Thought Leaders

INNOVATE® Nashville

BRIAN MOYER

CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF THE INNOVATION STUDIO

Since the dawn of time, change has proven to be the only constant. In the current digital age, the speed of change has reached a level never seen in the history of the world. One of my favorite quotes is, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives,...

INNOVATION Quebec

RICHARD CHÉNIER

DIRECTEUR GÉNÉRAL DU CENTECH

La prochaine décennie offrira plusieurs opportunités stratégiques à saisir en matière d’entrepreneuriat et d’innovation, particulièrement technologique. Plusieurs avancées scientifiques, jadis considérées comme fondamentales, transitent en effet actuellement à une vitesse fulgurante vers des applications réelles. Ces nouvelles applications se doivent d’agir comme catalyseur de solutions concrètes pour répondre à nos...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

JINPIN YING

PRESIDENT CYBERMED

The future of healthcare is undergoing a transformative revolution, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and an increasing commitment to greater equity across patient populations. From the time that CyberMed was established, one of the prevailing issues that we are focusing on is how the technology can address...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

Shadae McDaniel

Shadae McDaniel - City Leader

City Leader, All Stars Project of New Jersey

In 2014, I met—and fell in love with—the All Stars Project and its Afterschool Development approach as a new way of engaging poverty. I have always loved to perform—discovering dance as a teenager and growing up poor in Teaneck was a life-changer for me—and I immediately saw the effectiveness of...

INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3

Greg Ross Munro

Greg Ross-Munro

Founder And Chief Executive Officer - Sourcetoad

  Greg Ross-Munro, Founder And Chief Executive Officer – Sourcetoad That’s when one of the marketing managers from a completely different office walked over to chat with the IT director. She had an idea for integrating marketing data from the CMS into the shipboard signage system that was running on...

INNOVATE® Blockchain

CLAIRE CAWTHORN

CLAIRE CAWTHORN

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, HELICONNFT

NFTS AND GAMING: THE PERFECT MATCH?Hello, I’m Claire Cawthorn, Chief Marketing Officer of HeliconNFT, a play-to-earn NFT ecosystem that gives gamers the power to monetize their in-game assets by tokenizing them into NFTs and allowing them to play with these NFTs in amazing blockchain games on our platform. Throughout my...

INNOVATE® Northern Virginia

LAURA IPSEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ELLUCIAN

The shift from AI possibility to measurable progress in higher education is underway. AI is not a future consideration for higher education. It is a front and center reality. With few exceptions, institutions are no longer debating whether AI will transform the sector; instead, they are focused on how quickly...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

JOHN CASH, FOUNDER

JOHN CASH

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND PROFESSOR JCSU ESPORTS INITIATIVE

ServiceAt its essence is selflessly giving/providing necessities to others with no intent to benefit. Wow, this is how it resonated with me prior to my commissioning as a United States Air Force (USAF) Officer the Friday before a Mother’s Day graduation at Howard University. “I will support and defend the...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

The Hon Peter Malinauskas

Premier of South Australia

They’re all inventions which changed the face of the world. They’re all examples of original and innovative thinking. And they all began as sparks of brilliance in the minds of South Australians. From Sir Howard Florey’s insights into the properties of penicillin and Lancelot de Mole’s development of caterpillar tracks,...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

KELLY BROZYNA

CEO-STATE DIRECTOR, AMERICA’S SBDC NEW JERSEY

New Jersey is an amazing, dynamic, and engaging state with a beautiful tapestry of people, landscapes, and industries. Having lived in several states nationwide, I can truly attest to New Jersey’s brilliance in spirit and ingenuity. It is synonymous and a bit foretelling that NJ was the first state to...

INNOVATE® Philadelphia

Stephen K. Klasko

Stephen K. Klasko

MD, MBA - President - Thomas Jefferson University; and CEO - Jefferson Health

Philadelphia will become a global solutions center when we prioritize a couple of core values: Here’s how I see creativity, and why I believe all of us can use it to make our city the world’s first option for solutions.Creativity comes in different shapes. There is a body of literature...

