Thought Leaders
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
KUBA KABACINSKI
OWNER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF CONSUNET.
My parents brought me to Adelaide from Poland at age 12, attracted by the Australian national values of freedom, respect, equality and a fair go. At age 21, while completing my Information Technology studies at Flinders University, a friend and I bought a fledgling web development business for $200. Nearly...
INNOVATE® Nashville
SOULA PARASSIDIS
CEO, LIVING OPERA
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE“It’s cancer.” That’s not a sentence you want to hear your doctor say when you’re only 23 years old. Seven days earlier having graduated with my degree in opera, and now I was sitting in a hospital. They say thyroid cancer is the “best” kind...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
JOHAN HARTMAN & MATTIAS RANTALAINEN
CO-FOUNDERS, STRATIPATH
That’s what we, a pathologist and an AI researcher, discovered when ourresearch groups joined forces at Karolinska Institutet. Despite our differentscientific perspectives, we shared a common goal: to take research beyond theacademic setting and into clinical reality—where it can truly help patients. We began by tackling a major clinical gap...
INNOVATE™ Flanders
KRIS NEYENS
MANAGER INTERNATIONALIZATION AT VIL FLANDERS INNOVATION CLUSTER FOR LOGISTICS
Global logistics is facing strong growth, even in uncertain times, and an ever-increasing demand for quality and speed of service, all while ensuring that our overall quality of life is not strained. The focus here must be on sustainability. The aim is to make the best possible use of integrated...
INNOVATE® Miami
Felecia Hatcher
Pearson, Co-Founder, Tribe Co-Work & Urban Innovation Lab + Blacktech Week; Founder, Code Fever
The huge influences of the Caribbean, of South America, and Central America that we have here in Miami makes the entrepreneurial ecosystem unique across the States and arguably across the globe. So many people start a business out of necessity, which forces them to be really creative with limited resources—again,...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
HEIDI GILLMAN
CHIEF NFT OFFICER, NFT THE MOVIE, LLC
IMPOSSIBLE IS AN OPINION.Impossible is an opinion, not a fact. I teach and live my life in a way that shows my children nothing is impossible. My life’s design is to help others understand our minds and how powerful they are. We are designed to experience a creative and full...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
JADE ALBERTS
FOUNDER, PEER GUIDANCE
Being an entrepreneur can be very lonely at times, that is why I am such an advocate for mental wellness. I have talked to many entrepreneurs that had no one to turn to, and if they did, it would have made a difference. I am no expert in this mental...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
NICOLAS GILOT
FOUNDER & CEO, ULTRA
Taking gaming and flipping it on its head with the use of blockchain technology was no small feat. Luckily, Nicolas Gilot and David Hanson, CO-CEOs of Ultra, have a strong background in the games industry and the innovative spark that made dreams come true for gamers and game developers around...
INNOVATE® Maryland
CYNTHIA RIVARDE
CEO OF ROCKVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, INC. (REDI).
In an era where uncertainty is the new normal, the greatest asset a community can cultivate is not just data or infrastructure – it is creativity. And creativity does not emerge from a vacuum. It is nurtured in spaces where art, culture, and innovation intersect. Rockville is one of those...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
BRIDGITTE ANDERSON
ICD.D, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE GREATER VANCOUVER BOARD OF TRADE
Bridgitte Anderson ICD.D became the first female President and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade in the 132-year history of the organization in 2019. Her career spans multiple disciplines ranging from business consulting to public policy and communications to journalism. The long-term viability of companies increasingly depends on...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
LUIS RODRIGUEZ
MANAGING DIRECTOR, ACCENTURE STRATEGY IN AFRICA
Demystifying innovation is trying to break it into what we see are the building blocks of getting from creating ideas to realising the value of innovation. There are three parts to it, and these are not necessarily sequential – ideating and shaping, designing and killing ideas and lastly scaling. Many...
INNOVATE® San Diego Vol.1
It is no coincidence that Seqster was born in San Diego, a city with an underdog culture where small startups transform into large enterprises that address giant markets. Perfect weather drives innovation—always sunny, 72 degrees, and 70 miles of beaches. Perhaps the combination of unique culture and weather has drawn...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
WOUTER BLEUKX
HYDROGEN ACTIVITIES, INEOS
Young people are concerned about the impact of climate change. I think it is our job to address their concerns about the future. This is the reason why I took the job in INEOS’ hydrogen activities. It’s important that we can tell our children that the industrial sector is leading...
INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1
MESHACK TSHEKEDI
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BOTSWANA OIL
Botswana Oil, the state-owned oil utility responsible for the country’s fuel security, is leveraging on research, innovation and partnerships to contribute more towards Botswana’s drive to reduce its carbon emissions. Botswana is a minimal contributor to carbon emissions at global scale, with the last update showing that Africa as a...
