2025 Emerging Technologies Conference

Sam Gill

Emeritus Professor of of Information Systems, San Francisco State University

Sam S. Gill, Ph.D., is Emeritus Faculty in the Department of Information Systems at San Francisco State University’s Lam Family College of Business, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1981. His academic and professional work focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning, generative AI, large language models, and open-source web development.

Dr. Gill has taught courses exploring the practical application of emerging technologies in business, including Generative AI and LLMs for Business and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning for Business Applications. His work emphasizes the use of technologies such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Vertex AI, Microsoft Copilot, and the Power Platform to develop innovative business solutions, with particular attention to responsible and ethical AI implementation. He holds an MBA from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Karl-Heinz Hoffman

Head of Tech Ecosystem, Immersive Labs

Karl-Heinz Hofman is Senior Director for Technology Partnerships at Immersive, where he built the company's cybersecurity technology ecosystem from greenfield to 20+ active alliances with organizations including Google, Microsoft, CrowdStrike, Elastic, and Palo Alto Networks - including work that contributed to strong recognition in industry assessments of cybersecurity skills and excercising platforms. His day-to-day focus is trust between vendors and buyers:executive-level roadmap alignment, integration and GTM design, and restructuring complex licensing so partnerships reduce risk instead of adding ambiguity.

Previously, as VP of Technology Alliances at SingleStore and in multiple VP roles at SAP spanning database and global partner solutions, he scaled partner marketplaces and programs, led IPO- and privacy-ware partner onboarding (including GDPR/CPRA considerations), and drove large partner-sourced revenue and pipeline outcomes. That background shapes how he thinks about AI adoption in the enterprise - especially cyber, third-party risk, data-governance, and the pressure security and financial workflows put on "trust at scale."

He also maintains a personal Django-based investment workflow platform using disciplined, AI-assisted development - useful ground truth for how security and governance show up in real software delivery.

He holds a B.Cs. in Computer Science & Quantitative Management from the University of South Africa, and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Prashant Jain

Vice President of Business Transformation, Capgemini

Prashant Jain is an innovative technology leader with more than two decades of experience in digital transformation and enterprise information systems. As Vice President of Business Transformation at Capgemini, he has led major technology initiatives and pioneered early successful implementations of SAP S/4HANA and global business transformation programs.

His expertise spans enterprise technology, artificial intelligence, generative AI, and large language models, with a focus on applying emerging technologies to real-world business challenges. A longtime contributor to San Francisco State University, Jain has served as a guest lecturer and member of the SAP Advisory Council at SFSU. He holds an engineering degree from IIT Delhi and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Leigh Jin

Professor and Department Chair of Information Systems, San Francisco State University

Leigh Jin, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of the Department of Information Systems at San Francisco State University’s Lam Family College of Business. Her teaching and research interests focus on emerging technologies, digital innovation, open-source software, and their applications in business and education.

Dr. Jin has been actively involved in experiential learning initiatives that connect students with industry and international partners, including projects centered on design thinking, mobile technologies, artificial intelligence, and technology-driven innovation. She is particularly committed to expanding hands-on technology education and preparing students to apply emerging technologies to real-world business challenges. Dr. Jin earned her Ph.D. from Georgia State University.

Juan Pablo Izquierdo

President, iMSA Student Association at San Francisco State University

Juan Pablo Izquierdo is an Information Systems alumnus at San Francisco State University’s Lam Family College of Business with a strong interest in artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and their applications in business and higher education. He has been actively involved in conversations surrounding the evolving role of AI and its impact on students, learning, and the workplace.

Izquierdo has represented the Lam Family College of Business in university-wide discussions on artificial intelligence, including SFSU’s Annual AI Symposium, where he contributed student perspectives on responsible AI use, academic integrity, and the future of AI in education. His interests center on leveraging technology to solve real-world challenges while exploring how emerging tools can support innovation, learning, and professional development.

Chris McClean

Senior Director of Global Lead of Digital Ethics, Avanade

Chris McClean served as Senior Director and Global Lead of Digital Ethics at Avanade, where he led the company’s digital ethics and responsible AI initiatives. In this role, he helped organizations navigate the ethical, governance, and risk considerations surrounding artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, with a focus on translating responsible technology principles into practical business strategies.

Prior to Avanade, McClean spent more than 12 years at Forrester Research, where he led research and advised organizations on governance, risk, compliance, and ethics. His work has focused extensively on responsible innovation, AI governance, digital ethics, and helping organizations build trust while adopting rapidly evolving technologies.

