Thought Leaders

INNOVATE® Minnesota

Nathan A. Perez

Nathan A. Perez - Executive Career & Job-Search Coach

Executive Career & Job-Search Coach, Career Innovations LLC

Imagine meeting (finally!) someone that you have long waited to meet. An investor. A potential officer. Leader. New business partner. Someone who is going to be big and influential to you or your project and work. And imagine that they asked you to reach out to them again later when...

DR CAROLYN PORTER

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...

INNOVATE® Nashville

A.J. BAHOU

PARTNER & CHAIR AI PRACTICE, BRADLEY

Many of the early conversations around artificial intelligence have focused on whether this nascent technology is friend or foe. But as a lawyer whose passion is AI and technology, I find that dialogue to be quite complex. As with all technologies, AI poses risks as well as rewards. Some of...

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

ASH POURNOURI

FOUNDER BRILLIANT MINDS, AVICII, NORDIC ANGELS, SUPER HUMAN NETWORK

I’ve always believed that opportunity isn’t what you have – it’s what you use. And most people never scratch the surface of their own. We wait. We overthink. We hesitate. We look around for someone to tell us that we’re ready, that we’ve earned it, that we’re allowed to go....

Ashkan Karbasfrooshan

Ashkan Karbasfrooshan

Founder & CEO - WatchMojo

  Ashkan Karbasfrooshan, Founder & CEO – WatchMojo Just for Laughs. Cirque Du Soleil. Vice Media. Those are just some of the names of globally-recognized media & entertainment brands that were born in Montreal. After graduating in 1999 with a degree in commerce (majoring in finance) from Concordia University’s John...

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

JEFF DESJARDINS

FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, VISUAL CAPITALIST

In the media landscape, technology has been the ultimate disruptor—creating several inflection points that have changed the scope of reach for content and business models. To put the evolution of our industry and its future roadmap into perspective, we can take a closer look at the three waves of media....

INNOVATIONS in Pharmaceutical Development®

Ping Yeh

StemoniX - Transforming How New Medicines Are Discovered

CO-Founder and CEO - Stemonix

Coming back from the brink of death sounds so dramatic, but that’s truly how I feel. In 2012, I was literally dying. I had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and, a few months into my treatment, I learned that my cancer was resistant to the drugs. My only treatment option...

INNOVATIONS in Pharmaceutical Development®

Cristina Campos

Cristina Campos - Country President

Country President, Novartis Portugal & Head Integrated Access Programs & Markets Novartis Global Hea

Healthcare is a top priority of an aging society, this industry is key in the development of innovative treatments to address society’s needs and to foster better health, for longer and healthier lives. COVID-19 only made this clearer. With a global scale and deep understanding of healthcare needs, the pharma...

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

Chris Carrillo

CEO of MetroMLS

Milwaukee is rapidly emerging as a technology hub, with real estate tech playing a key role. Leading the way is Metro Multiple Listing Service,which has transformed from a traditional listing database into a tech-driven powerhouse, reshaping how homes are bought and sold in Wisconsin. Founded in 1962 as a printed...

INNOVATION Quebec

CHRISTIAN BLANCHETTE

RECTEUR CHEZ UQTR - UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À TROIS-RIVIÈRES

Dès sa fondation, en 1969, l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) a déployé ses activités dans plusieurs villes environnantes des régions de la Mauricie, du Centre-du-Québec et de Lanaudière. Plus de cinquante années d’ancrage régional facilitent la création de maillages entre l’Université et une diversité de milieux. La proximité entre...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

SEAN MENDEZ CATLIN

SEAN MENDEZ CATLIN

MANAGING PARTNER, MC & J LAW

Sean Méndez-Catlin is the 1Up Lawyer, giving you a 1Up on the competition and an extra life. He has been playing games since he was a Kid. He started with the N64 and has continued to play as he went through school and now as an attorney. Listening to his...

INNOVATE® Miami

Nitin Motwani

TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT Downtown Miami is experiencing one of the most dynamic urban reinventions in the world. Less than 10 years ago, Downtown was a 9-to-5 business district, but today businesses are launching and thriving, city streets are populated around-the-clock, parks and cultural venues now occupy land that sat vacant...

