15th CA 2E / CA Plex Conference: Full Schedule

You will be able to validate your attendance (Check-In to sessions) using your personal schedule.

12:00pm PDT

Monday August 31, 2026 12:00pm - 5:00pm PDT

Lunch plus sessions from technology leaders from IBM, CM First, A&I Technologies, programmers.ai, and Midrange Dynamics.

Session 1 -Tim Rowe- IBM

Not Legacy — Ahead of Its Time: The Future of IBM i and how IBM Bob is Changing How We Work on It
IBM i was built for what the industry is only now catching up to — and in this session, we’ll prove it. We’ll cover the Power11 roadmap, hybrid cloud integration, IBM i’s industry-leading security and reliability, and the real cost advantages that make it hard to beat. Then we’ll show why IBM i is uniquely AI-ready today, thanks to the depth of SQL Services that make connecting modern tools to your business data straightforward.
In the second half, we get hands-on with Bob and the Premium Package for i — an AI assistant built specifically for IBM i. We’ll show how operators and administrators can use Bob to review audit journals, investigate job logs, monitor system performance, and understand unfamiliar programs — all through natural conversation. No migrations, no rewrites. Just actionable intelligence from the system you already run. Come for the platform vision. Leave with a tool you can use on Monday morning

Session 2- Mike Pavlak- programmers.ai

AI loves fresh data! How to Surface IBM i Data in AI platforms
Discover how InfoConnect platform bridges the gap between IBM i and today’s AI ecosystem. In this session, you’ll learn how real-time Change Data Capture (CDC) streams live DB2 data from IBM i to modern data platforms with little to no coding and without impacting production performance. We’ll demonstrate how to make IBM i data available to AI agents and workflows, enabling intelligent automation, natural language interfaces, and real-time decision-making. Whether you’re beginning your AI journey or expanding existing IBM i capabilities, this class provides practical strategies for integrating trusted enterprise data with the latest AI technologies.

Session 3- John Rhodes- CM First Group

Tokenomics
AI coding agents promise faster modernization — but the bill arrives in tokens, and pure-LLM translations of RPG can compile cleanly while preserving 0% of business behavior.
Through five real code examples, this session unpacks the economics of agentic development for CA 2E and CA Plex shops: deterministic analysis and transformation with CM evolveIT at the core, AI where judgment pays, and no LLM vendor lock-in.

Session 4- Carla Starling- Midrange Dynamics

InfoConnect
Discover how InfoConnect platform bridges the gap between IBM i and today’s AI ecosystem. In this session, you’ll learn how real-time Change Data Capture (CDC) streams live DB2 data from IBM i to modern data platforms with little to no coding and without impacting production performance. We’ll demonstrate how to make IBM i data available to AI agents and workflows, enabling intelligent automation, natural language interfaces, and real-time decision-making. Whether you’re beginning your AI journey or expanding existing IBM i capabilities, this class provides practical strategies for integrating trusted enterprise data with the latest AI technologies.

Session 5-Tim Higgins- A&I Technologies

Speakers

John Rhodes

CTO, CM First Group

A founder of CM First Group in North America, John is a seasoned technology professional focused on enterprise software development. As an architect and project lead for Kraft Foods, John developed and managed large scale IBM i (CA 2E/Synon) and IBM z based business intelligence systems... Read More →

Tim Rowe

STSM - IBM i Business Architect, IBM

Tim Rowe is a Senior Technical Staff Member within IBM i development and spends most of his timeworking as the Architect for Application Development and Systems Management. He has been working on the IBM i operating system since 1989. Tim is a frequent author, industry speaker... Read More →

Carla Starling

Midrange Dynamics

Carla is a Professional Services Project Manager for Midrange Dynamics North America with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations manage software changes on the IBM i platform. A dedicated problem solver and experienced project leader, she specializes in implementing... Read More →

Tim Higgins

A&I

Tim Higgins has been a valued member of A&I Solutions for more than a decade, bringing over 30 years of software and IT experience to the team. Driven by a passion for technology, strong coffee, and great music, Tim leverages his extensive technical expertise to support A&I’s wide... Read More →

Mike Pavlak

Programmers.AI

Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG & CL he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Mike was instrumental in developing the adoption... Read More →

Monday August 31, 2026 12:00pm - 5:00pm PDT

Company A&I, CM First group, IBM, Midrange Dynamics, Programmers.AI

6:30pm PDT

Special Event: Nashville Hot Chicken Dinner, Hot Sauce Challenge & Networking

Monday August 31, 2026 6:30pm - 8:30pm PDT

Join us for a fun Nashville-inspired evening featuring a delicious Nashville Hot Chicken Dinner, an exciting Hot Sauce Challenge, and plenty of time to network, connect, and unwind with fellow attendees, speakers, sponsors, and industry peers.

