Thought Leaders
INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath
Sacha Mirzoeff
Head Of Channel 4 Bristol
he human instinct to tell stories can be traced back millennia. From paintings on cave walls, to families huddled around campfires, to bingeable boxsets, storytelling is a thread woven deep into the fabric of human experience and often helps set our moral boundaries. The possibility of changing the way that...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
JOSEPHINE BUYS
FOUNDING CEO, INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING BUREAU (IAB SA) AND DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY ADVOCATE
As a media and marketing pioneer, throughout my career I have been at the forefront of lightning speed change in the advertising and media landscape, from representing several top newspaper and magazine publishers, as they migrated online, to founding CEO of the first and only Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB SA)...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
ARLEIGH VASCONCELLOS
MANAGING DIRECTOR, THE AGENCY
“When I started The Agency in 2009 as a boutique firm servicing the tech sector in Calgary, I heard the same thing over and over: What tech sector?” Arleigh Vasconcellos, CEO/Founder, The Agency Communications Inc. And they had a point – the tech sector here was small. But the city...
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® Georgia
VANESSA EDMONDS
UTILITY 2030 COLLABORATIVE - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
YOUR ROLE IN SHAPING A SUSTAINABLE WORLD STARTS TODAY Our planet faces unprecedented challenges. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, the transition to clean energy is more urgent than ever, and water resources are under increasing strain. Our world’s sustainability and the well-being of future generations are on the...
INNOVATE® Nashville
GILL WAGNER
Serial Entrepreneur
Over a period of 40 years as an entrepreneur, while building six professional service firms and three nonprofits, I used to network like a madman. As you might imagine, with my hands in several things at once, it was sometimes difficult to answer the question: “So, Gill, what do you...
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™ Vancouver Vol.2
Raghwa Gopal
President , CEO - Innovate BC
If you’re reading this book right now, there’s a good chance you already know that: In other words – we’re growing fast, we have challenges to overcome, and the future looks extremely bright. Yet, despite the mounting momentum and optimistic outlook, it’s difficult to pin down exactly what our tech...
INNOVATE™ Flanders
KOEN KENNIS
ANTWERP VICE MAYOR FOR MOBILITY
Antwerp is a city in full change, once again, as it has been so many times over the past centuries. Now it is mobility shaping the future of the city, in the form of the Oosterweel works. For about two decades the plans for the completion of the ring road...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
PADDY UPTON
LEADERSHIP COACH
Paddy brings over 25-years of experience working with high-performing teams in business and sport, across multiple industries and on five continents. Imagine you’re a team leader and you overhear one of your team speaking to their friends at a party. They’re saying something like, ‘‘I love the place I work....
INNOVATE™ Estonia
REIN LEMBERPUU
.CONTRIBER
Having a background in physics and engineering, I have approached leadership challenges for many years from the angle of building the best possible team and environment where people can bring out their best talent. Like in engineering where every next iteration is slightly improved and closer to perfection. Today, 20...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
Whurley
Founder and CEO
It’s exciting to see the application of technology to address global challenges. But as we advance as a species, so do the complexities of the challenges we face. Quantum computers promise to be useful in advancing solutions to challenges in diverse fields such as energy, finance, healthcare and aerospace, among...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
JESSICA MEDEIROS & SUZANNE DUNCAN
FEMME GAMING
As women representing a mosaic of cultural diversity in the esports and the traditional sport industry, both Jessica Medeiros & Suzanne Duncan are no strangers to the heavy lifts asked of female leadership at executive tables in the gaming space. As the founders of Femme Gaming, we are both passionate...
INNOVATE® Minnesota
Peter Frosch
CEO - Greater MSP
Entrepreneurship and innovation aren’t new to Minnesota. They’re the source of our current economic success and the key to even greater future prosperity, equity and growth. We have the potential to be the problem-solving capital of the new economy and the GREATER MSP Partnership is working to make that vision...
AI Québec
YOSHUA BENGIO
FULL PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND OPERATIONS RESEARCH AT UNIVERSITÉ
My first passion will always remain understanding intelligence. This includes the artificial intelligences we are currently developing, but the natural ones as well. In recent years, my thinking about artificial and human intelligence has hinged on AI for social good. How can we ensure that what we do will benefit...
