Thought Leaders
INNOVATE® South Carolina
DR. NIKKI HONEYCUTT
DIRECTOR, DANIEL MORGAN TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Career Centers: The New Workforce Suppliers I want you to imagine standing at the edge of a river. On one side are thousands of students—bright-eyed, full of energy, buzzing with ideas and untapped skills. On the other side are industries—manufacturing, healthcare, transportation—calling out for skilled workers, desperate for fresh talent...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
Filip Smet
CEO, Road21
Five years ago I founded Lemon, an all-round software development company. In the midst of the pandemic I founded Road21, an ecosystem of 30 technology companies, with my co-founder Fabian Van Kerckhove. Lemon is now part of the ecosystem and I’ve learned to go from quantitative growth to qualitative growth....
INNOVATE® South Carolina
Andrew Strickland
Co-Founder & CEO, Code/+/Trust
At Code and Trust, we partner with founders, corporations, and government teams to challenge assumptions, move fast, and build software that drives real impact. My career has centered around one core belief: great ideas don’t fail because they aren’t good, they fail because they aren’t executed well. To me, innovation...
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™ 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™ Adelaide
BEN BAKER
FOUNDER, BEN BAKER STUDIOS
“Mr. President, it’s great to see you today; here is the plan.” Those are words I have spoken to the past five American Presidents and many other world leaders as a photographer trusted to create iconic images that will stand the test of time. How did a kid from a...
INNOVATE® Nashville
Deborah German
M.D. - University of Central Florida
Deborah German was appointed founding dean of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine in December 2006 following a distinguished career at Duke University, Vanderbilt University, and St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. She has overseen the construction of UCF’s 375,000-square-foot medical school at Lake Nona and is now...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
ELOISE HALL
MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER, TABOO PERIOD PRODUCTS
We all enter this world the same, screaming, and naked, as human as each other and as deserving of the same freedoms and rights as the next tiny infant. Unfortunately, people’s access to human rights isn’t as simple as that. It’s dependent on the family you were born into, the...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
MATTHEW PEARLSON
INTRNLS - CEO & FOUNDER
My journey has always been driven by one relentless pursuit: redefining the boundaries of sustainable energy systems. As the CEO of Intrnls Inc., I am on a mission to rewrite the playbook for carbon capture efficiency, pioneering a future where sustainability and efficiency are not just goals but standards. Starting...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
NUKE GOLDSTEIN
CTO, CELSIUS NETWORK
We have seen it before – the PC, internet, Web 2.0, smartphones – each wave bringing dramatic changes to society and our daily lives. And here it is again – blockchains, cryptocurrencies, smart-contracts, dApps, DeFi, NFTs – all leads to decentralization and Web3. The excitement has been building among entrepreneurs,...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
SILVIA LENAERTS
PROFESSOR AND VICE-RECTOR VALORISATION & DEVELOPMENT, UNIVERSITEIT ANTWERPEN
Silvia Lenaerts has always been a pioneer. She was the first chemist to achieve a PhD at IMEC. She founded a company on gas sensors, as well as the Bioscience Engineering department and her research group. Currently, she is full professor and vice-rector Valorisation & Development at the Universiteit Antwerpen....
INNOVATE™ Alberta
DOUGLAS HOLT
MBA, ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT, INVESTMENTS, ALBERTA INNOVATES
Innovation. It’s the relentless pursuit of new ideas, challenging the status quo, and shaping a better future. At Alberta Innovates, we believe innovation is key to growing the economy, expanding markets and creating new and better opportunities for Albertans. We are the province’s most comprehensive research and innovation agency, providing...
INNOVATE® Phoenix
Neil G. Giuliano
Greater Phoenix Leadership
“All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
Christine Schyvinck
President And CEO, Shure Incorporated
Business leaders choose different paths that eventually lead them to their present positions. Each individual journey can provide unique perspectives for unlocking success at their organizations. I’m proud of the path I chose, because it enabled me to immerse myself in the vision established by our Company’s founder, S.N. Shure,...
INNOVATE® Gainesville
DR. W. Kent Fuchs
The 12th President - The University Of Florida
The University of Florida is one of the nation’s very best public universities. Our home of Gainesville is a beautiful, thriving university city. Yet what truly sets us apart is our shared promise for the future.We have the opportunity over the next decade to become a center for innovation, a...