Vaibhav Nadgauda

CEO, App Orchid; Managing Partner, Moneta Ventures

Vaibhav Nadgauda is CEO of App Orchid Inc. and Managing Partner at Moneta Ventures, bringing more than three decades of experience as a technology executive, entrepreneur, and investor. At App Orchid, he leads the development of enterprise artificial intelligence solutions, while at Moneta Ventures, he works with early-stage technology companies as an investor and active advisor.

Prior to joining Moneta Ventures, Nadgauda co-founded Sparta Consulting, helping grow the company to more than $125 million in revenue before its acquisition by KPIT. He subsequently served as President of KPIT’s SAP Business Unit and previously held leadership roles at Fujitsu Consulting and Siemens. His experience spans enterprise technology, artificial intelligence, business transformation, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. He holds degrees in Electronics and Computer Management from the University of Pune.

Uwe Palm

Head of AppHaus Palo Alto, TI Customer Innovation, SAP

Uwe Palm is Head of SAP AppHaus Palo Alto, where he works with organizations to transform emerging technologies and new ideas into innovative, human-centered business solutions. His work brings together design thinking, technology, and business strategy to help customers identify opportunities, develop prototypes, and create solutions that deliver meaningful business impact.

With extensive experience in innovation and design at SAP, Palm has worked across customer innovation, business development, and project management, with a particular focus on human-centered design and collaborative innovation. Through SAP AppHaus, he helps organizations explore technologies such as artificial intelligence and SAP Business Technology Platform while ensuring that innovation remains grounded in user needs, business viability, and technical feasibility.

Dragutin Petkovic

Professor of Computer Science, San Francisco State University

Dragutin Petkovic (IEEE Life Fellow since 2018, IEEE Fellow since 1998) received Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from UC Irvine in 1983 in the area of biomedical image analysis, and B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering and multidisciplinary studies respectively from University of Belgrade, Serbia with emphasis on image and signal analysis. He is currently a professor of computer science at San Francisco State University (SFSU) since 2003 where he was computer science department chair from 2003 to 2015. In 2019, he founded and co-leads the multidisciplinary SFSU Graduate Certificate in Ethical Artificial Intelligence together with SFSU Department of Philosophy and School of Business. He was a founder and Director of SFSU Center for Computing for Life Sciences from 2005 till 2018 and collaborated on multiple NIH grants with Stanford University in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for bioinformatics. He held positions at VMware as a Senior Director, Applications, and as senior manager and researcher at IBM Almaden Research center, San Jose (1983-2000). His research focus included content based retrieval (he was founder of trend-setting IBM Query by Image Content QBIC project). For last 10 years his work combines AI and ease of use and has a goal to bring technology closer to people and users. Due to his concerns about the state of the ethics and trustworthiness of AI systems and their possibly negative implications to society, his recent focus is on explainable and trustworthy AI to which he contributes by papers, books, workshops, talks and importantly by education of broader community via SFSU Certificate of Ethical AI.

Lutfus Sayeed

Professor of Information Systems, San Francisco State University

Lutfus Sayeed, Ph.D., is Professor and former Chair of the Department of Information Systems at San Francisco State University’s Lam Family College of Business. His research focuses on artificial intelligence and analytics-based information technology applications, particularly in healthcare and education, as well as online collaboration and the environmental impacts of information technology.

Dr. Sayeed has played a significant role in advancing technology-focused education at SFSU, including co-developing the Master of Science in Business Analytics program and cybersecurity certificate programs, as well as initiating an SAP certificate program for undergraduate and graduate students. A Fulbright Fellow, he has taught internationally at institutions across Asia, Europe, and Australia and has published extensively in leading information systems and decision sciences journals.

Nasser Shahrasbi

Director of Lam-Larsen Initiative for Emerging Technologies, San Francisco State University

Nasser Shahrasbi is a Professor of Information Systems at the Lam Family College of Business, San Francisco State University. He is also the Director of the Lam-Larsen Initiative for Emerging Technologies and a member of the AI Taskforce at SFSU contributing to the university's efforts to advance AI research and education. Dr. Shahrasbi has a PhD in Information Systems from HEC Montreal University. His research interest encompasses emerging technologies and their impact on organizations, communities, and societies. He has published several articles in top-tier academic journals and conferences. He is also actively engaged in collaborations with industry partners, and organizing several workshops and conferences to foster the dialogue among scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.