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® 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...
AI Québec
MADELEINE JEAN
DIRECTRICE GÉNÉRALE PAR INTÉRIM,PROMPT
En matière d’intelligence artificielle, le monde de la recherche académique continue d’exceller au Québec. Il nous a donné des figures de renom en recherche opérationnelle, et plus récemment, en apprentissage profond. Nous avons ici des chercheurs qui se distinguent à l’échelle internationale. Des étudiants gradués de partout au monde souhaitent...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
DI WILSON
CEO INTEGER/HOTSPOT
I have always connected with people. I love their inherent curiosity; I love the idea of collective thought, and I thrive on the energy I get from engaging with people across all facets of life. From my early days at Grey Advertising, through my founding role at Pod Communications, and...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
Sandra Watson
President & CEO, Arizona Commerce Authority
My career in economic development has spanned more than 20 years, and I’ve been honored to serve under five different governors. While they varied in political parties, all shared a common goal: advancing Arizona. Today, under Governor Ducey’s leadership, our state is recognized as a global leader in innovation and...
Global Innovation Spotlight
FRANK LEYHAUSEN
CEO AF1 GMBH, COLOGNE, GERMANY
In almost all countries of the developed world, the labor market is under pressure. The reason: Demographic change has shrunk the number of people of working age. Seriously? I don’t think so! In Western society, age is and always has been associated with the loss of skills and abilities. For...
INNOVATE™ Bengaluru
Prof. Vijay Chandru
Mentor and Investor
Mentor and Investor “True tech innovation in India is happening in life sciences, nanoscience, chemistry, mechanical engineering and the like”, says Prof. Vijay Chandru, one of the earliest academics in India to move from an impressive career in academics to highly successful deep science entrepreneurship. “If you look at creativity...
INNOVATE® Seattle
KIRBY WINFIELD
ASCEND VC - GENERAL PARTNER
Much like the adoption of electricity, however, the integration of AI into the core of the world’s companies will occur in phases. Initially, vertical (or “applied”) AI point solutions will arise and plug into existing workflows and frameworks. “Copilots” are one great example here; natural language programming and custom LLMs...
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...
Sacha Mirzoeff
Head Of Channel 4 Bristol
he human instinct to tell stories can be traced back millennia. From paintings on cave walls, to families huddled around campfires, to bingeable boxsets, storytelling is a thread woven deep into the fabric of human experience and often helps set our moral boundaries. The possibility of changing the way that...
JOSEPHINE BUYS
FOUNDING CEO, INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING BUREAU (IAB SA) AND DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY ADVOCATE
As a media and marketing pioneer, throughout my career I have been at the forefront of lightning speed change in the advertising and media landscape, from representing several top newspaper and magazine publishers, as they migrated online, to founding CEO of the first and only Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB SA)...
ARLEIGH VASCONCELLOS
MANAGING DIRECTOR, THE AGENCY
“When I started The Agency in 2009 as a boutique firm servicing the tech sector in Calgary, I heard the same thing over and over: What tech sector?” Arleigh Vasconcellos, CEO/Founder, The Agency Communications Inc. And they had a point – the tech sector here was small. But the city...
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...
VANESSA EDMONDS
UTILITY 2030 COLLABORATIVE - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
YOUR ROLE IN SHAPING A SUSTAINABLE WORLD STARTS TODAY Our planet faces unprecedented challenges. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, the transition to clean energy is more urgent than ever, and water resources are under increasing strain. Our world’s sustainability and the well-being of future generations are on the...
GILL WAGNER
Serial Entrepreneur
Over a period of 40 years as an entrepreneur, while building six professional service firms and three nonprofits, I used to network like a madman. As you might imagine, with my hands in several things at once, it was sometimes difficult to answer the question: “So, Gill, what do you...
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...
Raghwa Gopal
President , CEO - Innovate BC
If you’re reading this book right now, there’s a good chance you already know that: In other words – we’re growing fast, we have challenges to overcome, and the future looks extremely bright. Yet, despite the mounting momentum and optimistic outlook, it’s difficult to pin down exactly what our tech...
