AVP Portfolio Lead
CNA Insurance
Duane A. Lee is a seasoned technology executive with nearly three decades of experience spanning software engineering, enterprise architecture, and large-scale IT leadership. Currently serving as AVP Portfolio Lead at CNA Insurance, he leads enterprise modernization efforts across a complex technology landscape, providing direction to over 150 technology professionals.
Duane's career reflects a rare blend of hands-on technical depth and strategic leadership. He began as a software engineer, building the foundational instincts that have informed his approach to architecture, delivery, and systems thinking throughout his career. In his career he has held progressive leadership roles — from Enterprise Solution Architecture Manager to DevOps Director to IT Business Transformation Director — where he drove platform modernization, cloud adoption, and CI/CD pipeline strategy at enterprise scale.
He has a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams through complex transformations, championing product-based delivery models, and bridging the gap between business strategy and technology execution. His work with SAFe delivery frameworks, vendor management, and cloud platform implementations — demonstrates his ability to operate effectively at the intersection of people, process, and technology.
Every year legacy systems remain untouched, competitors move faster, customers grow impatient, and budgets are consumed by maintenance. Efficiency suffers.
Agentic AI has changed what is possible, but three challenges still derail programs.
This session addresses all three with a framework designed for regulated environments, not demos. One presenter led this within a major U.S. insurer. The other built modernization frameworks across banks. Leave with a tool agnostic blueprint, a defensible quality model, and an adoption strategy that drives real business measurable outcomes.