Thought Leaders

INNOVATE® Blockchain

SAMUEL ARMES

SAMUEL ARMES

PRESIDENT, THE FLORIDA BLOCKCHAIN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION (FBBA)

Florida has always been something magnificent. Florida was formed by visionaries that believed it to be a launching pad for not just the future of the State itself, but for the United States as a whole. From Henry Flagler’s dream of a tropical paradise known as Miami, to Walt Disney’s...

INNOVATE® Georgia

JIM GILVIN

MAYOR, CITY OF ALPHARETTA

Government is probably not something that comes to mind when you think of innovation, but at the local level, you will find cities and counties that recognize that the solutions to today’s challenges and the path to tomorrow’s opportunities cannot be found in yesterday’s ideas. The City of Alpharetta, Georgia...

INNOVATION Quebec

FRANTZ SAINTELLEMY

PRÉSIDENT ET CHEF DE L’EXPLOITATION, LEDDARTECH, CHANCELIER ET PRÉSIDENT DU CA

Le Québec est un terreau fertile pour l’entrepreneuriat deeptech, qui repose sur le savoir et la recherche de pointe, et ouvre de nouvelles perspectives dans plusieurs domaines de haute technologie. Ces entreprises repoussent les limites de l’innovation et créent des solutions novatrices ayant un impact profond sur notre société. Les...

INNOVATE® South Florida

MICHAEL FOWLER

SOUTH FLORIDA TECH HUB - CURRENT EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

WHERE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE MEETS LOCAL INNOVATION: A SOUTH FLORIDA TECH JOURNEY Just as my camera lens has captured moments across 120 countries, my journey in technology has taught me to see innovation through multiple frames. After nearly four decades in the utility industry, including my role as Business Unit CIO...

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

John Spence

John Spence

Founder and Chairman - Karma Group

John Spence Founder and Chairman – Karma Group For nearly 30 years I’ve traveled all over the world to help businesses and people be more successful. I’ve worked for top tech companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Motorola, and Apple and have traveled to Palo Alto, Seattle, New York, Boston, Amsterdam,...

INNOVATE® Nashville

GILL WAGNER

Serial Entrepreneur

Over a period of 40 years as an entrepreneur, while building six professional service firms and three nonprofits, I used to network like a madman. As you might imagine, with my hands in several things at once, it was sometimes difficult to answer the question: “So, Gill, what do you...

INNOVATE® Miami

Mitchell Kaplan

Mitchell Kaplan

Founder - BOOKS & BOOKS

“What I do isn’t just about selling books—it’s about creating spaces and events that bring authors and audiences together.” I was in college when I first imagined opening a bookstore. I had discovered that at the center of most literary movements of the twentieth century, a bookstore was involved. In...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

JEFF LAFRENZ

JEFF LAFRENZ

CEO, VIZWORX

Innovation is a way of looking at the world around us. It has no geographic limits. It has no age, gender, race, sexual orientation, or culture limits. It applies to every industry, every profession. It is about being curious and not accepting the status quo. It is about asking why...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

Shadae McDaniel

Shadae McDaniel - City Leader

City Leader, All Stars Project of New Jersey

In 2014, I met—and fell in love with—the All Stars Project and its Afterschool Development approach as a new way of engaging poverty. I have always loved to perform—discovering dance as a teenager and growing up poor in Teaneck was a life-changer for me—and I immediately saw the effectiveness of...

INNOVATE® Utah

Prof./Dr. Susan R. Madsen

Prof./Dr. Susan R. Madsen

Founding Director - Orin r. Woodbury Professor of Leadership & Ethics

  Prof./Dr. Susan R. Madsen, Founding Director – Orin r. Woodbury Professor of Leadership & Ethics Dr. Susan R. Madsen is the Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership & Ethics in the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University and also the Founding Director of the Utah Women &...

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...

VOICES of the Future

FABIOLA EYHOLZER

HUMANIZING WORK

In my conversation with Fabiola Eyholzer, co-founder and CEO of Just Leading Solutions, I was struck by her remarkable insights and profound understanding of human resources in today’s fastevolving corporate landscape. Fabiola, who hails from a picturesque Swiss mountain town, brings a unique blend of analytical acumen and deep empathy...

INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath

Sacha Mirzoeff

Head Of Channel 4 Bristol

he human instinct to tell stories can be traced back millennia. From paintings on cave walls, to families huddled around campfires, to bingeable boxsets, storytelling is a thread woven deep into the fabric of human experience and often helps set our moral boundaries. The possibility of changing the way that...

INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath

Andy Salmon

Andy Salmon - Professor

Professor, Pro-Vice- Chancellor External

‘THOUSANDS HAVE LIVED WITHOUT LOVE, NOT ONE WITHOUT WATER.’ (W.H. Auden, First Things First) As someone whose life has been spent on the innovative interface between education and the creative industries, I have always been fascinated by the relationships between what we need and what we want – ‘love’ or...

INNOVATE® South Florida

BETH WAGMEISTER

CEO, WAG - WORKPLACE ACCESSIBILITY GROUP

BREAKING BARRIERS: HOW THE WAG EMPOWERS BUSINESSES TO CREATE INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS Accessibility as a Catalyst for Innovation In the United States, the employment disparity between deaf and hearing individuals highlights a significant accessibility gap. According to the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC), only 48% of deaf individuals aged...

AI Québec

PHILIPPE MOLARET

PHILIPPE MOLARET

DIRECTEUR TECHNIQUE CHEZ THALES

Elle vise l’accroissement des capacités opérationnelles dans plusieurs secteurs d’application tels que la santé, la sécurité, ou le transport. L’agent intelligent que nous développons n’est pas qu’un ‘simple’ double numérique. L’Agent couvre trois fonctionnalités; 1) une veille permanente sur la situation opérationnelle dans son cadre d’emploi et dont il informe...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

LITSA ADAMOU

HOUSE INSPECT AUSTRALIA WESTERN ADELAIDE

Building and construction are one of the largest industries in Australia, and women account for only 12.9% of its current workforce, with only 2.5% actively working in a trade. It is no secret that women are traditionally underrepresented in the construction industry, but in 2023, these percentages seem unacceptable. As...

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

Chris Carrillo

CEO of MetroMLS

Milwaukee is rapidly emerging as a technology hub, with real estate tech playing a key role. Leading the way is Metro Multiple Listing Service,which has transformed from a traditional listing database into a tech-driven powerhouse, reshaping how homes are bought and sold in Wisconsin. Founded in 1962 as a printed...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

DR. SEAN MCCOY

DR. SEAN MCCOY

FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HKLM GROUP

Marketing and business. These two disciplines do not live in separate worlds. Rather, they are inextricably linked. A solid branding and marketing strategy is actually a solid business strategy, because you cannot have business success without the clearly defined communications roadmap of a robust marketing plan. This understanding informs my...

VOICES of the Future

GIL PETERSIL

AUTHENTIC NETWORKING WILL TAKE US BEYOND OUR WORLD

Gil Petersil is a man who understands science and the essence of human networking as intimately as only a handful of other people in the world do. His mission? It is one grounded in its simplicity: to serve people and add value through authentic human-to-human relationships. He shares: “I’m really...

INNOVATE® Nashville

DAVID OWENS

DAVID OWENS

EVANS FAMILY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE WOND’RY, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR INNOVATION

Nashville has always been a great place for members of the creative class. It has more than its fair share of the spirit of innovation and, as I was told when I moved here, more recording studios than bars and more microphones than people. And while the artistic creativity is...

INNOVATE® Puerto Rico

LAURA CANTERO

LAURA CANTERO

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GRUPO GUAYACÁN, INC

One aspect I can highlight about doing business in Puerto Rico is the vibrant and growing community of entrepreneurs committed to transforming the local economy. This community of entrepreneurs is navigating a complex scenario under the shadow of an economic crisis that forced the local government to overhaul public finances....

INNOVATIONS in Pharmaceutical Development®

PEDRO MOURA

GENERAL MANAGER, MERCK PORTUGAL

I have looked at this quote for many years in a row. It was on a board as part of my office decor when I worked in a regional position. And I always felt it reflects my thinking. To be results driven has helped me navigate different roles and different...