INNOVATE® South Carolina

JONATHAN DAWLEY

PRESIDENT & CEO OF KION NORTH AMERICA

Innovation Muscle: Barrierless Thinking and Unconstrained Vision Several years ago, I traveled across the world working with divisions of my then-employer to evaluate market strategies and redefine our approach to unlock new levels of performance and customer value. In each region, we explored what could be achieved if we set...

INNOVATE™ Oeiras

RICARDO PARREIRA

RICARDO PARREIRA

CEO, PHC SOFTWARE

That simple idea can put the culture of a company at risk. Like Albert Einstein so perfectly put it “when we’re in the same place, we are walking backward”, and to do the same thing over and over just because that is the way it has always been done; is...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

Michele N. Siekerka

Michele N. Siekerka

President And CEO- New Jersey Business & Industry Association

Our vision statement ensures we will never lose sight of our innovation goal: “New Jersey will reclaim its stature as the Innovation State.” To be sure, New Jersey has a rich history of innovation dating back to our glory days of the 19th and 20th centuries when discoveries made in...

INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2

Martin Martinez

Martin Martinez

Founder - A-Player Media | Managing Director, Founder - Institute Texas

As a Native Texan, my family has stretched back either 5 or 7 generations (depending on which parent I ask). While the early years of my life were split between San Antonio and Dallas, it wasn’t until I moved to the Texas Capital of Austin where I discovered the meaning...

INNOVATE® Maryland

JIM KYUNG SOO LIEW, PH.D.

SOKAT

Innovation moves in waves, and America stands at the crest of the most consequential one yet – artificial intelligence. The nations and leaders who learn to harness AI’s full potential will define the next century of progress. Fortunately, the United States is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. Our strength...

Dan Rua

Dan Rua

CEO - Admiral

Dan Rua CEO – Admiral Dan Rua, Runnin’ Down a Dream in Hogtown I remember my first day in Gainesville, move-in day at Hume Hall in the summer of 1986. I was an “Apple kid”, dreaming about Apple’s startup story, moving in with my Apple II+ and I was lucky...

INNOVATE™ Estonia

TAAVI KOTKA

ESTONIA’S FIRST CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

Before stepping into government, Taavi had already made his mark in the tech sector. He co-founded and led the software company Webmedia (later Nortal), growing it into one of the region’s largest IT firms. His background as a developer and entrepreneur gave him a rare mix of technical skill and...

INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3

ERIC R. POLINS

ERIC R. POLINS

MANAGING PARTNER

Businesses have focused on traditional methods of communications and marketing to spread their message to their customers. But those models have shifted and the pace at which communications is now delivered has accelerated to break-neck speeds. It’s easy for a company’s message to get lost amid all the chatter that...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

Mahn Consulting, LLC

CEO & FOUNDER

Regardless of how technology manifests and grows, the cornerstone of any company and its ability to succeed depends on its strong leadership and culture. The people in the company are the most important. Finding key people to fill those opportunities is important, and technology assessment tools can help with that...

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® Austin Volume 2

Akshay Sabhikhi, CEO and Matt Sanchez, Founder & CTO

Akshay Sabhikhi

CognitiveScale

CognitiveScale The next frontier: Building AI systems you can trust Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grabbed a foothold in the enterprise and is poised to become as ubiquitous as the internet – touching every aspect of our lives. From detecting and impacting climate change to advancements in disease diagnosis to aiding...

VOICES of the Future

LORD BRIAN WILKIE

INNOVATION, INTEGRITY, IMPACT

Lord Brian Wilkie’s vision transcends the ordinary. He is positioned at the nexus of sustainability, climate change, and technological evolution, passionately weaving the future to serve humanity better. Since 1976, Brian (as he prefers) has called Dubai his home, emerging as a distinguished entrepreneur with landmark ventures like Wilkie’s Wine...