KOEN KENNIS
ANTWERP VICE MAYOR FOR MOBILITY
Antwerp is a city in full change, once again, as it has been so many times over the past centuries. Now it is mobility shaping the future of the city, in the form of the Oosterweel works. For about two decades the plans for the completion of the ring road...
PADDY UPTON
LEADERSHIP COACH
Paddy brings over 25-years of experience working with high-performing teams in business and sport, across multiple industries and on five continents. Imagine you’re a team leader and you overhear one of your team speaking to their friends at a party. They’re saying something like, ‘‘I love the place I work....
REIN LEMBERPUU
.CONTRIBER
Having a background in physics and engineering, I have approached leadership challenges for many years from the angle of building the best possible team and environment where people can bring out their best talent. Like in engineering where every next iteration is slightly improved and closer to perfection. Today, 20...
Whurley
Founder and CEO
It’s exciting to see the application of technology to address global challenges. But as we advance as a species, so do the complexities of the challenges we face. Quantum computers promise to be useful in advancing solutions to challenges in diverse fields such as energy, finance, healthcare and aerospace, among...
JESSICA MEDEIROS & SUZANNE DUNCAN
FEMME GAMING
As women representing a mosaic of cultural diversity in the esports and the traditional sport industry, both Jessica Medeiros & Suzanne Duncan are no strangers to the heavy lifts asked of female leadership at executive tables in the gaming space. As the founders of Femme Gaming, we are both passionate...
Peter Frosch
CEO - Greater MSP
Entrepreneurship and innovation aren’t new to Minnesota. They’re the source of our current economic success and the key to even greater future prosperity, equity and growth. We have the potential to be the problem-solving capital of the new economy and the GREATER MSP Partnership is working to make that vision...
YOSHUA BENGIO
FULL PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND OPERATIONS RESEARCH AT UNIVERSITÉ
My first passion will always remain understanding intelligence. This includes the artificial intelligences we are currently developing, but the natural ones as well. In recent years, my thinking about artificial and human intelligence has hinged on AI for social good. How can we ensure that what we do will benefit...
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...
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...
MADELEINE JEAN
DIRECTRICE GÉNÉRALE PAR INTÉRIM,PROMPT
En matière d’intelligence artificielle, le monde de la recherche académique continue d’exceller au Québec. Il nous a donné des figures de renom en recherche opérationnelle, et plus récemment, en apprentissage profond. Nous avons ici des chercheurs qui se distinguent à l’échelle internationale. Des étudiants gradués de partout au monde souhaitent...
DI WILSON
CEO INTEGER/HOTSPOT
I have always connected with people. I love their inherent curiosity; I love the idea of collective thought, and I thrive on the energy I get from engaging with people across all facets of life. From my early days at Grey Advertising, through my founding role at Pod Communications, and...
Sandra Watson
President & CEO, Arizona Commerce Authority
My career in economic development has spanned more than 20 years, and I’ve been honored to serve under five different governors. While they varied in political parties, all shared a common goal: advancing Arizona. Today, under Governor Ducey’s leadership, our state is recognized as a global leader in innovation and...
FRANK LEYHAUSEN
CEO AF1 GMBH, COLOGNE, GERMANY
In almost all countries of the developed world, the labor market is under pressure. The reason: Demographic change has shrunk the number of people of working age. Seriously? I don’t think so! In Western society, age is and always has been associated with the loss of skills and abilities. For...
Prof. Vijay Chandru
Mentor and Investor
Mentor and Investor “True tech innovation in India is happening in life sciences, nanoscience, chemistry, mechanical engineering and the like”, says Prof. Vijay Chandru, one of the earliest academics in India to move from an impressive career in academics to highly successful deep science entrepreneurship. “If you look at creativity...
KIRBY WINFIELD
ASCEND VC - GENERAL PARTNER
Much like the adoption of electricity, however, the integration of AI into the core of the world’s companies will occur in phases. Initially, vertical (or “applied”) AI point solutions will arise and plug into existing workflows and frameworks. “Copilots” are one great example here; natural language programming and custom LLMs...
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...