Speakers

Omar Vieira retired after serving in the Navy for 24 years as an active-duty US Navy SEAL. Upon graduation of class 219 at Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL (BUD/S) School in October of 1998, he was assigned to SEAL Team FOUR in Virginia Beach executing recurrent and emergent special operations missions in the jungles of Central and South America.

Commissioned as a Naval Special Warfare Officer in 2005, Omar served at multiple SEAL teams and special operations commands where he led SEALs through hundreds of combat missions, including direct-action operations, clandestine missions, and special reconnaissance across declared and undeclared theaters of war. He later held senior leadership positions within joint and combined special operations organizations, addressing complex operational challenges across the CENTCOM, AFRICOM and SOUTHCOM command areas of responsibility.

Omar was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious service as a ground force commander during a highly sensitive, no-fail operation critical to the national defense of the United States. He also received two Bronze Star Medals with Valor devices for heroic actions against enemy forces that directly saved the lives of his teammates.

Following his military retirement in 2021, Omar transitioned into counter-human trafficking operations with a nonprofit organization. He later founded his nonprofit organization, Alliance Rescue, Inc. in 2024, where he leads operational teams that work alongside host-nation law enforcement agencies to identify trafficking networks, locate victims, and support the apprehension of suspected human traffickers. Across his work with Operation Underground Railroad and now Alliance Rescue, operations under his leadership have contributed to the recovery of more than 400 victims and the arrests of more than 180 suspected traffickers.

Born in Puerto Rico, Omar is the son of a U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major. He spent much of his childhood in North Carolina, Georgia, and Germany. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Military Science from Utah Valley University in 2005.

Omar met his wife, Vicky, in Puerto Rico through their families. They are the parents of two children.

Mark is a Managing Director in BDO’s Privacy & Data Protection practice and leads the privacy technology practice area. With over 25 years of experience in privacy, technology and engineering he helps his clients to evaluate and implement global programs, providing deep experience in building robust data inventories, implementing privacy rights automation, implementing and testing CMP solutions and advising on AI Governance best practices. Mark works closely with organizations in a variety of industries, has formerly served in executive leadership roles as Chief Technology Officer, Vice President, and Director of Engineering and is comfortable working with all levels of an organization.

Shauna is a Managing Director in BDO Digital’s Enterprise Business Applications practice and serves as a strategic advisor to organizations pursuing digital transformation, customer experience, marketing technology, and operational excellence initiatives. With more than 20 years of experience across marketing, technology, consulting, and business transformation, she helps clients evaluate, implement, and optimize the people, processes, data, and technologies that drive growth and enterprise value. Shauna has deep experience designing and leading large-scale transformation programs involving customer data platforms, customer relationship management, marketing automation, digital asset management, content management, workflow and project management, artificial intelligence, and enterprise applications. She works closely with executive leadership teams to align business strategy with technology investments, modernize customer engagement, improve operational efficiency, and accelerate adoption through organizational change management and enablement. Shauna serves clients across a variety of industries and is comfortable working with all levels of an organization, from practitioners and technical teams to C-suite executives and board-level stakeholders.

Amy Lewis is an Associate Director in BRG’s Privacy and Data Protection practice, where she advises global organizations on building effective privacy programs to minimize exposure to regulatory and litigation risks. With a focus on emerging technologies and digital ecosystems, Amy helps clients navigate the complex intersection of digital marketing, analytics, and compliance.

At BRG, she helps clients address the legal and operational challenges of website tracking, third-party cookies, and behavioral advertising. Her work includes designing and implementing practical controls that align with global privacy laws such as GDPR, CCPA, and other evolving frameworks. Amy is particularly effective at translating legal requirements into actionable strategies for cross-functional teams—including marketing, IT, and compliance—ensuring that privacy is embedded into digital experiences from the ground up.

Amy has spoken on topics related to data ethics, consent management, and the future of digital compliance. Her work empowers organizations to innovate responsibly while minimizing exposure to regulatory scrutiny and class action litigation.

Jeff Morris is a technology and product management leader with more than 20 years of experience driving digital transformation, enterprise technology strategy, and product innovation across financial services, SaaS, e-commerce, and data-driven platforms.

As a Senior Digital Product Manager at Charles Schwab, Jeff has led high-impact initiatives involving compliance and audit reporting, enterprise API modernization, business intelligence and analytics solutions, and technology integrations. He specializes in aligning business objectives, customer needs, and technology capabilities to deliver measurable results.

Prior to Schwab, Jeff held product leadership, consulting, and technology management roles across organizations ranging from startups and family-owned businesses to large public companies, including Ancestry.com, SuperValu, and Hubbell Incorporated. Throughout his career, he has launched digital products, developed strategic roadmaps, led cross-functional teams, and implemented large-scale data and customer management solutions.

