Southwest & Cigniti’s QA Day

Scaling Airline Resilience with Digital Quality & AI Efficiency

March 7, 2024
8:00 AM to 1:30 PM

Freedom Hall @ HDK Building 2702 Love Field Dr, Dallas, TX 75235

Event Overview

As part of a digital transformation journey, organizations need to redefine quality and user experience. Quality now transcends the in-flight journey and influences passenger and employee experience holistically. Charting the course for a digital-first world necessitates a reimagined approach to quality that involves DevOps, Data, and Automation, underpinned by the power of AI.

Key Takeaways:

Speakers

Lauren Woods
Lauren Woods SVP & CIO,
Southwest Airlines
Tom Merritt
Tom Merritt CTO,
Southwest Airlines
Justin Bundick
Justin Bundick MD of Data Science, Automation & AI, Southwest Airlines
Sean Lynch
Sean Lynch MD of Enterprise Architecture, Southwest Airlines
Alice Dungey
Alice Dungey Director, Technology QMO, Southwest Airlines
Melissa O’Brien
Melissa O’Brien Executive Research Leader & Head of Research Operations, HFS Research
Akl Abdallah
Akl Abdallah Sr. Manager Technology, Southwest Airlines
Subuhi Ali
Subuhi Ali Sr. Manager Technology, Southwest Airlines
Steve Campos
Steve Campos Sr. Manager Technology, Southwest Airlines
Akshay Wani
Akshay Wani Manager Technology,
Southwest Airlines
Dionne Brown
Dionne Brown Manager Technology,
Southwest Airlines
Srikanth Chakkilam
Srikanth Chakkilam CEO, Cigniti
Vinay <br>Rawat
Vinay Rawat CRO, Cigniti
Sumithran Danabalan
Sumithran Danabalan SVP of Consulting,
Cigniti
Ram Mamidana
Ram Mamidana SVP of Enterprise Architecture & Integration, Cigniti

Event Schedule

March 7, 2024

All times in CDT

8:00 AM

9:00 AM

Registration and Breakfast

Bagels and Coffee - For all the attendees in Freedom Hall

Executive Breakfast

Industry Analyst, Southwest leadership, and Cigniti leadership in Nolan Ryan Conference Room (in parallel)

9:05 AM

9:15 AM

Welcome Address

Alice Dungey - Director, Technology QMO, Southwest Airlines
Srikanth Chakkilam - CEO, Cigniti

9:15 AM

9:25 AM

Message from CIO

Lauren Woods - SVP & CIO, Southwest Airlines

9:25 AM

9:35 AM

Message from CTO

Tom Merritt - CTO, Southwest Airlines

9:35 AM

9:50 AM

Message from MD of Enterprise Architecture

Sean Lynch - Managing Director of Enterprise Architecture, Southwest Airlines

9:50 AM

9:55 AM

Video on our Successful Journey as a Team

9:55 AM

10:25 AM

Industry Analyst Keynote: Emerging Technologies and Trends Reshaping Airlines

Melissa O’Brien - Executive Research Leader & Head of Research Operations, HFS Research

10:25 AM

10:45 AM

Accelerating Digital Transformation in Travel and Hospitality

Cigniti Team

10:45 AM

11:05 AM

QMO Leadership: Successful Outcomes and Roadmap

Akl Abdallah - Sr. Manager, QMO – Digital/AIS, Southwest Airlines
Steve Campos - Sr. Manager, QMO - Concourse, Revenue Accounting, Ground Ops, People and Finance, Southwest Airlines

11:05 AM

11:20 AM

Break (Coffee, Tea & Cookies)

11:20 AM

11:40 AM

Architecting an Airline of the Future - A Digital Platform Approach

Ram Mamidana - SVP of Enterprise Architecture & Integration, Cigniti

11:40 AM

12 Noon

QMO Leadership: Successful Outcomes and Roadmap

Subuhi Ali - Sr. Manager, QMO – Commercial & Customer, Southwest Airlines
Akshay Wani - Manager, QMO – Crew, Southwest Airlines
Dionne Brown - Manager, QMO – Tech Ops, Southwest Airlines

12 Noon

12:45 PM

Fireside Chat:
Navigating the Skies of Tomorrow - Harnessing Data, Automation, and AI for Airline Resilience

Justin Bundick - MD of Data Science, Automation, and AI, Southwest Airlines
Sean Lynch - MD of Enterprise Architecture, Southwest Airlines
Alice Dungey - Director, Technology QMO, Southwest Airlines
Melissa O’Brien - Executive Research Leader & Head of Research Operations, HFS Research
Sumithran Danabalan - SVP of Consulting, Cigniti

12:45 PM

1:00 PM

Games & Raffle Winner Announcement

1:00 PM

1:05 PM

Closing Remarks

1:05 PM

1:30 PM

Lunch

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The Team

Akl Abdallah
Akl Abdallah Sr. Manager Technology, Southwest Airlines
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Subuhi Ali Sr. Manager Technology, Southwest Airlines
Steve Campos
Steve Campos Sr. Manager Technology, Southwest Airlines
Brenda Lane​
Brenda Lane​ Sr. Technology Consultant, Southwest Airlines
Mike Blackwell
Mike Blackwell Sr. Manager Technology, Southwest Airlines
Raja Koneru
Raja Koneru Manager Technology,
Southwest Airlines
Melissa E. Kinner
Melissa E. Kinner Manager Technology,
Southwest Airlines
Akshay Wani
Akshay Wani Manager Technology,
Southwest Airlines
Nathan Bramble
Nathan Bramble Manager Technology,
Southwest Airlines
Dionne Brown
Dionne Brown Manager Technology,
Southwest Airlines
Rashmi Gupta
Rashmi Gupta Assistant Manager​,
Southwest Airlines
Jonathan Barton
Jonathan Barton Assistant Manager​,
Southwest Airlines
Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey SVP of Sales,
Cigniti
Sachin Srivastava
Sachin Srivastava VP of Global Delivery,
Cigniti
Harinath Rudravally
Harinath Rudravally AVP of Global Delivery,
Cigniti
Siva Mannam
Siva Mannam Associate Director of Delivery, Cigniti