Thought Leaders
VOICES of the Future
MARIA DA CONCEICAO
CLIMBING NEW HEIGHTS FOR HUMANITY
Maria Da Conceicao’s eyes sparkle with an intensity that reflects a life of profound challenges and extraordinary achievements. Born in Portugal, Maria’s story began with adversity. At just two years old, her mother fell ill, and an African immigrant cleaner, Maria Cristina Matos, took her under her wing. This new...
INNOVATE® Utah
Blake Modersitzki
Managing Partner - Pelion Venture Partners
Blake Modersitzki Managing Partner – Pelion Venture Partners Nobody is born an entrepreneur. Different people take different paths to achieving their definition of success. Just know: The entrepreneurial roller coaster of emotions is vast and deep. No Matter the Generation, the Lessons Ring True I’ve had a front-row seat to entrepreneurship...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
CHRISTOPHER J. PALADINO
PRESIDENT, DEVCO
Mr. Paladino has served as President of the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO) since 1994. Under his leadership, DEVCO has developed 8.3 million square feet in residential, commercial, academic, and institutional development projects valued at $3.5 billion. By establishing unique public-private partnerships, Mr. Paladino has successfully completed numerous projects to...
INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath
POKU OSEI
FOUNDER AND CEO, BABBASA
Bristol has a reputation for the high-tech industry, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. However, the city is marked as the 7th worst of 348 districts in England & Wales for black and ethnic minority communities to live and thrive. The issue has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. So what...
INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath
NatWest
Olly Reid, Scale Acceleration Manager
THE INNOVATION MYTH – WHY OLD HABITS ARE STIFLING INNOVATION IN A NEW WORLD BY OLLY REID As John Holt once said, ‘’since we can’t know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
JOHN MACRITCHIE
ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT, ZONE LEARNING AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES TORONTO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
It might be odd to hear this from someone who leads incubation at a university, but not everyone needs to be an entrepreneur and not every startup will succeed. Our success has come as a result of embracing this experience, and how it develops students and innovators. Leveraging startup and...
INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3
COL (RET) STU BRADIN
GLOBAL SOF FOUNDATION
As I approached my retirement from U.S. Special Operations Command in 2014, I decided to keep serving my nation and the wider Special Operations community through the formation of a new professional SOF association – the Global SOF Foundation (GSF). Since 9/11 U.S. special operations forces (SOF) had over doubled...
INNOVATE® Detroit
Fr. Tim McCabe, SJ
President & CEO, Pope Francis Center
When I arrived at the Pope Francis Center in downtown Detroit in 2015, our focus was on providing food and a space for respite for our friends experiencing homelessness. I quickly realized that while providing immediate relief is critical to staying alive, we were not doing enough to make a...
INNOVATE® Phoenix
Clate Mask, CEO & Co-Founder
KEAP
Back when our software was just an idea, my co-founders Scott and Eric Martineau wanted me to join them, and I was really hesitant. I had a business and a law degree, along with a mountain of debt, and just wanted to have a paycheck I could rely on. But...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
VICTOR HOSKINS
PRESIDENT & CEO, FAIRFAX COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Embracing the fast-paced technological transformation before us, we know that innovation is not just about having the brightest ideas or the most advanced technology. It is about cultivating an ecosystem where transformative ideas can flourish and where technology meets skilled hands and minds prepared to wield it. Fairfax County is...
INNOVATE® Nashville
MATT FORBUSH
FOUNDER OF ZIGY
Zigy was born out of the simple yet often overlooked truth that a business’s success lives or dies at the frontline. While executives may set the strategy, it’s the employees at the counter, on the floor, or behind the wheel who determine whether customers return, sales grow, and brands thrive....
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
AARON HARRIS
GLOBAL CTO AT SAGE
In countless ways, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the often-unsung heroes on the frontlines of the U.S. economy by providing jobs, uplifting communities, and facing the future with optimism and resilience. That’s why I’m so proud that Sage has made such strong commitments on behalf of SMBs to deliver...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
Carlos Guillén Gestoso
President And Professor Of Atlântica - Instituto Universitário
It requires an effective link between the university and the business sector, which encourages higher education institutions to train professionals and what the labour market demands, in order to encourage companies to invest in research and development as a strategic activity to incorporate knowledge and progress. We understand that the...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia
Howard Lubert
Area President, Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic
Area President, Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic How many times do you need to repeat an exercise before you truly become an expert? According to Malcolm Gladwell in “Outliers: The Story of Success” it takes 10,000 hours and he points to many successful examples of how “The 10,000 Hour Rule” has paid...
