Thought Leaders
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® Utah
Shauna Smith
President - Four Foods Group/Savory
Shauna Smith, President – Four Foods Group/Savory I still remember opening day in our very first restaurant like it was yesterday. Except it wasn’t yesterday… it was 11 years ago. We had just moved into a newly developed area in Utah that was starved for eating establishments. We asked...
INNOVATE® St. Louis
Dr. Benjamin Akande
Assistant Vice Chancellor, International Affairs-Africa; Associate Director, Gl
Innovation is best achieved when you align it with your competitive advantage—what you do that nobody else could do better. When you focus on your competitive advantage and open yourself to think creatively about trying to best yourself. If copying others is best practice, then besting yourself is next practice—creating...
INNOVATE® Utah
Clint Betts
Executive Director - Silicon Slopes
Growing up, I spent countless hours throwing a baseball as hard as I could against the side of our family’s cinder block garage. If a better way of spending time existed, the world did a great job of keeping it secret. I thought “cinder block ball” was the official pastime...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
FRANCISCO PEDRO PRESAS PINTO DE BALSEMÃO
CEO OF IMPRESA
I was born in 1980, I’m married and a proud father of three young children. I joined Impresa in 2009 and became CEO in 2016. My background is in Law (Lisbon and Oxford) and I undertook several international post-grad management courses. I also had a brief spell at the Portuguese...
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...
INNOVATION Manitoba
CHRIS SCHMIDT, SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR
Chris Schmidt is a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based serial entrepreneur who builds companies at the intersection of consumer behaviour and scalable technology. He has founded and exited two ventures, in arboriculture and digital media, and now leads an AI company. I spent 21 years growing Schmidt Tree Banding, a tree service company...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
ADRIAN GORE
FOUNDER, DISCOVERY
One of these cognitive errors is a failure to recognise the impact that outliers have in our increasingly interconnected world. Take for instance, the decision to create the Vitality programme. It is one outlier decision that had, and continues to have, an enormous impact on our entire business. A few...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
MIK ALLA
PRESIDENT & CEO, ROUTEIQUE™
Fostering a Culture of Innovation at Routeique™The core of our approach to innovation at Routeique™ is that we see ourselves as problem-solvers rather than service or technology providers. Whether it’s warehouse layouts or inefficiencies in last-mile delivery, our philosophy is that it’s essential to look at issues from new perspectives,...
AI Québec
PHILIPPE MOLARET
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, THALES
Work is underway to increase operational capacities in several application sectors such as health, safety, or transport. The intelligent agent we are developing is not just a digital double. The Agent covers three functionalities: 1) a permanent watch on the operational situation in the context of use while keeping the...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
WILLIAM CHERNICOFF
PH.D.- TOYOTA MOBILITY FOUNDATION
Innovation has long been the buzzword in the tech world, a concept intertwined with progress, growth, and the future. But through my years of experience, I’ve realized there’s a distinct difference between mere innovation and social innovation. It’s like planting a tree without considering the forest. In contrast, social innovation...
INNOVATE® Georgia
MURLI REDDY
CHARTER GLOBAL - FOUNDER AND CEO
As the CEO of Charter Global, I’ve often found myself at the intersection of leadership and thought leadership. While these roles are often conflated, they hold distinct yet complementary purposes. A leader is a visionary—a person who can see the invisible and inspires others to turn those visions into reality....
INNOVATE® Blockchain
NAMIR ANANI
PRESIDENT & CEO, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL
We live in an era of rapid disruption where global forces are now demanding our full attention. Emerging economies, geopolitical inflections, health risks, cyber threats, and changing employment prospects are now top of mind. Against this backdrop are digital technologies that are accelerating innovations and transforming industries faster than economies...
INNOVATE® Detroit
BONNIE FAHOOME
CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DESIGN CORE DETROIT
Detroit has been an epicenter of innovation for well over a century, leading the world in mass manufacturing, music and industrial design. In 1920, for example, Detroit police officer William Potts was credited with inventing the four-way and three-colored traffic light, a standard still used today for regulating traffic flow...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
JOAN M. STELTMANN
FOUNDER AND CEO, BOUNCE CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION
FOUNDER AND CEO, BOUNCE CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION CHANGING OUR MINDSET WILL MOVE THE PRIVATE AND SOCIAL SECTORS CLOSER TOGETHER – ENHANCING BOTH. If you still say “Non-Profit”, it’s time to upgrade your thinking to “Not for-Profit”. Why? It conveys purpose and intention, without placing limitations on outcomes. For social service organizations,...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
JEFF CRANE
CEO AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, NFT THE MOVIE, LLC
One HeartCreating an NFT movie masterpiece to document inspiring stories made through NFT technology requires a shared vision, goal, and a dedicated team. Blockchain technology may be new to the world, but proven leadership and purpose-driven teams remain the driving heart of success in this novel industry and space. As...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
ALEX KROOGMAN
CEO | PRESSREADER GROUP OF COMPANIES
ALEX KROOGMAN CEO | PRESSREADER GROUP OF COMPANIES To this day, I look forward to each Monday when Spotify releases my new Discover Weekly playlist. Why, because it’s built entirely for me. It’s personalized with the music I know, plus lots of music I haven’t even heard of before but...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
SHAYNE JAENISCH
CEO, TINDO SOLAR
LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, MISSION, VISION, SUSTAINABILITY GOALS, COMPANY VALUES, ETHICAL PRACTICES. For me these words are more than a fancy poster on a wall, a page on the company website or a nicely-written corporate profile. For me, the importance of aligning concepts such as culture, values, ethics and leadership, defines the...
