Thought Leaders
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
TIGE SAVAGE
MANAGING PARTNER OF REVOLUTION VENTURES AND CO-FOUNDER OF REVOLUTION
I’ve been fortunate to partner with brilliant startup leaders during my career, and it’s often the companies that require the most grit that are the most rewarding experiences. The pursuit of great challenges is also something I look for in my personal life. I recently sailed – backwards – around...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
ANDY FISHER
DIRECTOR, BOUNCE HEALTH INNOVATION
Are you a driven entrepreneur who’s passionate about improving the world around you? Then take a look at these two charts: One shows the growing prevalence of chronic disease at every age. The other shows how much we’re spending per person just to keep up. We are getting sicker earlier,...
INNOVATE® Georgia
BRIAN ALBERTSON, PRESIDENT AND PHILLIP LEE, VICE-PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
ISACA ATLANTA CHAPTER
Developing innovation is a dynamic and ongoing process essential for advancing human knowledge, solving critical problems, and driving progress across domains. It requires creativity, strategic thinking, and effective execution to transform new ideas into tangible benefits. Innovation creates opportunities, fuels growth, and drives development across diverse fields, passing the torch...
INNOVATE® San Diego Vol.1
Jason Anderson
President & CEO - Cleantech San Diego
As urban populations continue to grow and digital tools expand at warp speed, cities and public agencies around the globe are looking to new technologies to help manage resources in more sustainable and cost-effective ways. The San Diego region is no exception, where public leaders and organizations have made a...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
DR. RYAN COMEAU
CEO & CO-FOUNDER, KINETISENSE.
ALBERTA – A PLACE OF OPPORTUNITYAPEX Alberta has had the opportunity to meet with stakeholders from across the province and ask them about their perspectives on the RPAS industry and the potential for the technology to change how we think and work. Here’s a cross-section of their thoughts on the...
INNOVATE™ Montréal
Catherine Mounier
Vice-Rectrice à la Recherche, à la Création et à la Diffusion | Vice-President Research - UNIVERSITÉ
English: UQAM joined the university landscape in 1969 and quickly distinguished itself through its commitment to serving society. Fostering entrepreneurship and social impact innovation, the University believes in the concerted ability of social actors to bring about change in response to issues as they arise. Building knowledge together Like many...
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™ Stockholm
MELODI ASKELÖF
CEO & CO-FOUNDER, SATOCCI
Next stop: Mars. That’s the mindset that drives me. I’m scaling Retail Tech from MENA to the world with Satocci and our Scan & Pay revolution. I’ve spent fifteen years moving between banking, finance, sales and telecom, and here’s what I’ve learned: money always moves faster than the systems built...
VOICES of the Future
LOUBNA IMENCHAL
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP AND TECHNOLOGY
Loubna Imenchal’s insights are compelling and profound. As VP of Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, and Central Asia at Logitech, her journey is one of resilience, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of dreams. It extends far beyond her corporate success; it is a narrative of ambition and determination with a...
INNOVATE® Kansas City
NEELIMA PARASKER
FOUNDER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, SNAPIT SOLUTIONS
I’ve spent my entrepreneurial career pushing against a simple but powerful reality I witnessed: talent is universal, but awareness of opportunity is not. In a country where innovation fuels our future, we cannot continue leaving untapped potential sitting on the sidelines that happens to be our majority population. The next...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
Dr. Susan Cole
President - Montclair State University
New Jersey has long been a destination for talented and ambitious people from all over the world. Its highly diverse population is a rich opportunity for employers, and Montclair State University plays a robust role in providing that population with an excellent higher education in a wide range of fields,...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
BONISWA PEZISA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MEDIOLOGY
Creativity, in the context of advertising and marketing, is and always has been a driving force for me. Being exposed to the power that brands can have on humanity and their collective behaviour has reinforced my ambition to always be a force-for-good, and leave a positive dent on the planet....
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
LISA ERICSSON
FOUNDER & HEAD, KTH INNOVATION
Universities are creative melting pots, where people from all over the world gather to advance knowledge and tackle big problems. As head of KTH Innovation, the entrepreneurship hub at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, I get to witness this firsthand, every day. Since the start in 2007, my team and...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
CHRIS BOTHA
GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR, PARK ADVERTISING
Is it possible to put a price on innovation? Not really. I mean, how do you put a price on something that is in essence non-tangible? And how do we know what the real value of innovation is? It is sadly something that is all too often underappreciated because innovation...