INNOVATE® Houston
DR. ANDRE THOMAS
FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE LIVE LAB, DEPARTMENT OF VISUALIZATION, TEXAS A&M
DR. ANDRE THOMAS,FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE LIVE LAB, DEPARTMENT OF VISUALIZATION, TEXAS A&M Education is ripe for disruption. Society’s been told – and accepted – that the textbook is holy and contains all knowledge. We also accept that a professor standing in front of 200 students in a classroom...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
ERIC VAN RYSWYK
CHIEF STRATEGIC OFFICER, CODIUM
In the world of business, technology has long been a driving force behind innovation and progress. Advancements in frameworks, computing power, data analytics, and artificial intelligence have led to significant improvements in efficiency, productivity, and profitability. However, as technology continues to advance, it is becoming increasingly clear that the true...
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...
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™ South Africa
STEVE PINTO
CEO, NEW REALITY & CTRL ROBOTICS
Jobs are changing and evolving faster than anyone expected and humanity needs to embrace technology to accelerate for the better. People need more tools to upskill themselves out of poverty and away from the jobs robots will take. My vision is to create the tools to upskill humanity faster and...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
ROGÉRIO COLAÇO
DEAN, INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TÉCNICO
At Instituto Superior Técnico we believe that although we cannot do more than the bigger ones, although we cannot do better than the best ones, we could be at least as big as the bigger ones and as best as the best ones. And we also believe that we can...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
JINPIN YING
PRESIDENT CYBERMED
The future of healthcare is undergoing a transformative revolution, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and an increasing commitment to greater equity across patient populations. From the time that CyberMed was established, one of the prevailing issues that we are focusing on is how the technology can address...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
GILLIAN ALDRIDGE OAM
MAYOR, CITY OF SALISBURY
Our City is the fourth largest economy in the State with a Gross Regional Product of 8.65 billion and more than 8,700 businesses calling Salisbury home, including a host of international firms and flourishing entrepreneurs. We are an important area for the State’s economic growth for population, small business, innovation...
VOICES of the Future
DR. MARIAM MATAR
A LEGACY OF HEALING
Connecting with hearts and humanity is the motivation behind ‘Voices of the Future.’ When meeting people as authentic, deep, insightful, and purposeful as Dr. Mariam Matar, our conversation can project her voice into the future – and the hearts of many more people. While she describes herself as a proud...
DR. NIKKI HONEYCUTT
DIRECTOR, DANIEL MORGAN TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Career Centers: The New Workforce Suppliers I want you to imagine standing at the edge of a river. On one side are thousands of students—bright-eyed, full of energy, buzzing with ideas and untapped skills. On the other side are industries—manufacturing, healthcare, transportation—calling out for skilled workers, desperate for fresh talent...
Filip Smet
CEO, Road21
Five years ago I founded Lemon, an all-round software development company. In the midst of the pandemic I founded Road21, an ecosystem of 30 technology companies, with my co-founder Fabian Van Kerckhove. Lemon is now part of the ecosystem and I’ve learned to go from quantitative growth to qualitative growth....
Andrew Strickland
Co-Founder & CEO, Code/+/Trust
At Code and Trust, we partner with founders, corporations, and government teams to challenge assumptions, move fast, and build software that drives real impact. My career has centered around one core belief: great ideas don’t fail because they aren’t good, they fail because they aren’t executed well. To me, innovation...
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...
BEN BAKER
FOUNDER, BEN BAKER STUDIOS
“Mr. President, it’s great to see you today; here is the plan.” Those are words I have spoken to the past five American Presidents and many other world leaders as a photographer trusted to create iconic images that will stand the test of time. How did a kid from a...
Deborah German
M.D. - University of Central Florida
Deborah German was appointed founding dean of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine in December 2006 following a distinguished career at Duke University, Vanderbilt University, and St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. She has overseen the construction of UCF’s 375,000-square-foot medical school at Lake Nona and is now...
ELOISE HALL
MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER, TABOO PERIOD PRODUCTS
We all enter this world the same, screaming, and naked, as human as each other and as deserving of the same freedoms and rights as the next tiny infant. Unfortunately, people’s access to human rights isn’t as simple as that. It’s dependent on the family you were born into, the...
