Ivy Sales Innovation Summit

Named an AI Thought Leader by LinkedIn Asia for her viral video on AI agents, Susan Frew is a recognized authority in practical, profit-driven AI strategies. As the owner of an INC 5000 company, Susan has led her business to 535% growth, earning 43 industry awards and securing a place among the top-performing enterprises in her sector.

Susan’s career began in New York City’s fast-paced tech industry, where she developed expertise in navigating rapid innovation and digital transformation. She went on to become a general manager for two countries within a Fortune 20 telecom company, leading international teams, managing large-scale operations, and implementing growth-focused AI and technology solutions.

A TEDx speaker, sought-after emcee, and business coach, Susan simplifies complex AI concepts, making them accessible and immediately actionable for businesses of all sizes. As a “super user of AI,” she applies cutting-edge technology to both her professional speaking business and her home services company, demonstrating how AI can streamline operations, reduce costs, and drive exponential growth.

Susan’s expertise goes beyond theory—she lives AI daily. Whether through automation, predictive analytics, or AI-driven customer engagement, she transforms businesses with real-world AI solutions. Her passion for innovation has made her a trusted voice for entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and organizations looking to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Video clip: Susan shares four critical tips for sales automation.

Paul Gormley works with business leaders to turn emerging technologies—particularly artificial intelligence—into practical, repeatable ways of improving how work actually gets done. Over 27 years with Iowa State University’s Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS), he has partnered with companies on innovation, digital marketing, and AI adoption, helping teams move from curiosity to clear priorities and operational use. 

Paul’s work sits at the intersection of technology, process, and people. With training in both engineering and business, he brings a systematic approach to business problems—breaking complex challenges into usable components, evaluating tradeoffs, and focusing on adoption rather than theory. His day-to-day work centers on helping organizations integrate AI into existing workflows that support sales, marketing, and growth without disrupting what already works. 

Beyond his direct client work, Paul helps shape AI capability more broadly across Iowa. He leads partner coordination for AI4Iowa, a statewide workforce AI training effort bringing together CIRAS, Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, community colleges, and industry partners. He also serves as director of the Iowa Artificial Intelligence Summit for Industry, working with business and technical leaders to ground emerging capabilities in real business needs and accelerate meaningful adoption. 

Bill Schmarzo recently retired as the customer data and AI innovation strategist at Dell Technologies, where he worked with Dell’s strategic customers to help them understand where and how AI and other intelligence technologies can unleash new sources of customer, operational, and societal value.

Bill is the former chief innovation officer at Hitachi Vantara, where he was responsible for driving their data science and “co-creation” efforts. He received Hitachi Limited’s 2020 Solution Innovation Award for his ground-breaking work in data science and automated machine learning.

Bill previously served as chief technology officer at Dell EMC, where he formulated the company’s Big Data Practice strategy, identified target markets, developed solution frameworks, and led analytics client engagements using his Vision Workshop methodology, which links an organization’s strategic business initiatives with supporting data and analytics. As the vice president of advertiser analytics at Yahoo, Bill delivered analytics tools and actionable insights that optimized advertisers’ online marketing spend.

Bill is the author of several books, including Big Data: Understanding How Data Powers Big Business; Big Data MBA: Driving Business Strategies with Data Science; The Economics of Data, Analytics, and Digital Transformation; AI & Data Literacy: Empowering Citizens of Data Science; and The Art of Thinking Like a Data Scientist. His latest book is The AI-Human Edge: Winning with Intelligence Technologies—On the Field and Beyond.

Video clip: Bill challenges the common perception that AI’s main purpose is to automate jobs for productivity gains.