DAX INSIGHTS SERIES: The Second Audience: Running a Business for People and Machines
The Second Audience: Running a Business for People and Machines
Every decision a business makes now has two audiences. Is yours designed for both?
As artificial intelligence transforms how businesses operate, Wondersauce co-founder and CEO John Sampogna offers a candid look inside his own company and the decisions shaping its future.
After 15 years of building an agency around a specific way of working, hiring, and delivering value, Sampogna is rethinking the foundations of the business during a period of record growth.
Through real examples, internal debates, and lessons learned, his keynote remarks will explore what happens as machines become an increasingly important part of the modern workforce, how industry can rethink what running successful business looks like in this new context, why humans still hold the advantage in an AI-powered word, and how decision-makers can invest most strategically in their technology.
Following his talk, he will be joined by Omar Besbes, Vikram S. Pandit Professor of Business in the Decision, Risk, & Operations Division at Columbia Business School and Faculty Director of its AI in Business Initiative, in a conversation moderated by Susan McGregor, Research Scholar at Columbia University’s Data Science Institute. Drawing on his research in data-driven decision-making, Besbes will offer an academic perspective on how leaders can make decisions that hold up for both people and machines.
The DAX INSIGHTS Series is made possible by the TDF Foundation.
Details & Registration
Wednesday, November 11, 2026 (4:00 PM - 6:30 PM)
Jerome L. Greene Science Center - Fred Kavli Auditorium (9th Floor)
3227 Broadway, New York, NY 10027 - Google Maps (view map)
Speakers
As seen in Adweek, CNBC, Bloomberg, Ad Age, and more, John Sampogna is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and CEO with over 15 years of experience crafting award-winning strategies, digital experiences, and campaigns for renowned brands such as Golf.com, Nike, L’Oréal, Scott’s, Sixpenny, NYC’s Brookfield Place, Chandon, and Grubhub, among others. Today, he leads a team of over 100 technologists, creatives, strategists, and producers as the Co-Founder and CEO of Wondersauce, a digital transformation agency. Under his leadership, Wondersauce has earned a spot on Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 list of America's Fastest-Growing Companies, built a roster of premier Fortune 500 clients and innovative startups, and was officially acquired by Project Worldwide, an advertising holding company.
Omar Besbes's primary research interests are in the area of data-driven decision-making with a focus on applications in e-commerce, pricing and revenue management, online advertising, operations management and general service systems. His research has been recognized by multiple prizes, including the 2019 Frederick W. Lanchester Prize, the 2017 M&SOM society Young Scholar Prize, the 2013 M&SOM best paper award and the 2012 INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Section prize. He serves on the editorial boards of Management Science and Operations Research.
He has taught core MBA courses in Operations Management and Business Analytics, an MBA elective on advanced Business Analytics, as well as various Ph.D. seminars on stochastic models, revenue management and data-driven decision-making. He is a recipient of the Dean's award for teaching excellence in the core at Columbia Business School.
Omar is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique (France) and received a M.Sc. from Stanford University in 2000 and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2008. Before joining Columbia, he was on the faculty at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Bio coming soon
Lori Glover is Chief of Strategic Alliances at Columbia’s Data Science Institute, where she leads the creation and development of enduring partnerships across industry, philanthropy, and the broader innovation ecosystem. Her work focuses on building trusted, multi-stakeholder collaborations that not only support academic research, but also enable real-world impact across technology, policy, and society.
Agenda
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
4:00 PM: Doors Open for Networking (30 min)
- Check-In Location: Please arrive to the ground floor lobby of the Jerome L. Greene Science Center (3227 Broadway, New York, NY 10027) located on the Columbia University Manhattanville Campus
- Event Location: Fred Kavli Auditorium (9th Floor)
4:30 PM: Program Begins: Opening Remarks (5 min)
- Introductions: Lori Glover, Chief of Strategic Alliances, Data Science Institute, Columbia University
4:35 PM: Talk Title (25 min)
- Industry Speaker: John Sampogna, CEO and Co-Founder, Wondersauce
5:00 PM: Fireside Chat with John Sampogna (30 min)
- Faculty Speaker: Omar Besbes, Vikram S. Pandit Professor of Business and Reynolds Family Professor of Digital Economy in the Faculty of Business, Decision, Risk, and Operations Division, Columbia Business School
- Moderator: Susan McGregor, Research Scholar, Data Science Institute
5:30 PM: Networking Reception (60 min)
6:30 PM: Event Ends
FAQs
Waitlist: Space is limited. Once the space is filled we will maintain a waitlist. If you are unable to attend, please let us know so someone from the waitlist may be able to join. Cancellation email: [email protected]