Thought Leaders
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® Washington DMV Edition
KEN POLOTAN
Leadership matters. That’s an undeniable truth — the quality and type of leadership we cultivate and practice are paramount. From my journey in big consulting fi rms to my own innovation advisory practice, from startups to Global 500 companies, the critical success factor remains: leadership is the foundation of open...
INNOVATE® Nashville
LARISSA MARSHALL
DIRECTOR OF PRACTICE INNOVATION AT POLSINELLI
Innovation in the legal industry can often feel counter-intuitive. After all, law is built on precedent, on looking backward to go forward. A cornerstone of the profession is to manage risk and reduce uncertainty, adding additional tension to innovation and experimentation. And yet, the legal industry finds itself amid some...
Angela Renick
Owner - A`Vie Events
Angela Renick Owner – A`Vie Events Angela Renick has been planning events in Gainesville for 30 years. She began in 1996 with a part-time wedding coordination business, which has continued to expand over the years. She has planned many events along the way during these years. In 2005, she opened...
INNOVATE™ Montréal
Dr. Fabrice Brunet
Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM)
Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) – Vers un système de santé innovant et apprenant / Towards an innovative learning health system Dr. Fabrice BrunetPrésident-Directeur Général du CHUM English: The health care system is facing major challenges and needs to change if it wants to provide optimal health care...
INNOVATE® St. Louis
Emily Lohse Busch
Executive Director – Arch Grants
ST. LOUIS : A PLACE FOR SOLUTIONISTS. St. Louis is a community with deep civic pride. We’re aware of our challenges, but more importantly, we’re aware of our potential. As a person who has spent most of my career in the social sector, I am acutely aware of the role...
INNOVATE® San Diego Vol.1
Neal Bloom
Founder - Fresh Brewed Tech
Neal Bloom Founder – Fresh Brewed Tech In San Diego many different industry clusters are contributing to and benefiting from force multiplying through collaboration. That is one of San Diego’s great strengths – collaboration. In a community that is commonly described as having a ‘give before you get’ mentality, we...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
Mara Lord
Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at MCW
Innovation is more than a buzzword—it’s a mindset, a movement; in Milwaukee, it’s a way of life. At the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), we’re not just imagining a healthier future—we’re building it. And we’re doing it with purpose, collaboration, and the grit that defines Wisconsin. Leading Through Collaboration Wisconsin...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
Mark Blumenthal
Synapse VIP Thought Leader
It is hard to believe that it’s been two years since the launch of Synapse. Every day since then has been a validation of our mission: to connect Florida’s innovation communities in a meaningful, purposeful way. As I’ve traveled the state I’ve seen first hand the passion and creativity that...
AI Québec
ALAIN LAVOIE
CEO, LEXROCKAI AND COPRESIDENT, IROSOFT
Quebec has the reputation of being a major player in the world of artificial intelligence (AI). We may believe it, but exactly what will it be like? From a strictly objective point of view, the fact that Prof. Yoshua Bengio is one of the Top 3 most cited researchers worldwide...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
NANCY GIANNI
GIGI'S PLAYHOUSE - FOUNDER AND CHIEF BELIEF OFFICER
It could happen with a simple fall off a bike, the birth of a new baby or grandbaby, or a debilitating illness. Differences do not discriminate. They do not care who you are. They do not care that you’re “low risk” or “not those kinds of people.” When you experience...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
ADRIAN GORE
FOUNDER, DISCOVERY
One of these cognitive errors is a failure to recognise the impact that outliers have in our increasingly interconnected world. Take for instance, the decision to create the Vitality programme. It is one outlier decision that had, and continues to have, an enormous impact on our entire business. A few...
INNOVATE® Miami
Mitchell Kaplan
Founder - BOOKS & BOOKS
“What I do isn’t just about selling books—it’s about creating spaces and events that bring authors and audiences together.” I was in college when I first imagined opening a bookstore. I had discovered that at the center of most literary movements of the twentieth century, a bookstore was involved. In...
Phoebe Cade Miles
Co-Founder - The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention
Phoebe Cade Miles Co-Founder – The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention In 2004, I helped my father, Dr. James Robert Cade, the lead inventor of Gatorade, to establish the Cade Museum. Sixteen years later, it is inspiring the next generation of inventors, entrepreneurs, and visionaries. The Gatorade story had...
INNOVATE® Minnesota
Shaye Mandle
President & CEO - The Medical Alley Association
You might say modern healthcare was invented in Medical Alley more than 150 years ago when the Mayo Clinic set the standard for care delivery. The medical device industry was born here with Medtronic’s founding in 1949. When the relationship between payers and providers needed to change, HMOs were invented...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
JAANUS TAMM
CEO AND FOUNDER DEFSECINTEL SOLUTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER OF THE ESTONIAN DEFENCE AND AEROSPACE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, COUNCIL MEMBER OF DEFENCE ESTONIA CLUSTER
When people ask me why I do what I do, my answer is simple: I build solutions that help our clients and partners win, protect, and increase security. My journey as an entrepreneur has always been shaped by real-world conflicts and the urgent need to innovate faster than the threats...