INNOVATE® Philadelphia

Lance Bachmann

Lance Bachmann: Thought Leader Of 1SEO

Thought Leader Of 1SEO

For a city with a wealth of history behind it, it continues to propel itself forward and arrive at the forefront of innovation. The transformation of both Philadelphia and digital marketing within the 21st century alone is exhilarating, and it shows no signs of slowing down. The ecosystem made up...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

JADE ALBERTS

JADE ALBERTS

FOUNDER, PEER GUIDANCE

Being an entrepreneur can be very lonely at times, that is why I am such an advocate for mental wellness. I have talked to many entrepreneurs that had no one to turn to, and if they did, it would have made a difference. I am no expert in this mental...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

SEBASTIAN “CHOSEN1” BURTON

SEBASTIAN “CHOSEN1” BURTON

DIGITAL ADVERTISING & ESPORTS THOUGHT LEADER ACTIVATING BRANDS WITH CONSUMERS VIA ESPORTS & GAMING,

The way I see it is that the gaming/esports ecosystem is an interesting experience that reflects the games we all play. Need an example? God of War, Uncharted and The Last Of Us are all blockbuster titles that are classified as action-adventure games. However, if we start digging deeper we’ll...

INNOVATE™ Flanders

FRANÇOIS DE VRIENDT

OWNER OF NEW VALMAR

Perspectives on InnovationTo thrive in today’s competitive business landscape, SMES must embrace automation and streamline all its processes to ensure cost-effectiveness and compatibility with other players in the market. At New Valmar, we understand this well and have made significant investments in cutting edge technologies that augment our Enterprise Resource...

INNOVATE™ Estonia

AHTI HEINLA

ESTONIAN INNOVATOR BEHIND SKYPE AND STARSHIP ROBOTS

Ahti Heinla is one of Estonia’s most visionary minds – the co-founder of Starship Technologies and formerly the Chief Technical Architect of Skype. His impact on global communication and autonomous technology is immense, yet his story is deeply rooted in Estonia’s culture of curiosity, experimentation, and civic spirit. Heinla wrote...

INNOVATE® Maryland

DR. ELIZABETH CLAYBORNE

CEO & CO-FOUNDER AT NASACLIP

I am an ER doctor, a mom, a Black woman, and the CEO of a medical device company. These roles are not separate – they intertwine and fuel my vision for impact. My journey into entrepreneurship started in the chaos of the emergency room, where I treated countless patients for...

INNOVATE® Gainesville

Christine E. Schmidt

Christine E. Schmidt

J. Crayton Pruitt Family Chair & Department Chair Of Biomedical Engineering - University Of Florida

One of the most important jobs of any leader is to create a vision for what they want to accomplish and to implement a realistic plan to realize that vision. It was fundamentally important to me in executing my vision to identify what voices were not being heard and to...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

MARIAM NUSRAT

FOUNDER & CEO OF BRESHNA.IO

Innovation goes beyond creating something new; it’s about making a meaningful difference. My journey, from Pakistan to the World Bank and into the realms of technology and communications, has been driven by this ethos. The turning point was recognizing gaming’s potential as a tool for impactful communication. With a background...

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

CYBELE NEGRIS

CYBELE NEGRIS

CEO - WEBNAMES.CA

CYBELE NEGRIS   Life is so fast-paced that we take too much for granted, whether it is the Internet which has now practically become a basic right or the growing role of women in positions of power, which is an outcome that has not come easily. All these giant leaps...

INNOVATE® Miami

Max Tuchman

Max Tuchman

Co-Founder & CEO - Caribu

If it’s a smooth road, it’s not worth traveling. I believe you only truly learn by making mistakes, stumbling, and having your experiments turn out differently than you expected (I don’t see those as failures). When we met, my co-founder just happened to be living in Miami, too. Since the...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

Dedicated to the Memory of Edward Cohen

Contributed by Mario M. Casabona, Commissioner Emeritus NJ CS&T

When pioneering educator and entrepreneurial advocate, Edward Cohen passed away in 2019, the State of New Jersey lost a veritable lion of education and technological entrepreneurship. Over 30 years ago, Cohen understood that to revitalize the State’s flagging economy, a fuse had to be lit forging the sectors of higher...

INNOVATION Quebec

FRANÇOIS BERTRAND

DIRECTEUR DE LA RECHERCHE ET DE L’INNOVATION

Notre recherche, en particulier notre recherche collaborative, constitue un levier fondamental de l’innovation. Depuis plus de 50 ans, nous réalisons la majeure partie du transfert technologique à travers nos nombreux partenariats de recherche établis avec des entreprises de toutes tailles, ainsi qu’avec des universités et autres organisations de partout dans...

