Thought Leaders
INNOVATE™ Bengaluru
Dana Kursh
Partners In Innovative Progress
Israel prides itself in being an Innovative Nation, and has long term diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Mumbai. It chose Bengaluru, with its futuristic ethos, as its third destination to reinforce its economic connection with India. “The bigger economic diplomacy is in creating the right ecosystem involving the best...
INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath
Neil Douglas
Director, Viper Innovations
When we started our company in 2007, one of the first questions we had to ask ourselves, was where is the best place to be located? The client base for our products and services was international and so our selection did not have to be governed by the location of...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
PETER KRUSE
ENTREPRENEUR & INVESTOR
Most people know the statistics: most new businesses can’t pay a market salary and stay profitable within five years. Funding dries up. The idea wasn’t strong enough. There was no real product–market fit. On paper, the odds look discouraging. So why would anyone step into that arena? For me, the...
INNOVATE® Nashville
ROD MCDANIEL
CEO, S3 RECYCLING SOLUTIONS
My career in the electronics recycling industry is a vehicle to fund my passion. Yes, it excites me to have a profession that reduces e-waste and creates a more sustainable planet. But my true passion is giving back to my community and putting technology in the hands of people who...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
KELLY BROZYNA
CEO-STATE DIRECTOR, AMERICA’S SBDC NEW JERSEY
New Jersey is an amazing, dynamic, and engaging state with a beautiful tapestry of people, landscapes, and industries. Having lived in several states nationwide, I can truly attest to New Jersey’s brilliance in spirit and ingenuity. It is synonymous and a bit foretelling that NJ was the first state to...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia
David Neff
Founder: Neff Associates
In 1987, David Neff founded Neff Associates, an award-winning, full-service marketing agency. Specializing in branding, advertising, media buying and planning, public relations and social media, Neff Associates services clients across a diverse group of industries including real estate, hospitality, tourism, technology, entertainment, retail, B2B, banking and education. As a results-driven...
INNOVATION Manitoba
Honourable Mike Moroz Minister of Innovation and New Technology Government of Manitoba
Innovation has always been about more than technology. It is about people with ideas, the courage to pursue them, and the determination to solve challenges in new ways. As Minister of Innovation and New Technology, I have the privilege of meeting individuals and organizations that are shaping Manitoba’s future everyday....
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
Riaz Meghji
Author, Keynote Speaker, Television Broadcaster
OUR FUTURE IS HUMAN In 2020, everything changed, except for who we are. When social distancing became our next normal, so did our deep desire to stay connected in isolation. No, I’m not just talking about Zoom happy hours. Virtual workouts, weddings, and graduations are just a few examples of...
INNOVATE® Gainesville
Innovation Starts with Culture-BuildingThe greater Gainesville area is abuzz with growth, development and activity. From the expansion of major entertainment, restaurant and retail hubs, to the launch of technology start-ups, to the relocation of major biotechnology and life science firms to our area, it’s an exciting time. Innovation is at...
INNOVATE® Detroit
PHILIP KAFKA
PRESIDENT AT PRINCE CONCEPTS
My company, Prince Concepts, is a real estate development studio, laboratory and office based in Core City, Detroit. We acquire, develop, own and manage land and building projects. The studio works to express personal experience, philosophy and belief through built work. The laboratory tinkers – seeking truth and developing precision....
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
TONY LAWRENCE
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER (CRO), MIGHTY KINGDOM
Adelaide has a decades-long history with games. Ratbag Games opened a studio in the 1990s and had success with its Powerslide games before it was acquired by Midway Games in the mid-2000s, and then closed quite suddenly. Krome, an Australian based game developer picked up where Midway left off, lasting...
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® Chicago Vol.1
STEVEN COLLENS
CEO, MATTER
I’ve been the chief executive officer at MATTER — the global healthcare innovation hub headquartered in Chicago — since it was founded in 2015. Over the last five years, one of the most interesting dynamics we’ve observed — coming both from entrepreneurs developing novel technologies, as well as from large...
INNOVATE® Minnesota
Peter Frosch
CEO - Greater MSP
Entrepreneurship and innovation aren’t new to Minnesota. They’re the source of our current economic success and the key to even greater future prosperity, equity and growth. We have the potential to be the problem-solving capital of the new economy and the GREATER MSP Partnership is working to make that vision...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
ASH POURNOURI
FOUNDER BRILLIANT MINDS, AVICII, NORDIC ANGELS, SUPER HUMAN NETWORK
I’ve always believed that opportunity isn’t what you have – it’s what you use. And most people never scratch the surface of their own. We wait. We overthink. We hesitate. We look around for someone to tell us that we’re ready, that we’ve earned it, that we’re allowed to go....
