Thought Leaders

INNOVATE® Blockchain

JEVAN FOX

JEVAN FOX

CRO, AGENCY ENTERPRISE

The rate of technological innovation has increased exponentially since the industrial revolution. A 12-second flight along a North Carolina beach led to a moon landing only 66 years later. That staggering pace of development pales in comparison to what has occurred with digital technology in the past decades. That pace...

INNOVATE® Nashville

LEAH MELBER

PH.D. PRESIDENT & CEO OF ADVENTURE SCIENCE CENTER

We all have a memory of visiting a science museum; a larger-than-life exhibition, dynamic program, or time with friends and family. Each person’s experience may be different, but they all have one commonality: connecting with a world larger than themselves. Science museums may be the only science learning the public...

INNOVATE® Nashville

ALEX SEVILLA

VICE PROVOST VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

It is the promise of innovation that brought me to Nashville and to Vanderbilt University. I was hired in August of 2021 to serve as Vanderbilt’s first Vice Provost for Career Advancement and Engagement. There were many elements of this opportunity which were attractive: joining a pre – eminent global...

INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2

TOM LAVEREN

TOM LAVEREN

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER VOKA - CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MECHELEN-KEMPEN

The Mechelen-Kempen region is ideally located between the port and the airport and close to the two big metropolises of Brussels and Antwerp. It is a place where it is good to live, work and do business. Where craftsmanship is a brand. The region is booming and many fine and...

INNOVATION Quebec

SOPHIE D’AMOURS

RECTRICE, UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL

Le mot innovation est utilisé à plusieurs sauces. Il est toutefois clairement défini par le Larousse comme l’« ensemble du processus qui se déroule depuis la naissance d’une idée jusqu’à sa matérialisation ». Au-delà de l’idée, une solution nouvelle doit être utilisée, commercialisée, achetée ou déployée pour être innovante. Dans...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

PADDY UPTON

PADDY UPTON- LEADERSHIP COACH

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® Austin Volume 2

Akshay Sabhikhi, CEO and Matt Sanchez, Founder & CTO

Akshay Sabhikhi

CognitiveScale

CognitiveScale The next frontier: Building AI systems you can trust Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grabbed a foothold in the enterprise and is poised to become as ubiquitous as the internet – touching every aspect of our lives. From detecting and impacting climate change to advancements in disease diagnosis to aiding...

INNOVATION Quebec

KATHY MALAS

Adjointe au Président-directeur général, Pôle d’Innovation

Adjointe au Président-directeur général, Pôle d’Innovation, d’intelligence artificielle et de Projets, direction générale, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM). Membre du conseil d’admisnistration, Conseil de l’innovation du Québec. Membre du conseil d’administration, Quartier de l’innovation en santé. Chercheuse professionnelle de la santé, Axe Carrefour de l’innovation, CRCHUM. Professeure associée,...

INNOVATE™ Toronto

DR. LASZLO RADVANYI

PRESIDENT AND SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, ONTARIO INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH

The most powerful way to stop people from dying of cancer is to stop cancer from taking hold in the first place. That’s why researchers across Ontario are studying why and how cancer develops, looking back to the days before the first cancer cell divides to drive life-saving advancements in...

INNOVATE™ Estonia

LAURI ANTALAINEN

AI AND DIGITALIZATION EXPERT, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, DIGIWISE

The speed at which artificial intelligence is reshaping industries is breathtaking, and companies that don’t figure out their digitalization strategy — including how they will use AI — risk falling behind. But too often, organizations rush into adopting digital tools without a clear sense of what they are trying to...

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...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

PETER ROWLAND

CEO, MICRO-X

In fact, a culture of innovation must be endemic across a company. It must form part of its DNA, driving the behaviour and thinking of every employee. This is important across all members of the innovation ecosystem, with opportunities to learn through the sharing of ideas in innovation precincts like...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

ANGEL RICH

CREDITRICH - FOUNDER

Don’t die broke. This mantra is at the heart of everything I do, demonstrating the power of financial literacy and justice. Growing up in Washington, D.C., with roots tracing back to sharecroppers in South Carolina, I’ve always been connected to the Black community’s history and struggles. My great-grandparents were among...

INNOVATE® Jacksonville

Theodore R. Willich

Theodore R. Willich

CEO - NLP Logix

NLP Logix teaches computers to do what humans can do or want to do. They automate. This means that at NLP Logix, they teach machines to do almost any repetitive business process that humans do, to help humans to do things faster and better. The company harnesses the power of...

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

ALEX KROOGMAN

ALEX KROOGMAN

CEO | PRESSREADER GROUP OF COMPANIES

ALEX KROOGMAN CEO | PRESSREADER GROUP OF COMPANIES To this day, I look forward to each Monday when Spotify releases my new Discover Weekly playlist. Why, because it’s built entirely for me. It’s personalized with the music I know, plus lots of music I haven’t even heard of before but...

