Thought Leaders
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
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™ Stockholm
SOFIA M. WESTIN
FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, FLÖDE
I grew up in the north of Sweden dreaming of becoming a fashion designer. Like many young creatives, I believed in the magic of making clothes, their power to express, connect, and transform. I worked hard to realize that dream and eventually found myself inside the industry I had once...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
MIKE CASPER
CO-FOUNDER & CEO, AZUMO
The display industry has become omnipresent in society. We find displays all around us, in our smartphones, tablets, laptops, TVs, ATM machines, thermostats, gas station pumps, e-bikes…the list is never-ending. In the LCD industry, like many large industries, they tend to take whatever was working last year and make it...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
RICHARD TURNER
FOUNDER ZEN ENERGY & DEPUTY CHAIR SA PREMIER’S CLIMATE CHANGE COUNCIL AUTHOR OF “THE ESSENTIAL ENTRE
How often have you heard something like this: “Australia makes up only 1.3% of global emissions, and therefore why is it so important for Australia to do anything in relation to renewable energy targets and lowering emissions as we are not going to make any difference?” Make no mistake, sitting...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
TRINIDAD HERMIDA, FOUNDER
THE HERMIDA COMPANY
Parents and guardians, hear me! You play an essential role in developing and guiding our youth/young adults of this generation and the generations to come. I know this is not rocket science or new information, but I wanted to be as blatant as possible with my intentions for the next...
INNOVATE® Miami
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...
VOICES of the Future
KHALED AL HURAIMEL
SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
My conversation with Khaled Al Huraimel encapsulates a vision that transcends the present and leaps into a realm of sustainability and innovation. The backdrop is BEEAH Group’s headquarters in Sharjah, UAE, a masterpiece designed by the late Zaha Hadid, embodying the future Khaled envisions where technology, sustainability, and culture intertwine...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
WILL BEOGLIN
CEO, TIMEDOC HEALTH
The healthcare sector is renowned for breathtaking innovations and technological advancement. We receive news of breakthroughs thought impossible a handful of years ago every day. The reality on the ground is slightly different. Roughly 10,000 new patients age into Medicare each day, drastically outnumbering the staff capable of serving their...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
RACHEL KORETSKY
FOUNDER & CEO UPACE, CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR OF DC STARTUP & TECH WEEK
Embracing Community: A Founder’s Journey Through Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship often carries an aura of glamour and excitement, but beneath the surface lies a challenging journey demanding resilience, creativity, and—perhaps most importantly—a strong community of support. As the Founder & CEO of Upace and Co-Founder & Director of DC Startup Week, I’ve...
INNOVATE® St. Louis
Dena Ladd
Executive Director - Missouri Cures Education Foundation
Missouri has not one, but many, outstanding research institutions— Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Missouri, Saint Louis University, and Stowers Institute for Medical Research among them. As the Executive Director of the Missouri Cures Education Foundation, I cultivate and maintain relationships with key policymakers, business leaders, researchers,...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
RICHARD BRANDENBURG
UNFOLD HOSPITALITY - CEO
Life moves at a whirlwind pace, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s the importance of passion in what we do. From the constant relocations of my childhood to the improvisational challenges of running a kitchen, my journey has been about finding joy in the present and embracing change...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
DORIS PÕLD
CEO AT ITL ESTONIA
When I joined the Estonian technology sector, corporate strategy and digital strategy were still two different things. My main task was to create cooperation. Just as technology has become ubiquitous, Estonia,originally known for its use of digital services, has become a true pioneer of the digital society. I’m proud to...
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™ 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® Chicago Vol.1
LINDA MACLACHLAN
FOUNDER, CHAIRPERSON AND PAMELA DIAZ, CEO, PRESIDENT - ENTARA
“Resilience” is a common word heard among the cyber security and IT crowd. Solution providers boast of tools that your business can employ to stay ahead of the pack – because, after all, it’s not the entire herd that’s taken down by a lone predator, but the slowest member. At...
INNOVATE™ Flanders
ANNELEEN VANDER ELSTRAETEN
FOUR & FIVE - MANAGING PARTNER
WHY INNOVATORS NEED A NEW BREED OF LAW FIRM When I first started my legal career, founding my own law firm wasn’t even a consideration. I was content working at a top-tier firm, focusing on drafting contracts and managing legal transactions. But everything changed during a business trip to Silicon...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
MATHIAS LOBENDAHL
FOUNDER, LIFESEEDS
AGING IS THE NEXT FRONTIER OF INNOVATION Not because it’s a poetic idea, but because aging is biology, and biology is technology. We’ve spent decades reinventing the digital world while accepting the human body as something fixed and unchangeable. That assumption is about to collapse. I’ve spent years testing treatments...
