Thought Leaders
INNOVATE® Blockchain
WADE PEERY
CHIEF INNOVATIONS OFFICER, FIRSTBANK
INFLECTION POINTS AND NEW POSSIBILITIES As a career banker with over 30 years’ experience, I’ve seen a fair amount of change along the way. In retrospect, major inflection points, no matter how disruptive to traditional banking methods have been positive in terms of making the banking experience better for everyone....
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
Sven Boermeester
Founder/CEO, International Group Publisher - GlobalVillage.World
Sven Boermeester is a global publishing entrepreneur with a career that spans over 20 years with stops in more than 100 countries. He was born in Antwerp, Belgium and grew up in South Africa. After completing his business studies in Cape Town, he opened his first media company and started...
INNOVATE® St. Louis
Josh Turner
CEO - LinkedSelling
Founded by Wall Street Journal–bestselling author and CEO Josh Turner, LinkedSelling is the world’s foremost B2B marketing and lead generation company. One of the nation’s fastest-growing companies, we’ve made the Inc. 5000 list three years running and, most recently, have been listed as one of Entrepreneur’s 360 top entrepreneurial companies...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
JENNIFER TAYLOR
NORTHERN VIRGINIA TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL - PRESIDENT AND CEO
As I look to the future of Northern Virginia, I’m filled with excitement and optimism about our region’s immense potential. Our area has long been known as a powerhouse for government contracting and cloud computing. Still, we are now on the brink of a new era driven by cybersecurity, artificial...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
WARD KENNES
MAYOR OF KASTERLEE
In October 2019, together with the Regional Platform Kempen, we organized a two-day “Future Forum” on the future of our region Kempen. The Regional Platform Kempen is a socio-economic consultative body of Kempen MPs, provincial and local administrators together with social partners. During this Future Forum, some 80 people brainstormed...
INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3
Alex Sink
Tampa Bay WaVe
What we see in our startup community is so inspiring. There are so many entrepreneurs building companies with exciting technology and creative thinking. Problems are being solved and doors being opened. Tampa Bay is a community of great opportunities and wonderful people. It is the community that I have called...
INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath
Paul O’Collins
Head Of Innovation, Business West
Innovation means different things to different people. For me it’s not about petri dishes and lab coats, it’s about the process through which great ideas are turned into tangible, measurable value. It’s an iterative process. It’s not just about having the idea, but about taking the necessary practical steps to...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
WRENELLE STANDER
CEO, WESGRO
As Wesgro CEO (Wesgro is the official Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape), I am committed to doing my part in making the Western Cape one of the world’s leading regional economies. We recognise that to succeed in a changing world, we will be...
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® Gaming & Esports
ROB NEWPORT
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, WEBURBAN
Over two and half decades ago, I remember first picking up a mouse and keyboard to play Quake on a University lab computer for over eight hours straight. Fast forward to today, and that 3dfx Voodoo graphics card has been replaced with racks of memory laden GPU cards chained to...
INNOVATE® Gainesville
Lauren Poe
Mayor - City of Gainesville
The City of Gainesville is a unique and opportune place, characterized by its commitment to lively civic spaces, a strong offering of vital public services and opportunities for economic and social resilience for all of our neighbors. Over its rich history this city has grown from a small rural farming...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
John Oberg
DSW, is a Founder, CEO, Board Director, Advisor, and Investor
John Oberg, DSW, is a Founder, CEO, Board Director, Advisor, and Investor who is trusted by organizations to navigate growth, conflict, and change. He founded two Austin-based healthcare innovators, Sedera, a community-based medical cost-sharing organization, and Precina, a chronic care virtual medical practice. John serves on the board of directors...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
HON NICK CHAMPION
MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INVESTMENT
Adelaide and our surrounds are famous for world-class wine, food and cultural attractions and iconic nature experiences. With our close proximity city, abundance of green spaces, world-class vineyards, bustling festival seasons, and pristine beaches, there is no doubt that Adelaide is a great place to live, work and play. But...
INNOVATIONS in Pharmaceutical Development®
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
JOÃO ALMEIDA LOPES
PRESIDENTE DA DIRECÇÃO DA APIFARMA
Past conquests bear witness to the value and significance of scientific knowledge and leave no doubt than an innovative spirit is still the best answer to major challenges faced by humankind. In fact, innovation-friendly policies foster models of development based on people and are a recipe for prosperity. This is...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
JAYSHREE NAIDOO
CEO, YIEDI
Just over two decades ago I sat in a university lecture hall while pursuing an E Commerce course and we were introduced to our guest speaker for the day, she worked at a large bank, just like me, but her title fascinated me, she was called a “futurist”. Her main...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
SARA NOŽKOVÁ
CEO & CO-FOUNDER, FLOX INTELLIGENCE
I’ve always believed that the next frontier of artificial intelligence isn’t about replacing humans — it’s about reconnecting us with the natural world. At Flox, we’re building systems that use AI not to dominate nature, but to protect it. We train intelligent devices to detect, understand, and respond to wild...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
Michael Volker
CEO WUTIF CAPITAL, ANGEL INVESTOR, WEST VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
I’ve been doing angel investing since the early 1980s after I took my first venture, a computer terminals manufacturer in Waterloo, public on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Since then, I’ve invested in well over 200 startup ventures. I often hear entrepreneurs complain about the lack of funding. One of...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
DR. TIM HARDEE
PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM
When I reflect on what truly drives me—and what has guided my career in education and leadership—it always comes back to this: helping people discover their purpose and realize their potential. That’s what education is really about. Not just degrees, or job titles, or even economic development. At its core,...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
KAROL SEVERIN
SENIOR ANALYST AND CO-FOUNDER AT MIDIA RESEARCH
For an activity (like playing video games) to turn into a publicly-observed competition (like esports), first there needs to be a demand to know who is best. Then, for the competition to grow a mainstream appeal and audiences to expand beyond the initial enthusiasts, it needs to have entertainment value....