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...
INNOVATE® Puerto Rico
ALBERTO LUGO
PRESIDENT, INVID LLC
When I first learned to code, I never imagined its profound impact on my life. I was 15 years old when I first learned to discovered software development, and I remember the awe of seeing the computer do what I instructed it to do. I still maintain that same...
INNOVATE® Nashville
SAM DAVIDSON
CEO, NASHVILLE ENTREPRENEUR CENTER
Nashville’s rise as an innovation hotspot isn’t an accident; it’s the natural next verse in a city built on collaboration, craft and communities that show up for one another. Over the past decade entrepreneurs have turned “Music City” into a Startup City, translating the co-writing rooms and in-the-round sessions that...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
Namir Anani
President and CEO - P.Eng Information and Communications Technology Council
Namir Anani President and CEO – P.Eng Information and Communications Technology Council In the next decade, our world is expected to witness greater socioeco-nomic shifts than those experienced in the last 50 years. Climate change, increased urbanization, evolving trade dynamics, and demographic shifts are among the many factors shaping this...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
HUBBA KHATOON
REGIONAL INNOVATION DIRECTOR (PRAIRIES), CANADIAN FOOD INNOVATION NETWORK (CFIN)
True innovation isn’t just about expertise and knowledge — it’s about having an unwavering passion to make a difference. Over the past decade, I’ve been fortunate to witness remarkable enthusiasm and drive that Alberta’s entrepreneurs bring to the table. As the Regional Innovation Director for Prairies Canada at the Canadian...
INNOVATE® Minnesota
Teddy Bekele
Chief Technology Officer - LAND O'LAKES, INC.
Teddy Bekele Chief Technology Officer – Land O’ Lakes Inc. At its very heart, farming is filled with uncertainty. Just ask any farmer here in Minnesota who has ever wrapped up harvest amid a list of nearly endless variables, from trade to prices to weather and beyond. But there’s one...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
THE HON. DR. SUSAN CLOSE
MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AND SPACE INDUSTRIES
South Australia is an innovative, collaborative and forward-thinking state with defence and space manufacturing at the heart of our emerging high-tech economy. Home to a critical mass of defence industry, cutting-edge research and education institutions as well as world-class infrastructure, precincts and advanced manufacturing capability, South Australia is firmly established...
INNOVATE™ Flanders
DR THIERRY VANELSLANDER
PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL ECONOMICS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ANTWERP
When I started working at TPR in 1998, transport and logistics was mostly a phenomenon split up according to the modes, not featuring that much public attention, and not that innovative. All that has changed a lot over the past two decades. Multimodality has changed into intermodality and more recently...
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...
KEN POLOTAN
Leadership matters. That’s an undeniable truth — the quality and type of leadership we cultivate and practice are paramount. From my journey in big consulting fi rms to my own innovation advisory practice, from startups to Global 500 companies, the critical success factor remains: leadership is the foundation of open...
LARISSA MARSHALL
DIRECTOR OF PRACTICE INNOVATION AT POLSINELLI
Innovation in the legal industry can often feel counter-intuitive. After all, law is built on precedent, on looking backward to go forward. A cornerstone of the profession is to manage risk and reduce uncertainty, adding additional tension to innovation and experimentation. And yet, the legal industry finds itself amid some...
Angela Renick
Owner - A`Vie Events
Angela Renick Owner – A`Vie Events Angela Renick has been planning events in Gainesville for 30 years. She began in 1996 with a part-time wedding coordination business, which has continued to expand over the years. She has planned many events along the way during these years. In 2005, she opened...
Dr. Fabrice Brunet
Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM)
Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) – Vers un système de santé innovant et apprenant / Towards an innovative learning health system Dr. Fabrice BrunetPrésident-Directeur Général du CHUM English: The health care system is facing major challenges and needs to change if it wants to provide optimal health care...
Emily Lohse Busch
Executive Director – Arch Grants
ST. LOUIS : A PLACE FOR SOLUTIONISTS. St. Louis is a community with deep civic pride. We’re aware of our challenges, but more importantly, we’re aware of our potential. As a person who has spent most of my career in the social sector, I am acutely aware of the role...
Neal Bloom
Founder - Fresh Brewed Tech
Neal Bloom Founder – Fresh Brewed Tech In San Diego many different industry clusters are contributing to and benefiting from force multiplying through collaboration. That is one of San Diego’s great strengths – collaboration. In a community that is commonly described as having a ‘give before you get’ mentality, we...
Mara Lord
Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at MCW
Innovation is more than a buzzword—it’s a mindset, a movement; in Milwaukee, it’s a way of life. At the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), we’re not just imagining a healthier future—we’re building it. And we’re doing it with purpose, collaboration, and the grit that defines Wisconsin. Leading Through Collaboration Wisconsin...
