HITEC

✨ We look forward to celebrating the 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂 𝟏𝟎𝟎 honorees at the 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 on 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐏𝐌𝐆. ✨ ⁣
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This special evening will bring together HITEC 100 award winners and guests to recognize leadership, excellence, and impact across the HITEC community.⁣
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The 2026 class includes top executives from Fortune 100 and global enterprises, spanning industries, disciplines, and geographies. Together, they represent the strength, breadth, and future direction of today’s technology landscape — and the continued impact of leaders serving as 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡.⁣
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Seating is reserved, and advance registration is required for each attendee.⁣
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Please register by 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟒 to confirm your participation.⁣
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We look forward to celebrating this year’s honorees and the leadership they represent across our community.⁣
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👉 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞: ⁣
https://hitecglobal.org/event/2026-hitec-100-awards-celebration-dinner =75a4b66d-d7c8-4022-b3ff-f3201ba10200

At the 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐈𝐁𝐌 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧, 𝐓𝐗, 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐃𝐮𝐪𝐮𝐞, 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂, closed the day by grounding the conversation in both technology and human connection.⁣⁣
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Throughout the event, leaders explored how AI is reshaping work, leadership, entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, and the enterprise stack. But Omar reminded the room that while AI may help us make decisions faster and access more information, what truly makes leaders stronger is what HITEC creates space for: connection, thoughtful questions, open-minded learning, and the willingness to challenge ourselves.⁣⁣
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As Omar shared, he was walking away from the conversations “𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.” He said sustaining that optimism requires action from the entire HITEC community.⁣⁣
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“𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘐𝘛𝘌𝘊 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩.”⁣⁣
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That challenge is at the heart of HITEC’s work: to grow our companies, our influence, our communities, and one another.⁣⁣
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At HITEC, we are working to integrate AI as a leadership capability lens — not only by examining the technology itself, but by asking what it demands of leaders: greater curiosity, stronger accountability, deeper connection, and a responsibility to create pathways for others.⁣⁣
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Omar also reminded attendees of the important role the HITEC Foundation plays in building the next generation of technology leaders through scholarships, mentorship, internships, externships, and employment opportunities.⁣⁣
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Because the future we discussed does not happen by accident.⁣⁣
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As Omar said, “𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧.”⁣⁣
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The day closed with 𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲, 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐁𝐌 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, thanking HITEC, its leadership, and the community for coming together at IBM. He reinforced that this gathering reflects what IBM values: leaders who reflect the clients and communities they serve, who are ready to lead from the front, and who help build from the ground up.⁣⁣
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Thank you to 𝐈𝐁𝐌 for hosting this meaningful gathering and for helping bring the HITEC community together in Austin. A special thank you to 𝐁𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐚 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐳, 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢ñ𝐨, 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧-𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐯𝐚, 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐚 𝐆𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐳 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚ñ𝐨𝐬 for their leadership and contributions in making this event possible.⁣⁣
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Thank you as well to our HITEC Board of Directors, speakers, attendees, and the 140+ participants who joined virtually. Together, we continue to learn, connect, and lead as 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡.⁣⁣
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At the 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐈𝐁𝐌 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧, 𝐓𝐗, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 - 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 ​𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 explored a critical truth about AI transformation: this is not just a technology shift. It is an organizational, cultural, and leadership shift.⁣⁣
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Moderated by 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳-𝐊𝐚𝐤𝐨𝐥, 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫, with insights from 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐳, 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐜𝐊𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧; 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐫𝐞, 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐏𝐚𝐥; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫, 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐓&𝐓, the panel examined how AI is reshaping work, trust, customer experience, and the human skills leaders must protect and develop.⁣⁣
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One key takeaway: as routine work becomes automated, the work left for people is often more complex, more emotional, and more demanding. The panel named an emerging leadership challenge: 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞 — the pressure employees feel when AI raises expectations for speed and output without always creating the space people need to think, recover, and connect.⁣⁣
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The conversation also made clear that trust cannot be rebuilt through messaging alone. It requires visible listening, action on feedback, and leaders who stay close to the work.⁣⁣
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As Carlos Beltre challenged the room:⁣⁣
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“𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺?”⁣⁣
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That question sits at the heart of this moment. AI may change how work gets done, but leaders still determine how people are valued, supported, and inspired through that change.⁣⁣
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At HITEC, we are working to i𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬. As 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡, our responsibility is not simply to adopt AI, but to shape organizations where technology accelerates progress without losing the humanity, trust, and leadership that make progress sustainable.⁣⁣
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Thank you to Miriam, Jesse, Carlos, and Lynette for a thoughtful and grounded conversation.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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The 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐈𝐁𝐌 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧, 𝐓𝐗 opened with a powerful reminder of what makes this community different: connection, visibility, growth, and shared responsibility.⁣
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𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐨, 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 & 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 & 𝐂𝐄𝐎 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐋𝐀 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐈𝐧𝐜. and event Emcee, set the tone by sharing the personal impact of HITEC’s network — a community where leaders are seen, supported, and encouraged to step into bigger roles. As she reflected, “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘐𝘛𝘌𝘊, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.”⁣
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𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳-𝐊𝐚𝐤𝐨𝐥, 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫, then welcomed the room with a call to recognize the urgency of this moment. As technology and AI continue to accelerate, leadership must evolve with it. 𝐀𝐭 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂, 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬 — helping leaders understand not only the technology, but the organizational, human, and economic shifts it creates.⁣
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𝐀 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬:⁣
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✨ Growth is both personal and collective. The opportunities we receive become more meaningful when we use them to create pathways for others.⁣
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✨ AI is not just a tool — it is reshaping how companies operate, how talent is developed, and how leaders must prepare for the future.⁣
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✨ The HITEC community has a critical role to play in developing underleveraged talent, building new skills, and strengthening the leadership pipeline needed for this next era.⁣
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As Miriam reminded us, “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯.”⁣
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As 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡, we are called to lead with excellence, innovation, inclusivity, and intentionality — and to help build a future where more leaders are prepared to shape what comes next.⁣
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