Nathan A. Perez

Nathan A. Perez - Executive Career & Job-Search Coach

Executive Career & Job-Search Coach, Career Innovations LLC

Imagine meeting (finally!) someone that you have long waited to meet. An investor. A potential officer. Leader. New business partner. Someone who is going to be big and influential to you or your project and work. And imagine that they asked you to reach out to them again later when...

DR CAROLYN PORTER

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...

A.J. BAHOU

PARTNER & CHAIR AI PRACTICE, BRADLEY

Many of the early conversations around artificial intelligence have focused on whether this nascent technology is friend or foe. But as a lawyer whose passion is AI and technology, I find that dialogue to be quite complex. As with all technologies, AI poses risks as well as rewards. Some of...

ASH POURNOURI

FOUNDER BRILLIANT MINDS, AVICII, NORDIC ANGELS, SUPER HUMAN NETWORK

I’ve always believed that opportunity isn’t what you have – it’s what you use. And most people never scratch the surface of their own. We wait. We overthink. We hesitate. We look around for someone to tell us that we’re ready, that we’ve earned it, that we’re allowed to go....

Ashkan Karbasfrooshan

Ashkan Karbasfrooshan

Founder & CEO - WatchMojo

  Ashkan Karbasfrooshan, Founder & CEO – WatchMojo Just for Laughs. Cirque Du Soleil. Vice Media. Those are just some of the names of globally-recognized media & entertainment brands that were born in Montreal. After graduating in 1999 with a degree in commerce (majoring in finance) from Concordia University’s John...

JEFF DESJARDINS

FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, VISUAL CAPITALIST

In the media landscape, technology has been the ultimate disruptor—creating several inflection points that have changed the scope of reach for content and business models. To put the evolution of our industry and its future roadmap into perspective, we can take a closer look at the three waves of media....

Ping Yeh

StemoniX - Transforming How New Medicines Are Discovered

CO-Founder and CEO - Stemonix

Coming back from the brink of death sounds so dramatic, but that’s truly how I feel. In 2012, I was literally dying. I had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and, a few months into my treatment, I learned that my cancer was resistant to the drugs. My only treatment option...

Cristina Campos

Cristina Campos - Country President

Country President, Novartis Portugal & Head Integrated Access Programs & Markets Novartis Global Hea

Healthcare is a top priority of an aging society, this industry is key in the development of innovative treatments to address society’s needs and to foster better health, for longer and healthier lives. COVID-19 only made this clearer. With a global scale and deep understanding of healthcare needs, the pharma...

Chris Carrillo

CEO of MetroMLS

Milwaukee is rapidly emerging as a technology hub, with real estate tech playing a key role. Leading the way is Metro Multiple Listing Service,which has transformed from a traditional listing database into a tech-driven powerhouse, reshaping how homes are bought and sold in Wisconsin. Founded in 1962 as a printed...

CHRISTIAN BLANCHETTE

RECTEUR CHEZ UQTR - UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À TROIS-RIVIÈRES

Dès sa fondation, en 1969, l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) a déployé ses activités dans plusieurs villes environnantes des régions de la Mauricie, du Centre-du-Québec et de Lanaudière. Plus de cinquante années d’ancrage régional facilitent la création de maillages entre l’Université et une diversité de milieux. La proximité entre...

SEAN MENDEZ CATLIN

SEAN MENDEZ CATLIN

MANAGING PARTNER, MC & J LAW

Sean Méndez-Catlin is the 1Up Lawyer, giving you a 1Up on the competition and an extra life. He has been playing games since he was a Kid. He started with the N64 and has continued to play as he went through school and now as an attorney. Listening to his...

Nitin Motwani

TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT Downtown Miami is experiencing one of the most dynamic urban reinventions in the world. Less than 10 years ago, Downtown was a 9-to-5 business district, but today businesses are launching and thriving, city streets are populated around-the-clock, parks and cultural venues now occupy land that sat vacant...