INNOVATE™ Toronto
JOHN MACRITCHIE
ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT, ZONE LEARNING AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES TORONTO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
It might be odd to hear this from someone who leads incubation at a university, but not everyone needs to be an entrepreneur and not every startup will succeed. Our success has come as a result of embracing this experience, and how it develops students and innovators. Leveraging startup and...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
GUSTAV BUDER
FINTECH FOUNDER, BOARD-LEVEL ADVISOR AND ACTIVE INVESTOR - REGION PARTNER, BYBIT NORDIC
Most people don’t reject new ideas because they’re irrational. They reject them because they’re using the wrong frame. I learned this the hard way. Coming from the payment’s world, I initially looked at Bitcoin like a payment network and asked, “Why is it so slow?” That’s the classic mistake: judging...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
MICHAEL ROSE
FOUNDER OF VIGNETIC, PERMEVO AND TKTKONNECT
The global talent market is a pressing concern that affects organizations and economies worldwide. According to a survey conducted by ManpowerGroup, 69% of employers reported difficulty in finding skilled workers in 2022. This shortage has been attributed to various factors, including demographic shifts, skills gaps, and the rapid pace of...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
MARGOT MACHOL BISNOW
AUTHOR, RAISING AN ENTREPRENEUR
As parents, we want what is best for our children. Or, at least, what we think is best for them. And what we almost always want for them is success. But wanting success for our children, even when our desire for their success comes from love and our concern for...
INNOVATE® Minnesota
Jeanne Glass
Founder & CEO, VirtualZ Computing
Jeanne Glass Founder & CEO, Virtualz Computing StartUp Draws on Minnesota’s Legacy of Tech InnovationAlthough several of my family members and friends worked at Honeywell, Sperry-Univac, Unisys, and Control Data, until founding VirtualZ, I didn’t have a full appreciation for the contributions of Minnesotans in creating the computer industry. Now...
WADE PEERY
CHIEF INNOVATIONS OFFICER, FIRSTBANK
INFLECTION POINTS AND NEW POSSIBILITIES As a career banker with over 30 years’ experience, I’ve seen a fair amount of change along the way. In retrospect, major inflection points, no matter how disruptive to traditional banking methods have been positive in terms of making the banking experience better for everyone....
Sven Boermeester
Founder/CEO, International Group Publisher - GlobalVillage.World
Sven Boermeester is a global publishing entrepreneur with a career that spans over 20 years with stops in more than 100 countries. He was born in Antwerp, Belgium and grew up in South Africa. After completing his business studies in Cape Town, he opened his first media company and started...
Josh Turner
CEO - LinkedSelling
Founded by Wall Street Journal–bestselling author and CEO Josh Turner, LinkedSelling is the world’s foremost B2B marketing and lead generation company. One of the nation’s fastest-growing companies, we’ve made the Inc. 5000 list three years running and, most recently, have been listed as one of Entrepreneur’s 360 top entrepreneurial companies...
JENNIFER TAYLOR
NORTHERN VIRGINIA TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL - PRESIDENT AND CEO
As I look to the future of Northern Virginia, I’m filled with excitement and optimism about our region’s immense potential. Our area has long been known as a powerhouse for government contracting and cloud computing. Still, we are now on the brink of a new era driven by cybersecurity, artificial...
WARD KENNES
MAYOR OF KASTERLEE
In October 2019, together with the Regional Platform Kempen, we organized a two-day “Future Forum” on the future of our region Kempen. The Regional Platform Kempen is a socio-economic consultative body of Kempen MPs, provincial and local administrators together with social partners. During this Future Forum, some 80 people brainstormed...
Alex Sink
Tampa Bay WaVe
What we see in our startup community is so inspiring. There are so many entrepreneurs building companies with exciting technology and creative thinking. Problems are being solved and doors being opened. Tampa Bay is a community of great opportunities and wonderful people. It is the community that I have called...
Paul O’Collins
Head Of Innovation, Business West
Innovation means different things to different people. For me it’s not about petri dishes and lab coats, it’s about the process through which great ideas are turned into tangible, measurable value. It’s an iterative process. It’s not just about having the idea, but about taking the necessary practical steps to...