INNOVATE® St. Louis
Zarak Khan
Behavioral Innovation Director, Maritz
When I started at Maritz as the behavioral innovation director, I was asked to introduce myself on stage to the entire company. I’ll admit, I was brand new, and speaking authentically to this huge group of people was a little intimidating. I decided to talk about my grandfathers, because I...
INNOVATE® San Diego Vol.1
Adversity Is a Leadership SuperpowerA leader is forged through the trials and tribulations of life. And when faced with negative influences, instead of giving into personal doubt and insecurities, leaders demonstrate the qualities of resiliency, passion, and authenticity enabling them to overcome the challenges of life empowering them to reach...
VOICES of the Future
KAY VAN-PETERSEN
THE BUILDER
In my pursuit to unravel the mysteries of what the future holds, I had the privilege of interviewing Kay Van-Petersen, an avant-garde thinker and a trailblazer in the realm of finance and technology. His insights, not just on where we are heading but on how we can shape our trajectory,...
INNOVATE® Puerto Rico
CARLOS COBIAN
FOUNDER AND CEO, GRAVITAL AGENCY
“OUR PASSION IS TO HELP COMPANIES GROW. OUR HIGHEST INTENT IS TO FOSTER A STRONG SERVICE PHILOSOPHY THAT ENSURES OUR CLIENTS ACHIEVE THE SUCCESS THEY SEEK AND DESERVE. WE WANT THEM TO DO WELL BECAUSE WE WANT OUR ECONOMY AND SOCIETY TO DO WELL. IT’S A WIN-WIN.”– CARLOS COBIAN, FOUNDER AND...
VOICES of the Future
ERIK ALMQVIST
FOUNDER AND CEO, SENSE STRATEGY, & OWNER ALMQVIST FAMILY OFFICE
LEGACY OF INNOVATION Two of the most well-known rules in the global ICT industry are “For every ten percent increase in broadband penetration there is a 1 percent increase in GDP”, and “For every doubling of broadband speed, there is a 0.3 percent increase in GDP”. Both were devised by...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
PEDRO MATIAS
EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT, ISQ GROUP
Innovation, innovation, innovation… this has been the watchword over the past few decades, ever since manuals on the subjects of economics and management associated the word “innovation” with developed nations and dynamic, competitive economies. It is a fact that innovation has always existed, not only in modern societies but over...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
JOHN CASH, FOUNDER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND PROFESSOR JCSU ESPORTS INITIATIVE
ServiceAt its essence is selflessly giving/providing necessities to others with no intent to benefit. Wow, this is how it resonated with me prior to my commissioning as a United States Air Force (USAF) Officer the Friday before a Mother’s Day graduation at Howard University. “I will support and defend the...
SOFIA M. WESTIN
FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, FLÖDE
I grew up in the north of Sweden dreaming of becoming a fashion designer. Like many young creatives, I believed in the magic of making clothes, their power to express, connect, and transform. I worked hard to realize that dream and eventually found myself inside the industry I had once...
MIKE CASPER
CO-FOUNDER & CEO, AZUMO
The display industry has become omnipresent in society. We find displays all around us, in our smartphones, tablets, laptops, TVs, ATM machines, thermostats, gas station pumps, e-bikes…the list is never-ending. In the LCD industry, like many large industries, they tend to take whatever was working last year and make it...
RICHARD TURNER
FOUNDER ZEN ENERGY & DEPUTY CHAIR SA PREMIER’S CLIMATE CHANGE COUNCIL AUTHOR OF “THE ESSENTIAL ENTRE
How often have you heard something like this: “Australia makes up only 1.3% of global emissions, and therefore why is it so important for Australia to do anything in relation to renewable energy targets and lowering emissions as we are not going to make any difference?” Make no mistake, sitting...
TRINIDAD HERMIDA, FOUNDER
THE HERMIDA COMPANY
Parents and guardians, hear me! You play an essential role in developing and guiding our youth/young adults of this generation and the generations to come. I know this is not rocket science or new information, but I wanted to be as blatant as possible with my intentions for the next...
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...
KHALED AL HURAIMEL
SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
My conversation with Khaled Al Huraimel encapsulates a vision that transcends the present and leaps into a realm of sustainability and innovation. The backdrop is BEEAH Group’s headquarters in Sharjah, UAE, a masterpiece designed by the late Zaha Hadid, embodying the future Khaled envisions where technology, sustainability, and culture intertwine...
WILL BEOGLIN
CEO, TIMEDOC HEALTH
The healthcare sector is renowned for breathtaking innovations and technological advancement. We receive news of breakthroughs thought impossible a handful of years ago every day. The reality on the ground is slightly different. Roughly 10,000 new patients age into Medicare each day, drastically outnumbering the staff capable of serving their...
