Hybrid: Agentic AI leveraging Microsoft & How to become a CIO/CAIO in the Age of AI

Speakers

Kevin McDonnell
Cynthia Fortlage

Agenda

6.15pm - Welcome drink and networking
6.30pm - Agentic AI Talk
7.00pm - How to Become a CIO/CAIO in the Age of AI
7.30pm - Q&A and networking
8.30pm - Close

Synopsis

An interactive evening exploring how Agentic AI and tools including; Microsoft Copilot, AI Foundry and Copilot Cowork are transforming the workplace with live demos and tutorials, and how inclusive leadership and design must evolve alongside it.

As AI systems become more autonomous and integrated into our daily work, organisations have a unique opportunity, and responsibility, to shape how these technologies are designed, governed, and used.

Agentic AI

This event brings together technical and leadership perspectives by Kevin McDonnell, AI & Modern Workplace Director at Avanade to explore the practical realities and strategic implications of Agentic AI, from building intelligent agents to leading organisations in an AI-driven world. Keynote Sessions In this practical session, you’ll see how to design, build, and deploy your first Microsoft 365 Copilot AI agent, with a live demonstration using Microsoft Copilot Studio.

The session will show how the digital workers we collaborate with can be built in ways that augment daily tasks and workplace activities.

What you'll learn:

• A clear introduction to Agentic AI and Microsoft 365 agents
• Step-by-step live demos building and deploying agents
• Inclusive and accessible design patterns for AI systems
• Real business use cases and multi-agent workflows
• Guidance on governance, security, and adoption

Becoming a CAIO/CIO in the Age of Agentic AI

Cynthia Fortlage will lead a session on how AI is no longer experimental, it is operational. As AI systems become increasingly autonomous, leadership responsibility expands. Innovation is accelerating, data is scaling, and decision-making is shifting. But bias does not disappear as technology advances, it can become embedded within the systems we create.

In this keynote, Cynthia explores how technology leaders must rethink governance, responsibility, and inclusion in an agentic AI environment, and what it means to lead organisations responsibly in this new era.

What you'll explore:

• Leadership bias in the CAIO/CIO pathway
• Language and data bias within AI systems
• Governance responsibilities in an agentic environment
• The strategic risk of ignoring inclusion

Our events are for adults aged 16 years and over.

This meeting is conducted in accordance with the BCS Code of Conduct for Meetings.

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This event is brought to you by: Pride specialist group