INNOVATE® South Carolina

GARRETT STERN

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FURMAN UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP

For well over a century, higher education has treated its primary role as preparing young adults for their first job. In today’s world, where skills expire faster than degrees can be completed and technology reshapes industries overnight, that model needs to evolve. If we’re serious about our mission to foster...

INNOVATE® Philadelphia

Jane Scaccetti

Drucker & Scaccetti - Thought Leader

Co-Founder & CEO

In Philadelphia, we know a thing or two about innovation. Among my favorite Philly innovations are the country’s first hospital, university, postal service, zoo and computer. Likewise, over time, we have seen our great City of Brotherly and Sisterly Love grow and emerge as a leading professional destination for millennials....

INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2

FABIENNE VERBEEK

FABIENNE VERBEEK

CEO, GLOBAL NEW AUTOMATION (GNA)

If you had said this to me 10 years ago, I might have laughed it off. But today, I am upgrading my company, watching it grow, and taking on new challenges. There is a passion in me that may not have been there before, which is why I’m giving back...

INNOVATE™ Oeiras

RICARDO PARREIRA

RICARDO PARREIRA

CEO, PHC SOFTWARE

That simple idea can put the culture of a company at risk. Like Albert Einstein so perfectly put it “when we’re in the same place, we are walking backward”, and to do the same thing over and over just because that is the way it has always been done; is...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

IAN MERRINGTON

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® Nashville

BRIAN MOYER

CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF THE INNOVATION STUDIO

Since the dawn of time, change has proven to be the only constant. In the current digital age, the speed of change has reached a level never seen in the history of the world. One of my favorite quotes is, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives,...

INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada

DORIS GRANT

CEO, LIFE SCIENCES NOVA SCOTIA

As the CEO of Life Sciences Nova Scotia, I have the privilege of witnessing firsthand the creativity, resilience, and vision of the people and companies driving change in the life sciences sector. From pioneering healthcare solutions to cutting-edge biotechnology developments, the Atlantic region is making a profound impact both locally...

VOICES of the Future

CHEF SATISH ARORA

FLAVORS OF PERSEVERANCE

Chef Satish Arora’s five decades at the Taj Group bring not just a legacy of culinary excellence but a treasure trove of wisdom, encapsulating the essence of a life devoted to passion, perseverance, and innovation. During our conversation, it becomes evident that his words serve as a compass for younger...

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

FRANCISCO PEDRO PRESAS PINTO DE BALSEMÃO

CEO OF IMPRESA

I was born in 1980, I’m married and a proud father of three young children. I joined Impresa in 2009 and became CEO in 2016. My background is in Law (Lisbon and Oxford) and I undertook several international post-grad management courses. I also had a brief spell at the Portuguese...

JEVAN FOX

JEVAN FOX

CRO, AGENCY ENTERPRISE

The rate of technological innovation has increased exponentially since the industrial revolution. A 12-second flight along a North Carolina beach led to a moon landing only 66 years later. That staggering pace of development pales in comparison to what has occurred with digital technology in the past decades. That pace...

LEAH MELBER

PH.D. PRESIDENT & CEO OF ADVENTURE SCIENCE CENTER

We all have a memory of visiting a science museum; a larger-than-life exhibition, dynamic program, or time with friends and family. Each person’s experience may be different, but they all have one commonality: connecting with a world larger than themselves. Science museums may be the only science learning the public...

ALEX SEVILLA

VICE PROVOST VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

It is the promise of innovation that brought me to Nashville and to Vanderbilt University. I was hired in August of 2021 to serve as Vanderbilt’s first Vice Provost for Career Advancement and Engagement. There were many elements of this opportunity which were attractive: joining a pre – eminent global...

TOM LAVEREN

TOM LAVEREN

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER VOKA - CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MECHELEN-KEMPEN

The Mechelen-Kempen region is ideally located between the port and the airport and close to the two big metropolises of Brussels and Antwerp. It is a place where it is good to live, work and do business. Where craftsmanship is a brand. The region is booming and many fine and...

SOPHIE D’AMOURS

RECTRICE, UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL

Le mot innovation est utilisé à plusieurs sauces. Il est toutefois clairement défini par le Larousse comme l’« ensemble du processus qui se déroule depuis la naissance d’une idée jusqu’à sa matérialisation ». Au-delà de l’idée, une solution nouvelle doit être utilisée, commercialisée, achetée ou déployée pour être innovante. Dans...

PADDY UPTON

PADDY UPTON- LEADERSHIP COACH

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....

Akshay Sabhikhi, CEO and Matt Sanchez, Founder & CTO

Akshay Sabhikhi

CognitiveScale

CognitiveScale The next frontier: Building AI systems you can trust Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grabbed a foothold in the enterprise and is poised to become as ubiquitous as the internet – touching every aspect of our lives. From detecting and impacting climate change to advancements in disease diagnosis to aiding...

