SECON 2024: 10th annual Software Engineering Conference

Last month, we wrapped our 10th annual Software Engineering Conference, otherwise known as “SECON” at Capital One. We believe that SECON is truly unique to Capital One, so as we reflect back on this past year, we wanted to share what makes SECON a calendar highlight each year, and the incredible impact it’s had on our team of over 14,000 technologists.

When SECON started in 2015, Capital One was in the early stages of an ambitious tech transformation. At that point, we were far from the more than 14,000 technologists that make up our tech org today. SECON began as a local gathering “for engineers, by engineers,” acting as a vehicle to showcase the team’s work and inspire innovation. This same sentiment still exists today, just on a much larger scale.

Today, SECON is our largest, most highly-anticipated internal conference with thousands of attendees, 250 demos and breakouts, and 600 presenters—including C-level executives from a broad swath of leading global technology companies. Its mission is to create a community experience for associates that inspires them, allowing them to share knowledge and grow their skills through a network of their peers who are experts in AI/ML, cloud, software engineering and data.

Originally an in-person only event, SECON pivoted to a fully virtual experience in 2020 delivered via an internally-developed event production platform. Rather than scaling back, the planning team seized the opportunity to build on SECON’s previous success, adding headline sessions with our CIO discussing Capital One’s tech strategy, alongside a range of virtual fireside chats with the leadership team. The shift to a virtual event helped drive SECON’s growth to the next level.

In 2024, the planning team pivoted to a hybrid approach, combining the best of in-person and virtual programming and events. On-site demos offered hands-on experiences, while virtual sessions ensured associates can take part without geographical bias. Sessions were made available on-demand and hosted on our internal conference platform. The platform features sessions from this year’s event, plus hundreds of videos and other resources from past conferences, and acts as a hub for continuous learning. 

During SECON, Capital One CIO Rob Alexander and the tech leadership team roll out Capital One’s tech vision and strategy for associates. This provides a great opportunity to provide updates on various aspects of our tech transformation.

But great engineering work is at the heart of SECON—providing a platform for some of the latest and greatest work from our tech team. Each year, hundreds of technologists answer SECON’s call for papers. Each of these submissions is reviewed and selected by a panel of distinguished engineers at Capital One.

Session topics range from product development to career tips, with individual sessions pulling in hundreds and sometimes thousands of attendees. It's an incredible way for our technologists to share their work and drive cross-team learning. SECON also empowers our technologists to hone their presentation skills. In producing their content, participants can sharpen their public speaking abilities in a more controlled environment. Some presentations go on to inform external work, adding further, lasting value. 

SECON is a reflection of our commitment to our incredible tech talent—a place where they can enjoy continuous learning, showcase their work, engage with each other and the broader sector, sector and celebrate the people behind our products and services. It’s our talented technologists who have made SECON the success it is over the past ten events—and we can’t wait to see what the next ten holds for them.

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