Thought Leaders

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

DANTE DISPARTE

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER AND HEAD OF GLOBAL POLICY AT CIRCLE

While many people are preoccupied about the potential risks if digital asset innovations succeed, what are the risks if we fail? Billions of people are relegated to the financial shadows because analog financial services have reached a point of diminishing returns, which would be a terrible societal outcome. I advocate...

INNOVATE® Philadelphia

Sue Daugherty

Sue Daugherty - CEO Of Manna

CEO Of Manna

But often overlooked is the talent drawn to the region’s well-established and innovative nonprofit sector, which continually adapts to meet the growing needs of a city that sadly tops the charts in rates of chronic disease and poverty. As the CEO of MANNA, a community-based organization delivering medically tailored meals...

INNOVATE® Minnesota

Keith Tanski

Keith Tanski

CTO - Optum

Innovation to me is working to never settle… and to continually be obsessive over creating a continued better experience and product. This means that status quos need to continually obsess over all spectrums and that we need to realize that the greatness that got us to this point will not...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

JOHN WILSON

PRESIDENT & CEO, INNOVATE CALGARY

Welcome to Alberta. I am writing this note today from Calgary, or Mohkinstsis, a place where peoples have gathered for centuries to share and to learn, and I am honored to continue this tradition. Since 1986, Innovate Calgary has been the commercialization arm of the University of Calgary. In 2024,...

INNOVATE® Utah

Ken Davis

Ken Davis

Co-Founder & CEO - TaskEasy

Ken Davis is the co-founder and CEO of TaskEasy – an online platform that allows homeowners, renters, and businesses to order and manage yard maintenance online. Since TaskEasy’s launch in 2013, the company has grown to service hundreds of thousands of properties across all 50 states. TaskEasy’s business model caters...

INNOVATE® Miami

Jaret L. Davis

What has made Miami such a great environment for growing a startup culture is its strong entrepreneurial ethos and the lack of restrictions. It’s the kind of place where if you have an idea, no one is going to tell you it can’t be done. Over the last 20 years,...

VOICES of the Future

AYŞE ÖZTUNA BOZOKLAR

RESILIENT SPIRITS: A TALE OF TRUST, TALENT, AND TRANSFORMATION

Amidst the vibrant thrum of Turkey’s cultural and economic heartbeat, Ayşe Öztuna Bozoklar’s name is synonymous with transformative leadership and a visionary in the realm of executive search and talent management. As the founding partner of Odgers Berndtson Turkey, Ayşe has been an instrumental figure in shaping not just careers...

INNOVATE® San Diego Vol.1

Hasan Ikhrata, Executive Director

San Diego Association Of Governments (Sandag)

We are living in the midst of a transportation revolution. When we look around, we can see fundamental changes in how people move around cities and towns across the world. In the San Diego region you can feel it every day. Everywhere you look people are driving electric cars, reducing...

INNOVATE™ Estonia

MIKE SOUTHON

CHIEF EDITOR, STARTUPMAFIA

Many people are fascinated by Unicorns, mythical horse-like animals with a spiralling horn on its forehead, who symbolise purity, rarity and magic. In Estonia you can meet real unicorns, companies who have achieved billion-dollar valuations. There are more of these per head of population than anywhere else on earth. Here...

INNOVATE® Blockchain

ERYKA GEMMA

ERYKA GEMMA

FOUNDER OF MIAMI BLOCKCHAIN CENTER AND TIMELOCK VENTURES

As the world moves in cycles, we see that change is constant. The pendulum swings and with global lockdowns, continuous quantitative easing, and privacy breaches – we are approaching a point of conflicting overreach and control. However, there is hope! History shows that human ingenuity will always find a way....

VOICES of the Future

DR. RISA RYGER

EMBRACING CHANGE FOR A VIBRANT FUTURE

In an era where change is our only constant, one woman has taken it upon herself to guide us through the shifting sands of time: Dr. Risa Ryger, a distinguished clinical psychologist, international speaker, and entrepreneur. She has dedicated her life to helping individuals and organizations navigate the often turbulent...

INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3

Tom Wallace

Tom Wallace – Managing Partner for Florida Funders

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® Blockchain

ANDREW KIGUEL

CO-FOUNDER,CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, TOKENS.COM

If the latest slew of cryptocurrency commercials at the Superbowl is any indicator, crypto is officially mainstream. Advertisements featuring stars like LeBron James and comedians like Larry David show that everyone is getting in on crypto. But most of this excitement isn’t focused on bitcoin. Last year, over $33 billion...

INNOVATE® Nashville

DR. EDMUND JACKSON

CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, UNITYAI

Healthcare is drowning in complexity. Despite groundbreaking advancements in medicine, patient care is still weighed down by archaic, fragmented systems and overwhelming administrative burdens. The problem isn’t a lack of effort, greed or incompetence: it’s the sheer weight of words, data, movement and decisions that clinicians must push through all...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

TOM HAJDU

CEO, DISRUPTER

A little over five years ago, I had the privilege of serving as the Chief Innovator of South Australia, a position through which I could catalyze change. During that time, I spearheaded a pivotal initiative, transforming Adelaide into Australia’s first gigabit city and the first city outside the United States...

