Our panelists share insights from their extensive experience as data engineers. Anyone interested in becoming a data engineer, becoming a better data engineer, or learning from experts should join us!
Pete Cooney
Platform Architect and Manager, Data
Jackson National Life
Mr. Pete Cooney is the Platform Architect for data technologies at Jackson, and is accountable for data technology direction for the company.
Pete Cooney is an experienced technology professional with over 20 years’ experience in data, data integration, application integration, business architecture, process engineering and enterprise architecture. He is currently the Platform Data Architect and Data Architecture Manager for Jackson as part of the Enterprise Architecture team at Jackson National Life, a leading provider of annuities and other insurance-related investment vehicles.
Robert Laskey
Data Architect
Corewell Health
Rob Laskey is an architect in the Integrated Data & Analytics Care Delivery division at Corewell Health, where he leads data model strategy and standards for care delivery dbt projects. Rob balances writing SQL and trying to teach computers to write SQL so he doesn't have to. He's had moderate success with both. His work focuses on making data governance feel like a feature, not a tax—through standards-first design, automation that actually works, and AI agents that can cite their reasons (unlike Rob, who mostly just has opinions). When not agonizing over materialization strategies and performance tuning, he's probably coaching little league or playing a tabletop game with his wife and kids. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan; coffee consumption inversely proportional to fresh air and sunlight exposure.
Harini Rajagopal
Manager, Data Engineering
AAA Life Insurance Company
Harini Rajagopal is a Data Engineering Manager with nearly 15 years of experience building scalable data pipelines that ingest terabytes of data. She leads a data engineering team at AAA Life Insurance Company using AWS, Python, Terraform, and Docker. Holding multiple AWS certifications and a Harvard Business School Strategy Execution certificate, she is also a frequent speaker, writer, and Women Who Code contributor. She is based in the Detroit, Michigan area.
Jason Touleyrou
Data Engineer & Architect
With experience spanning healthcare, gaming, and digital marketing, Jason brings a systems-thinking approach to modern data infrastructure—optimizing cloud platforms, integrating AI-driven analytics, and accelerating delivery through automation and governance. From architecting resilient pipelines to aligning engineering roadmaps with business goals, he focuses on future-ready, outcome-driven solutions.