INNOVATE® Philadelphia: 250 Years of Innovation

KRISTOFFER JONES

FOUNDER AND CEO, NAVAL WELDING INSTITUTE

Long before I founded the Naval Welding Institute, time spent inside naval manufacturing environments taught me that the smallest decisions made on a welding floor can follow ships, crews, and critical infrastructure long after the work disappears behind layers of steel. That thinking shaped the institute from the beginning. My...

BRIAN MOYER

CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF THE INNOVATION STUDIO

Since the dawn of time, change has proven to be the only constant. In the current digital age, the speed of change has reached a level never seen in the history of the world. One of my favorite quotes is, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives,...

RICHARD CHÉNIER

DIRECTEUR GÉNÉRAL DU CENTECH

La prochaine décennie offrira plusieurs opportunités stratégiques à saisir en matière d’entrepreneuriat et d’innovation, particulièrement technologique. Plusieurs avancées scientifiques, jadis considérées comme fondamentales, transitent en effet actuellement à une vitesse fulgurante vers des applications réelles. Ces nouvelles applications se doivent d’agir comme catalyseur de solutions concrètes pour répondre à nos...

JINPIN YING

PRESIDENT CYBERMED

The future of healthcare is undergoing a transformative revolution, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and an increasing commitment to greater equity across patient populations. From the time that CyberMed was established, one of the prevailing issues that we are focusing on is how the technology can address...

Shadae McDaniel

Shadae McDaniel - City Leader

City Leader, All Stars Project of New Jersey

In 2014, I met—and fell in love with—the All Stars Project and its Afterschool Development approach as a new way of engaging poverty. I have always loved to perform—discovering dance as a teenager and growing up poor in Teaneck was a life-changer for me—and I immediately saw the effectiveness of...

Greg Ross Munro

Greg Ross-Munro

Founder And Chief Executive Officer - Sourcetoad

  Greg Ross-Munro, Founder And Chief Executive Officer – Sourcetoad That’s when one of the marketing managers from a completely different office walked over to chat with the IT director. She had an idea for integrating marketing data from the CMS into the shipboard signage system that was running on...

CLAIRE CAWTHORN

CLAIRE CAWTHORN

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, HELICONNFT

NFTS AND GAMING: THE PERFECT MATCH?Hello, I’m Claire Cawthorn, Chief Marketing Officer of HeliconNFT, a play-to-earn NFT ecosystem that gives gamers the power to monetize their in-game assets by tokenizing them into NFTs and allowing them to play with these NFTs in amazing blockchain games on our platform. Throughout my...

LAURA IPSEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ELLUCIAN

The shift from AI possibility to measurable progress in higher education is underway. AI is not a future consideration for higher education. It is a front and center reality. With few exceptions, institutions are no longer debating whether AI will transform the sector; instead, they are focused on how quickly...

JOHN CASH, FOUNDER

JOHN CASH

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND PROFESSOR JCSU ESPORTS INITIATIVE

ServiceAt its essence is selflessly giving/providing necessities to others with no intent to benefit. Wow, this is how it resonated with me prior to my commissioning as a United States Air Force (USAF) Officer the Friday before a Mother’s Day graduation at Howard University. “I will support and defend the...

The Hon Peter Malinauskas

Premier of South Australia

They’re all inventions which changed the face of the world. They’re all examples of original and innovative thinking. And they all began as sparks of brilliance in the minds of South Australians. From Sir Howard Florey’s insights into the properties of penicillin and Lancelot de Mole’s development of caterpillar tracks,...

KELLY BROZYNA

CEO-STATE DIRECTOR, AMERICA’S SBDC NEW JERSEY

New Jersey is an amazing, dynamic, and engaging state with a beautiful tapestry of people, landscapes, and industries. Having lived in several states nationwide, I can truly attest to New Jersey’s brilliance in spirit and ingenuity. It is synonymous and a bit foretelling that NJ was the first state to...

Stephen K. Klasko

Stephen K. Klasko

MD, MBA - President - Thomas Jefferson University; and CEO - Jefferson Health

Philadelphia will become a global solutions center when we prioritize a couple of core values: Here’s how I see creativity, and why I believe all of us can use it to make our city the world’s first option for solutions.Creativity comes in different shapes. There is a body of literature...