Known for his strategic mindset, analytical approach, and passion for innovation, Jeff is committed to leveraging data, emerging technologies, and continuous improvement to solve complex business challenges and enhance customer experiences.

Outside of work, Jeff enjoys spending time with his family, serving in his church and community, and pursuing interests in reading, genealogy, travel, and photography.

Rita is a corporate transactional and privacy attorney with Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC. Rita advises businesses across industries ranging from technology and healthcare to banking, manufacturing, aviation, and professional services. She is widely recognized for helping organizations build practical legal and governance frameworks that support innovation, growth, cybersecurity resilience, and regulatory compliance.

Rita advises clients on a broad range of enterprise matters, including technology transactions, software licensing, corporate governance, commercial contracting, mergers and acquisitions, and risk management. With deep experience in privacy law compliance, she works with organizations helping to design and operationalize compliant and strategically planned privacy programs, navigate the complex intersection of data protection, vendor relationships, and emerging technologies, ensuring that privacy and innovation advance together.

Aaron has over 25 years of global consulting and industry experience with a
focus on information security and privacy.

He joined HP in 2022 where he now leads HPs Privacy Innovation &
Assurance function.

Aaron’s work sits at the intersection of regulation, technology, and business
strategy, translating complex legal and ethical requirements into practical,
technology‑enabled governance systems that work in real engineering and
product environments.
Aaron is recognized as a thought leader in the field of privacy and was
accepted as a Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP) by the International
Association of Privacy Professionals in 2016.

He has presented at national and international conferences on a wide
variety of privacy and data governance topics. He guest lectures on privacy
and risk management at the University of Washington.

He has taught IAPP certifications for over 10 years and helped develop the
materials for their certification for AI Governance.

He currently represents HP in working groups related to the development of
International Standards for Privacy and is a member of the IAPP Global
Privacy Engineering board.

Lokesh Alluri is a Senior Manager of Digital & Customer Analytics at Lenovo, where he leads global work across analytics, personalization, experimentation, and MarTech. His focus is on using customer data to improve digital experiences, support better decision-making, and drive measurable business impact.He enjoys working at the intersection of data, technology, and customer experience, helping teams turn complex analytics into practical actions.
Lokesh lives in the Raleigh, North Carolina area with his wife and their 2-year-old daughter. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with family, working out, and being part of thoughtful conversations and experiences that challenge his perspectives and help him grow.

Matt Bentley is a digital data architecture specialist at Loop Horizon, with over 15
years’ experience spanning client-side roles at large enterprises and, for the past 6
years, agency-side work with some of the world’s biggest brands.

His focus is the full data stack: data layer design, client and server-side tag
management, and the quality assurance layer that makes any of it trustworthy, built
extensively on ObservePoint.

More recently, that’s meant putting AI agents on top of governance data itself, turning
raw audit output into weekly analysis and direct answers for stakeholders, work he’ll
be sharing at EDGE.

Matt is driven to move data and analytics out of a supporting role and into direct
revenue generation for his clients.

Sarah Cooper is Senior Manager of Digital Data Governance and Compliance at Marriott International where she focuses on establishing and enforcing governance around how Marriott is collecting and using customers’ digital data. Based in the Washington, DC area, Sarah has been in the Digital Analytics space for 25 years.

Torie Ketcham is a Product Data Compliance Manager at Marriott International. She focuses on ensuring that user privacy choices are properly respected across Marriott’s digital ecosystem, by enforcing cookie compliance in every region where the company operates. She oversees data collection issues, cookie categorization and quality assurance, and works across product teams to develop data privacy strategies on all of Marriott’s websites. Torie is a native of the Washington, DC area, and lives in Bethesda, MD with her family.

Dave is the CTO of ObservePoint, where he is responsible for ObservePoint’s product design and development. Previously, Dave was a senior engineer at Amazon working on Alexa. Dave is the co-host of the Soft Skills Engineering podcast, loves road biking, and is trying to learn how to golf.

As VP of Customer Success at ObservePoint and a recognized leader in web governance strategy, Dylan has worked with some of the largest brands in the world to ensure website visitor consent is honored, catch unauthorized tracking before it becomes a liability, and build privacy governance programs that actually scale. He’s a frequent voice on where web governance and privacy collide, and where they’re headed next. When he’s not working, he’s focused on his family, coaching his kid’s sports teams, playing competitive volleyball, and serving in his community.

J. D. has spent more than 25 years driving growth for software technology companies. His love and passion lies in the building of revenue teams and mentoring professionals. J. D. chaired the Sales Executive Peer-to-Peer Forum for the Utah Technology Council for more than five years, mentoring CEOs and revenue leaders up and down Silicone Slopes. He currently chairs a mentor program with Utah Valley University Wrestling to assist student athletes in succeeding in their schooling, athletics and careers.

