Sri Navalpakkam is Managing Partner at The Ascend. He is a senior IT executive and strategist specializing in the areas of IT strategy, enterprise architecture, IT governance, IT spend analysis and cost takeout, outsourcing, M&A strategies, and IT portfolio management functions. Mr. Navalpakkam has a proven track record of developing and implementing enterprise architecture and strategy across multiple industries including retail, healthcare, insurance, financial, telecommunications, and security monitoring. He has led numerous enterprise initiatives that resulted in effecting end­to­end sustainable change including mega outsourcing and offshoring projects. Mr. Navalpakkam has held senior management positions as consulting partner, principal/strategy consultant, and Director of Architecture and Strategy at Sears Roebuck and Co., Managing Director at CNA Insurance, and Chief Architect at Meritage Technologies. He is experienced in turnaround and change leadership and has a keen interest in sharing insights, best practices, technology leading trends, and innovation themes. Mr. Navalpakkam holds an integrated master's degree specializing in computer and information systems from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India, and is currently pursuing an executive MBA at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.