JONATHAN DAWLEY

PRESIDENT & CEO OF KION NORTH AMERICA

Innovation Muscle: Barrierless Thinking and Unconstrained Vision Several years ago, I traveled across the world working with divisions of my then-employer to evaluate market strategies and redefine our approach to unlock new levels of performance and customer value. In each region, we explored what could be achieved if we set...

RICARDO PARREIRA

RICARDO PARREIRA

CEO, PHC SOFTWARE

That simple idea can put the culture of a company at risk. Like Albert Einstein so perfectly put it “when we’re in the same place, we are walking backward”, and to do the same thing over and over just because that is the way it has always been done; is...

Michele N. Siekerka

Michele N. Siekerka

President And CEO- New Jersey Business & Industry Association

Our vision statement ensures we will never lose sight of our innovation goal: “New Jersey will reclaim its stature as the Innovation State.” To be sure, New Jersey has a rich history of innovation dating back to our glory days of the 19th and 20th centuries when discoveries made in...

Martin Martinez

Martin Martinez

Founder - A-Player Media | Managing Director, Founder - Institute Texas

As a Native Texan, my family has stretched back either 5 or 7 generations (depending on which parent I ask). While the early years of my life were split between San Antonio and Dallas, it wasn’t until I moved to the Texas Capital of Austin where I discovered the meaning...

JIM KYUNG SOO LIEW, PH.D.

SOKAT

Innovation moves in waves, and America stands at the crest of the most consequential one yet – artificial intelligence. The nations and leaders who learn to harness AI’s full potential will define the next century of progress. Fortunately, the United States is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. Our strength...

Dan Rua

Dan Rua

CEO - Admiral

Dan Rua CEO – Admiral Dan Rua, Runnin’ Down a Dream in Hogtown I remember my first day in Gainesville, move-in day at Hume Hall in the summer of 1986. I was an “Apple kid”, dreaming about Apple’s startup story, moving in with my Apple II+ and I was lucky...

TAAVI KOTKA

ESTONIA’S FIRST CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

Before stepping into government, Taavi had already made his mark in the tech sector. He co-founded and led the software company Webmedia (later Nortal), growing it into one of the region’s largest IT firms. His background as a developer and entrepreneur gave him a rare mix of technical skill and...

ERIC R. POLINS

ERIC R. POLINS

MANAGING PARTNER

Businesses have focused on traditional methods of communications and marketing to spread their message to their customers. But those models have shifted and the pace at which communications is now delivered has accelerated to break-neck speeds. It’s easy for a company’s message to get lost amid all the chatter that...

Mahn Consulting, LLC

CEO & FOUNDER

Regardless of how technology manifests and grows, the cornerstone of any company and its ability to succeed depends on its strong leadership and culture. The people in the company are the most important. Finding key people to fill those opportunities is important, and technology assessment tools can help with that...

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...

Akshay Sabhikhi, CEO and Matt Sanchez, Founder & CTO

Akshay Sabhikhi

CognitiveScale

CognitiveScale The next frontier: Building AI systems you can trust Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grabbed a foothold in the enterprise and is poised to become as ubiquitous as the internet – touching every aspect of our lives. From detecting and impacting climate change to advancements in disease diagnosis to aiding...

LORD BRIAN WILKIE

INNOVATION, INTEGRITY, IMPACT

Lord Brian Wilkie’s vision transcends the ordinary. He is positioned at the nexus of sustainability, climate change, and technological evolution, passionately weaving the future to serve humanity better. Since 1976, Brian (as he prefers) has called Dubai his home, emerging as a distinguished entrepreneur with landmark ventures like Wilkie’s Wine...

KRISTOFFER JONES

FOUNDER AND CEO, NAVAL WELDING INSTITUTE

Long before I founded the Naval Welding Institute, time spent inside naval manufacturing environments taught me that the smallest decisions made on a welding floor can follow ships, crews, and critical infrastructure long after the work disappears behind layers of steel. That thinking shaped the institute from the beginning. My...

INNOVATE® Ecosystems