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...
INNOVATION Quebec
JESSE VINCENT HERSCOVICI
PDG, AXELYS
Qu’elles soient petites ou grandes, elles doivent faire face à une concurrence féroce dans un environnement instable. Dans ce contexte, l’élaboration d’une stratégie de PI permet de tracer une trajectoire vers le marché. Bien que cette dernière soit un sujet d’actualité dans le monde des affaires, elle reste trop souvent...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
Chris Sugden
Managing Partner - Edison Partners
At Edison Partners, we believe that there’s no stronger relationship than the one an investor has with an entrepreneur and the management team. Trust and empathy are the foundations to a successful partnership. There’s a reason for that. Mutual understanding is the prerequisite for a great outcome. You each must...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
GAIL POWLEY
PRESIDENT, TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA
That is what Technology Alberta does, and by saving their valuable time, we help Tech Entrepreneurs do more – faster, better and have more fun than when they go it alone. We know that tech entrepreneurs are on a race against time: as an innovator they need their product to...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
JEFF REID
FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF GEORGETOWN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
As the founding director of Georgetown Entrepreneurship, Jeff Reid is passionate about educating, mentoring, and infl uencing the next generation of entrepreneurs to use their new business ventures to serve the common good. “Common good entrepreneurship involves creating and operating businesses that not only aim for fi nancial success but...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
PIETER DE VILLIERS
CO-FOUNDER & CEO, CLICKATELL AND CHAIRMAN OF SIMODISA
Whilst the majority of public sector efforts and incentives are aimed at job creation within South Africa, high growth technology entrepreneurs will be quick to point out that the skills gap is a bigger issue than the jobs gap. As a result, several high growth entrepreneurs and technology leaders across...
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,...
Shauna Smith
President - Four Foods Group/Savory
Shauna Smith, President – Four Foods Group/Savory I still remember opening day in our very first restaurant like it was yesterday. Except it wasn’t yesterday… it was 11 years ago. We had just moved into a newly developed area in Utah that was starved for eating establishments. We asked...
Dr. Benjamin Akande
Assistant Vice Chancellor, International Affairs-Africa; Associate Director, Gl
Innovation is best achieved when you align it with your competitive advantage—what you do that nobody else could do better. When you focus on your competitive advantage and open yourself to think creatively about trying to best yourself. If copying others is best practice, then besting yourself is next practice—creating...
Clint Betts
Executive Director - Silicon Slopes
Growing up, I spent countless hours throwing a baseball as hard as I could against the side of our family’s cinder block garage. If a better way of spending time existed, the world did a great job of keeping it secret. I thought “cinder block ball” was the official pastime...
FRANCISCO PEDRO PRESAS PINTO DE BALSEMÃO
CEO OF IMPRESA
I was born in 1980, I’m married and a proud father of three young children. I joined Impresa in 2009 and became CEO in 2016. My background is in Law (Lisbon and Oxford) and I undertook several international post-grad management courses. I also had a brief spell at the Portuguese...
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...
CHRIS SCHMIDT, SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR
Chris Schmidt is a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based serial entrepreneur who builds companies at the intersection of consumer behaviour and scalable technology. He has founded and exited two ventures, in arboriculture and digital media, and now leads an AI company. I spent 21 years growing Schmidt Tree Banding, a tree service company...
ADRIAN GORE
FOUNDER, DISCOVERY
One of these cognitive errors is a failure to recognise the impact that outliers have in our increasingly interconnected world. Take for instance, the decision to create the Vitality programme. It is one outlier decision that had, and continues to have, an enormous impact on our entire business. A few...
MIK ALLA
PRESIDENT & CEO, ROUTEIQUE™
Fostering a Culture of Innovation at Routeique™The core of our approach to innovation at Routeique™ is that we see ourselves as problem-solvers rather than service or technology providers. Whether it’s warehouse layouts or inefficiencies in last-mile delivery, our philosophy is that it’s essential to look at issues from new perspectives,...