INNOVATION Quebec
GILLES DÉRY
PRÉSIDENT-DIRECTOR GENERAL, CQRDA
The idea of contributing to Quebec’s development is why I’m involved in the fast-paced world of innovation. It’s also the way to ensure an essential approach to our collective ambitions, in order to become a hub in several cutting-edge innovation sectors, notably aluminum. To this end, I am a fierce...
INNOVATE® Nashville
YESI SEVILLA
DIRECTOR, STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT & ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
WORDS OF WISDOM:Innovation does not belong to just one industry, just one degree, or just one area of expertise – it belongs to everyone. Solving problems requires courage, creativity, and collaboration. All of us can be empowered to ideate, but our strength is in the collective. I have always thought...
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™ Estonia
KÄDI RISTKOK
CEO, ESTONIAN CLEANTECH ASSOCIATION
The past decade has seen a lot of shifts in the world and this is also inherent in the cleantech sector. Cleantech is no longer defined solely by its sustainability goals; it is positioning itself as a foundational driver of resilience, autonomy, and transformation across industries. Clean technologies emerging in...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
Mike Carter
CEO at eGroup
Ideas matter. They spark possibility and set direction. But what transforms possibility into progress is the steady, deliberate work that follows. Over time, I’ve come to believe that the most innovative organizations are not defined by moments of brilliance, but by their commitment to doing the right things, the right...
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...
VOICES of the Future
DR. MARK ESPOSITO
BEYOND THE HORIZON
Dr. Mark Esposito is a luminary at the intersection of economics, strategy, and the future. In our conversation, he unfolds our future, offering an insightful exploration into the themes of technological transformation, human-centric systems, and the architecture of tomorrow’s global systems. As a distinguished figure in the discourse of the...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
Mark Blumenthal
Synapse VIP Thought Leader
It is hard to believe that it’s been two years since the launch of Synapse. Every day since then has been a validation of our mission: to connect Florida’s innovation communities in a meaningful, purposeful way. As I’ve traveled the state I’ve seen first hand the passion and creativity that...
INNOVATE® Nashville
CHIP CRUNK
CEO OF RJ YOUNG
My journey with RJ Young began while I was still a student at Ole Miss, working alongside my father and learning the business from the ground up. Back then, Nashville was a very different city – still rooted in tradition, but the seeds of change were beginning to sprout. Today,...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
BRONWYN RUTH WILLIAMS
TREND TRANSLATOR: FUTURE FINANCE SPECIALIST, FLUX TRENDS
From my perspective, one of the biggest challenges facing South Africa is a double-edged sword: our ability to cope, even in the midst of crisis and chaos. South Africans are good at dealing with crises. We’ve had practice. For as long as anyone alive can remember, South Africa has leapt...
KUBA KABACINSKI
OWNER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF CONSUNET.
My parents brought me to Adelaide from Poland at age 12, attracted by the Australian national values of freedom, respect, equality and a fair go. At age 21, while completing my Information Technology studies at Flinders University, a friend and I bought a fledgling web development business for $200. Nearly...
SOULA PARASSIDIS
CEO, LIVING OPERA
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE“It’s cancer.” That’s not a sentence you want to hear your doctor say when you’re only 23 years old. Seven days earlier having graduated with my degree in opera, and now I was sitting in a hospital. They say thyroid cancer is the “best” kind...
JOHAN HARTMAN & MATTIAS RANTALAINEN
CO-FOUNDERS, STRATIPATH
That’s what we, a pathologist and an AI researcher, discovered when ourresearch groups joined forces at Karolinska Institutet. Despite our differentscientific perspectives, we shared a common goal: to take research beyond theacademic setting and into clinical reality—where it can truly help patients. We began by tackling a major clinical gap...
KRIS NEYENS
MANAGER INTERNATIONALIZATION AT VIL FLANDERS INNOVATION CLUSTER FOR LOGISTICS
Global logistics is facing strong growth, even in uncertain times, and an ever-increasing demand for quality and speed of service, all while ensuring that our overall quality of life is not strained. The focus here must be on sustainability. The aim is to make the best possible use of integrated...
Felecia Hatcher
Pearson, Co-Founder, Tribe Co-Work & Urban Innovation Lab + Blacktech Week; Founder, Code Fever
The huge influences of the Caribbean, of South America, and Central America that we have here in Miami makes the entrepreneurial ecosystem unique across the States and arguably across the globe. So many people start a business out of necessity, which forces them to be really creative with limited resources—again,...
HEIDI GILLMAN
CHIEF NFT OFFICER, NFT THE MOVIE, LLC
IMPOSSIBLE IS AN OPINION.Impossible is an opinion, not a fact. I teach and live my life in a way that shows my children nothing is impossible. My life’s design is to help others understand our minds and how powerful they are. We are designed to experience a creative and full...