Mark Blumenthal
Synapse VIP Thought Leader
It is hard to believe that it’s been two years since the launch of Synapse. Every day since then has been a validation of our mission: to connect Florida’s innovation communities in a meaningful, purposeful way. As I’ve traveled the state I’ve seen first hand the passion and creativity that...
ALAIN LAVOIE
CEO, LEXROCKAI AND COPRESIDENT, IROSOFT
Quebec has the reputation of being a major player in the world of artificial intelligence (AI). We may believe it, but exactly what will it be like? From a strictly objective point of view, the fact that Prof. Yoshua Bengio is one of the Top 3 most cited researchers worldwide...
NANCY GIANNI
GIGI'S PLAYHOUSE - FOUNDER AND CHIEF BELIEF OFFICER
It could happen with a simple fall off a bike, the birth of a new baby or grandbaby, or a debilitating illness. Differences do not discriminate. They do not care who you are. They do not care that you’re “low risk” or “not those kinds of people.” When you experience...
ADRIAN GORE
FOUNDER, DISCOVERY
One of these cognitive errors is a failure to recognise the impact that outliers have in our increasingly interconnected world. Take for instance, the decision to create the Vitality programme. It is one outlier decision that had, and continues to have, an enormous impact on our entire business. A few...
Mitchell Kaplan
Founder - BOOKS & BOOKS
“What I do isn’t just about selling books—it’s about creating spaces and events that bring authors and audiences together.” I was in college when I first imagined opening a bookstore. I had discovered that at the center of most literary movements of the twentieth century, a bookstore was involved. In...
Phoebe Cade Miles
Co-Founder - The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention
Phoebe Cade Miles Co-Founder – The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention In 2004, I helped my father, Dr. James Robert Cade, the lead inventor of Gatorade, to establish the Cade Museum. Sixteen years later, it is inspiring the next generation of inventors, entrepreneurs, and visionaries. The Gatorade story had...
Shaye Mandle
President & CEO - The Medical Alley Association
You might say modern healthcare was invented in Medical Alley more than 150 years ago when the Mayo Clinic set the standard for care delivery. The medical device industry was born here with Medtronic’s founding in 1949. When the relationship between payers and providers needed to change, HMOs were invented...
JAANUS TAMM
CEO AND FOUNDER DEFSECINTEL SOLUTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER OF THE ESTONIAN DEFENCE AND AEROSPACE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, COUNCIL MEMBER OF DEFENCE ESTONIA CLUSTER
When people ask me why I do what I do, my answer is simple: I build solutions that help our clients and partners win, protect, and increase security. My journey as an entrepreneur has always been shaped by real-world conflicts and the urgent need to innovate faster than the threats...
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...
SAM DAVIDSON
CEO, NASHVILLE ENTREPRENEUR CENTER
Nashville’s rise as an innovation hotspot isn’t an accident; it’s the natural next verse in a city built on collaboration, craft and communities that show up for one another. Over the past decade entrepreneurs have turned “Music City” into a Startup City, translating the co-writing rooms and in-the-round sessions that...
Namir Anani
President and CEO - P.Eng Information and Communications Technology Council
Namir Anani President and CEO – P.Eng Information and Communications Technology Council In the next decade, our world is expected to witness greater socioeco-nomic shifts than those experienced in the last 50 years. Climate change, increased urbanization, evolving trade dynamics, and demographic shifts are among the many factors shaping this...
HUBBA KHATOON
REGIONAL INNOVATION DIRECTOR (PRAIRIES), CANADIAN FOOD INNOVATION NETWORK (CFIN)
True innovation isn’t just about expertise and knowledge — it’s about having an unwavering passion to make a difference. Over the past decade, I’ve been fortunate to witness remarkable enthusiasm and drive that Alberta’s entrepreneurs bring to the table. As the Regional Innovation Director for Prairies Canada at the Canadian...
Teddy Bekele
Chief Technology Officer - LAND O'LAKES, INC.
Teddy Bekele Chief Technology Officer – Land O’ Lakes Inc. At its very heart, farming is filled with uncertainty. Just ask any farmer here in Minnesota who has ever wrapped up harvest amid a list of nearly endless variables, from trade to prices to weather and beyond. But there’s one...
THE HON. DR. SUSAN CLOSE
MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AND SPACE INDUSTRIES
South Australia is an innovative, collaborative and forward-thinking state with defence and space manufacturing at the heart of our emerging high-tech economy. Home to a critical mass of defence industry, cutting-edge research and education institutions as well as world-class infrastructure, precincts and advanced manufacturing capability, South Australia is firmly established...
DR THIERRY VANELSLANDER
PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL ECONOMICS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ANTWERP
When I started working at TPR in 1998, transport and logistics was mostly a phenomenon split up according to the modes, not featuring that much public attention, and not that innovative. All that has changed a lot over the past two decades. Multimodality has changed into intermodality and more recently...