Unfinished Business: Dallas

July 16, 2026 | 5:30 – 7:30 PM

How AI agents actually make modernization work

 

Unfinished Business: Dallas edition

brought to you by Mechanical Orchard and Thoughtworks

AI has made modernization a hot topic, but much of the conversation misses a core issue behind the 70% failure rate: long, costly testing cycles that slow progress. While AI is increasing speed, it also raises critical questions - how do you trust what it produces, and how do you translate that into real value?

Join us for an in-person event where we will examine two common failure patterns in modernization efforts: traditional code-based approaches and the emerging business rules extraction (BRE) approach. Neither transpiling code nor capturing rules alone delivers success under real-world conditions. The gap between understanding a system and proving it behaves correctly is where modernization efforts stall.

We’ll discuss how a test-driven, behavioral approach closes this gap by combining AI-assisted modernization with continuous verification of system behavior. Using real data to prove equivalence at every step, teams can move faster, minimize rework, and reduce disruption—resolving the tradeoff between risk and speed.

When “should do” becomes easy to do, the only question left is: why not?

 

 

Agenda

5:30 pm Welcome, refreshments and canapés
6:00 pm Panel discussion, Q&A to follow
6:45 pm Networking
7:30 pm Event concludes

 

 

In attendance

Some friendly faces you can expect to see at this event:

    • Arun Batchu

      Moderator

      Arun Batchu is a technology executive, researcher, analyst, advisor, and builder with over three decades of experience at the intersection of enterprise software, AI, and organizational transformation. He is Founder & Principal Advisor of netrii, a network of practitioners helping businesses apply emerging technology through research-driven strategy and hands-on practice. He is also Managing Partner of NexVisionIX, advising Fortune 500 and government clients on AI strategy, legacy modernization, and agentic solutions across healthcare, supply chain, energy, and retail.

      Previously, Arun served as VP Analyst at Gartner, advising software engineering leaders on AI, development practices, and organizational change. He was VP of Advanced Technologies at UnitedHealth Group, establishing R&D centers for applied AI, and Director of Technology at Best Buy, leading digital product and technology strategy. He holds degrees in Computer Engineering and Software Engineering, a Nanodegree in Generative AI, and has taught software architecture at the University of St. Thomas.

    • Nick Keune

      Director, Mechanical Orchard
      Nick Keune is a technology and solutions engineering leader focused on helping enterprises modernize how they connect, orchestrate, and scale data and APIs. With experience spanning analytics, integration, cloud platforms, and GraphQL, he brings a practical perspective on simplifying complex architectures and enabling faster innovation across large organizations. He is passionate about developer experience, modern API strategies, and helping teams turn legacy complexity into scalable, data-driven systems.

    • Thomas Squeo

      CTO, Americas, Thoughtworks

      Results-oriented and outcome-driven technology executive and change agent focused on the business of software. Capable and forward-looking, I lead within agile, data-driven, and mission-oriented organizations that differentiate themselves through excellence in product innovation, solution delivery and customer centricity.