INNOVATE® Detroit
MICHAEL HEALANDER
AIRSPACE LINK, INC - PRESIDENT AND CEO
As we look to the skies, we’re witnessing a revolution in mobility that will transform our communities for the better. Drones are no longer just cool gadgets or military tools – they’re becoming powerful forces for good that can make our lives safer, easier, and more eco-friendly. At Airspace Link,...
INNOVATE™ Montréal
Alan MacIntosh
Partner, Real Ventures Chairman, OSMO Foundation
The Future Starts Here An entrepreneurial endeavor of consequence is provocatively described as the pursuit of an opportunity beyond the resources you currently control combined with challenges you have yet to imagine. Ten years ago when the Notman Project was conceived, it had many such hallmarks from the discouraging skeptics...
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...
INNOVATION Quebec
LAYLA NASR
CEO, MAKILA AI
In both North America and Europe, collaboration between the communities of scientific research and professional practice plays a pivotal role in the advancement of knowledge that benefits society at large. When it comes to technologies, especially artificial intelligence, the diversity of skills and the wealth of knowledge from research communities...
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...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
Luis Rocha Antunes
Managing Director, Acacia Point Capital Advisors - Portugal
The expansion of the world economy in the pre-pandemic period heightened efforts from companies looking to attract the best talent to provide an appealing workspace environment. Design, service, sustainability and experience became core requirements for the most successful and ambitious companies.The real estate industry responded and is evolving from simply...
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...
INNOVATION Quebec
PRÉFACE DE MURIELLE LABERGE
RECTRICE DE L’UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC EN OUTAOUAIS
L’innovation est intrinsèquement liée à la recherche constante d’amélioration. Elle requiert un esprit créatif et agile pour se concrétiser. C’est cet état d’esprit qui pousse les individus en quête de l’amélioration du bien-être et de la création d’un monde meilleur à se consacrer aux innovations sociales fondées sur des valeurs...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
RAQUEL FORTUNATO
GENIBET, CEO
I joined GenIbet Biopharmaceuticals in 2006, as a Project Manager, shortly after its creation as a spin-off company from iBET, a private nonprofit research organization in Biotechnology and Life Sciences. We were going, as I remember being told by iBET founder and then CEO Prof. Manuel Carrondo, to leverage iBET...
MARIA DA CONCEICAO
CLIMBING NEW HEIGHTS FOR HUMANITY
Maria Da Conceicao’s eyes sparkle with an intensity that reflects a life of profound challenges and extraordinary achievements. Born in Portugal, Maria’s story began with adversity. At just two years old, her mother fell ill, and an African immigrant cleaner, Maria Cristina Matos, took her under her wing. This new...
Blake Modersitzki
Managing Partner - Pelion Venture Partners
Blake Modersitzki Managing Partner – Pelion Venture Partners Nobody is born an entrepreneur. Different people take different paths to achieving their definition of success. Just know: The entrepreneurial roller coaster of emotions is vast and deep. No Matter the Generation, the Lessons Ring True I’ve had a front-row seat to entrepreneurship...
CHRISTOPHER J. PALADINO
PRESIDENT, DEVCO
Mr. Paladino has served as President of the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO) since 1994. Under his leadership, DEVCO has developed 8.3 million square feet in residential, commercial, academic, and institutional development projects valued at $3.5 billion. By establishing unique public-private partnerships, Mr. Paladino has successfully completed numerous projects to...
POKU OSEI
FOUNDER AND CEO, BABBASA
Bristol has a reputation for the high-tech industry, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. However, the city is marked as the 7th worst of 348 districts in England & Wales for black and ethnic minority communities to live and thrive. The issue has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. So what...
NatWest
Olly Reid, Scale Acceleration Manager
THE INNOVATION MYTH – WHY OLD HABITS ARE STIFLING INNOVATION IN A NEW WORLD BY OLLY REID As John Holt once said, ‘’since we can’t know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to...
JOHN MACRITCHIE
ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT, ZONE LEARNING AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES TORONTO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
It might be odd to hear this from someone who leads incubation at a university, but not everyone needs to be an entrepreneur and not every startup will succeed. Our success has come as a result of embracing this experience, and how it develops students and innovators. Leveraging startup and...
