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Fernanda Freitas
VP Jurídico, Compliance e RIAtvos Energia
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Nicky Furlong
EMEA Head of: Public SectorSAS
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José María Alonso
Senior Manager, Prevención del Fraude y el Crimen FinancieroDeloitte
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Alexander Tikhonov
Regional Director, Middle East, Turkey and AfricaSAS
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Javier Álvarez
Director Comercial del área Data, IA y AnalyticsTimestamp
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Valentyna Pysarieva
Analytics ConsultantSAS
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Ahmed Drissi
APAC AML LeadSAS
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Mayur Jadhav
Senior AdvisorPosten Bring AS
Agenda
08:30 - 09:00
Registration & Networking
09:00 - 10:30
Where Human Ingenuity Meets AI in Action
Discover how leading organizations are putting AI to work—responsibly, at scale, and with measurable impact. In this session, you’ll see how human expertise and intelligent systems come together to deliver trusted, enterprise‑ready AI. From governance and transparency to real‑world use cases powered by SAS Viya, this is AI delivering value now—and how you can apply it in your organization.
Bryan Harris, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, SAS
Reggie Townsend, Vice President Data Ethics Practice, SAS
Jared Peterson, Senior Vice President, Global Engineering, SAS
Michele Eggers, Vice President, Marketing Shared Services, SAS
Deepak Ramanathan, Vice President, Global Technology Practice, SAS
What does real AI impact look like when it’s accountable, governed, and delivering measurable results today?
In this 90‑minute session, we bring together the most important breakthroughs, innovations, and real‑world applications shaping AI today—and show how leading organizations are turning them into tangible business outcomes at scale.
We begin with a high‑energy exploration of what’s possible when human ingenuity and AI operate together. You’ll see how human expertise, domain knowledge, and responsible design work hand‑in‑hand with AI systems to drive better decisions and smarter outcomes. From agentic AI and digital twins to intelligent systems, these capabilities come to life—not as future concepts, but as technologies being built, governed, and deployed right now.
From there, we dive into what makes AI truly enterprise‑ready: trust. Learn how organizations are embedding transparency, accountability, and governance across the entire AI lifecycle—from model development and bias monitoring to oversight that scales across teams and geographies. You’ll see why trustworthy AI isn’t just a requirement—it’s becoming a competitive advantage.
Next, we bring it all together on the SAS Viya platform. See how teams are shortening time to value, operationalizing AI responsibly, and scaling innovation with speed and confidence. From copilots to autonomous agents, innovation is accelerating across the full analytics lifecycle—powered by a platform built for the enterprise.
Finally, we connect technology to outcomes. Through real‑world use cases across industries, you’ll see how data and AI are driving faster decisions, smarter operations, and measurable business impact—where it matters most.
This isn’t a view of what might happen someday.
It’s what’s delivering value now—and how you can put it to work in your organization, starting immediately.
10:30 - 11:00
Morning Tea & Networking
11:00 - 11:20
Fireside Chat with Duncan Robertson - CEO, GetVerified
11:20 - 11:40
Customer Story
11:40 - 13:00
Lunch & Networking
13:00 - 13:30
Guest Keynote: Kellie Tomney, Future FITT™ Leadership Strategist | Future of Work
13:30 - 14:15
Panel Discussion
14:15 - 14:45
Partner Story
14:45 - 15:00
Afternoon Tea & Networking
15:00 - 16:30
Breakout Streams: Financial Services | Public Sector
16:30 - 17:30
Networking Drinks Reception
00:00 - 00:00
Agenda Accordion for more extensive information or more than one session in time slot
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What to expect
Join us in Sydney to learn how to boost productivity with data and AI. This complimentary event will provide something for everyone – top executives, IT directors, data scientists, engineers, analysts and SAS partners across industries.
Turn data into decisions you trust
Hear how SAS makes sure AI can be trusted and how industries feel safe and confident in the decisions they make.
Responsibly use trusted and transparently governed AI
Learn how you can drive meaningful impact for your organization using data and AI responsibly and effectively, all while prioritizing transparency and governance.
Industry-first insights
Hear real stories from your industry and learn how peers are applying AI to solve sector specific challenges.
Actionable ideas, real impact
Discover ways to scale AI across your organization with simplicity and speed. Get practical guidance on building compliant, future-proof AI systems.
SAS Innovate on Tour - Sydney
Highlights 2025
Conference Experience
Join us and bring your team. We’ll bring content, inspiration, networking, and fun!
Innovation Hub
Get to know our partners, their services and solutions and check out the SAS interactive demos.
More experiences will be added so stay tuned!
Registration
It’s free to attend SAS Innovate on Tour in Sydney however spaces are limited, so register now to secure your place.
Thanks to our sponsors and partners
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