MATTHEW PEARLSON
INTRNLS - CEO & FOUNDER
My journey has always been driven by one relentless pursuit: redefining the boundaries of sustainable energy systems. As the CEO of Intrnls Inc., I am on a mission to rewrite the playbook for carbon capture efficiency, pioneering a future where sustainability and efficiency are not just goals but standards. Starting...
NUKE GOLDSTEIN
CTO, CELSIUS NETWORK
We have seen it before – the PC, internet, Web 2.0, smartphones – each wave bringing dramatic changes to society and our daily lives. And here it is again – blockchains, cryptocurrencies, smart-contracts, dApps, DeFi, NFTs – all leads to decentralization and Web3. The excitement has been building among entrepreneurs,...
SILVIA LENAERTS
PROFESSOR AND VICE-RECTOR VALORISATION & DEVELOPMENT, UNIVERSITEIT ANTWERPEN
Silvia Lenaerts has always been a pioneer. She was the first chemist to achieve a PhD at IMEC. She founded a company on gas sensors, as well as the Bioscience Engineering department and her research group. Currently, she is full professor and vice-rector Valorisation & Development at the Universiteit Antwerpen....
DOUGLAS HOLT
MBA, ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT, INVESTMENTS, ALBERTA INNOVATES
Innovation. It’s the relentless pursuit of new ideas, challenging the status quo, and shaping a better future. At Alberta Innovates, we believe innovation is key to growing the economy, expanding markets and creating new and better opportunities for Albertans. We are the province’s most comprehensive research and innovation agency, providing...
Neil G. Giuliano
Greater Phoenix Leadership
“All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”...
Christine Schyvinck
President And CEO, Shure Incorporated
Business leaders choose different paths that eventually lead them to their present positions. Each individual journey can provide unique perspectives for unlocking success at their organizations. I’m proud of the path I chose, because it enabled me to immerse myself in the vision established by our Company’s founder, S.N. Shure,...
DR. W. Kent Fuchs
The 12th President - The University Of Florida
The University of Florida is one of the nation’s very best public universities. Our home of Gainesville is a beautiful, thriving university city. Yet what truly sets us apart is our shared promise for the future.We have the opportunity over the next decade to become a center for innovation, a...
DR. ANDRE THOMAS
FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE LIVE LAB, DEPARTMENT OF VISUALIZATION, TEXAS A&M
DR. ANDRE THOMAS,FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE LIVE LAB, DEPARTMENT OF VISUALIZATION, TEXAS A&M Education is ripe for disruption. Society’s been told – and accepted – that the textbook is holy and contains all knowledge. We also accept that a professor standing in front of 200 students in a classroom...
ERIC VAN RYSWYK
CHIEF STRATEGIC OFFICER, CODIUM
In the world of business, technology has long been a driving force behind innovation and progress. Advancements in frameworks, computing power, data analytics, and artificial intelligence have led to significant improvements in efficiency, productivity, and profitability. However, as technology continues to advance, it is becoming increasingly clear that the true...
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...
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...
STEVE PINTO
CEO, NEW REALITY & CTRL ROBOTICS
Jobs are changing and evolving faster than anyone expected and humanity needs to embrace technology to accelerate for the better. People need more tools to upskill themselves out of poverty and away from the jobs robots will take. My vision is to create the tools to upskill humanity faster and...
ROGÉRIO COLAÇO
DEAN, INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TÉCNICO
At Instituto Superior Técnico we believe that although we cannot do more than the bigger ones, although we cannot do better than the best ones, we could be at least as big as the bigger ones and as best as the best ones. And we also believe that we can...
JINPIN YING
PRESIDENT CYBERMED
The future of healthcare is undergoing a transformative revolution, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and an increasing commitment to greater equity across patient populations. From the time that CyberMed was established, one of the prevailing issues that we are focusing on is how the technology can address...
GILLIAN ALDRIDGE OAM
MAYOR, CITY OF SALISBURY
Our City is the fourth largest economy in the State with a Gross Regional Product of 8.65 billion and more than 8,700 businesses calling Salisbury home, including a host of international firms and flourishing entrepreneurs. We are an important area for the State’s economic growth for population, small business, innovation...
DR. MARIAM MATAR
A LEGACY OF HEALING
Connecting with hearts and humanity is the motivation behind ‘Voices of the Future.’ When meeting people as authentic, deep, insightful, and purposeful as Dr. Mariam Matar, our conversation can project her voice into the future – and the hearts of many more people. While she describes herself as a proud...