Lance Bachmann

Lance Bachmann: Thought Leader Of 1SEO

Thought Leader Of 1SEO

For a city with a wealth of history behind it, it continues to propel itself forward and arrive at the forefront of innovation. The transformation of both Philadelphia and digital marketing within the 21st century alone is exhilarating, and it shows no signs of slowing down. The ecosystem made up...

JADE ALBERTS

JADE ALBERTS

FOUNDER, PEER GUIDANCE

Being an entrepreneur can be very lonely at times, that is why I am such an advocate for mental wellness. I have talked to many entrepreneurs that had no one to turn to, and if they did, it would have made a difference. I am no expert in this mental...

SEBASTIAN “CHOSEN1” BURTON

SEBASTIAN “CHOSEN1” BURTON

DIGITAL ADVERTISING & ESPORTS THOUGHT LEADER ACTIVATING BRANDS WITH CONSUMERS VIA ESPORTS & GAMING,

The way I see it is that the gaming/esports ecosystem is an interesting experience that reflects the games we all play. Need an example? God of War, Uncharted and The Last Of Us are all blockbuster titles that are classified as action-adventure games. However, if we start digging deeper we’ll...

FRANÇOIS DE VRIENDT

OWNER OF NEW VALMAR

Perspectives on InnovationTo thrive in today’s competitive business landscape, SMES must embrace automation and streamline all its processes to ensure cost-effectiveness and compatibility with other players in the market. At New Valmar, we understand this well and have made significant investments in cutting edge technologies that augment our Enterprise Resource...

AHTI HEINLA

ESTONIAN INNOVATOR BEHIND SKYPE AND STARSHIP ROBOTS

Ahti Heinla is one of Estonia’s most visionary minds – the co-founder of Starship Technologies and formerly the Chief Technical Architect of Skype. His impact on global communication and autonomous technology is immense, yet his story is deeply rooted in Estonia’s culture of curiosity, experimentation, and civic spirit. Heinla wrote...

DR. ELIZABETH CLAYBORNE

CEO & CO-FOUNDER AT NASACLIP

I am an ER doctor, a mom, a Black woman, and the CEO of a medical device company. These roles are not separate – they intertwine and fuel my vision for impact. My journey into entrepreneurship started in the chaos of the emergency room, where I treated countless patients for...

Christine E. Schmidt

Christine E. Schmidt

J. Crayton Pruitt Family Chair & Department Chair Of Biomedical Engineering - University Of Florida

One of the most important jobs of any leader is to create a vision for what they want to accomplish and to implement a realistic plan to realize that vision. It was fundamentally important to me in executing my vision to identify what voices were not being heard and to...

MARIAM NUSRAT

FOUNDER & CEO OF BRESHNA.IO

Innovation goes beyond creating something new; it’s about making a meaningful difference. My journey, from Pakistan to the World Bank and into the realms of technology and communications, has been driven by this ethos. The turning point was recognizing gaming’s potential as a tool for impactful communication. With a background...

CYBELE NEGRIS

CYBELE NEGRIS

CEO - WEBNAMES.CA

CYBELE NEGRIS   Life is so fast-paced that we take too much for granted, whether it is the Internet which has now practically become a basic right or the growing role of women in positions of power, which is an outcome that has not come easily. All these giant leaps...

Max Tuchman

Max Tuchman

Co-Founder & CEO - Caribu

If it’s a smooth road, it’s not worth traveling. I believe you only truly learn by making mistakes, stumbling, and having your experiments turn out differently than you expected (I don’t see those as failures). When we met, my co-founder just happened to be living in Miami, too. Since the...

Dedicated to the Memory of Edward Cohen

Contributed by Mario M. Casabona, Commissioner Emeritus NJ CS&T

When pioneering educator and entrepreneurial advocate, Edward Cohen passed away in 2019, the State of New Jersey lost a veritable lion of education and technological entrepreneurship. Over 30 years ago, Cohen understood that to revitalize the State’s flagging economy, a fuse had to be lit forging the sectors of higher...

FRANÇOIS BERTRAND

DIRECTEUR DE LA RECHERCHE ET DE L’INNOVATION

Notre recherche, en particulier notre recherche collaborative, constitue un levier fondamental de l’innovation. Depuis plus de 50 ans, nous réalisons la majeure partie du transfert technologique à travers nos nombreux partenariats de recherche établis avec des entreprises de toutes tailles, ainsi qu’avec des universités et autres organisations de partout dans...

INNOVATE® Ecosystems