INNOVATE® Georgia
CHRIS DOWNIE
FLEXENTIAL, CEO
Building a Sustainable Future: The Legacy We Leave In my role as CEO of Flexential, I have the privilege and the duty to steer our company towards not just innovation but sustainable innovation. Our industry is at the crossroads of technological advancement and environmental stewardship. We have the unique opportunity...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
IAN MERRINGTON
CEO, THE CAPE INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (CITI) AND THE BANDWIDTH BARN
Covid 19 has had a particularly harsh impact on the region’s most vulnerable citizens. Access to vaccines and the ability to deliver these to individuals faces infrastructural and logistical constraints in less developed countries. As the global economy adopted the digital value chain at an exponential pace during lockdown, many...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
MICHAEL MCKERRACHER,
REGIONAL MANAGING PARTNER, KPMG IN CANADA’S CALGARY OFFICE
Having served as KPMG in Canada’s National Energy leader for 12 years and working in the Calgary marketplace for the past 30 years. I see Alberta uniquely positioned to foster and lead innovation at the intersection of sustainability, energy, and technology. Businesses are presented with opportunities for growth as the...
INNOVATE® Georgia
LEVI PERKINS
CEO, HANNIBAL AI
When in the shadows of giants, we assume the path to success is to stand on their shoulders. But in the world of technology, I’ve found that it’s not enough to just stand tall; we must also be nimble, ready to jump to the next giant as the ground shifts...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
ALEXANDRA FENTON CAAL
SUPERNOVA AT DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SuperNOVA: Empowering Youth Through STEM Education At SuperNOVA, our mission is empowering youth through educational experiences in STEM that cultivate curiosity and an attitude for lifelong learning. We are committed to ensuring that youth—regardless of their geographic location, socio-economic situation, ability, or gender—can be inspired through STEM. For youth from...
INNOVATE® St. Louis
Dick Fleming
CEO - Community Development Ventures, Inc.
This headline accompanied Washington Post nationally-syndicated columnist Neal Peirce’s column on St. Louis, following the completion of our BioBelt Strategy in 2000. Then in 2019, economists from the Brookings Institution noted that “To succeed in the global economy, cities must invest in what makes them unique.” My now 40+ year...
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® Blockchain
WADE PEERY
CHIEF INNOVATIONS OFFICER, FIRSTBANK
INFLECTION POINTS AND NEW POSSIBILITIES As a career banker with over 30 years’ experience, I’ve seen a fair amount of change along the way. In retrospect, major inflection points, no matter how disruptive to traditional banking methods have been positive in terms of making the banking experience better for everyone....
INNOVATE® St. Louis
Marie Carlie
Tax Partner - BDO USA, Llp
In the world of business, the words “disrupt, innovate, and transform” have become the new normal. For companies looking to make their mark, digital transformation is now the pathway to create revenue and new value, increase profitability, and improve employee and customer retention. It can also help remove IT complexities,...
INNOVATE® St. Louis
Brandon Dempsey
Husband, Father, Adventurer, Entrepreneur, Author, Professor, & Global non-profit leader - Gobrandgo!
Brandon spends his time traveling the world from the back of a BMW motorcycle and adventuring with his family. When he’s not adventuring, you will find him running a marketing agency that serves mid market manufacturing companies, working with high school kids exploring entrepreneurship, teaching marketing strategy courses at Washington...
TIGE SAVAGE
MANAGING PARTNER OF REVOLUTION VENTURES AND CO-FOUNDER OF REVOLUTION
I’ve been fortunate to partner with brilliant startup leaders during my career, and it’s often the companies that require the most grit that are the most rewarding experiences. The pursuit of great challenges is also something I look for in my personal life. I recently sailed – backwards – around...
ANDY FISHER
DIRECTOR, BOUNCE HEALTH INNOVATION
Are you a driven entrepreneur who’s passionate about improving the world around you? Then take a look at these two charts: One shows the growing prevalence of chronic disease at every age. The other shows how much we’re spending per person just to keep up. We are getting sicker earlier,...
BRIAN ALBERTSON, PRESIDENT AND PHILLIP LEE, VICE-PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
ISACA ATLANTA CHAPTER
Developing innovation is a dynamic and ongoing process essential for advancing human knowledge, solving critical problems, and driving progress across domains. It requires creativity, strategic thinking, and effective execution to transform new ideas into tangible benefits. Innovation creates opportunities, fuels growth, and drives development across diverse fields, passing the torch...
Jason Anderson
President & CEO - Cleantech San Diego
As urban populations continue to grow and digital tools expand at warp speed, cities and public agencies around the globe are looking to new technologies to help manage resources in more sustainable and cost-effective ways. The San Diego region is no exception, where public leaders and organizations have made a...
DR. RYAN COMEAU
CEO & CO-FOUNDER, KINETISENSE.
ALBERTA – A PLACE OF OPPORTUNITYAPEX Alberta has had the opportunity to meet with stakeholders from across the province and ask them about their perspectives on the RPAS industry and the potential for the technology to change how we think and work. Here’s a cross-section of their thoughts on the...
Catherine Mounier
Vice-Rectrice à la Recherche, à la Création et à la Diffusion | Vice-President Research - UNIVERSITÉ
English: UQAM joined the university landscape in 1969 and quickly distinguished itself through its commitment to serving society. Fostering entrepreneurship and social impact innovation, the University believes in the concerted ability of social actors to bring about change in response to issues as they arise. Building knowledge together Like many...
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...
