Thought Leaders
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
HITAF RASHEED
EVENTS SOUTH AUSTRALIA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN TOURISM COMMISSION
South Australia loves a party. We are the festival state – one proud to break new ground. Innovation is crucial when delivering major events, and so too is fostering a culture in which they continue to thrive. Our place as host of the best, brightest celebrations is directly linked to...
INNOVATE® Phoenix
Justin Gray
CEO - LeadMD
Introduction Justin Gray is a serial entrepreneur, who has launched four multi-million dollar companies, become a recognized speaker and been published over 350 times throughout his career. Justin is the CEO and founder of LeadMD, a role he’s held for the past ten years. He also co-founded PaidSuite, a SaaS...
INNOVATE® Minnesota
Reed Robinson
Founder - BETA
Nearly 150 years ago, General Cadwallader Washburn and Charles Pillsbury set up mills along the Mississippi, introducing scalable food-processing and global food distribution. A short time later, William Worrall Mayo moved to Rochester, and with the help of his two sons and the Sisters of Saint Francis, they would invent...
INNOVATE® Georgia
JAMES WANG
DJJ TECHNOLOGIES NTL, LLC - FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER
In the business world, few principles are more critical than the ones I hold dear: take care of your employees and customers. This ethos, rooted deeply in the Golden Rule, has shaped every aspect of my journey and remains the cornerstone of DJJ Technologies. By treating others how we want...
INNOVATION Quebec
VINCENT ROUSSON
RECTOR, UQAT
However, for a university located in a region like Abitibi Témiscamingue, innovation can play an even more critical role in its development. First and foremost, innovation can help attract and retain students and professors. By developing innovative programs and offering exciting research opportunities in partnership with the community, UQAT attracts...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
TRINIDAD HERMIDA, FOUNDER
THE HERMIDA COMPANY
Parents and guardians, hear me! You play an essential role in developing and guiding our youth/young adults of this generation and the generations to come. I know this is not rocket science or new information, but I wanted to be as blatant as possible with my intentions for the next...
INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath
JOEL GIBBARD AND SAMANTHA PAYNE
MBE CEO & MBE COO, OPEN BIONICS
Here at Open Bionics we build medical devices that enhance the human body. Our goal is to democratise the prosthetics industry and make it accessible so that every individual can feel empowered to reach their goals. It’s critical that the future of robotics evolves with purpose. I believe companies who...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
GSP International Airport
Dave Edwards, President/CEO at GSP Airport District
As a leader, I’ve always believed that success isn’t measured solely by the milestones we achieve but by the way we inspire others to grow and excel alongside us. When I joined the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport District, my vision was clear: to create an organization that not only excels operationally but...
INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3
Tom Wallace
Managing Partner for Florida Funders
Early-stage innovation and technology companies are one of the best investment opportunities available today. Florida is at the forefront of a blooming technology landscape and Florida Funders, a hybrid of a venture capital fund and crowd-funding platform that invests in emerging trends, has a passion for growing the next generation...
INNOVATE™ Bengaluru
Mohandas Pai
Founder and Chairman of Aarin Capital
There is no question that Mohandas Pai holds strong opinions on an impressive variety of subjects. He walks the talk too, playing key roles in financial governance, democratic processes, civic issues, education, philanthropy and important in the context of this article, as an angel investor and a mentor. “What guides...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
Andrew Hsu
President of the College of Charleston
Both society and technology are changing ever more rapidly. Higher education is historically designed to be steady and slow in changing. The conflict caused between slow-moving institutions and a rapidly changing world has become ever more obvious – to the point, for many, that it has reached a definitive inflection...
INNOVATION Quebec
FRANÇOIS BERTRAND
VICE-PRESIDENT, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION, POLYTECHNIQUE MONTRÉAL
Research conducted at Polytechnique, especially our collaborative research, is a fundamental lever for innovation. For more than 50 years, we have been carrying out the majority of technology transfer activities through our many research partnerships with companies of all sizes, and with universities and other organizations worldwide. Through these collaborations,...