COL (RET) STU BRADIN
GLOBAL SOF FOUNDATION
As I approached my retirement from U.S. Special Operations Command in 2014, I decided to keep serving my nation and the wider Special Operations community through the formation of a new professional SOF association – the Global SOF Foundation (GSF). Since 9/11 U.S. special operations forces (SOF) had over doubled...
Fr. Tim McCabe, SJ
President & CEO, Pope Francis Center
When I arrived at the Pope Francis Center in downtown Detroit in 2015, our focus was on providing food and a space for respite for our friends experiencing homelessness. I quickly realized that while providing immediate relief is critical to staying alive, we were not doing enough to make a...
VICTOR HOSKINS
PRESIDENT & CEO, FAIRFAX COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Embracing the fast-paced technological transformation before us, we know that innovation is not just about having the brightest ideas or the most advanced technology. It is about cultivating an ecosystem where transformative ideas can flourish and where technology meets skilled hands and minds prepared to wield it. Fairfax County is...
MATT FORBUSH
FOUNDER OF ZIGY
Zigy was born out of the simple yet often overlooked truth that a business’s success lives or dies at the frontline. While executives may set the strategy, it’s the employees at the counter, on the floor, or behind the wheel who determine whether customers return, sales grow, and brands thrive....
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...
AARON HARRIS
GLOBAL CTO AT SAGE
In countless ways, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the often-unsung heroes on the frontlines of the U.S. economy by providing jobs, uplifting communities, and facing the future with optimism and resilience. That’s why I’m so proud that Sage has made such strong commitments on behalf of SMBs to deliver...
Carlos Guillén Gestoso
President And Professor Of Atlântica - Instituto Universitário
It requires an effective link between the university and the business sector, which encourages higher education institutions to train professionals and what the labour market demands, in order to encourage companies to invest in research and development as a strategic activity to incorporate knowledge and progress. We understand that the...
Howard Lubert
Area President, Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic
Area President, Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic How many times do you need to repeat an exercise before you truly become an expert? According to Malcolm Gladwell in “Outliers: The Story of Success” it takes 10,000 hours and he points to many successful examples of how “The 10,000 Hour Rule” has paid...
MICHAEL HEALANDER
AIRSPACE LINK, INC - PRESIDENT AND CEO
As we look to the skies, we’re witnessing a revolution in mobility that will transform our communities for the better. Drones are no longer just cool gadgets or military tools – they’re becoming powerful forces for good that can make our lives safer, easier, and more eco-friendly. At Airspace Link,...
Alan MacIntosh
Partner, Real Ventures Chairman, OSMO Foundation
The Future Starts Here An entrepreneurial endeavor of consequence is provocatively described as the pursuit of an opportunity beyond the resources you currently control combined with challenges you have yet to imagine. Ten years ago when the Notman Project was conceived, it had many such hallmarks from the discouraging skeptics...
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...
LAYLA NASR
CEO, MAKILA AI
In both North America and Europe, collaboration between the communities of scientific research and professional practice plays a pivotal role in the advancement of knowledge that benefits society at large. When it comes to technologies, especially artificial intelligence, the diversity of skills and the wealth of knowledge from research communities...
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...
Luis Rocha Antunes
Managing Director, Acacia Point Capital Advisors - Portugal
The expansion of the world economy in the pre-pandemic period heightened efforts from companies looking to attract the best talent to provide an appealing workspace environment. Design, service, sustainability and experience became core requirements for the most successful and ambitious companies.The real estate industry responded and is evolving from simply...
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...
PRÉFACE DE MURIELLE LABERGE
RECTRICE DE L’UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC EN OUTAOUAIS
L’innovation est intrinsèquement liée à la recherche constante d’amélioration. Elle requiert un esprit créatif et agile pour se concrétiser. C’est cet état d’esprit qui pousse les individus en quête de l’amélioration du bien-être et de la création d’un monde meilleur à se consacrer aux innovations sociales fondées sur des valeurs...
RAQUEL FORTUNATO
GENIBET, CEO
I joined GenIbet Biopharmaceuticals in 2006, as a Project Manager, shortly after its creation as a spin-off company from iBET, a private nonprofit research organization in Biotechnology and Life Sciences. We were going, as I remember being told by iBET founder and then CEO Prof. Manuel Carrondo, to leverage iBET...