RACHEL KORETSKY
FOUNDER & CEO UPACE, CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR OF DC STARTUP & TECH WEEK
Embracing Community: A Founder’s Journey Through Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship often carries an aura of glamour and excitement, but beneath the surface lies a challenging journey demanding resilience, creativity, and—perhaps most importantly—a strong community of support. As the Founder & CEO of Upace and Co-Founder & Director of DC Startup Week, I’ve...
Dena Ladd
Executive Director - Missouri Cures Education Foundation
Missouri has not one, but many, outstanding research institutions— Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Missouri, Saint Louis University, and Stowers Institute for Medical Research among them. As the Executive Director of the Missouri Cures Education Foundation, I cultivate and maintain relationships with key policymakers, business leaders, researchers,...
RICHARD BRANDENBURG
UNFOLD HOSPITALITY - CEO
Life moves at a whirlwind pace, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s the importance of passion in what we do. From the constant relocations of my childhood to the improvisational challenges of running a kitchen, my journey has been about finding joy in the present and embracing change...
DORIS PÕLD
CEO AT ITL ESTONIA
When I joined the Estonian technology sector, corporate strategy and digital strategy were still two different things. My main task was to create cooperation. Just as technology has become ubiquitous, Estonia,originally known for its use of digital services, has become a true pioneer of the digital society. I’m proud to...
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...
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...
LINDA MACLACHLAN
FOUNDER, CHAIRPERSON AND PAMELA DIAZ, CEO, PRESIDENT - ENTARA
“Resilience” is a common word heard among the cyber security and IT crowd. Solution providers boast of tools that your business can employ to stay ahead of the pack – because, after all, it’s not the entire herd that’s taken down by a lone predator, but the slowest member. At...
ANNELEEN VANDER ELSTRAETEN
FOUR & FIVE - MANAGING PARTNER
WHY INNOVATORS NEED A NEW BREED OF LAW FIRM When I first started my legal career, founding my own law firm wasn’t even a consideration. I was content working at a top-tier firm, focusing on drafting contracts and managing legal transactions. But everything changed during a business trip to Silicon...
MATHIAS LOBENDAHL
FOUNDER, LIFESEEDS
AGING IS THE NEXT FRONTIER OF INNOVATION Not because it’s a poetic idea, but because aging is biology, and biology is technology. We’ve spent decades reinventing the digital world while accepting the human body as something fixed and unchangeable. That assumption is about to collapse. I’ve spent years testing treatments...
Zarak Khan
Behavioral Innovation Director, Maritz
When I started at Maritz as the behavioral innovation director, I was asked to introduce myself on stage to the entire company. I’ll admit, I was brand new, and speaking authentically to this huge group of people was a little intimidating. I decided to talk about my grandfathers, because I...
Adversity Is a Leadership SuperpowerA leader is forged through the trials and tribulations of life. And when faced with negative influences, instead of giving into personal doubt and insecurities, leaders demonstrate the qualities of resiliency, passion, and authenticity enabling them to overcome the challenges of life empowering them to reach...
KAY VAN-PETERSEN
THE BUILDER
In my pursuit to unravel the mysteries of what the future holds, I had the privilege of interviewing Kay Van-Petersen, an avant-garde thinker and a trailblazer in the realm of finance and technology. His insights, not just on where we are heading but on how we can shape our trajectory,...
CARLOS COBIAN
FOUNDER AND CEO, GRAVITAL AGENCY
“OUR PASSION IS TO HELP COMPANIES GROW. OUR HIGHEST INTENT IS TO FOSTER A STRONG SERVICE PHILOSOPHY THAT ENSURES OUR CLIENTS ACHIEVE THE SUCCESS THEY SEEK AND DESERVE. WE WANT THEM TO DO WELL BECAUSE WE WANT OUR ECONOMY AND SOCIETY TO DO WELL. IT’S A WIN-WIN.”– CARLOS COBIAN, FOUNDER AND...
ERIK ALMQVIST
FOUNDER AND CEO, SENSE STRATEGY, & OWNER ALMQVIST FAMILY OFFICE
LEGACY OF INNOVATION Two of the most well-known rules in the global ICT industry are “For every ten percent increase in broadband penetration there is a 1 percent increase in GDP”, and “For every doubling of broadband speed, there is a 0.3 percent increase in GDP”. Both were devised by...
PEDRO MATIAS
EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT, ISQ GROUP
Innovation, innovation, innovation… this has been the watchword over the past few decades, ever since manuals on the subjects of economics and management associated the word “innovation” with developed nations and dynamic, competitive economies. It is a fact that innovation has always existed, not only in modern societies but over...
JOHN CASH, FOUNDER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND PROFESSOR JCSU ESPORTS INITIATIVE
ServiceAt its essence is selflessly giving/providing necessities to others with no intent to benefit. Wow, this is how it resonated with me prior to my commissioning as a United States Air Force (USAF) Officer the Friday before a Mother’s Day graduation at Howard University. “I will support and defend the...