AI Québec
PHILIPPE MOLARET
DIRECTEUR TECHNIQUE CHEZ THALES
Elle vise l’accroissement des capacités opérationnelles dans plusieurs secteurs d’application tels que la santé, la sécurité, ou le transport. L’agent intelligent que nous développons n’est pas qu’un ‘simple’ double numérique. L’Agent couvre trois fonctionnalités; 1) une veille permanente sur la situation opérationnelle dans son cadre d’emploi et dont il informe...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
CHRISTOPHER J. PALADINO
PRESIDENT, DEVCO
Mr. Paladino has served as President of the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO) since 1994. Under his leadership, DEVCO has developed 8.3 million square feet in residential, commercial, academic, and institutional development projects valued at $3.5 billion. By establishing unique public-private partnerships, Mr. Paladino has successfully completed numerous projects to...
INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1
TSHEPO TSHEKO
ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BOTSWANA DIGITAL AND INNOVATION HUB (BDIH)
Unleashing Botswana’s Innovation Culture… As Robert Tucker noted, “Innovation is everyone’s business.” If we are to unpack this a little bit more, it simply says that in order for an innovation system to be successful, all of its members must be enabled to participate in whichever way they would desire....
INNOVATE® Los Angeles
BILL CARPOU
CEO, OCTANE
What does it take to build a thriving innovation ecosystem? Ask around, and you’ll hear familiar answers: access to capital, incubators, and accelerators, and of course—collaboration. All of these are essential. But at Octane, we’ve discovered a deeper, more powerful driver: Collective Impact. Yes, capital is critical—it’s the price of...
INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1
MRS. TSHOGANETSO CARL-PONOESELE
ACTING CEO, BOTSWANA TOURISM
What does innovation mean to you? Tourism is an extremely vast field for innovation as a complex cross-cutting socio-economic system. Creating a tourist product, tourist services, booking of air – and train tickets – all these processes have reached a new level with the introduction of the latest developments in...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
Erin Mays & Kalyn Rozanski
CO-CEOs - Ebco
Thought leaders in the truest sense, Erin Mays and Kalyn Rozanski of Ebco are completely reenvisioning and disrupting the trend and innovation research space with unique and differentiated products and services that support global Fortune 1000 companies. Coming from design thinking and qualitative research backgrounds, Mays shares “we no longer...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
AARON CHIN
CEO, ORGANIKA HEALTH PRODUCTS
What does that mean?Armed with a sincere drive to help people live healthier, Aaron took to innovation. He saw that the health and wellness industry catered to niche markets and specific demographics. “I wanted to disrupt the health industry. So, we invested in innovation to formulate health products that are...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
ANDY FISHER
DIRECTOR, BOUNCE HEALTH INNOVATION
Are you a driven entrepreneur who’s passionate about improving the world around you? Then take a look at these two charts: One shows the growing prevalence of chronic disease at every age. The other shows how much we’re spending per person just to keep up. We are getting sicker earlier,...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
THERESA A LYONS
FOUNDER, LYONS & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
A LEGACY IN THE MAKINGOur clients are the heartbeat of our existence. They remind us why we chose this path. They are the reason we fight, innovate, and care. We carry their battles as if they were our own because, in truth, they are. The discipline of law falls under...
INNOVATE® San Diego Vol.1
Kevin L. Faulconer
Mayor - City Of San Diego
The region’s world-class universities, research institutions, and life sciences industry have a long history of groundbreaking discoveries that have saved lives across the globe, including several companies working around the clock right now in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.As Mayor, I have pushed to make the City of San...
INNOVATE® Gainesville
Innovation Starts with Culture-BuildingThe greater Gainesville area is abuzz with growth, development and activity. From the expansion of major entertainment, restaurant and retail hubs, to the launch of technology start-ups, to the relocation of major biotechnology and life science firms to our area, it’s an exciting time. Innovation is at...