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

James Mutter - Lawyer & Co-Founder - Whiteboard Law

I started focusing on the technology sector in the mid -90s when I joined a large national law firm in Vancouver. Over the span of 25+ years, I have been a lawyer, co-founder of a software company, President of the BC Premier’s Technology Council, CEO of a fintech company, Senior...

SAMUEL ARMES

SAMUEL ARMES

PRESIDENT, THE FLORIDA BLOCKCHAIN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION (FBBA)

Florida has always been something magnificent. Florida was formed by visionaries that believed it to be a launching pad for not just the future of the State itself, but for the United States as a whole. From Henry Flagler’s dream of a tropical paradise known as Miami, to Walt Disney’s...

JIM GILVIN

MAYOR, CITY OF ALPHARETTA

Government is probably not something that comes to mind when you think of innovation, but at the local level, you will find cities and counties that recognize that the solutions to today’s challenges and the path to tomorrow’s opportunities cannot be found in yesterday’s ideas. The City of Alpharetta, Georgia...

FRANTZ SAINTELLEMY

PRÉSIDENT ET CHEF DE L’EXPLOITATION, LEDDARTECH, CHANCELIER ET PRÉSIDENT DU CA

Le Québec est un terreau fertile pour l’entrepreneuriat deeptech, qui repose sur le savoir et la recherche de pointe, et ouvre de nouvelles perspectives dans plusieurs domaines de haute technologie. Ces entreprises repoussent les limites de l’innovation et créent des solutions novatrices ayant un impact profond sur notre société. Les...

MICHAEL FOWLER

SOUTH FLORIDA TECH HUB - CURRENT EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

WHERE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE MEETS LOCAL INNOVATION: A SOUTH FLORIDA TECH JOURNEY Just as my camera lens has captured moments across 120 countries, my journey in technology has taught me to see innovation through multiple frames. After nearly four decades in the utility industry, including my role as Business Unit CIO...

John Spence

John Spence

Founder and Chairman - Karma Group

John Spence Founder and Chairman – Karma Group For nearly 30 years I’ve traveled all over the world to help businesses and people be more successful. I’ve worked for top tech companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Motorola, and Apple and have traveled to Palo Alto, Seattle, New York, Boston, Amsterdam,...

GILL WAGNER

Serial Entrepreneur

Over a period of 40 years as an entrepreneur, while building six professional service firms and three nonprofits, I used to network like a madman. As you might imagine, with my hands in several things at once, it was sometimes difficult to answer the question: “So, Gill, what do you...

Mitchell Kaplan

Mitchell Kaplan

Founder - BOOKS & BOOKS

“What I do isn’t just about selling books—it’s about creating spaces and events that bring authors and audiences together.” I was in college when I first imagined opening a bookstore. I had discovered that at the center of most literary movements of the twentieth century, a bookstore was involved. In...

JEFF LAFRENZ

JEFF LAFRENZ

CEO, VIZWORX

Innovation is a way of looking at the world around us. It has no geographic limits. It has no age, gender, race, sexual orientation, or culture limits. It applies to every industry, every profession. It is about being curious and not accepting the status quo. It is about asking why...

Shadae McDaniel

Shadae McDaniel - City Leader

City Leader, All Stars Project of New Jersey

In 2014, I met—and fell in love with—the All Stars Project and its Afterschool Development approach as a new way of engaging poverty. I have always loved to perform—discovering dance as a teenager and growing up poor in Teaneck was a life-changer for me—and I immediately saw the effectiveness of...

Prof./Dr. Susan R. Madsen

Prof./Dr. Susan R. Madsen

Founding Director - Orin r. Woodbury Professor of Leadership & Ethics

  Prof./Dr. Susan R. Madsen, Founding Director – Orin r. Woodbury Professor of Leadership & Ethics Dr. Susan R. Madsen is the Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership & Ethics in the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University and also the Founding Director of the Utah Women &...

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...

FABIOLA EYHOLZER

HUMANIZING WORK

In my conversation with Fabiola Eyholzer, co-founder and CEO of Just Leading Solutions, I was struck by her remarkable insights and profound understanding of human resources in today’s fastevolving corporate landscape. Fabiola, who hails from a picturesque Swiss mountain town, brings a unique blend of analytical acumen and deep empathy...

