Thought Leaders

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

Ryne Cooper

Director of Growth at Data Holdings

Innovation is not the work of one person. It happens when people come together, share ideas, and support each other. Milwaukee is full of individuals and organizations pushing boundaries, taking risks, and making an impact. The real strength of this city lies in its people, their resilience, creativity, and willingness...

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

JENS DOLK

CEO, AN INNOVATOR OF THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY, K-MÄRKT AB

I’ve never been afraid of weird ideas. In fact, that’s kind of the point with K-märkt. When we started, we didn’t just want to run a great restaurant – we wanted to challenge the entire way restaurants operate. Why? Because if we’re going to make food more sustainable, we can’t...

INNOVATE® Blockchain

JOSEPH SHINE

JOSEPH SHINE-HAS BEEN A LEADER IN THE CRYPTO SPACE SINCE 2012

HAS BEEN A LEADER IN THE CRYPTO SPACE SINCE 2012

He has participated in hundreds of conferences with thousands of early adopters and found that people were very lost in the complexity of investing in this new environment. He founded the first Bitcoin Meetup in Chicago because people needed a trusted guide who could advise them in real-time and connect...

INNOVATE™ Ottawa

Lise Bourgeois

Dès mon arrivée à La Cité en 2010, j’ai constaté l’engagement et la passion de la communauté collégiale, la vitalité et la joie de vivre francophones, la culture de l’excellence dans un environnement des plus stimulants et fertiles, le désir profond de voir nos étudiants réussir, et des projets plus...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

DAVID RYAN

CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SA WATER

At its heart, innovation is a simple concept: to bring to life new ideas that deliver value and benefits. We all live in the realm of ideas, and from small ideas can come big changes. In my experience, people working on the frontline play a leading role in generating ideas...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

MPUME NGOBESE

MPUME NGOBESE

CO-MANAGING DIRECTOR, JOE PUBLIC JOHANNESBURG

With digital media usage higher than ever, more than 38 million people in South Africa are active on the internet, and 27-million consume social media content by liking, sharing, posting and commenting on everything from politics and the pandemic, to funnies and pictures of ‘fur babies’. Consumers have so many...

INNOVATE™ Oeiras

Eduardo Baptista Correia

CEO, Taguspark

Development and innovation are close concepts that are at the basis of the evolution of mankind. If we look at this evolution we see that development is essentially felt in a stable set of elements: the ways in which we communicate, how we obtain information and learn, how we move...

INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2

CLAUDIA DE MOOR

CLAUDIA DE MOOR

HR & FINANCE MANAGER, VOSSCHEMIE BENELUX & V-SURE

HR & FINANCE MANAGER, VOSSCHEMIE BENELUX & V-SURE Get to know your neighbour – entrepreneur and get out. I’ m active in Voka Lokaal Netland, Lier4business, JOL (youth entrepreneurship Lier) and I also do voluntary work. The region of Lier supports entrepreneurship and we like to support this with interesting...

INNOVATE® Minnesota

Geoff Martha

Geoff Martha - President & CEO - Medtronic

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...

INNOVATION Quebec

MARIE CLAUDE LAGACÉ

DIRECTRICE PRINCIPALE, INNOVATION ET TRANSFORMATION SOCIALE

Plus jeune, j’adorais tous les jeux, du hockey bottine avec mon frère jusqu’au jeu d’échecs avec mon père. J’avais une certaine aversion pour l’ennuyant Monopoly, qui prenait invariablement fin lorsqu’une personne (habituellement ma sœur) provoquait la faillite des autres. Pas de tueur à démasquer, pas d’épique bataille navale, de dessins...

INNOVATE® Puerto Rico

ENG. LUCY A CRESPO

ENG. LUCY A CRESPO-CEO

CEO, P. R. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH TRUST

Innovation is a driver of well-being and economic development. Innovation and scientific advances are essential to driving economic growth, new business creation, and improving the quality of life. At the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust, we continually strengthen our innovation culture by being optimistic, passionate, and curious. During...