DR CAROLYN PORTER
CEO, CYTOSEEK
Carolyn Porter is CEO of CytoSeek a discovery stage biotech company spun out of Bristol University developing the next generation of cell therapies for treatment of cancer. Carolyn has spent the majority of her career in the biotech sector working in University spin-out biotech companies, in translation of University innovations...
HITAF RASHEED
EVENTS SOUTH AUSTRALIA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN TOURISM COMMISSION
South Australia loves a party. We are the festival state – one proud to break new ground. Innovation is crucial when delivering major events, and so too is fostering a culture in which they continue to thrive. Our place as host of the best, brightest celebrations is directly linked to...
Justin Gray
CEO - LeadMD
Introduction Justin Gray is a serial entrepreneur, who has launched four multi-million dollar companies, become a recognized speaker and been published over 350 times throughout his career. Justin is the CEO and founder of LeadMD, a role he’s held for the past ten years. He also co-founded PaidSuite, a SaaS...
Reed Robinson
Founder - BETA
Nearly 150 years ago, General Cadwallader Washburn and Charles Pillsbury set up mills along the Mississippi, introducing scalable food-processing and global food distribution. A short time later, William Worrall Mayo moved to Rochester, and with the help of his two sons and the Sisters of Saint Francis, they would invent...
JAMES WANG
DJJ TECHNOLOGIES NTL, LLC - FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER
In the business world, few principles are more critical than the ones I hold dear: take care of your employees and customers. This ethos, rooted deeply in the Golden Rule, has shaped every aspect of my journey and remains the cornerstone of DJJ Technologies. By treating others how we want...
VINCENT ROUSSON
RECTOR, UQAT
However, for a university located in a region like Abitibi Témiscamingue, innovation can play an even more critical role in its development. First and foremost, innovation can help attract and retain students and professors. By developing innovative programs and offering exciting research opportunities in partnership with the community, UQAT attracts...
TRINIDAD HERMIDA, FOUNDER
THE HERMIDA COMPANY
Parents and guardians, hear me! You play an essential role in developing and guiding our youth/young adults of this generation and the generations to come. I know this is not rocket science or new information, but I wanted to be as blatant as possible with my intentions for the next...
JOEL GIBBARD AND SAMANTHA PAYNE
MBE CEO & MBE COO, OPEN BIONICS
Here at Open Bionics we build medical devices that enhance the human body. Our goal is to democratise the prosthetics industry and make it accessible so that every individual can feel empowered to reach their goals. It’s critical that the future of robotics evolves with purpose. I believe companies who...
GSP International Airport
Dave Edwards, President/CEO at GSP Airport District
As a leader, I’ve always believed that success isn’t measured solely by the milestones we achieve but by the way we inspire others to grow and excel alongside us. When I joined the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport District, my vision was clear: to create an organization that not only excels operationally but...
Tom Wallace
Managing Partner for Florida Funders
Early-stage innovation and technology companies are one of the best investment opportunities available today. Florida is at the forefront of a blooming technology landscape and Florida Funders, a hybrid of a venture capital fund and crowd-funding platform that invests in emerging trends, has a passion for growing the next generation...
Mohandas Pai
Founder and Chairman of Aarin Capital
There is no question that Mohandas Pai holds strong opinions on an impressive variety of subjects. He walks the talk too, playing key roles in financial governance, democratic processes, civic issues, education, philanthropy and important in the context of this article, as an angel investor and a mentor. “What guides...
Andrew Hsu
President of the College of Charleston
Both society and technology are changing ever more rapidly. Higher education is historically designed to be steady and slow in changing. The conflict caused between slow-moving institutions and a rapidly changing world has become ever more obvious – to the point, for many, that it has reached a definitive inflection...
FRANÇOIS BERTRAND
VICE-PRESIDENT, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION, POLYTECHNIQUE MONTRÉAL
Research conducted at Polytechnique, especially our collaborative research, is a fundamental lever for innovation. For more than 50 years, we have been carrying out the majority of technology transfer activities through our many research partnerships with companies of all sizes, and with universities and other organizations worldwide. Through these collaborations,...