INNOVATE® South Florida

MICHAEL FOWLER

SOUTH FLORIDA TECH HUB - CURRENT EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

WHERE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE MEETS LOCAL INNOVATION: A SOUTH FLORIDA TECH JOURNEY Just as my camera lens has captured moments across 120 countries, my journey in technology has taught me to see innovation through multiple frames. After nearly four decades in the utility industry, including my role as Business Unit CIO...

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

PETER KRUSE

ENTREPRENEUR & INVESTOR

Most people know the statistics: most new businesses can’t pay a market salary and stay profitable within five years. Funding dries up. The idea wasn’t strong enough. There was no real product–market fit. On paper, the odds look discouraging. So why would anyone step into that arena? For me, the...

INNOVATE® Nashville

ROD MCDANIEL

ROD MCDANIEL

CEO, S3 RECYCLING SOLUTIONS

My career in the electronics recycling industry is a vehicle to fund my passion. Yes, it excites me to have a profession that reduces e-waste and creates a more sustainable planet. But my true passion is giving back to my community and putting technology in the hands of people who...

INNOVATE™ Oeiras

DUARTE AIRES

DUARTE AIRES

CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, VECTOR MAIS

When we chose Oeiras to settle in 16 years ago, we aimed to keep up with the innovation and development that this municipality witnessed since the turn of the millennium with the creation of office parks until then never seen in Portugal. Besides offering the perfect conditions for Portuguese and...

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...

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...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

Troy LeMaile-Stovall

CEO OF TEDCO

CEO OF TEDCO From Southeast Houston to the boardrooms of the tech world, my journey has been anything but ordinary. Guided by a principle instilled in me by my mother, I’ve always believed that our primary purpose is to make a difference. This belief has not only shaped my personal...

INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2

BARBARA VERANNEMAN

Never before in history, have our economy and society had to transform so radically so quickly. The industrial and societal transition we are experiencing is definitely about bits and bytes, but mostly about molecules: such as CO2 and H2 carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Therefore, chemistry, as a science and as...

INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3

MARLENE SPALTEN

PRESIDENT & CEO OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF TAMPA BAY

The COVID-19 pandemic affirmed what I’ve long believed: Crisis brings out the best in those who truly care about their community – and philanthropy is the place to turn both for immediate help and long-term resiliency. Philanthropy creates hope for those in need, and it creates a stronger connection between...

DANTE DISPARTE

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER AND HEAD OF GLOBAL POLICY AT CIRCLE

While many people are preoccupied about the potential risks if digital asset innovations succeed, what are the risks if we fail? Billions of people are relegated to the financial shadows because analog financial services have reached a point of diminishing returns, which would be a terrible societal outcome. I advocate...

Sue Daugherty

Sue Daugherty - CEO Of Manna

CEO Of Manna

But often overlooked is the talent drawn to the region’s well-established and innovative nonprofit sector, which continually adapts to meet the growing needs of a city that sadly tops the charts in rates of chronic disease and poverty. As the CEO of MANNA, a community-based organization delivering medically tailored meals...

Keith Tanski

Keith Tanski

CTO - Optum

Innovation to me is working to never settle… and to continually be obsessive over creating a continued better experience and product. This means that status quos need to continually obsess over all spectrums and that we need to realize that the greatness that got us to this point will not...

JOHN WILSON

PRESIDENT & CEO, INNOVATE CALGARY

Welcome to Alberta. I am writing this note today from Calgary, or Mohkinstsis, a place where peoples have gathered for centuries to share and to learn, and I am honored to continue this tradition. Since 1986, Innovate Calgary has been the commercialization arm of the University of Calgary. In 2024,...

Ken Davis

Ken Davis

Co-Founder & CEO - TaskEasy

Ken Davis is the co-founder and CEO of TaskEasy – an online platform that allows homeowners, renters, and businesses to order and manage yard maintenance online. Since TaskEasy’s launch in 2013, the company has grown to service hundreds of thousands of properties across all 50 states. TaskEasy’s business model caters...

Jaret L. Davis

What has made Miami such a great environment for growing a startup culture is its strong entrepreneurial ethos and the lack of restrictions. It’s the kind of place where if you have an idea, no one is going to tell you it can’t be done. Over the last 20 years,...

AYŞE ÖZTUNA BOZOKLAR

RESILIENT SPIRITS: A TALE OF TRUST, TALENT, AND TRANSFORMATION

Amidst the vibrant thrum of Turkey’s cultural and economic heartbeat, Ayşe Öztuna Bozoklar’s name is synonymous with transformative leadership and a visionary in the realm of executive search and talent management. As the founding partner of Odgers Berndtson Turkey, Ayşe has been an instrumental figure in shaping not just careers...

