Thought Leaders
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
JEAN C. ACCIUS
PHD, PRESIDENT & CEO, CHC: CREATING HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES
Time is our most valuable asset. Once you lose it, you never get it back. Yet, millions of people across our country are robbed of priceless time. A Tale of Two CitiesIn the United States, there’s a strong likelihood that a person in one city might live 20 years longer...
AI Québec
STEVEN WEST
PROFESSOR, CBE, DL.
On the 27th March I attended a meeting on campus with colleagues from the NHS, army logistics, architects, designers and building contractors. Over the next two hours we agreed the site was viable and the preferred option to support the region. I made the decision there and then to handover...
INNOVATE® Minnesota
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...
VOICES of the Future
KUSHAL SHAH
ETHICS, INNOVATION, AND IMPACT
When talking with Kushal Shah, the Managing Director of e& capital, I am struck by the depth and range of his experiences. Kushal, a man whose life journey began in the serenity of Nairobi, Kenya, opened our conversation with a profound reflection on his roots. “I was born and brought...
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® Phoenix
Sethuraman "Panch" Panchanathan
Executive VP and Chief Research and Innovation Officer - ASU
Introduction Perspective on InnovationInnovation is not limited to creating new products or starting new companies. It is a spirit and a mindset that permeates everything that we do. The most intractable challenges we face are not going to be solved by doing what we’ve always done. It is important to...
Global Innovation Spotlight
MICHAEL CLINTON
CEO ROAR
Many of us spend our lives identifying ourselves in what I call the 3 P’s… Partner, Parent, and Profession. There’s no question that these three identifiers take up a lot of our lives. There’s only one challenge with letting these roles dominate life however, especially as we live longer, healthier...
VOICES of the Future
KIARA KAUR
A YOUNG VISIONARY’S MESSAGE FOR TOMORROW
As I engage in conversation with Kiara Kaur, the air fills with an electrifying sense of the future. At just seven years old, Kiara, a prodigious talent and a beacon of hope, articulates her vision with the clarity and passion of a seasoned leader. Her achievements are staggering: the world’s...
Sylvain Coulombe
Associate Vice-Principal, Innovation And Partnerships - McGill University
English: At a time when local and global challenges demand discoveries at the intersections of diverse disciplines, fostering an adaptable, agile and multi-sectorial innovation ecosystem enables universities to lead as social and economic accelerators. To set this vision in motion, McGill has established a dedicated unit, Innovation, and Partnerships (I+P),...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
PIERRE LEMIRE
KENT IMAGING, CEO
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a passion for building high-tech imaging products. This passion has been the driving force of my professional life, and while I’ve managed to parlay it into a long, varied and rewarding career, it hasn’t always been easy. My successes have been...
INNOVATE® Detroit
LAURA L. CHAVEZ-WAZEERUD-DIN
PRESIDENT AND CEO, SOUTHWEST DETROIT BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
Innovation isn’t just about technology or groundbreaking inventions; it’s about fostering environments where communities thrive, cultures converge, and everyone has a seat at the table. As President and CEO of the Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA), I have the privilege of leading an organization that has been a cornerstone of...
INNOVATE® San Diego Vol.1
Nathan Fletcher
County Supervisor - County Of San Diego, 4th District
Not many people understand the role of County government, let alone a County Supervisor, in delivering vital services to our communities and region. Yet, the San Diego County government is responsible for more than six billion dollars in annual revenue and expenditures. Things like behavioral health services, child welfare services,...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
TOMMY KNAPP
PRESIDENT ESPORTS DIVISION, OPTIMA SPORTS GROUP
After making the plunge into the ecosystem myself, in 2017, I found myself telling people this everywhere I went. Whether it was at an industry breakout conference at DreamHack, as a panelist on a YouTuber Zoom discussion, on a college campus speaking to Sports Management students or just in daily...
INNOVATE® South Florida
ANDREW S. DUFFELL
RESEARCH PARK AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY® - MBA, PRESIDENT
For me, as an immigrant in 2002, South Florida was the natural connection point, or gateway, between North and South America. The Research Park at Florida Atlantic is at the center of South Florida’s 6.5 million people. For longer than I have called South Florida home, this has been a...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
GSP International Airport
Dave Edwards, President/CEO at GSP Airport District
As a leader, I’ve always believed that success isn’t measured solely by the milestones we achieve but by the way we inspire others to grow and excel alongside us. When I joined the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport District, my vision was clear: to create an organization that not only excels operationally but...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
Kris Bogaerts
Co-Founder & Engineer, Cellows
As long as I can remember, I have always wondered how things work and how I could improve them. At ten years old, I came up with an electrical motor with magnets, only to discover a few years later that the damn thing already existed! This made me realize that...