MELODI ASKELÖF
CEO & CO-FOUNDER, SATOCCI
Next stop: Mars. That’s the mindset that drives me. I’m scaling Retail Tech from MENA to the world with Satocci and our Scan & Pay revolution. I’ve spent fifteen years moving between banking, finance, sales and telecom, and here’s what I’ve learned: money always moves faster than the systems built...
LOUBNA IMENCHAL
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP AND TECHNOLOGY
Loubna Imenchal’s insights are compelling and profound. As VP of Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, and Central Asia at Logitech, her journey is one of resilience, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of dreams. It extends far beyond her corporate success; it is a narrative of ambition and determination with a...
NEELIMA PARASKER
FOUNDER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, SNAPIT SOLUTIONS
I’ve spent my entrepreneurial career pushing against a simple but powerful reality I witnessed: talent is universal, but awareness of opportunity is not. In a country where innovation fuels our future, we cannot continue leaving untapped potential sitting on the sidelines that happens to be our majority population. The next...
Dr. Susan Cole
President - Montclair State University
New Jersey has long been a destination for talented and ambitious people from all over the world. Its highly diverse population is a rich opportunity for employers, and Montclair State University plays a robust role in providing that population with an excellent higher education in a wide range of fields,...
BONISWA PEZISA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MEDIOLOGY
Creativity, in the context of advertising and marketing, is and always has been a driving force for me. Being exposed to the power that brands can have on humanity and their collective behaviour has reinforced my ambition to always be a force-for-good, and leave a positive dent on the planet....
LISA ERICSSON
FOUNDER & HEAD, KTH INNOVATION
Universities are creative melting pots, where people from all over the world gather to advance knowledge and tackle big problems. As head of KTH Innovation, the entrepreneurship hub at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, I get to witness this firsthand, every day. Since the start in 2007, my team and...
CHRIS BOTHA
GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR, PARK ADVERTISING
Is it possible to put a price on innovation? Not really. I mean, how do you put a price on something that is in essence non-tangible? And how do we know what the real value of innovation is? It is sadly something that is all too often underappreciated because innovation...
CHRIS DOWNIE
FLEXENTIAL, CEO
Building a Sustainable Future: The Legacy We Leave In my role as CEO of Flexential, I have the privilege and the duty to steer our company towards not just innovation but sustainable innovation. Our industry is at the crossroads of technological advancement and environmental stewardship. We have the unique opportunity...
IAN MERRINGTON
CEO, THE CAPE INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (CITI) AND THE BANDWIDTH BARN
Covid 19 has had a particularly harsh impact on the region’s most vulnerable citizens. Access to vaccines and the ability to deliver these to individuals faces infrastructural and logistical constraints in less developed countries. As the global economy adopted the digital value chain at an exponential pace during lockdown, many...
MICHAEL MCKERRACHER,
REGIONAL MANAGING PARTNER, KPMG IN CANADA’S CALGARY OFFICE
Having served as KPMG in Canada’s National Energy leader for 12 years and working in the Calgary marketplace for the past 30 years. I see Alberta uniquely positioned to foster and lead innovation at the intersection of sustainability, energy, and technology. Businesses are presented with opportunities for growth as the...
ALEXANDRA FENTON CAAL
SUPERNOVA AT DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SuperNOVA: Empowering Youth Through STEM Education At SuperNOVA, our mission is empowering youth through educational experiences in STEM that cultivate curiosity and an attitude for lifelong learning. We are committed to ensuring that youth—regardless of their geographic location, socio-economic situation, ability, or gender—can be inspired through STEM. For youth from...
Dick Fleming
CEO - Community Development Ventures, Inc.
This headline accompanied Washington Post nationally-syndicated columnist Neal Peirce’s column on St. Louis, following the completion of our BioBelt Strategy in 2000. Then in 2019, economists from the Brookings Institution noted that “To succeed in the global economy, cities must invest in what makes them unique.” My now 40+ year...
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...
WADE PEERY
CHIEF INNOVATIONS OFFICER, FIRSTBANK
INFLECTION POINTS AND NEW POSSIBILITIES As a career banker with over 30 years’ experience, I’ve seen a fair amount of change along the way. In retrospect, major inflection points, no matter how disruptive to traditional banking methods have been positive in terms of making the banking experience better for everyone....
Marie Carlie
Tax Partner - BDO USA, Llp
In the world of business, the words “disrupt, innovate, and transform” have become the new normal. For companies looking to make their mark, digital transformation is now the pathway to create revenue and new value, increase profitability, and improve employee and customer retention. It can also help remove IT complexities,...
Brandon Dempsey
Husband, Father, Adventurer, Entrepreneur, Author, Professor, & Global non-profit leader - Gobrandgo!
Brandon spends his time traveling the world from the back of a BMW motorcycle and adventuring with his family. When he’s not adventuring, you will find him running a marketing agency that serves mid market manufacturing companies, working with high school kids exploring entrepreneurship, teaching marketing strategy courses at Washington...