Delaware North Information Technology (IT) last week hosted its annual IT Summit, titled “2020: A Clear 
Look Forward,” which brings together over 140 corporate and field IT associates across all subsidiaries for a week of learning, collaboration and networking.
Jeff Wilkinson, Delaware North’s chief information officer, kicked off the summit with a year in review, highlighting successes and laying the groundwork for overcoming challenges and new projects. Wilkinson spoke about the need to create capacity to experiment to meet changing expectations and to reimagine how clients and guests interact with the digital world.
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Frank Mendicino congratulated attendees for increasing the confidence and credibility of IT and for enabling the infrastructure for the entire enterprise.
Delaware North Co-CEO Jerry Jacobs Jr. asked the group to think about all the ways technology impacts the company and how to continue looking to the future while keeping the family-owned vision and values top of mind.
“We’re going to see an influx of technology professionals and the dialogue is going to escalate,” said Jacobs. “We’ve shifted our culture to create one IT community at Delaware North, and that’s a powerful message and one that moves things forward on an exponential basis.”
TD Garden President Amy Latimer joined the conversation in a presentation about the large role IT played in the legendary transformation of the Delaware North-owned-and-operated venue. She encouraged attendees to share common goals and try to stay ahead of what’s next.
“Learn who you’re supporting and get uncomfortable – see yourself not as a service provider, but as a business partner,” said Latimer. “It’s so valuable to have someone who knows the business inside and out and can anticipate what we need.”
Other highlights of the summit include a keynote presentation by Stephen Shapiro about innovation culture and collaboration; industry and panel discussions; team-building exercises; creative problem-solving breakouts; and nightly off-site activities.
Sponsors included AWS, Appetize, Aruba, CenturyLink, Dell-EMC, eConnect, FreedomPay, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Optiv, Oracle, Presidio, Snowflake, Veeam and Verizon.