INNOVATE® Georgia
BRIAN KEMP, GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA, ANDRE DICKENS, MAYOR OF ATLANTA
Andre Dickens, Mayor of Atlanta, Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia, presenting at TAG’s GeorgiaTechnology Summit There is no doubt that Georgia is the leader of technology and innovation in the South. We’re very proud to say Georgia is the #1 state for business in the nation, which we’ve maintained for...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
RYAN PERNIA
PRESIDENT, ENTAX
Everyday I’m inspired by the innovators and their dreams to change the world. Our clients are building everything; from next-generation AI models, advanced robotics, creative and award-winning games, lifesaving medical devices, end-to-end software platforms, to environment saving industrial processes. As the founder of ENTAX, one of Canada’s preeminent Government Funding...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
ROLAND WILLIAMS
INNOVATION PIONEERS
When people talk about innovation, it’s often described as a breakthrough moment — the spark that changes everything. In practice, it usually looks very different. Progress tends to come from the smaller steps: listening carefully, sharing experiences openly, and being willing to test something, learn from it, and try again....
INNOVATE® Seattle
FRANÇOIS BANEYX
COMOTION - DIRECTOR AND VICE PROVOST FOR INNOVATION
For over 150 years, the University of Washington (UW) has nurtured scholarly endeavors that have yielded discoveries and inventions with profound effects on people’s lives. From medical devices and vaccines to deep-sea mapping and natural language processing, our researchers have uncovered bold new insights that have pushed the boundaries of...
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™ Antwerp Vol.2
Alex Van Breedam
CEO, TRI-VIZOR
Logistics is facing important sustainability and capacity problems. The changing buying behaviour of the consumer, predominantly accelerated by the steep growth of e-commerce, is leading to increasingly smaller, but more frequent and ever faster deliveries. This fragmentation of deliveries is heavily boosting the need for transport capacity, while the shorter...
VOICES of the Future
CHRISTIANA MAXION
THE MATCHMAKER
My conversation with Christiana Maxion is a deep dive into the heart of love and connection. Affectionately known as the Dubai Matchmaker, our connection is a blend of personal anecdotes, philosophical musings, and visionary insights into the essence of human connection and the future of love. Her story begins by...
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...
JEAN C. ACCIUS
PHD, PRESIDENT & CEO, CHC: CREATING HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES
Time is our most valuable asset. Once you lose it, you never get it back. Yet, millions of people across our country are robbed of priceless time. A Tale of Two CitiesIn the United States, there’s a strong likelihood that a person in one city might live 20 years longer...
STEVEN WEST
PROFESSOR, CBE, DL.
On the 27th March I attended a meeting on campus with colleagues from the NHS, army logistics, architects, designers and building contractors. Over the next two hours we agreed the site was viable and the preferred option to support the region. I made the decision there and then to handover...
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...
KUSHAL SHAH
ETHICS, INNOVATION, AND IMPACT
When talking with Kushal Shah, the Managing Director of e& capital, I am struck by the depth and range of his experiences. Kushal, a man whose life journey began in the serenity of Nairobi, Kenya, opened our conversation with a profound reflection on his roots. “I was born and brought...
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...
Sethuraman "Panch" Panchanathan
Executive VP and Chief Research and Innovation Officer - ASU
Introduction Perspective on InnovationInnovation is not limited to creating new products or starting new companies. It is a spirit and a mindset that permeates everything that we do. The most intractable challenges we face are not going to be solved by doing what we’ve always done. It is important to...
MICHAEL CLINTON
CEO ROAR
Many of us spend our lives identifying ourselves in what I call the 3 P’s… Partner, Parent, and Profession. There’s no question that these three identifiers take up a lot of our lives. There’s only one challenge with letting these roles dominate life however, especially as we live longer, healthier...
KIARA KAUR
A YOUNG VISIONARY’S MESSAGE FOR TOMORROW
As I engage in conversation with Kiara Kaur, the air fills with an electrifying sense of the future. At just seven years old, Kiara, a prodigious talent and a beacon of hope, articulates her vision with the clarity and passion of a seasoned leader. Her achievements are staggering: the world’s...