Sacha Mirzoeff

Head Of Channel 4 Bristol

he human instinct to tell stories can be traced back millennia. From paintings on cave walls, to families huddled around campfires, to bingeable boxsets, storytelling is a thread woven deep into the fabric of human experience and often helps set our moral boundaries. The possibility of changing the way that...

Andy Salmon

Andy Salmon - Professor

Professor, Pro-Vice- Chancellor External

‘THOUSANDS HAVE LIVED WITHOUT LOVE, NOT ONE WITHOUT WATER.’ (W.H. Auden, First Things First) As someone whose life has been spent on the innovative interface between education and the creative industries, I have always been fascinated by the relationships between what we need and what we want – ‘love’ or...

BETH WAGMEISTER

CEO, WAG - WORKPLACE ACCESSIBILITY GROUP

BREAKING BARRIERS: HOW THE WAG EMPOWERS BUSINESSES TO CREATE INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS Accessibility as a Catalyst for Innovation In the United States, the employment disparity between deaf and hearing individuals highlights a significant accessibility gap. According to the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC), only 48% of deaf individuals aged...

PHILIPPE MOLARET

PHILIPPE MOLARET

DIRECTEUR TECHNIQUE CHEZ THALES

Elle vise l’accroissement des capacités opérationnelles dans plusieurs secteurs d’application tels que la santé, la sécurité, ou le transport. L’agent intelligent que nous développons n’est pas qu’un ‘simple’ double numérique. L’Agent couvre trois fonctionnalités; 1) une veille permanente sur la situation opérationnelle dans son cadre d’emploi et dont il informe...

LITSA ADAMOU

HOUSE INSPECT AUSTRALIA WESTERN ADELAIDE

Building and construction are one of the largest industries in Australia, and women account for only 12.9% of its current workforce, with only 2.5% actively working in a trade. It is no secret that women are traditionally underrepresented in the construction industry, but in 2023, these percentages seem unacceptable. As...

Chris Carrillo

CEO of MetroMLS

Milwaukee is rapidly emerging as a technology hub, with real estate tech playing a key role. Leading the way is Metro Multiple Listing Service,which has transformed from a traditional listing database into a tech-driven powerhouse, reshaping how homes are bought and sold in Wisconsin. Founded in 1962 as a printed...

DR. SEAN MCCOY

DR. SEAN MCCOY

FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HKLM GROUP

Marketing and business. These two disciplines do not live in separate worlds. Rather, they are inextricably linked. A solid branding and marketing strategy is actually a solid business strategy, because you cannot have business success without the clearly defined communications roadmap of a robust marketing plan. This understanding informs my...

GIL PETERSIL

AUTHENTIC NETWORKING WILL TAKE US BEYOND OUR WORLD

Gil Petersil is a man who understands science and the essence of human networking as intimately as only a handful of other people in the world do. His mission? It is one grounded in its simplicity: to serve people and add value through authentic human-to-human relationships. He shares: “I’m really...

DAVID OWENS

DAVID OWENS

EVANS FAMILY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE WOND’RY, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR INNOVATION

Nashville has always been a great place for members of the creative class. It has more than its fair share of the spirit of innovation and, as I was told when I moved here, more recording studios than bars and more microphones than people. And while the artistic creativity is...

LAURA CANTERO

LAURA CANTERO

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GRUPO GUAYACÁN, INC

One aspect I can highlight about doing business in Puerto Rico is the vibrant and growing community of entrepreneurs committed to transforming the local economy. This community of entrepreneurs is navigating a complex scenario under the shadow of an economic crisis that forced the local government to overhaul public finances....

PEDRO MOURA

GENERAL MANAGER, MERCK PORTUGAL

I have looked at this quote for many years in a row. It was on a board as part of my office decor when I worked in a regional position. And I always felt it reflects my thinking. To be results driven has helped me navigate different roles and different...

James Mutter - Lawyer & Co-Founder - Whiteboard Law

I started focusing on the technology sector in the mid -90s when I joined a large national law firm in Vancouver. Over the span of 25+ years, I have been a lawyer, co-founder of a software company, President of the BC Premier’s Technology Council, CEO of a fintech company, Senior...

INNOVATE® Ecosystems