Thought Leaders

My goal as a leader is to create a company culture that is focused on people first. While it has been an incredible honor to be nationally recognized as an executive (for instance, winning the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2024 Southeast Award), I find that I have true fulfillment when...

French: ÊTRE PREMIER DANS LE CŒUR DES GENS. DEVENIR UN LEADER SOCIO-ÉCONOMIQUE. ENRICHIR LA VIE DES PERSONNES ET DES COMMUNAUTÉS. VOILÀ, TOUT À LA FOIS, UNE MISSION NOBLE, HUMAINE ET AMBITIEUSE. OUI, NOUS VISONS HAUT. NOUS L’AVONS TOUJOURS FAIT. ET NOUS LE FERONS TOUJOURS PUISQUE NOTRE HISTOIRE EST MARQUÉE DE...

THREE E’S OF INNOVATION -JEREMIE BACON The things I love to do when I’m not at the office are the things I’d like to do forever. That ambition sparked my vision to build an innovative business centered on purpose, passion, and people. People drive innovation. Everything starts with positive leadership...

In a world yearning for guidance, Dr. Corrie Block emerges as a lighthouse of hope and transformation. Our conversation, steeped in the urgency of our era, unveils a brilliant mind and a visionary heart. As we delve into his insights, it becomes clear that Dr. Block doesn’t just see the...

I am moved by technology’s capability to impact people’s lives. I saw this power first-hand in Africa and Latin America after recognizing the potential of mobile money systems in the early 2000’s and moving to Africa to help develop these technologies. Mobile payments and mobile money systems changed people’s lives....

Ravi Venkatesan was appointed CEO of Cantaloupe in September 2022, previously holding roles as COO and CTO. With 20+ years in the tech world, he also led innovations at Bakkt and Bridge2 Solutions and held leadership positions at Accenture and Cbeyond. He received his B.S. in electronics from Bangalore University...

By studying the environment and seeing the full context—what people do, how they do it, and why – it creates a solid foundation for new ideas. But facts and research alone are not enough. True innovation also requires empathy for the user—the drive that keeps you going until you find...

Can we convert high-touch surfaces in such public spaces into safer and more hygienic areas? Research has shown that elevator buttons have caused the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 taught us that we need to eliminate high-touch surfaces. Through the pandemic, we developed an awareness to remain as hygienic as possible...

In 1986, I left my position at the University of Alberta to enter the world of high-technology startups. Back then, there were no business support platforms that we enjoy today, such as Startup Edmonton or Platform Calgary. Canadians were cynical of the high-tech sector and assumed it was all in...

Arizona is home to one of the fastest growing life science sectors in the country. The Greater Phoenix Area is at the center of the action and holds the greatest concentration of life science and healthcare innovators in the state. Health innovations are born as discoveries, are shaped, tested, and...

José Cordeiro passionately advocates for a future where aging is not an inevitability but a curable condition. His journey, marked by a relentless pursuit of scientific understanding and technological innovation, is a beacon of inspiration in an era increasingly focused on health and longevity. Our conversation illuminatingly delves into longevity,...

Stockholm’s startup scene – and ecosystems everywhere – love to celebrate the one percent: the global successes, the polished founders, the big exits. But that’s not the story that matters most. What really defines an ecosystem are the founders you don’t see. The ones grinding at kitchen tables. The ones...

Jason has spent over 25 years providing operational and financial expertise in leadership positions for rapidly growing companies such as Conversant (MOSAID), AVID Technologies, and IBM (Cognos). He started Positive Venture Group with the mission to help growth-stage businesses reach their full potential. “Most entrepreneurs start a venture because they...

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)...

Luca Carducci is a 28-year-old entrepreneur, he started as a software developer with many projects starting from the age of 16, his first project was a similar to Netflix to watch movies in streaming, after this he created and directed an e-commerce platform; several developers tools. At the age of...

Growing up, I spent countless hours throwing a baseball as hard as I could  against the side of our family’s cinder block garage. If a better way of spending time existed, the world did a great job of keeping it secret. I thought “cinder block ball” was the official pastime...

TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT Downtown Miami is experiencing one of the most dynamic urban reinventions in the world. Less than 10 years ago, Downtown was a 9-to-5 business district, but today businesses are launching and thriving, city streets are populated around-the-clock, parks and cultural venues now occupy land that sat vacant...

I obviously knew of the proximity to the Rocky Mountains, but I didn’t know about all the wonders such as the Drumheller Valley, Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park and Jasper National Park. I also didn’t know that Calgary is the third most diverse major city in Canada. Or that in 2022 it...

Israel prides itself in being an Innovative Nation, and has long term diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Mumbai. It chose Bengaluru, with its futuristic ethos, as its third destination to reinforce its economic connection with India. “The bigger economic diplomacy is in creating the right ecosystem involving the best...

  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...

Philadelphia is the birthplace of our country and home to an eclectic mix of historical and modern infrastructure. However, with its rapid development over the years, the number of users is quickly exceeding the original capacity of its built environment. In response to this roadblock, two of our major transportation...

By launching the 2022-2027 Québec Research and Innovation Investment Strategy (QRIIS2) and creating the role of chief innovator, our government has committed to putting innovation front and centre in Québec’s economic development in the coming years. More than ever, we want to support all those who have the desire to...

MONIKA RADCLYFFE – LEADING THE CITY’S TECH CLUSTER GROWTH SETsquared Bristol is the Global No.1 University-led Business Incubator working with the University of Bristol. I have been the Centre Director since 2016, working with over 250 companies, including Bristol Pound, Interactive Scientific, Immersive Labs, YellowDog and Zeetta Networks. Bristol is...

I started as a scientist, moving through the ranks: BSc, Ph.D., postdoc, and writing peer-reviewed papers. Commerce called, and I began writing patent, grant, and funding propositions for a biotech firm before moving into personal financial planning in 1997. Science and finance are the same thing to me—both aiming to...