PHILIPPE MOLARET
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, THALES
Work is underway to increase operational capacities in several application sectors such as health, safety, or transport. The intelligent agent we are developing is not just a digital double. The Agent covers three functionalities: 1) a permanent watch on the operational situation in the context of use while keeping the...
WILLIAM CHERNICOFF
PH.D.- TOYOTA MOBILITY FOUNDATION
Innovation has long been the buzzword in the tech world, a concept intertwined with progress, growth, and the future. But through my years of experience, I’ve realized there’s a distinct difference between mere innovation and social innovation. It’s like planting a tree without considering the forest. In contrast, social innovation...
MURLI REDDY
CHARTER GLOBAL - FOUNDER AND CEO
As the CEO of Charter Global, I’ve often found myself at the intersection of leadership and thought leadership. While these roles are often conflated, they hold distinct yet complementary purposes. A leader is a visionary—a person who can see the invisible and inspires others to turn those visions into reality....
NAMIR ANANI
PRESIDENT & CEO, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL
We live in an era of rapid disruption where global forces are now demanding our full attention. Emerging economies, geopolitical inflections, health risks, cyber threats, and changing employment prospects are now top of mind. Against this backdrop are digital technologies that are accelerating innovations and transforming industries faster than economies...
BONNIE FAHOOME
CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DESIGN CORE DETROIT
Detroit has been an epicenter of innovation for well over a century, leading the world in mass manufacturing, music and industrial design. In 1920, for example, Detroit police officer William Potts was credited with inventing the four-way and three-colored traffic light, a standard still used today for regulating traffic flow...
JOAN M. STELTMANN
FOUNDER AND CEO, BOUNCE CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION
FOUNDER AND CEO, BOUNCE CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION CHANGING OUR MINDSET WILL MOVE THE PRIVATE AND SOCIAL SECTORS CLOSER TOGETHER – ENHANCING BOTH. If you still say “Non-Profit”, it’s time to upgrade your thinking to “Not for-Profit”. Why? It conveys purpose and intention, without placing limitations on outcomes. For social service organizations,...
JEFF CRANE
CEO AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, NFT THE MOVIE, LLC
One HeartCreating an NFT movie masterpiece to document inspiring stories made through NFT technology requires a shared vision, goal, and a dedicated team. Blockchain technology may be new to the world, but proven leadership and purpose-driven teams remain the driving heart of success in this novel industry and space. As...
ALEX KROOGMAN
CEO | PRESSREADER GROUP OF COMPANIES
ALEX KROOGMAN CEO | PRESSREADER GROUP OF COMPANIES To this day, I look forward to each Monday when Spotify releases my new Discover Weekly playlist. Why, because it’s built entirely for me. It’s personalized with the music I know, plus lots of music I haven’t even heard of before but...
SHAYNE JAENISCH
CEO, TINDO SOLAR
LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, MISSION, VISION, SUSTAINABILITY GOALS, COMPANY VALUES, ETHICAL PRACTICES. For me these words are more than a fancy poster on a wall, a page on the company website or a nicely-written corporate profile. For me, the importance of aligning concepts such as culture, values, ethics and leadership, defines the...
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...
JESSE VINCENT HERSCOVICI
PDG, AXELYS
Qu’elles soient petites ou grandes, elles doivent faire face à une concurrence féroce dans un environnement instable. Dans ce contexte, l’élaboration d’une stratégie de PI permet de tracer une trajectoire vers le marché. Bien que cette dernière soit un sujet d’actualité dans le monde des affaires, elle reste trop souvent...
Chris Sugden
Managing Partner - Edison Partners
At Edison Partners, we believe that there’s no stronger relationship than the one an investor has with an entrepreneur and the management team. Trust and empathy are the foundations to a successful partnership. There’s a reason for that. Mutual understanding is the prerequisite for a great outcome. You each must...
GAIL POWLEY
PRESIDENT, TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA
That is what Technology Alberta does, and by saving their valuable time, we help Tech Entrepreneurs do more – faster, better and have more fun than when they go it alone. We know that tech entrepreneurs are on a race against time: as an innovator they need their product to...
JEFF REID
FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF GEORGETOWN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
As the founding director of Georgetown Entrepreneurship, Jeff Reid is passionate about educating, mentoring, and infl uencing the next generation of entrepreneurs to use their new business ventures to serve the common good. “Common good entrepreneurship involves creating and operating businesses that not only aim for fi nancial success but...
PIETER DE VILLIERS
CO-FOUNDER & CEO, CLICKATELL AND CHAIRMAN OF SIMODISA
Whilst the majority of public sector efforts and incentives are aimed at job creation within South Africa, high growth technology entrepreneurs will be quick to point out that the skills gap is a bigger issue than the jobs gap. As a result, several high growth entrepreneurs and technology leaders across...