Thought Leaders
AI Québec
GILLES SAVARD
CEO, IVADO
Data are everywhere: they are drivers of innovation and at the heart of the transformation taking hold all around us. Integral to many enabling technologies now maturing, from cloud computing to the Internet of things, 5G, 3D, augmented reality, robotics and more, these data and their valorization by analysis are...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
JOHN HARRY
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CITY OF SALISBURY
Key benefits of locating in the City of Salisbury include: In Salisbury new thinking is being applied to the transformation of individual firms and whole industry sectors. Adopting this entrepreneurial mindset within our organisation has underpinned the establishment of several commercial opportunities unique in the local government sector: An innovative...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
DR. GREGORY D. LITTLE
PRESIDENT, MIDLANDS TECHNICAL COLLEGE
In this life, some our greatest joys and successes are deeply connected to our relationships. It’s easy to remember and see it in our personal lives, but it can be easy to forget in our professional and business lives. All too often, we get mentally and physically stuck behind our...
INNOVATE® Minnesota
Geoff Martha
President & CEO - Medtronic
Geoff Martha President & CEO – Medtronic Millions of Americans are affected by pain and have been prescribed systemic opioids as part of their treatment plan. Whether for chronic or acute pain, prescribing systemic opioids continues, despite the limited evidence on the benefits of long-term systemic opioid therapy and evidence...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
DR. CHRISTIAN GUTTMANN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NORDIC AI INSTITUTE & SENIOR RESEARCHER, KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET
I wrote my first lines of AI code at 13 on a home computer—little did I know I was joining the earliest wave of AI natives. By 17 I’d launched a startup building intelligent inventory systems so small retailers always knew what was on their shelves before their accountants did—a...
INNOVATE™ Ottawa
Claude Brulé
President - Algonquin College
Claude Brulé, President – Algonquin College When Claude Brulé was appointed Algonquin College’s ninth president in mid-2019 he quickly embarked on an innovation agenda to establish experiential, personalized learning as the institution’s guiding educational principle for the future. “We know the people who walk through our doors, both physically...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
KEISHA HOWARD
FOUNDER, SUGAR GAMERS
Pursuing your dreamsThe gaming industry faces a stumbling block. Playing (and making) games isn’t the only goal of the industry. The gaming industry is Big Business with entrenched systems, processes, and structures. Today’s gaming space inspires and connects people in more ways than ever before and has the power to...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
ANDREW BATEY
FOUNDER AND CO-CEO, BEATDAPP
Vancouver has the potential – and opportunity – to become a significant player in the global tech ecosystem. For emerging tech hubs like Vancouver, companies must prioritize collaboration and cross-functional effort to compete with established cities like Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York, and Miami. Beatdapp highlights this opportunity and...
INNOVATION Quebec
PIERRE FITZGIBBON
LE MINISTRE DE L’ÉCONOMIE, DE L’INNOVATION DE L’ÉNERGIE, MINISTRE RESPONSABLE DU DÉVELOPPEMENT ÉCONOMIQUE RÉGIONAL ET MINISTRE RESPONSABLE DE LA MÉTROPOLE ET DE LA RÉGION DE MONTRÉAL
En lançant la Stratégie québécoise de recherche et d’investissement en innovation 2022-2027 (SQRI2 ) et en créant la fonction d’innovateur en chef, notre gouvernement s’est engagé à faire de l’innovation le cœur du développement économique du Québec au cours des prochaines années. Plus que jamais, nous voulons soutenir tous ceux...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
ERIC VAN RYSWYK
CHIEF STRATEGIC OFFICER, CODIUM
In the world of business, technology has long been a driving force behind innovation and progress. Advancements in frameworks, computing power, data analytics, and artificial intelligence have led to significant improvements in efficiency, productivity, and profitability. However, as technology continues to advance, it is becoming increasingly clear that the true...
INNOVATE® Georgia
RICH STINSON
SOUTHWIRE - PRESIDENT & CEO
The promise of an all-electric future in North America is here. We’re experiencing a shift from an oil, coal, and gas-based economy to an electrified one. Electric vehicles, data centers, renewables, and other factors are accelerating demand. Society today wants and assumes that everything that can be electric probably will...
VOICES of the Future
BEATA MOŃKA
THE POWER OF PASSION
Beata Mońka is a visionary entrepreneur whose experiences and opinions, explores the nuances life’s work has been a beacon of creativity, connectivity, and transformative leadership. Our conversation, set against the backdrop of a series celebrating the most influential minds of our time, unfolds as a symphony of ideas and insights...