INNOVATE® Philadelphia
Liz Dow
CEO of Leadership Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s innovation comes in many forms, not the least of which is thought leadership. Ben Franklin’s genius not only gave us many inventions, but also stressed the value of working together for civic and self-improvement. LEADERSHIP Philadelphia has honored and echoed his thought leadership with its pioneering work recognizing, researching...
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...
INNOVATE® Detroit
CHUCK MARSHALL
PRESIDENT, ITC MICHIGAN
The National Academy of Engineering considers electrification among the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century, and I have to agree– thanks to our electric grid, we effortlessly flip a light switch, and power goes on in less than a second. This speed is faster than any delivery service could...
INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3
Jim Barnish
Jr. Thought Leader Of Morgan Hill Partners
Jim Barnish is a strategic change leader with over 15 years of leadership experience in global and integrated operations, M&A, and strategic go-to-market planning. Over the course of his career, Jim has successfully worked with companies undergoing roll-up mergers and acquisitions, accelerated business development, process improvement, change management, and operational...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
NANCY GIANNI
GIGI'S PLAYHOUSE - FOUNDER AND CHIEF BELIEF OFFICER
It could happen with a simple fall off a bike, the birth of a new baby or grandbaby, or a debilitating illness. Differences do not discriminate. They do not care who you are. They do not care that you’re “low risk” or “not those kinds of people.” When you experience...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
JEFF DESJARDINS
FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, VISUAL CAPITALIST
In the media landscape, technology has been the ultimate disruptor—creating several inflection points that have changed the scope of reach for content and business models. To put the evolution of our industry and its future roadmap into perspective, we can take a closer look at the three waves of media....
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
VICTOR HOSKINS
PRESIDENT & CEO, FAIRFAX COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Embracing the fast-paced technological transformation before us, we know that innovation is not just about having the brightest ideas or the most advanced technology. It is about cultivating an ecosystem where transformative ideas can flourish and where technology meets skilled hands and minds prepared to wield it. Fairfax County is...
INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3
LAKSHMI SHENOY
CEO-EMBARC COLLECTIVE
REFLECTING ON THE CURVEBALLS OF 2020 For Embarc Collective, 2020 was defined as an exercise of turning obstacles into opportunity. In January we launched the final component of our value proposition, our 32,000-square-foot physical space. In doing this, we could finally bring our vision of making Embarc Collective the central...
INNOVATE™ Montréal
Dr. Fabrice Brunet
Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM)
Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) – Vers un système de santé innovant et apprenant / Towards an innovative learning health system Dr. Fabrice BrunetPrésident-Directeur Général du CHUM English: The health care system is facing major challenges and needs to change if it wants to provide optimal health care...
Dana Kursh
Partners In Innovative Progress
Israel prides itself in being an Innovative Nation, and has long term diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Mumbai. It chose Bengaluru, with its futuristic ethos, as its third destination to reinforce its economic connection with India. “The bigger economic diplomacy is in creating the right ecosystem involving the best...
Neil Douglas
Director, Viper Innovations
When we started our company in 2007, one of the first questions we had to ask ourselves, was where is the best place to be located? The client base for our products and services was international and so our selection did not have to be governed by the location of...
PETER KRUSE
ENTREPRENEUR & INVESTOR
Most people know the statistics: most new businesses can’t pay a market salary and stay profitable within five years. Funding dries up. The idea wasn’t strong enough. There was no real product–market fit. On paper, the odds look discouraging. So why would anyone step into that arena? For me, the...
ROD MCDANIEL
CEO, S3 RECYCLING SOLUTIONS
My career in the electronics recycling industry is a vehicle to fund my passion. Yes, it excites me to have a profession that reduces e-waste and creates a more sustainable planet. But my true passion is giving back to my community and putting technology in the hands of people who...
KELLY BROZYNA
CEO-STATE DIRECTOR, AMERICA’S SBDC NEW JERSEY
New Jersey is an amazing, dynamic, and engaging state with a beautiful tapestry of people, landscapes, and industries. Having lived in several states nationwide, I can truly attest to New Jersey’s brilliance in spirit and ingenuity. It is synonymous and a bit foretelling that NJ was the first state to...
David Neff
Founder: Neff Associates
In 1987, David Neff founded Neff Associates, an award-winning, full-service marketing agency. Specializing in branding, advertising, media buying and planning, public relations and social media, Neff Associates services clients across a diverse group of industries including real estate, hospitality, tourism, technology, entertainment, retail, B2B, banking and education. As a results-driven...
Honourable Mike Moroz Minister of Innovation and New Technology Government of Manitoba
Innovation has always been about more than technology. It is about people with ideas, the courage to pursue them, and the determination to solve challenges in new ways. As Minister of Innovation and New Technology, I have the privilege of meeting individuals and organizations that are shaping Manitoba’s future everyday....