Speakers

Roger Jipp

Business Director, CM First Group

Monday August 31, 2026 6:30pm - 8:30pm PDT

Reception

Company CM First group

12:00pm PDT

Lunch, Networking & Team Trivia

Tuesday September 1, 2026 12:00pm - 1:20pm PDT

Cambria Hotel Nashville Downtown

Speakers

Mark O'Brien

Development Director, CM First Group

As head of CM M3 sales, Mark is responsible for driving worldwide revenue, helping customers transform their legacy software assets into modern applications that exploit the latest technologies. He is also manages the company’s strategic partnerships with IBM, CA Technologies, and... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 12:00pm - 1:20pm PDT
Cambria Hotel Nashville Downtown 118 8th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203, USA

Company CM First group

2:30pm PDT

Plex tips and techniques

Tuesday September 1, 2026 2:30pm - 3:20pm PDT

TBA

No matter how long we’ve been using CA Plex, there’s always something new to find in its feature set that can help you in your day-to-day tasks. Several highly-experienced developers will share tips and techniques that they’ve picked up over the years.

Speakers

Andrew Leggett

CM First Group

Andrew has over thirty years in the IT industry working in both the US and the UK. He began his career in the UK as a mainframe COBOL programmer, then stepped up to model-based design with Synon’s Obsydian product (now CA Plex) while it was in its infancy. In 1996 he joined Synon... Read More →

Roger Griffith

Eagle Sun

Roger Griffith is president of the Plex/2E community. He has been developing enterprise applications with Plex/2E for over 32 years and is a world-leading Plex/2E Evangelist. His passion for these tools is legendary.

Jeremy Stent

United Heritage

I currently live in Boise Idaho where I work for United Heritage Insurance. I have been a Plex developer since about 2000, working in Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, and now here. I have enjoyed many of the Plex/2E conferences and gatherings where I have learned a lot. I hope to be... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 2:30pm - 3:20pm PDT
TBA

2E/Plex

Company CM First group, united Heritage

4:30pm PDT

Modernizing Native Legacy Code Tips

Tuesday September 1, 2026 4:30pm - 5:20pm PDT

TBA

We will showcase a modernization process by migrating IBMi native code to SpringBoot Java. In this session, we will walk through various code transformation scenarios, including COBOL, RPG with O spec report, and CLP to Java. We will also share the challenges we encountered and practical tips drawn from our modernization project experience.

Speakers

kiyoshi terasawa

CM First Group

Kiyoshi has worked with Synon, Sterling Software, and CA Technologies, and has devoted his career to CA Plex (and 2E). After joining CM First, he gets new baby CM evolveIT. Recently, his focus has shifted to modernization of CA 2E and Plex. Probably he is one of unique/rare resource... Read More →

Lily Taharudin

CM First Group

Lily Taharudin is a Senior Full-Stack Developer with over 15 years of experience helping enterprises modernize legacy systems and build scalable, cloud-native applications—without sacrificing the business logic that makes those systems valuable. At CM First Group, she specializes... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 4:30pm - 5:20pm PDT
TBA

Modernization

Company CM First group

9:00am PDT

Hands-on workshop: modernizing Plex and 2E application to the cloud using static analysis and AI agentic frameworks. Automated Testing.

Wednesday September 2, 2026 9:00am - 12:00pm PDT

TBA

You will experience a full-cycle of modernization process with a combination of demonstration and hands-on. We will start from model extraction, modernization project set up, code transformation, running the migrated application and deployment with QA process and finally touching up the UI side with AI. This will be an intense session to cover in 3 hours.

Wednesday September 2, 2026 9:00am - 12:00pm PDT
TBA

2E/Plex

Company CM First group

12:00pm PDT

6:30pm PDT

12:00pm PDT

2:30pm PDT

4:30pm PDT

9:00am PDT

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