KATHY MALAS

Adjointe au Président-directeur général, Pôle d’Innovation

Adjointe au Président-directeur général, Pôle d’Innovation, d’intelligence artificielle et de Projets, direction générale, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM). Membre du conseil d’admisnistration, Conseil de l’innovation du Québec. Membre du conseil d’administration, Quartier de l’innovation en santé. Chercheuse professionnelle de la santé, Axe Carrefour de l’innovation, CRCHUM. Professeure associée,...

DR. LASZLO RADVANYI

PRESIDENT AND SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, ONTARIO INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH

The most powerful way to stop people from dying of cancer is to stop cancer from taking hold in the first place. That’s why researchers across Ontario are studying why and how cancer develops, looking back to the days before the first cancer cell divides to drive life-saving advancements in...

LAURI ANTALAINEN

AI AND DIGITALIZATION EXPERT, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, DIGIWISE

The speed at which artificial intelligence is reshaping industries is breathtaking, and companies that don’t figure out their digitalization strategy — including how they will use AI — risk falling behind. But too often, organizations rush into adopting digital tools without a clear sense of what they are trying to...

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...

PETER ROWLAND

CEO, MICRO-X

In fact, a culture of innovation must be endemic across a company. It must form part of its DNA, driving the behaviour and thinking of every employee. This is important across all members of the innovation ecosystem, with opportunities to learn through the sharing of ideas in innovation precincts like...

ANGEL RICH

CREDITRICH - FOUNDER

Don’t die broke. This mantra is at the heart of everything I do, demonstrating the power of financial literacy and justice. Growing up in Washington, D.C., with roots tracing back to sharecroppers in South Carolina, I’ve always been connected to the Black community’s history and struggles. My great-grandparents were among...

Theodore R. Willich

Theodore R. Willich

CEO - NLP Logix

NLP Logix teaches computers to do what humans can do or want to do. They automate. This means that at NLP Logix, they teach machines to do almost any repetitive business process that humans do, to help humans to do things faster and better. The company harnesses the power of...

ALEX KROOGMAN

ALEX KROOGMAN

CEO | PRESSREADER GROUP OF COMPANIES

ALEX KROOGMAN CEO | PRESSREADER GROUP OF COMPANIES To this day, I look forward to each Monday when Spotify releases my new Discover Weekly playlist. Why, because it’s built entirely for me. It’s personalized with the music I know, plus lots of music I haven’t even heard of before but...

GARRETT STERN

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FURMAN UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP

For well over a century, higher education has treated its primary role as preparing young adults for their first job. In today’s world, where skills expire faster than degrees can be completed and technology reshapes industries overnight, that model needs to evolve. If we’re serious about our mission to foster...

Jane Scaccetti

Drucker & Scaccetti - Thought Leader

Co-Founder & CEO

In Philadelphia, we know a thing or two about innovation. Among my favorite Philly innovations are the country’s first hospital, university, postal service, zoo and computer. Likewise, over time, we have seen our great City of Brotherly and Sisterly Love grow and emerge as a leading professional destination for millennials....

FABIENNE VERBEEK

FABIENNE VERBEEK

CEO, GLOBAL NEW AUTOMATION (GNA)

If you had said this to me 10 years ago, I might have laughed it off. But today, I am upgrading my company, watching it grow, and taking on new challenges. There is a passion in me that may not have been there before, which is why I’m giving back...

RICARDO PARREIRA

RICARDO PARREIRA

CEO, PHC SOFTWARE

That simple idea can put the culture of a company at risk. Like Albert Einstein so perfectly put it “when we’re in the same place, we are walking backward”, and to do the same thing over and over just because that is the way it has always been done; is...

IAN MERRINGTON

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...

BRIAN MOYER

CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF THE INNOVATION STUDIO

Since the dawn of time, change has proven to be the only constant. In the current digital age, the speed of change has reached a level never seen in the history of the world. One of my favorite quotes is, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives,...

DORIS GRANT

CEO, LIFE SCIENCES NOVA SCOTIA

As the CEO of Life Sciences Nova Scotia, I have the privilege of witnessing firsthand the creativity, resilience, and vision of the people and companies driving change in the life sciences sector. From pioneering healthcare solutions to cutting-edge biotechnology developments, the Atlantic region is making a profound impact both locally...

CHEF SATISH ARORA

FLAVORS OF PERSEVERANCE

Chef Satish Arora’s five decades at the Taj Group bring not just a legacy of culinary excellence but a treasure trove of wisdom, encapsulating the essence of a life devoted to passion, perseverance, and innovation. During our conversation, it becomes evident that his words serve as a compass for younger...

FRANCISCO PEDRO PRESAS PINTO DE BALSEMÃO

CEO OF IMPRESA

I was born in 1980, I’m married and a proud father of three young children. I joined Impresa in 2009 and became CEO in 2016. My background is in Law (Lisbon and Oxford) and I undertook several international post-grad management courses. I also had a brief spell at the Portuguese...

INNOVATE® Ecosystems