PHILIPPE MOLARET
DIRECTEUR TECHNIQUE CHEZ THALES
Elle vise l’accroissement des capacités opérationnelles dans plusieurs secteurs d’application tels que la santé, la sécurité, ou le transport. L’agent intelligent que nous développons n’est pas qu’un ‘simple’ double numérique. L’Agent couvre trois fonctionnalités; 1) une veille permanente sur la situation opérationnelle dans son cadre d’emploi et dont il informe...
CHRISTOPHER J. PALADINO
PRESIDENT, DEVCO
Mr. Paladino has served as President of the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO) since 1994. Under his leadership, DEVCO has developed 8.3 million square feet in residential, commercial, academic, and institutional development projects valued at $3.5 billion. By establishing unique public-private partnerships, Mr. Paladino has successfully completed numerous projects to...
TSHEPO TSHEKO
ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BOTSWANA DIGITAL AND INNOVATION HUB (BDIH)
Unleashing Botswana’s Innovation Culture… As Robert Tucker noted, “Innovation is everyone’s business.” If we are to unpack this a little bit more, it simply says that in order for an innovation system to be successful, all of its members must be enabled to participate in whichever way they would desire....
BILL CARPOU
CEO, OCTANE
What does it take to build a thriving innovation ecosystem? Ask around, and you’ll hear familiar answers: access to capital, incubators, and accelerators, and of course—collaboration. All of these are essential. But at Octane, we’ve discovered a deeper, more powerful driver: Collective Impact. Yes, capital is critical—it’s the price of...
MRS. TSHOGANETSO CARL-PONOESELE
ACTING CEO, BOTSWANA TOURISM
What does innovation mean to you? Tourism is an extremely vast field for innovation as a complex cross-cutting socio-economic system. Creating a tourist product, tourist services, booking of air – and train tickets – all these processes have reached a new level with the introduction of the latest developments in...
Erin Mays & Kalyn Rozanski
CO-CEOs - Ebco
Thought leaders in the truest sense, Erin Mays and Kalyn Rozanski of Ebco are completely reenvisioning and disrupting the trend and innovation research space with unique and differentiated products and services that support global Fortune 1000 companies. Coming from design thinking and qualitative research backgrounds, Mays shares “we no longer...
AARON CHIN
CEO, ORGANIKA HEALTH PRODUCTS
What does that mean?Armed with a sincere drive to help people live healthier, Aaron took to innovation. He saw that the health and wellness industry catered to niche markets and specific demographics. “I wanted to disrupt the health industry. So, we invested in innovation to formulate health products that are...
ANDY FISHER
DIRECTOR, BOUNCE HEALTH INNOVATION
Are you a driven entrepreneur who’s passionate about improving the world around you? Then take a look at these two charts: One shows the growing prevalence of chronic disease at every age. The other shows how much we’re spending per person just to keep up. We are getting sicker earlier,...
THERESA A LYONS
FOUNDER, LYONS & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
A LEGACY IN THE MAKINGOur clients are the heartbeat of our existence. They remind us why we chose this path. They are the reason we fight, innovate, and care. We carry their battles as if they were our own because, in truth, they are. The discipline of law falls under...
Kevin L. Faulconer
Mayor - City Of San Diego
The region’s world-class universities, research institutions, and life sciences industry have a long history of groundbreaking discoveries that have saved lives across the globe, including several companies working around the clock right now in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.As Mayor, I have pushed to make the City of San...
Innovation Starts with Culture-BuildingThe greater Gainesville area is abuzz with growth, development and activity. From the expansion of major entertainment, restaurant and retail hubs, to the launch of technology start-ups, to the relocation of major biotechnology and life science firms to our area, it’s an exciting time. Innovation is at...
DR CAROLYN PORTER
CEO, CYTOSEEK
Carolyn Porter is CEO of CytoSeek a discovery stage biotech company spun out of Bristol University developing the next generation of cell therapies for treatment of cancer. Carolyn has spent the majority of her career in the biotech sector working in University spin-out biotech companies, in translation of University innovations...