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Dr. Rangapriya (Priya) Kannan is the Dean of the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business at San José State University (SJSU).
Dr. Kannan is a first-generation immigrant and holds the distinction of being the first woman and the first person from India to permanently lead the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business as dean. This year, she was recognized by the Silicon Valley Business Journal as a 2025 Woman of Influence.
Before joining SJSU, Dr. Kannan served as the associate dean of faculty and accreditation, and as a professor of strategic management, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the University of San Diego. She also holds a position as a research professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Exeter Business School, a leading institution in the UK.
Prior to her role as Associate Dean, Dr. Kannan was the inaugural chairperson of the i3 department at the Knauss School of Business, which encompasses Innovation and Entrepreneurship, International Business, and Interdisciplinary Studies. She also founded and directed the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Catalyzer (The CatalyZer).
Dr. Kannan’s academic achievements include a PhD from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She earned a Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from SJSU, where she was recognized as a Sally Casanova Scholar. Additionally, she holds a Master’s in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (India), and is a graduate of the Cost and Works Accountants Society (India). Her undergraduate studies were completed at the University of Bombay (India), where she received a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Pradeep Gupta is currently Vice President of Generative AI and Accelerated Computing, Solutions Architecture at NVIDIA, where he leads a worldwide team of Solutions Architects across 17 + industry verticals at NVIDIA. With over 14 years at NVIDIA, Pradeep has been instrumental in advancing Generative AI, accelerated computing, and enterprise AI solutions. His leadership has driven innovation in AI model optimization, high-performance computing, and large-scale AI infrastructure, shaping the future of AI adoption across industries.
As a key architect of cutting-edge AI solutions, Pradeep has played a pivotal role in enabling
enterprises to leverage AI at scale, transforming industries through hardware acceleration, cloud-
based AI platforms, and enterprise AI applications.
Before NVIDIA, Pradeep has worked at IBM and HP and did his master’s from the Indian Institute of
Science in Bengaluru, India. His research focus was on computing efficient image processing algorithms and system design.
Shaara Roman is the award-winning founder and CEO of The Silverene Group, a trusted advisor to CEOs and C-suite executives, and the best-selling author of The Conscious Workplace: Fortify Your Culture to Thrive in Any Crisis. With senior leadership roles at Visa, Fannie Mae, CGI, and NRECA, she brings a real-world executive lens to every engagement.
At the forefront of the future of work, Shaara helps leaders and teams navigate how artificial intelligence is reshaping workplaces and impacting the workforce. She developed the proprietary SPARK AIQ™ Diagnostic – The Human Side of AI Readiness. Measured – a powerful tool that helps organizations align culture, leadership and teams with AI adoption. Her thought leadership has been featured in outlets such as Forbes and HR Executive.
Born in India, raised in Nigeria, and educated in England, Shaara’s global perspective fuels her passion for building inclusive, people-first workplaces that thrive. She advises a national security AI firm, serves on non-profit boards, and teaches at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Education. She’s a mom to two Gen Z young adults, two doodles, and lives in Northern Virginia with her husband.
Jason Sobel joined The New York Times Company as chief technology officer in August 2021. In this role, Mr. Sobel leads our Product Engineering team to build quality software, evolve our technical standards and empower our teams to achieve engineering excellence. He reports to Meredith Kopit Levien, chief executive officer of The Times Company.
Previously Mr. Sobel was at Airbnb serving as head of infrastructure from April 2019 until March 2021. From April 2016 to April 2019, he was Airbnb’s engineering director and global head of trust and safety operations, leading the team that developed the technology Airbnb uses to combat fraud that keeps hosts and guests safe. Mr. Sobel was vice president of engineering at Quantifind from September 2013 to November 2015. Prior to that, he spent six years at Facebook, where he worked on its backend platform to help steer the company through a massive growth phase.
Mr. Sobel earned an undergraduate and master’s degree in Computer Science from Brown University.
Ashley Tarver is a technology evangelist, entrepreneur, and speaker based in San Francisco. He currently serves as a Data & AI Evangelist at Microsoft, where he helps lead Silicon Valley companies to shape the future of artificial intelligence.
Ashley has founded and successfully exited three start-ups, serves as Board President of the Association for Corporate Growth – Silicon Valley, and advises multiple organizations on technology strategy. With two decades of experience at companies like Cisco, NTT, Cloudera, and Microsoft, he brings deep expertise in AI, data, cloud, and digital transformation.
He began his career after earning a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Alabama and serving as a combat engineering officer in the U.S. Army. Beyond work, Ashley enjoys speaking at conferences, mentoring leaders, and spending time skiing, fly fishing, traveling, and sharing good food.