Riaz Meghji
Author, Keynote Speaker, Television Broadcaster
OUR FUTURE IS HUMAN In 2020, everything changed, except for who we are. When social distancing became our next normal, so did our deep desire to stay connected in isolation. No, I’m not just talking about Zoom happy hours. Virtual workouts, weddings, and graduations are just a few examples of...
Innovation Starts with Culture-BuildingThe greater Gainesville area is abuzz with growth, development and activity. From the expansion of major entertainment, restaurant and retail hubs, to the launch of technology start-ups, to the relocation of major biotechnology and life science firms to our area, it’s an exciting time. Innovation is at...
PHILIP KAFKA
PRESIDENT AT PRINCE CONCEPTS
My company, Prince Concepts, is a real estate development studio, laboratory and office based in Core City, Detroit. We acquire, develop, own and manage land and building projects. The studio works to express personal experience, philosophy and belief through built work. The laboratory tinkers – seeking truth and developing precision....
TONY LAWRENCE
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER (CRO), MIGHTY KINGDOM
Adelaide has a decades-long history with games. Ratbag Games opened a studio in the 1990s and had success with its Powerslide games before it was acquired by Midway Games in the mid-2000s, and then closed quite suddenly. Krome, an Australian based game developer picked up where Midway left off, lasting...
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...
STEVEN COLLENS
CEO, MATTER
I’ve been the chief executive officer at MATTER — the global healthcare innovation hub headquartered in Chicago — since it was founded in 2015. Over the last five years, one of the most interesting dynamics we’ve observed — coming both from entrepreneurs developing novel technologies, as well as from large...
Peter Frosch
CEO - Greater MSP
Entrepreneurship and innovation aren’t new to Minnesota. They’re the source of our current economic success and the key to even greater future prosperity, equity and growth. We have the potential to be the problem-solving capital of the new economy and the GREATER MSP Partnership is working to make that vision...
ASH POURNOURI
FOUNDER BRILLIANT MINDS, AVICII, NORDIC ANGELS, SUPER HUMAN NETWORK
I’ve always believed that opportunity isn’t what you have – it’s what you use. And most people never scratch the surface of their own. We wait. We overthink. We hesitate. We look around for someone to tell us that we’re ready, that we’ve earned it, that we’re allowed to go....
Liz Dow
CEO of Leadership Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s innovation comes in many forms, not the least of which is thought leadership. Ben Franklin’s genius not only gave us many inventions, but also stressed the value of working together for civic and self-improvement. LEADERSHIP Philadelphia has honored and echoed his thought leadership with its pioneering work recognizing, researching...
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...
CHUCK MARSHALL
PRESIDENT, ITC MICHIGAN
The National Academy of Engineering considers electrification among the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century, and I have to agree– thanks to our electric grid, we effortlessly flip a light switch, and power goes on in less than a second. This speed is faster than any delivery service could...
Jim Barnish
Jr. Thought Leader Of Morgan Hill Partners
Jim Barnish is a strategic change leader with over 15 years of leadership experience in global and integrated operations, M&A, and strategic go-to-market planning. Over the course of his career, Jim has successfully worked with companies undergoing roll-up mergers and acquisitions, accelerated business development, process improvement, change management, and operational...
NANCY GIANNI
GIGI'S PLAYHOUSE - FOUNDER AND CHIEF BELIEF OFFICER
It could happen with a simple fall off a bike, the birth of a new baby or grandbaby, or a debilitating illness. Differences do not discriminate. They do not care who you are. They do not care that you’re “low risk” or “not those kinds of people.” When you experience...
JEFF DESJARDINS
FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, VISUAL CAPITALIST
In the media landscape, technology has been the ultimate disruptor—creating several inflection points that have changed the scope of reach for content and business models. To put the evolution of our industry and its future roadmap into perspective, we can take a closer look at the three waves of media....
VICTOR HOSKINS
PRESIDENT & CEO, FAIRFAX COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Embracing the fast-paced technological transformation before us, we know that innovation is not just about having the brightest ideas or the most advanced technology. It is about cultivating an ecosystem where transformative ideas can flourish and where technology meets skilled hands and minds prepared to wield it. Fairfax County is...
LAKSHMI SHENOY
CEO-EMBARC COLLECTIVE
REFLECTING ON THE CURVEBALLS OF 2020 For Embarc Collective, 2020 was defined as an exercise of turning obstacles into opportunity. In January we launched the final component of our value proposition, our 32,000-square-foot physical space. In doing this, we could finally bring our vision of making Embarc Collective the central...
Dr. Fabrice Brunet
Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM)
Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) – Vers un système de santé innovant et apprenant / Towards an innovative learning health system Dr. Fabrice BrunetPrésident-Directeur Général du CHUM English: The health care system is facing major challenges and needs to change if it wants to provide optimal health care...