Miami, FL / Toronto, ON (March 10, 2026)
Datatel Communications Inc (US) / Datatel Inc (in Canada) today announced that Co-Founder and Co-CEO Barnard Crespi will be a featured speaker at the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium being held on May 18-19, 2026, leading a collaborative session on Agentic Commerce.
The session, entitled “AI : When the Buyer Isn’t Human: CIO Strategies for the Rise of Agentic Commerce” will address how as AI systems begin to research, evaluate, and complete purchases on behalf of customers, the definition of a “buyer” is evolving. This interactive session will open the door to a strategic conversation about what that shift means for enterprise leaders and why trust will become the defining issue in the next phase of digital commerce.
Geared towards CIOs and senior technology executives, the discussion will move beyond technical details to examine the broader leadership questions. What does trust look like when transactions are initiated by intelligent agents rather than people? How should organizations rethink accountability, authorization, governance, and digital relationships in this new environment? Through active dialogue and shared perspectives, participants will explore how to position their organizations for a future in which AI is not just a tool, but an active participant in commercial decision-making.
Barnard has been a longstanding member of the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium organizing team. He brings decades of leadership experience at the intersection of digital payments, security, and emerging technologies. His work increasingly focuses on the role of AI in the future of commerce, examining how innovation is reshaping trust, compliance, and enterprise risk at the executive level.
“Agentic commerce is not simply a technology shift. It is a trust shift. As AI systems begin acting on behalf of customers, organizations have a unique opportunity to strengthen trust, modernize governance, and build more resilient transaction models. The leaders who prepare now will not only manage risk effectively, but they will also help define how intelligent systems participate responsibly in the future of commerce.” Barnard Crespi, Co-CEO, Datatel Inc
Now entering its 23rd year, the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is the premier annual event bringing together more than 375 senior IT decision makers, leaders and innovators from around the world to discuss the future of technology-driven business. The theme for the 2026 in-person event is “Human-AI Synergy: Redefining Leadership for a Transformative Future.” Attendees will discuss ways AI is reshaping the enterprise landscape, and how human insight and AI tools together can unlock new levels of innovation, efficiency, and resilience.
“Throughout history, transformative technologies such as railroads, electricity, the internet and now AI realized massive early investments followed by exuberance, and long arcs to maturity,” said Allan R. Tate, executive chair, MIT Sloan CIO Symposium. “Whether AI is a new revolution, an evolution of ICT, or the first cognitive technology remains to be seen. At the 2026 Symposium, we will foster dialog and debate about the current state of AI, the impact on CIOs, business leaders and society, and how historians will ultimately view this period of time.”
The Symposium will feature interactive panel discussions with top leaders in their fields of expertise. The full agenda is available here. To register for the Symposium please visit https://mitcio.info/register.
About Datatel
Datatel is a global provider of secure payment solutions, AI payment isolation technology, PCI-focused services, and executive advisory solutions that help organizations reduce risk, simplify compliance, and modernize payment environments with confidence.
For more than 30 years, Datatel has delivered enterprise-grade IVR Payment and transaction automation solutions designed to remove sensitive cardholder data from business environments and streamline workflows. Today, Datatel enables secure payments across voice, web, AI-driven customer interactions, and integrated software platforms while advising executive teams on payment modernization, risk reduction, and the evolving implications of AI-driven commerce.
Trusted by healthcare providers, academic institutions, government agencies, software companies, and regulated enterprises worldwide, Datatel helps organizations minimize exposure to payment data, reduce PCI scope, and align modernization initiatives across people, processes, and platforms. The result is lower operational risk, a stronger security posture, and improved efficiency.
Through structured advisory , Datatel provides leadership teams with clear visibility into their payment ecosystems identifying risk gaps, hidden vulnerabilities, operational inefficiencies, and modernization opportunities to ensure today’s decisions remain resilient as commerce evolves.
As a PCI Level 1 Service Provider and PCI SSC Associate Participating Organization, Datatel maintains the highest standards of payment security and actively contributes to advancing global compliance frameworks.
Datatel remains focused on delivering secure, scalable payment infrastructure and executive advisory services that support long-term operational resilience, responsible growth, and the future of AI enabled digital commerce.
At Datatel, we are also actively engaged in our communities. Webelieve that a society that shortchanges its youngest and most vulnerable members forfeits its own future, and as part ofthis core belief, we work as a team to support those in need and help them overcome challenges, contributing to a brighter future for all for generations to come.
About the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium
The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is the premier global conference for CIOs and digital business executives. CIOs, CDOs and senior IT executives explore enterprise technology innovations, business practices and receive actionable information that enables them to meet the challenges of today and the future. The Symposium offers a unique learning environment by bringing together the academic thought leadership of MIT with the in-the-trenches experience of leading global CIOs and industry experts. The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is organized and developed by the MIT Sloan Boston Alumni Association. For more information and to register for this year’s Symposium, visit https://mitcio.com/, and engage with the Symposium on LinkedIn.
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