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

OLA AHLVARSSON

CO-CREATOR, CURATOR AND HOST, SIME

WHY INNOVATION STARTS WITH PEOPLE, NOT PRESSURE For most of my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of technology, business, and culture. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few decades, it’s this: real innovation doesn’t start with tools, processes, or pressure. It starts with people. Since...

INNOVATE® Nashville

LARRY RUBIN

LARRY RUBIN

FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN THNKS

Five Things You Need to Create a Highly Successful StartupAn entrepreneur’s journey is never easy. It requires perseverance to make it through the tough times and vision and commitment to stay true to yourself when the unexpected happens. Failure should be an expectation, something that happens every day, from hiring...

INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2

CLAUDE MARINOWER

ALDERMAN FOR ECONOMY, INNOVATION AND DIGITALISATION

In 1906, riots broke out in Verviers, Liège, caused by lamplighters protesting the electrification of city lighting. Today, Antwerp is experimenting with smart street lighting using software and smart sensors. This is just one example of how a twenty-first century city is in full digital transition. As alderman for the...

AI Québec

GILLES SAVARD

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™ South Africa

DR. ALISTAIR MOKOENA

DR. ALISTAIR MOKOENA

SOUTH AFRICA COUNTRY DIRECTOR, GOOGLE AND PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE AT NWU BUSINES

Small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) across South Africa are key to unlocking a myriad of job opportunities through innovative thinking and products that seek to solve some of the country’s most pressing needs. But they also face numerous challenges, from funding to networks and access to markets. Perhaps the...

INNOVATE® Blockchain

SHAUN M. ROWLES

Author, The Money revolution

GOLD RUSHOn January 24th, 1848, Swiss-born Johann Sutter was dismayed by the news that his chief mechanic delivered: Gold had been discovered on the site of Sutter’s sawmill. Most readers are aware that this discovery kicked off the “California Gold Rush,” but few ever hear of Sutter’s immediate reaction: “From...

INNOVATE® Minnesota

Nathan A. Perez

Nathan A. Perez - Executive Career & Job-Search Coach

Executive Career & Job-Search Coach, Career Innovations LLC

Imagine meeting (finally!) someone that you have long waited to meet. An investor. A potential officer. Leader. New business partner. Someone who is going to be big and influential to you or your project and work. And imagine that they asked you to reach out to them again later when...

INNOVATE™ Oeiras

PEDRO JANELA

CEO, Founder and Co-owner of WYgroup

Creating a services group from the ground up, focused on relentless innovation on Customer Experience, on understanding people, the consumer, the clients. This is the lifelong journey of WYgroup. And it continues to be. Since the first offer, web and digital communication back in 2001, going to the first expert...

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

CAROL ANNE HILTON

CAROL ANNE HILTON

MBA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, INDIGENOMICS INSTITUTE

I am the CEO and Founder of the Indigenomics Institute and the Global Center of Indigenomics. I am of Nuu chah nulth descent from the Hesquiaht Nation on Vancouver Island. In leading the establishment of a line of thought called #indigenomics- growing from a single word to an entire movement...

INNOVATE® Northern Virginia

JOHN WASSON

CHAIR AND CEO, ICF

When I joined ICF in 1987, I believed deeply in the power of data to help organizations make better decisions. I’ve held onto that belief as I’ve watched wave after wave of technological change reshape how institutions operate. Today, advances in AI and analytics are accelerating the pace of change...

INNOVATE™ Kitchener Waterloo

JONATHAN NEWMAN

VICE-PRESIDENT: RESEARCH, WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY

At Wilfrid Laurier University, our tagline “Inspired Research. Real Impact.” guides and reflects the purposeful, collaborative work of Laurier researchers and the tangible effects it has on policy, culture, science, education and local economies. Research is inherently innovative, but for it to be truly impactful, researchers must lead with imagination,...

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

ANDREAS GRAPE

CO-FOUNDER & CEO, NORDIC ANGELS

In a world obsessed with optimization, algorithms, and appearances, I realized that authenticity was my sharpest edge. It didn’t get me the fastest wins, but the ones it brought were real. They stuck. They mattered. When I started showing up as my true self – flawed, honest, passionate – I...

INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath

Sandeep Roy

Sandeep Roy

Advisor & Mentor - Innovate2Grow

The current pace of new technology-led change has left classic economy companies vulnerable, but disruption is also a huge borderless opportunity in a world where ultrafast digital connectivity and the information superhighway has democratized innovation. We have a choice. We can view Airbnb as strangling the hotel industry or see...

Ryne Cooper

Director of Growth at Data Holdings

Innovation is not the work of one person. It happens when people come together, share ideas, and support each other. Milwaukee is full of individuals and organizations pushing boundaries, taking risks, and making an impact. The real strength of this city lies in its people, their resilience, creativity, and willingness...

JENS DOLK

CEO, AN INNOVATOR OF THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY, K-MÄRKT AB

I’ve never been afraid of weird ideas. In fact, that’s kind of the point with K-märkt. When we started, we didn’t just want to run a great restaurant – we wanted to challenge the entire way restaurants operate. Why? Because if we’re going to make food more sustainable, we can’t...

JOSEPH SHINE

JOSEPH SHINE-HAS BEEN A LEADER IN THE CRYPTO SPACE SINCE 2012

HAS BEEN A LEADER IN THE CRYPTO SPACE SINCE 2012

He has participated in hundreds of conferences with thousands of early adopters and found that people were very lost in the complexity of investing in this new environment. He founded the first Bitcoin Meetup in Chicago because people needed a trusted guide who could advise them in real-time and connect...

Lise Bourgeois

Dès mon arrivée à La Cité en 2010, j’ai constaté l’engagement et la passion de la communauté collégiale, la vitalité et la joie de vivre francophones, la culture de l’excellence dans un environnement des plus stimulants et fertiles, le désir profond de voir nos étudiants réussir, et des projets plus...

DAVID RYAN

CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SA WATER

At its heart, innovation is a simple concept: to bring to life new ideas that deliver value and benefits. We all live in the realm of ideas, and from small ideas can come big changes. In my experience, people working on the frontline play a leading role in generating ideas...

MPUME NGOBESE

MPUME NGOBESE

CO-MANAGING DIRECTOR, JOE PUBLIC JOHANNESBURG

With digital media usage higher than ever, more than 38 million people in South Africa are active on the internet, and 27-million consume social media content by liking, sharing, posting and commenting on everything from politics and the pandemic, to funnies and pictures of ‘fur babies’. Consumers have so many...

Eduardo Baptista Correia

CEO, Taguspark

Development and innovation are close concepts that are at the basis of the evolution of mankind. If we look at this evolution we see that development is essentially felt in a stable set of elements: the ways in which we communicate, how we obtain information and learn, how we move...

CLAUDIA DE MOOR

CLAUDIA DE MOOR

HR & FINANCE MANAGER, VOSSCHEMIE BENELUX & V-SURE

HR & FINANCE MANAGER, VOSSCHEMIE BENELUX & V-SURE Get to know your neighbour – entrepreneur and get out. I’ m active in Voka Lokaal Netland, Lier4business, JOL (youth entrepreneurship Lier) and I also do voluntary work. The region of Lier supports entrepreneurship and we like to support this with interesting...

Geoff Martha

Geoff Martha - President & CEO - Medtronic

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...

MARIE CLAUDE LAGACÉ

DIRECTRICE PRINCIPALE, INNOVATION ET TRANSFORMATION SOCIALE

Plus jeune, j’adorais tous les jeux, du hockey bottine avec mon frère jusqu’au jeu d’échecs avec mon père. J’avais une certaine aversion pour l’ennuyant Monopoly, qui prenait invariablement fin lorsqu’une personne (habituellement ma sœur) provoquait la faillite des autres. Pas de tueur à démasquer, pas d’épique bataille navale, de dessins...

ENG. LUCY A CRESPO

ENG. LUCY A CRESPO-CEO

CEO, P. R. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH TRUST

Innovation is a driver of well-being and economic development. Innovation and scientific advances are essential to driving economic growth, new business creation, and improving the quality of life. At the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust, we continually strengthen our innovation culture by being optimistic, passionate, and curious. During...