Sylvain Coulombe
Associate Vice-Principal, Innovation And Partnerships - McGill University
English: At a time when local and global challenges demand discoveries at the intersections of diverse disciplines, fostering an adaptable, agile and multi-sectorial innovation ecosystem enables universities to lead as social and economic accelerators. To set this vision in motion, McGill has established a dedicated unit, Innovation, and Partnerships (I+P),...
PIERRE LEMIRE
KENT IMAGING, CEO
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a passion for building high-tech imaging products. This passion has been the driving force of my professional life, and while I’ve managed to parlay it into a long, varied and rewarding career, it hasn’t always been easy. My successes have been...
LAURA L. CHAVEZ-WAZEERUD-DIN
PRESIDENT AND CEO, SOUTHWEST DETROIT BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
Innovation isn’t just about technology or groundbreaking inventions; it’s about fostering environments where communities thrive, cultures converge, and everyone has a seat at the table. As President and CEO of the Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA), I have the privilege of leading an organization that has been a cornerstone of...
Nathan Fletcher
County Supervisor - County Of San Diego, 4th District
Not many people understand the role of County government, let alone a County Supervisor, in delivering vital services to our communities and region. Yet, the San Diego County government is responsible for more than six billion dollars in annual revenue and expenditures. Things like behavioral health services, child welfare services,...
TOMMY KNAPP
PRESIDENT ESPORTS DIVISION, OPTIMA SPORTS GROUP
After making the plunge into the ecosystem myself, in 2017, I found myself telling people this everywhere I went. Whether it was at an industry breakout conference at DreamHack, as a panelist on a YouTuber Zoom discussion, on a college campus speaking to Sports Management students or just in daily...
ANDREW S. DUFFELL
RESEARCH PARK AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY® - MBA, PRESIDENT
For me, as an immigrant in 2002, South Florida was the natural connection point, or gateway, between North and South America. The Research Park at Florida Atlantic is at the center of South Florida’s 6.5 million people. For longer than I have called South Florida home, this has been a...
GSP International Airport
Dave Edwards, President/CEO at GSP Airport District
As a leader, I’ve always believed that success isn’t measured solely by the milestones we achieve but by the way we inspire others to grow and excel alongside us. When I joined the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport District, my vision was clear: to create an organization that not only excels operationally but...
Kris Bogaerts
Co-Founder & Engineer, Cellows
As long as I can remember, I have always wondered how things work and how I could improve them. At ten years old, I came up with an electrical motor with magnets, only to discover a few years later that the damn thing already existed! This made me realize that...
BRIAN KEMP, GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA, ANDRE DICKENS, MAYOR OF ATLANTA
Andre Dickens, Mayor of Atlanta, Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia, presenting at TAG’s GeorgiaTechnology Summit There is no doubt that Georgia is the leader of technology and innovation in the South. We’re very proud to say Georgia is the #1 state for business in the nation, which we’ve maintained for...
RYAN PERNIA
PRESIDENT, ENTAX
Everyday I’m inspired by the innovators and their dreams to change the world. Our clients are building everything; from next-generation AI models, advanced robotics, creative and award-winning games, lifesaving medical devices, end-to-end software platforms, to environment saving industrial processes. As the founder of ENTAX, one of Canada’s preeminent Government Funding...
ROLAND WILLIAMS
INNOVATION PIONEERS
When people talk about innovation, it’s often described as a breakthrough moment — the spark that changes everything. In practice, it usually looks very different. Progress tends to come from the smaller steps: listening carefully, sharing experiences openly, and being willing to test something, learn from it, and try again....
FRANÇOIS BANEYX
COMOTION - DIRECTOR AND VICE PROVOST FOR INNOVATION
For over 150 years, the University of Washington (UW) has nurtured scholarly endeavors that have yielded discoveries and inventions with profound effects on people’s lives. From medical devices and vaccines to deep-sea mapping and natural language processing, our researchers have uncovered bold new insights that have pushed the boundaries of...
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...
Alex Van Breedam
CEO, TRI-VIZOR
Logistics is facing important sustainability and capacity problems. The changing buying behaviour of the consumer, predominantly accelerated by the steep growth of e-commerce, is leading to increasingly smaller, but more frequent and ever faster deliveries. This fragmentation of deliveries is heavily boosting the need for transport capacity, while the shorter...
CHRISTIANA MAXION
THE MATCHMAKER
My conversation with Christiana Maxion is a deep dive into the heart of love and connection. Affectionately known as the Dubai Matchmaker, our connection is a blend of personal anecdotes, philosophical musings, and visionary insights into the essence of human connection and the future of love. Her story begins by...
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...