John Pestana, co-founder and CEO of ObservePoint, has established himself as a visionary leader in the digital analytics sector. With a keen understanding of the digital landscape, John has successfully guided ObservePoint to become the leading player in web governance solutions, providing automated website and analytics tag verification services. Before ObservePoint, he co-founded Omniture, which became a pivotal force in online marketing analytics before its acquisition by Adobe in 2009. John holds a degree in Business Management from Brigham Young University and is in the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame. This prominent Utah-based non-profit recognizes leaders in innovation and community improvement. His entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to innovation continue to drive his company’s growth and influence in optimizing online data accuracy and reliability.

Sam Valind has nearly a decade of experience helping organizations transform data into measurable business value. Throughout her career, she has led enterprise-scale initiatives spanning business intelligence, analytics modernization, tagging standardization, data quality programs, and cross-platform measurement frameworks that improve data accuracy, operational efficiency, and stakeholder confidence. Her work has contributed to more than $1 billion in business growth and millions of dollars in operational savings through automation, data-driven decision making, and digital optimization.

Sam specializes in bridging the gap between business strategy and technical implementation, helping organizations build trusted, scalable analytics programs that drive actionable insights. Her expertise includes analytics governance, tagging architecture, validation frameworks, data quality monitoring, and measurement standardization across web and mobile platforms.

Known for translating complex technical concepts into practical solutions, Sam partners closely with cross-functional partners to improve the accuracy, consistency, and scalability of digital measurement. She is passionate about helping organizations establish sustainable analytics practices through strong governance, automated validation, and technical excellence, enabling teams to make confident decisions based on trusted data.

Aaron Vail is a web analytics implementation specialist at Salesforce, bringing 10 years of experience navigating complex data challenges across the retail, entertainment, banking, and software industries. His core focus is building robust data pipelines leveraging Google Marketing Platform, and creating the automated QA methodologies that make that telemetry trustworthy. Recently, that has meant using ObservePoint to turn reactive debugging into proactive governance, strictly enforcing consent protocols and preventing data leakage at scale. Aaron is dedicated to his craft, driven to build analytics infrastructure that respects user privacy without compromising the accurate data the business needs to drive decisions.

Chris Cutts is a digital strategy leader with more than two decades of experience helping organizations transform how they connect with customers through technology, data, and digital experience. At The Standard, he leads digital initiatives that improve customer engagement, optimize web experiences, and drive measurable outcomes.

Throughout his career, Chris has built and led high-performing teams responsible for enterprise website platforms, digital marketing, search optimization, analytics, accessibility, and customer experience programs. He has guided digital transformations for major financial services organizations, consistently bridging business objectives and technology execution.

Before his career in digital leadership, Chris served in the United States Navy’s submarine force where he developed the discipline, technical expertise, and problem-solving skills that continue to shape his leadership today. That experience instilled a lasting commitment to teamwork, accountability, and sound decision-making under pressure.

Known for a practical, results-oriented approach, Chris is passionate about solving complex digital challenges, developing strong teams, and creating customer experiences that are both meaningful and measurable. His expertise spans digital strategy, SEO, analytics, governance, accessibility, and enterprise web platforms, making him a respected voice on digital transformation, leadership, and customer experience.

Omar Vieira retired after serving in the Navy for 24 years as an active-duty US Navy SEAL. Upon graduation of class 219 at Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL (BUD/S) School in October of 1998, he was assigned to SEAL Team FOUR in Virginia Beach executing recurrent and emergent special operations missions in the jungles of Central and South America.

Commissioned as a Naval Special Warfare Officer in 2005, Omar served at multiple SEAL teams and special operations commands where he led SEALs through hundreds of combat missions, including direct-action operations, clandestine missions, and special reconnaissance across declared and undeclared theaters of war. He later held senior leadership positions within joint and combined special operations organizations, addressing complex operational challenges across the CENTCOM, AFRICOM and SOUTHCOM command areas of responsibility.

Omar was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious service as a ground force commander during a highly sensitive, no-fail operation critical to the national defense of the United States. He also received two Bronze Star Medals with Valor devices for heroic actions against enemy forces that directly saved the lives of his teammates.

Following his military retirement in 2021, Omar transitioned into counter-human trafficking operations with a nonprofit organization. He later founded his nonprofit organization, Alliance Rescue, Inc. in 2024, where he leads operational teams that work alongside host-nation law enforcement agencies to identify trafficking networks, locate victims, and support the apprehension of suspected human traffickers. Across his work with Operation Underground Railroad and now Alliance Rescue, operations under his leadership have contributed to the recovery of more than 400 victims and the arrests of more than 180 suspected traffickers.

Born in Puerto Rico, Omar is the son of a U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major. He spent much of his childhood in North Carolina, Georgia, and Germany. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Military Science from Utah Valley University in 2005.

Omar met his wife, Vicky, in Puerto Rico through their families. They are the parents of two children.