OLA AHLVARSSON

CO-CREATOR, CURATOR AND HOST, SIME

WHY INNOVATION STARTS WITH PEOPLE, NOT PRESSURE For most of my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of technology, business, and culture. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few decades, it’s this: real innovation doesn’t start with tools, processes, or pressure. It starts with people. Since...

LARRY RUBIN

LARRY RUBIN

FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN THNKS

Five Things You Need to Create a Highly Successful StartupAn entrepreneur’s journey is never easy. It requires perseverance to make it through the tough times and vision and commitment to stay true to yourself when the unexpected happens. Failure should be an expectation, something that happens every day, from hiring...

CLAUDE MARINOWER

ALDERMAN FOR ECONOMY, INNOVATION AND DIGITALISATION

In 1906, riots broke out in Verviers, Liège, caused by lamplighters protesting the electrification of city lighting. Today, Antwerp is experimenting with smart street lighting using software and smart sensors. This is just one example of how a twenty-first century city is in full digital transition. As alderman for the...

GILLES SAVARD

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...

DR. ALISTAIR MOKOENA

DR. ALISTAIR MOKOENA

SOUTH AFRICA COUNTRY DIRECTOR, GOOGLE AND PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE AT NWU BUSINES

Small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) across South Africa are key to unlocking a myriad of job opportunities through innovative thinking and products that seek to solve some of the country’s most pressing needs. But they also face numerous challenges, from funding to networks and access to markets. Perhaps the...

SHAUN M. ROWLES

Author, The Money revolution

GOLD RUSHOn January 24th, 1848, Swiss-born Johann Sutter was dismayed by the news that his chief mechanic delivered: Gold had been discovered on the site of Sutter’s sawmill. Most readers are aware that this discovery kicked off the “California Gold Rush,” but few ever hear of Sutter’s immediate reaction: “From...

Nathan A. Perez

Nathan A. Perez - Executive Career & Job-Search Coach

Executive Career & Job-Search Coach, Career Innovations LLC

Imagine meeting (finally!) someone that you have long waited to meet. An investor. A potential officer. Leader. New business partner. Someone who is going to be big and influential to you or your project and work. And imagine that they asked you to reach out to them again later when...

PEDRO JANELA

CEO, Founder and Co-owner of WYgroup

Creating a services group from the ground up, focused on relentless innovation on Customer Experience, on understanding people, the consumer, the clients. This is the lifelong journey of WYgroup. And it continues to be. Since the first offer, web and digital communication back in 2001, going to the first expert...

CAROL ANNE HILTON

CAROL ANNE HILTON

MBA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, INDIGENOMICS INSTITUTE

I am the CEO and Founder of the Indigenomics Institute and the Global Center of Indigenomics. I am of Nuu chah nulth descent from the Hesquiaht Nation on Vancouver Island. In leading the establishment of a line of thought called #indigenomics- growing from a single word to an entire movement...

JOHN WASSON

CHAIR AND CEO, ICF

When I joined ICF in 1987, I believed deeply in the power of data to help organizations make better decisions. I’ve held onto that belief as I’ve watched wave after wave of technological change reshape how institutions operate. Today, advances in AI and analytics are accelerating the pace of change...

JONATHAN NEWMAN

VICE-PRESIDENT: RESEARCH, WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY

At Wilfrid Laurier University, our tagline “Inspired Research. Real Impact.” guides and reflects the purposeful, collaborative work of Laurier researchers and the tangible effects it has on policy, culture, science, education and local economies. Research is inherently innovative, but for it to be truly impactful, researchers must lead with imagination,...

ANDREAS GRAPE

CO-FOUNDER & CEO, NORDIC ANGELS

In a world obsessed with optimization, algorithms, and appearances, I realized that authenticity was my sharpest edge. It didn’t get me the fastest wins, but the ones it brought were real. They stuck. They mattered. When I started showing up as my true self – flawed, honest, passionate – I...

Sandeep Roy

Sandeep Roy

Advisor & Mentor - Innovate2Grow

The current pace of new technology-led change has left classic economy companies vulnerable, but disruption is also a huge borderless opportunity in a world where ultrafast digital connectivity and the information superhighway has democratized innovation. We have a choice. We can view Airbnb as strangling the hotel industry or see...

INNOVATE® Ecosystems