INNOVATE® South Florida
DR. KEVIN COX
PROFESSOR - FAU TECH RUNWAY®
Reflection on the Evolution of South Florida’s Innovation Ecosystem For more than a decade, it’s been my honor and privilege to be deeply immersed within the South Florida entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. As the Director of Florida Atlantic University’s Adams Center for Entrepreneurship, a member of Tech Runway’s Board, a...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
SARA NOŽKOVÁ
CEO & CO-FOUNDER, FLOX INTELLIGENCE
I’ve always believed that the next frontier of artificial intelligence isn’t about replacing humans — it’s about reconnecting us with the natural world. At Flox, we’re building systems that use AI not to dominate nature, but to protect it. We train intelligent devices to detect, understand, and respond to wild...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
Jay Hallberg
CEO and Founder
There’s no greater transformative force in the world’s businesses than technology’s ability to connect people, increase competitiveness, and ultimately help organizations grow. But as the business technology market nears $4 trillion in annual spend, two significant challenges have emerged for both the businesses who buy technology and the vendors who...
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™ South Africa
WRENELLE STANDER
CEO, WESGRO
As Wesgro CEO (Wesgro is the official Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape), I am committed to doing my part in making the Western Cape one of the world’s leading regional economies. We recognise that to succeed in a changing world, we will be...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
MIKE JOUBERT
FOUNDER, BILLYBO GROUP
As a changemaker with over 35 years’ experience, I believe innovation is a critical tool to address a deeper human need to be better for a greater good. The culmination of a rewarding career has led me to creating the Billybo Group, a human-centred solutions collective. To help make a...
INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3
Alex Sink
Tampa Bay WaVe
What we see in our startup community is so inspiring. There are so many entrepreneurs building companies with exciting technology and creative thinking. Problems are being solved and doors being opened. Tampa Bay is a community of great opportunities and wonderful people. It is the community that I have called...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
DORIS PÕLD
CEO AT ITL ESTONIA
When I joined the Estonian technology sector, corporate strategy and digital strategy were still two different things. My main task was to create cooperation. Just as technology has become ubiquitous, Estonia,originally known for its use of digital services, has become a true pioneer of the digital society. I’m proud to...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
ROB NEWPORT
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, WEBURBAN
Over two and half decades ago, I remember first picking up a mouse and keyboard to play Quake on a University lab computer for over eight hours straight. Fast forward to today, and that 3dfx Voodoo graphics card has been replaced with racks of memory laden GPU cards chained to...
INNOVATE® Utah
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® South Carolina
Andrew Strickland
Co-Founder & CEO, Code/+/Trust
At Code and Trust, we partner with founders, corporations, and government teams to challenge assumptions, move fast, and build software that drives real impact. My career has centered around one core belief: great ideas don’t fail because they aren’t good, they fail because they aren’t executed well. To me, innovation...
GILLES SAVARD
CEO, IVADO
Data are everywhere: they are drivers of innovation and at the heart of the transformation taking hold all around us. Integral to many enabling technologies now maturing, from cloud computing to the Internet of things, 5G, 3D, augmented reality, robotics and more, these data and their valorization by analysis are...
JOHN HARRY
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CITY OF SALISBURY
Key benefits of locating in the City of Salisbury include: In Salisbury new thinking is being applied to the transformation of individual firms and whole industry sectors. Adopting this entrepreneurial mindset within our organisation has underpinned the establishment of several commercial opportunities unique in the local government sector: An innovative...
DR. GREGORY D. LITTLE
PRESIDENT, MIDLANDS TECHNICAL COLLEGE
In this life, some our greatest joys and successes are deeply connected to our relationships. It’s easy to remember and see it in our personal lives, but it can be easy to forget in our professional and business lives. All too often, we get mentally and physically stuck behind our...
Geoff Martha
President & CEO - Medtronic
Geoff Martha President & CEO – Medtronic Millions of Americans are affected by pain and have been prescribed systemic opioids as part of their treatment plan. Whether for chronic or acute pain, prescribing systemic opioids continues, despite the limited evidence on the benefits of long-term systemic opioid therapy and evidence...
DR. CHRISTIAN GUTTMANN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NORDIC AI INSTITUTE & SENIOR RESEARCHER, KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET
I wrote my first lines of AI code at 13 on a home computer—little did I know I was joining the earliest wave of AI natives. By 17 I’d launched a startup building intelligent inventory systems so small retailers always knew what was on their shelves before their accountants did—a...
Claude Brulé
President - Algonquin College
Claude Brulé, President – Algonquin College When Claude Brulé was appointed Algonquin College’s ninth president in mid-2019 he quickly embarked on an innovation agenda to establish experiential, personalized learning as the institution’s guiding educational principle for the future. “We know the people who walk through our doors, both physically...
KEISHA HOWARD
FOUNDER, SUGAR GAMERS
Pursuing your dreamsThe gaming industry faces a stumbling block. Playing (and making) games isn’t the only goal of the industry. The gaming industry is Big Business with entrenched systems, processes, and structures. Today’s gaming space inspires and connects people in more ways than ever before and has the power to...
