On stages where the decisions get made.
Rakia Finley has spoken at CES, the Open Source in Finance Forum, DevOpsDays, and executive events across the United States and internationally. She brings 20+ years of direct build experience to conversations about AI governance, enterprise technology, and the leadership decisions that shape what organizations are actually capable of. Her talks are not advisory. They are practitioner accounts — drawn from engagements at the White House, in federal agencies, at Fortune 500 companies, and in early-stage companies navigating their first major technology architecture decision.
The Infrastructure Gap: Why Most AI Strategies Fail Before They Launch.
Organizations invest heavily in AI strategy. Most of those strategies fail — not because the strategy was wrong, but because the infrastructure was not ready to hold it. Rakia draws on two decades of AI readiness work — including assessments for the White House and the Department of Energy — to give technical and non-technical audiences a clear picture of what readiness actually requires, and what it costs to skip it.
Keynote (45–60 min) · Executive panel · Workshop (half-day)
Enterprise executives, board members, founders, government technology officers.
Beyond the keynote.
The Fractional Executive: What It Is, What It Isn't, and Why the Model Works
Building Equitable Technology: What Diversity in Infrastructure Actually Means
400 Products in 20 Years: Patterns and Decisions Across the Full Stack
Governance That Holds: Architecture for AI, Data, and Institutional Trust
Where she has spoken.
| Stage / Event | Year / Notes |
|---|---|
| CES (Consumer Electronics Show) | 2015, 2016, 2020, 2025, 2026 |
| Open Source in Finance Forum, New York | 2015, 2025 |
| DevOpsDays New York | 2016, 2017 |
| Dreamforce | 2013–2026 |
| Texas Dreamin (Salesforce community) | Multiple years |
| Equality Lounge @ CES | 2025 |
| Obama White House Girls in STEM Initiative | Historical |
Rakia’s sessions are direct, substantive, and drawn from real engagements — not theory. Her audiences leave with a different frame for the decisions they’re making.
Speaking inquiry.
Share your event. Rakia reviews each request personally.