NICOLAS GILOT
FOUNDER & CEO, ULTRA
Taking gaming and flipping it on its head with the use of blockchain technology was no small feat. Luckily, Nicolas Gilot and David Hanson, CO-CEOs of Ultra, have a strong background in the games industry and the innovative spark that made dreams come true for gamers and game developers around...
CYNTHIA RIVARDE
CEO OF ROCKVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, INC. (REDI).
In an era where uncertainty is the new normal, the greatest asset a community can cultivate is not just data or infrastructure – it is creativity. And creativity does not emerge from a vacuum. It is nurtured in spaces where art, culture, and innovation intersect. Rockville is one of those...
BRIDGITTE ANDERSON
ICD.D, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE GREATER VANCOUVER BOARD OF TRADE
Bridgitte Anderson ICD.D became the first female President and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade in the 132-year history of the organization in 2019. Her career spans multiple disciplines ranging from business consulting to public policy and communications to journalism. The long-term viability of companies increasingly depends on...
LUIS RODRIGUEZ
MANAGING DIRECTOR, ACCENTURE STRATEGY IN AFRICA
Demystifying innovation is trying to break it into what we see are the building blocks of getting from creating ideas to realising the value of innovation. There are three parts to it, and these are not necessarily sequential – ideating and shaping, designing and killing ideas and lastly scaling. Many...
It is no coincidence that Seqster was born in San Diego, a city with an underdog culture where small startups transform into large enterprises that address giant markets. Perfect weather drives innovation—always sunny, 72 degrees, and 70 miles of beaches. Perhaps the combination of unique culture and weather has drawn...
WOUTER BLEUKX
HYDROGEN ACTIVITIES, INEOS
Young people are concerned about the impact of climate change. I think it is our job to address their concerns about the future. This is the reason why I took the job in INEOS’ hydrogen activities. It’s important that we can tell our children that the industrial sector is leading...
MESHACK TSHEKEDI
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BOTSWANA OIL
Botswana Oil, the state-owned oil utility responsible for the country’s fuel security, is leveraging on research, innovation and partnerships to contribute more towards Botswana’s drive to reduce its carbon emissions. Botswana is a minimal contributor to carbon emissions at global scale, with the last update showing that Africa as a...
GILLES DÉRY
PRÉSIDENT-DIRECTOR GENERAL, CQRDA
The idea of contributing to Quebec’s development is why I’m involved in the fast-paced world of innovation. It’s also the way to ensure an essential approach to our collective ambitions, in order to become a hub in several cutting-edge innovation sectors, notably aluminum. To this end, I am a fierce...
YESI SEVILLA
DIRECTOR, STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT & ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
WORDS OF WISDOM:Innovation does not belong to just one industry, just one degree, or just one area of expertise – it belongs to everyone. Solving problems requires courage, creativity, and collaboration. All of us can be empowered to ideate, but our strength is in the collective. I have always thought...
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...
KÄDI RISTKOK
CEO, ESTONIAN CLEANTECH ASSOCIATION
The past decade has seen a lot of shifts in the world and this is also inherent in the cleantech sector. Cleantech is no longer defined solely by its sustainability goals; it is positioning itself as a foundational driver of resilience, autonomy, and transformation across industries. Clean technologies emerging in...
Mike Carter
CEO at eGroup
Ideas matter. They spark possibility and set direction. But what transforms possibility into progress is the steady, deliberate work that follows. Over time, I’ve come to believe that the most innovative organizations are not defined by moments of brilliance, but by their commitment to doing the right things, the right...
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...
DR. MARK ESPOSITO
BEYOND THE HORIZON
Dr. Mark Esposito is a luminary at the intersection of economics, strategy, and the future. In our conversation, he unfolds our future, offering an insightful exploration into the themes of technological transformation, human-centric systems, and the architecture of tomorrow’s global systems. As a distinguished figure in the discourse of the...
Mark Blumenthal
Synapse VIP Thought Leader
It is hard to believe that it’s been two years since the launch of Synapse. Every day since then has been a validation of our mission: to connect Florida’s innovation communities in a meaningful, purposeful way. As I’ve traveled the state I’ve seen first hand the passion and creativity that...
CHIP CRUNK
CEO OF RJ YOUNG
My journey with RJ Young began while I was still a student at Ole Miss, working alongside my father and learning the business from the ground up. Back then, Nashville was a very different city – still rooted in tradition, but the seeds of change were beginning to sprout. Today,...
BRONWYN RUTH WILLIAMS
TREND TRANSLATOR: FUTURE FINANCE SPECIALIST, FLUX TRENDS
From my perspective, one of the biggest challenges facing South Africa is a double-edged sword: our ability to cope, even in the midst of crisis and chaos. South Africans are good at dealing with crises. We’ve had practice. For as long as anyone alive can remember, South Africa has leapt...