Advisory Board
Meet the Members
Forrester has assembled a group of trusted advisors for our Technology & Innovation Summit. The members provide input on the content, programming, and experience as it aligns to key opportunities and challenges facing technology and data leaders.
Joe Carroll
CIO at CITGO Petroleum
Joe Carroll was named Chief Information Officer (CIO) in February 2022. Joe began his CITGO career in 1994 as a Systems Engineer and held several IT managerial positions before being named General Manager of IT and Information Security in 2019, overseeing the applications systems of the CITGO enterprise, including the Enterprise Requirements Planning (ERP) system, specialized operational technology systems and the pipeline control system. During his career, Joe also earned several professional certifications and currently serves as a director on Oklahoma State University’s Computer Science Industry Advisory Board and on the board of the University of Houston’s Gutierrez Energy Management Institute. Joe is also a member of the Society of Information Management.
Joe holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Houston and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Oklahoma State University.
Fern Johnson
Former CTO, PepsiCo
An accomplished executive and business leader, Fern is passionate about driving positive change, creating collaborative and inclusive work environments, and building highly effective, high-performance teams. After 32 years of service, Fern recently retired from PepsiCo in February 2024. Her immediate past IT executive role was CTO Vice President, a role she held since Jan 2021. In this role, Fern led a large global organization to ensure high-quality delivery and availability of sector-based IT infrastructure, while delivering exceptional end-user experiences. Before this role, Fern led a global program to extend and build cybersecurity capability across PepsiCo’s supply chain (350 manufacturing plants; 2,500 distribution centers/ warehouses). She has broad technical and functional expertise with global program management best practices and delivery, collaborative senior management partnerships, a drive for increased productivity, and strong organizational leadership.
In addition to her work within the IT organization, Fern was an active participant and champion of PepsiCo’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. Her efforts in this area led to best practices and programs in Diversity which effected positive change, helped advance the careers of hundreds of employees, and vastly improved the organization. She has led and worked with affinity groups to enhance awareness through educational and community-based events, activities, programs, and projects encompassing all dimensions of diversity. She was recognized for her contributions with three Harvey C. Russell Chairman’s Awards for Diversity.
Fern has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pace University in Pleasantville, NY. She sits on several boards and advisory councils – IT Senior Management Forum, North Texas Business Council for the Arts, DFW Alliance of Technology and Women, Forrester’s North American Technology and Innovation Advisory Council, and is a board of trustee for the Dallas Museum of Arts. Fern is quite the world traveler and foodie! She enjoys entertaining her family and friends in her home in Frisco, TX.
David Johnston
CIO at Messer North America
David is the Chief Information Officer for Messer Americas, and in his role is responsible for information technology strategy & operations, cybersecurity, and digital leadership. Messer is a technology and applications leader in the safe production and distribution of industrial, medical and specialty gases.
With an international IT career spanning over 25 years, in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, he has a wide range of experience which has seen him lead mutiple technology transformations, business digitalization programs and execute complex M&A transactions. Prior to his current role with Messer he was VP, Information Services – Americas for The Linde Group, and before that held numerous IT Leadership roles with The BOC Group in Europe and Australia.
Originally from Scotland, David holds and BSc Hons in Applied Physics from the University of Strathclyde, UK and currently resides in New Jersey.
Dak Liyanearachchi
Chief Data and Technology Officer at NRG Energy
Dak Liyanearachchi serves as Senior Vice President of Data & Technology. In his role, he is helping enhance NRG’s customer strategy by bringing the organization’s digital transformation to scale.
Dak’s teams are driving the expansion of the company’s technology, data, and analytics capabilities across the enterprise from its retail businesses to generation. This includes ensuring our operations run seamlessly with technology to innovation supporting NRG’s customer-centric strategy. Dak joined NRG from Hilton Worldwide, where he served as Chief Data & Analytics Officer. In his previous role, he drove further innovation at Hilton, building the organization’s Data & Analytics group, which expanded self-service reporting analytics capabilities across the enterprise. Further, he implemented data science and analytics-led initiatives focused on revenue management, marketing optimization, personalization, and forecasting. Prior to his time at Hilton, Dak was Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Catalina Marketing.
Dak holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computing Information Systems from Birmingham City University in England.
Bill Corley
CIO at Kleinfelder Inc.
With over 25 years of experience in the professional services industry, Bill is a strategic technology leader and innovator who leverages technology to drive value to clients and build high-performance teams. As the Senior VP and Chief Information Officer at Kleinfelder, Bill leads the Information Technology and Corporate Procurement teams, overseeing a portfolio of $30 million and ensuring the delivery of quality services to Kleinfelder’s public and private clients.