Hasan Ikhrata, Executive Director

San Diego Association Of Governments (Sandag)

We are living in the midst of a transportation revolution. When we look around, we can see fundamental changes in how people move around cities and towns across the world. In the San Diego region you can feel it every day. Everywhere you look people are driving electric cars, reducing...

MIKE SOUTHON

CHIEF EDITOR, STARTUPMAFIA

Many people are fascinated by Unicorns, mythical horse-like animals with a spiralling horn on its forehead, who symbolise purity, rarity and magic. In Estonia you can meet real unicorns, companies who have achieved billion-dollar valuations. There are more of these per head of population than anywhere else on earth. Here...

ERYKA GEMMA

ERYKA GEMMA

FOUNDER OF MIAMI BLOCKCHAIN CENTER AND TIMELOCK VENTURES

As the world moves in cycles, we see that change is constant. The pendulum swings and with global lockdowns, continuous quantitative easing, and privacy breaches – we are approaching a point of conflicting overreach and control. However, there is hope! History shows that human ingenuity will always find a way....

DR. RISA RYGER

EMBRACING CHANGE FOR A VIBRANT FUTURE

In an era where change is our only constant, one woman has taken it upon herself to guide us through the shifting sands of time: Dr. Risa Ryger, a distinguished clinical psychologist, international speaker, and entrepreneur. She has dedicated her life to helping individuals and organizations navigate the often turbulent...

Tom Wallace

Tom Wallace – Managing Partner for Florida Funders

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...

ANDREW KIGUEL

CO-FOUNDER,CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, TOKENS.COM

If the latest slew of cryptocurrency commercials at the Superbowl is any indicator, crypto is officially mainstream. Advertisements featuring stars like LeBron James and comedians like Larry David show that everyone is getting in on crypto. But most of this excitement isn’t focused on bitcoin. Last year, over $33 billion...

DR. EDMUND JACKSON

CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, UNITYAI

Healthcare is drowning in complexity. Despite groundbreaking advancements in medicine, patient care is still weighed down by archaic, fragmented systems and overwhelming administrative burdens. The problem isn’t a lack of effort, greed or incompetence: it’s the sheer weight of words, data, movement and decisions that clinicians must push through all...

TOM HAJDU

CEO, DISRUPTER

A little over five years ago, I had the privilege of serving as the Chief Innovator of South Australia, a position through which I could catalyze change. During that time, I spearheaded a pivotal initiative, transforming Adelaide into Australia’s first gigabit city and the first city outside the United States...

MICHAEL FOWLER

SOUTH FLORIDA TECH HUB - CURRENT EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

WHERE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE MEETS LOCAL INNOVATION: A SOUTH FLORIDA TECH JOURNEY Just as my camera lens has captured moments across 120 countries, my journey in technology has taught me to see innovation through multiple frames. After nearly four decades in the utility industry, including my role as Business Unit CIO...

PETER KRUSE

ENTREPRENEUR & INVESTOR

Most people know the statistics: most new businesses can’t pay a market salary and stay profitable within five years. Funding dries up. The idea wasn’t strong enough. There was no real product–market fit. On paper, the odds look discouraging. So why would anyone step into that arena? For me, the...

ROD MCDANIEL

ROD MCDANIEL

CEO, S3 RECYCLING SOLUTIONS

My career in the electronics recycling industry is a vehicle to fund my passion. Yes, it excites me to have a profession that reduces e-waste and creates a more sustainable planet. But my true passion is giving back to my community and putting technology in the hands of people who...

DUARTE AIRES

DUARTE AIRES

CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, VECTOR MAIS

When we chose Oeiras to settle in 16 years ago, we aimed to keep up with the innovation and development that this municipality witnessed since the turn of the millennium with the creation of office parks until then never seen in Portugal. Besides offering the perfect conditions for Portuguese and...

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...

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...

Troy LeMaile-Stovall

CEO OF TEDCO

CEO OF TEDCO From Southeast Houston to the boardrooms of the tech world, my journey has been anything but ordinary. Guided by a principle instilled in me by my mother, I’ve always believed that our primary purpose is to make a difference. This belief has not only shaped my personal...

BARBARA VERANNEMAN

Never before in history, have our economy and society had to transform so radically so quickly. The industrial and societal transition we are experiencing is definitely about bits and bytes, but mostly about molecules: such as CO2 and H2 carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Therefore, chemistry, as a science and as...

MARLENE SPALTEN

PRESIDENT & CEO OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF TAMPA BAY

The COVID-19 pandemic affirmed what I’ve long believed: Crisis brings out the best in those who truly care about their community – and philanthropy is the place to turn both for immediate help and long-term resiliency. Philanthropy creates hope for those in need, and it creates a stronger connection between...

INNOVATE® Ecosystems