ANDREW BATEY
FOUNDER AND CO-CEO, BEATDAPP
Vancouver has the potential – and opportunity – to become a significant player in the global tech ecosystem. For emerging tech hubs like Vancouver, companies must prioritize collaboration and cross-functional effort to compete with established cities like Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York, and Miami. Beatdapp highlights this opportunity and...
PIERRE FITZGIBBON
LE MINISTRE DE L’ÉCONOMIE, DE L’INNOVATION DE L’ÉNERGIE, MINISTRE RESPONSABLE DU DÉVELOPPEMENT ÉCONOMIQUE RÉGIONAL ET MINISTRE RESPONSABLE DE LA MÉTROPOLE ET DE LA RÉGION DE MONTRÉAL
En lançant la Stratégie québécoise de recherche et d’investissement en innovation 2022-2027 (SQRI2 ) et en créant la fonction d’innovateur en chef, notre gouvernement s’est engagé à faire de l’innovation le cœur du développement économique du Québec au cours des prochaines années. Plus que jamais, nous voulons soutenir tous ceux...
ERIC VAN RYSWYK
CHIEF STRATEGIC OFFICER, CODIUM
In the world of business, technology has long been a driving force behind innovation and progress. Advancements in frameworks, computing power, data analytics, and artificial intelligence have led to significant improvements in efficiency, productivity, and profitability. However, as technology continues to advance, it is becoming increasingly clear that the true...
RICH STINSON
SOUTHWIRE - PRESIDENT & CEO
The promise of an all-electric future in North America is here. We’re experiencing a shift from an oil, coal, and gas-based economy to an electrified one. Electric vehicles, data centers, renewables, and other factors are accelerating demand. Society today wants and assumes that everything that can be electric probably will...
BEATA MOŃKA
THE POWER OF PASSION
Beata Mońka is a visionary entrepreneur whose experiences and opinions, explores the nuances life’s work has been a beacon of creativity, connectivity, and transformative leadership. Our conversation, set against the backdrop of a series celebrating the most influential minds of our time, unfolds as a symphony of ideas and insights...
DR. KEVIN COX
PROFESSOR - FAU TECH RUNWAY®
Reflection on the Evolution of South Florida’s Innovation Ecosystem For more than a decade, it’s been my honor and privilege to be deeply immersed within the South Florida entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. As the Director of Florida Atlantic University’s Adams Center for Entrepreneurship, a member of Tech Runway’s Board, a...
SARA NOŽKOVÁ
CEO & CO-FOUNDER, FLOX INTELLIGENCE
I’ve always believed that the next frontier of artificial intelligence isn’t about replacing humans — it’s about reconnecting us with the natural world. At Flox, we’re building systems that use AI not to dominate nature, but to protect it. We train intelligent devices to detect, understand, and respond to wild...
Jay Hallberg
CEO and Founder
There’s no greater transformative force in the world’s businesses than technology’s ability to connect people, increase competitiveness, and ultimately help organizations grow. But as the business technology market nears $4 trillion in annual spend, two significant challenges have emerged for both the businesses who buy technology and the vendors who...
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...
WRENELLE STANDER
CEO, WESGRO
As Wesgro CEO (Wesgro is the official Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape), I am committed to doing my part in making the Western Cape one of the world’s leading regional economies. We recognise that to succeed in a changing world, we will be...
MIKE JOUBERT
FOUNDER, BILLYBO GROUP
As a changemaker with over 35 years’ experience, I believe innovation is a critical tool to address a deeper human need to be better for a greater good. The culmination of a rewarding career has led me to creating the Billybo Group, a human-centred solutions collective. To help make a...
Alex Sink
Tampa Bay WaVe
What we see in our startup community is so inspiring. There are so many entrepreneurs building companies with exciting technology and creative thinking. Problems are being solved and doors being opened. Tampa Bay is a community of great opportunities and wonderful people. It is the community that I have called...
DORIS PÕLD
CEO AT ITL ESTONIA
When I joined the Estonian technology sector, corporate strategy and digital strategy were still two different things. My main task was to create cooperation. Just as technology has become ubiquitous, Estonia,originally known for its use of digital services, has become a true pioneer of the digital society. I’m proud to...
ROB NEWPORT
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, WEBURBAN
Over two and half decades ago, I remember first picking up a mouse and keyboard to play Quake on a University lab computer for over eight hours straight. Fast forward to today, and that 3dfx Voodoo graphics card has been replaced with racks of memory laden GPU cards chained to...
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...
Andrew Strickland
Co-Founder & CEO, Code/+/Trust
At Code and Trust, we partner with founders, corporations, and government teams to challenge assumptions, move fast, and build software that drives real impact. My career has centered around one core belief: great ideas don’t fail because they aren’t good, they fail because they aren’t executed well. To me, innovation...