WRENELLE STANDER
CEO, WESGRO
As Wesgro CEO (Wesgro is the official Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape), I am committed to doing my part in making the Western Cape one of the world’s leading regional economies. We recognise that to succeed in a changing world, we will be...
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...
ROB NEWPORT
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, WEBURBAN
Over two and half decades ago, I remember first picking up a mouse and keyboard to play Quake on a University lab computer for over eight hours straight. Fast forward to today, and that 3dfx Voodoo graphics card has been replaced with racks of memory laden GPU cards chained to...
Lauren Poe
Mayor - City of Gainesville
The City of Gainesville is a unique and opportune place, characterized by its commitment to lively civic spaces, a strong offering of vital public services and opportunities for economic and social resilience for all of our neighbors. Over its rich history this city has grown from a small rural farming...
John Oberg
DSW, is a Founder, CEO, Board Director, Advisor, and Investor
John Oberg, DSW, is a Founder, CEO, Board Director, Advisor, and Investor who is trusted by organizations to navigate growth, conflict, and change. He founded two Austin-based healthcare innovators, Sedera, a community-based medical cost-sharing organization, and Precina, a chronic care virtual medical practice. John serves on the board of directors...
HON NICK CHAMPION
MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INVESTMENT
Adelaide and our surrounds are famous for world-class wine, food and cultural attractions and iconic nature experiences. With our close proximity city, abundance of green spaces, world-class vineyards, bustling festival seasons, and pristine beaches, there is no doubt that Adelaide is a great place to live, work and play. But...
JOÃO ALMEIDA LOPES
PRESIDENTE DA DIRECÇÃO DA APIFARMA
Past conquests bear witness to the value and significance of scientific knowledge and leave no doubt than an innovative spirit is still the best answer to major challenges faced by humankind. In fact, innovation-friendly policies foster models of development based on people and are a recipe for prosperity. This is...
SARA NOŽKOVÁ
CEO & CO-FOUNDER, FLOX INTELLIGENCE
I’ve always believed that the next frontier of artificial intelligence isn’t about replacing humans — it’s about reconnecting us with the natural world. At Flox, we’re building systems that use AI not to dominate nature, but to protect it. We train intelligent devices to detect, understand, and respond to wild...
Michael Volker
CEO WUTIF CAPITAL, ANGEL INVESTOR, WEST VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
I’ve been doing angel investing since the early 1980s after I took my first venture, a computer terminals manufacturer in Waterloo, public on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Since then, I’ve invested in well over 200 startup ventures. I often hear entrepreneurs complain about the lack of funding. One of...
DR. TIM HARDEE
PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM
When I reflect on what truly drives me—and what has guided my career in education and leadership—it always comes back to this: helping people discover their purpose and realize their potential. That’s what education is really about. Not just degrees, or job titles, or even economic development. At its core,...
KAROL SEVERIN
SENIOR ANALYST AND CO-FOUNDER AT MIDIA RESEARCH
For an activity (like playing video games) to turn into a publicly-observed competition (like esports), first there needs to be a demand to know who is best. Then, for the competition to grow a mainstream appeal and audiences to expand beyond the initial enthusiasts, it needs to have entertainment value....
JOHN MACRITCHIE
ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT, ZONE LEARNING AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES TORONTO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
It might be odd to hear this from someone who leads incubation at a university, but not everyone needs to be an entrepreneur and not every startup will succeed. Our success has come as a result of embracing this experience, and how it develops students and innovators. Leveraging startup and...
GUSTAV BUDER
FINTECH FOUNDER, BOARD-LEVEL ADVISOR AND ACTIVE INVESTOR - REGION PARTNER, BYBIT NORDIC
Most people don’t reject new ideas because they’re irrational. They reject them because they’re using the wrong frame. I learned this the hard way. Coming from the payment’s world, I initially looked at Bitcoin like a payment network and asked, “Why is it so slow?” That’s the classic mistake: judging...
MICHAEL ROSE
FOUNDER OF VIGNETIC, PERMEVO AND TKTKONNECT
The global talent market is a pressing concern that affects organizations and economies worldwide. According to a survey conducted by ManpowerGroup, 69% of employers reported difficulty in finding skilled workers in 2022. This shortage has been attributed to various factors, including demographic shifts, skills gaps, and the rapid pace of...
MARGOT MACHOL BISNOW
AUTHOR, RAISING AN ENTREPRENEUR
As parents, we want what is best for our children. Or, at least, what we think is best for them. And what we almost always want for them is success. But wanting success for our children, even when our desire for their success comes from love and our concern for...
Jeanne Glass
Founder & CEO, VirtualZ Computing
Jeanne Glass Founder & CEO, Virtualz Computing StartUp Draws on Minnesota’s Legacy of Tech InnovationAlthough several of my family members and friends worked at Honeywell, Sperry-Univac, Unisys, and Control Data, until founding VirtualZ, I didn’t have a full appreciation for the contributions of Minnesotans in creating the computer industry. Now...