2023 Plenary Session

Plenary Session Speakers

Tuesday, 07 March 2023 - Ballroom 20, 08:00-10:00 PST (UTC-08:00)

• 

  Patricia Obo-Nai

  Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Ghana

  Talk: Harnessing Digitalization for Effective Social Change

  Digitalization is a potent driver of progress in the modern world, particularly in Africa. The increased use of mobile phones has given it the momentum it needs across Africa. However, much more work is required. This talk will touch on what needs to be done to ensure that everyone, especially the most vulnerable, reaps the benefits of the global digital movement.

  About the Speaker

  Patricia Obo-Nai is an experienced leader in Ghana’s telecommunications industry. She was named CEO of Vodafone Ghana in April 2019, making her the first Ghanaian to hold that position in the country's 10 years of business.

  Patricia has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), an Executive MBA in Project Management from the University of Ghana Business School, and executive education from the Kellogg School of Management, London Business School, and INSEAD in France.

  She is passionate about the future of young people and women in the digital age and is a vigorous advocate for STEM. She has advocated for youth and women on a variety of local and international platforms, including the UN General Assembly panel sessions.

• 

  Jayshree V. Ullal

  President and Chief Executive Officer, Arista Networks

  Talk: The Road to Petascale Cloud Networking

  As the future application demands and compute performance evolve, the network needs to adapt for exponential growth in traffic, connecting tens of thousands of processors with Petabits of bandwidth. As a pioneer in cloud networking, Arista has become synonymous with elastic scaling and programmable provisioning delivering modern data-driven platforms. Arista believes Moore’s law is alive and will enable next-generation 100-Terabit switching and multi-terabit optics. A networking and Silicon Valley veteran, Jayshree Ullal will discuss the trends, evolution, and impact of petascale and AI-driven networking technologies ahead.

  About the Speaker

  As President and CEO of Arista for over a decade, Jayshree Ullal is responsible for Arista’s business and thought leadership in cloud networking. She led the company to a historic and successful IPO in June 2014 from zero to a multibillion-dollar business. Formerly Jayshree was Senior Vice President at Cisco, responsible for a $10B business in datacenter, switching and services. With more than 30 years of networking experience, she is the recipient of numerous awards including E&Y’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2015, Barron’s “World’s Best CEOs” in 2018 and one of Fortune’s “Top 20 Business persons” in 2019.

  Jayshree holds a B.S. in Engineering (Electrical) and an M.S. degree in engineering management. She is a recipient of the SFSU and SCU Distinguished Alumni Awards in 2013 and 2016.

• 

  Wendell P. Weeks

  Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Corning Incorporated

  Talk: Capacity to Transform

  Corning’s Chairman and CEO, Wendell Weeks, will highlight the industry’s growth drivers and breakthrough innovations in product and process, and the importance of connecting the unconnected with glass thinner than a human hair. Mr. Weeks will also share how optical fiber, invented more than 50 years ago, is contributing to greener solutions – benefiting our shared and more sustainable future.

  About the Speaker

  Wendell P. Weeks has served as Corning’s chief executive officer since 2005 and as chairman of its board since 2007. He has been a member of the company’s board of directors since 2000.

  Weeks joined Corning in 1983, working in finance, before holding roles in business development, commercial, and general management.

  In 1996, he became vice president and general manager of Corning’s optical fiber business. In 2001, he was named president of the company’s Optical Communications division, leading through dynamic market growth and the subsequent challenges of the telecommunications crash. Weeks became Corning’s president and chief operating officer in 2002, helping oversee Corning’s restructuring and return to profitability.

  As CEO, he has played an instrumental role in several life-changing innovations, including the development of Corning^® Gorilla^® Glass. He has earned 33 U.S. patents.

  Weeks is a graduate of Lehigh University and earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University as a Baker Scholar. He serves on the board of directors at Amazon.com Inc. and on the board of trustees for the Corning Museum of Glass and the Institute for Advanced Study. He is a member of the Liveris Academy Honorary Board.