Thought Leaders
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
RICHARD BUTLER
FOUNDER, RAGE WORKS
There is truly no one size fits all approach when it comes to podcasting and running a business, especially in New York City. However, this flexibility has allowed me to remain passionate about podcasting and do what I can to help the space grow and thrive, either by adding my...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
DR. CHRISTIAN GUTTMANN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NORDIC AI INSTITUTE & SENIOR RESEARCHER, KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET
I wrote my first lines of AI code at 13 on a home computer—little did I know I was joining the earliest wave of AI natives. By 17 I’d launched a startup building intelligent inventory systems so small retailers always knew what was on their shelves before their accountants did—a...
INNOVATE® San Antonio
CHARLES WOODIN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, GEEKDOM
I forgot about my dream of being part of a city and space my children would one day want to call home. When I learned about Graham Weston’s vision for founding Geekdom, those dreams came flooding back to me. Graham’s overall vision for revitalizing downtown San Antonio was to build...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
Erin Mays & Kalyn Rozanski
CO-CEOs - Ebco
Thought leaders in the truest sense, Erin Mays and Kalyn Rozanski of Ebco are completely reenvisioning and disrupting the trend and innovation research space with unique and differentiated products and services that support global Fortune 1000 companies. Coming from design thinking and qualitative research backgrounds, Mays shares “we no longer...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Brian Kornfield
Synapse - Building The Community, One Connection At A Time
Over the last year, I have been asked time and time again about my story: where I came from and why nobody knew my name. While the long answer involves transitioning from life as a rocket scientist to the President of Synapse (a 501c3 working to connect and organize the...
INNOVATE® Phoenix
Justin Gray
CEO - LeadMD
Introduction Justin Gray is a serial entrepreneur, who has launched four multi-million dollar companies, become a recognized speaker and been published over 350 times throughout his career. Justin is the CEO and founder of LeadMD, a role he’s held for the past ten years. He also co-founded PaidSuite, a SaaS...
INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3
Greg Ross Munro
Founder And Chief Executive Officer - Sourcetoad
Greg Ross-Munro, Founder And Chief Executive Officer – Sourcetoad That’s when one of the marketing managers from a completely different office walked over to chat with the IT director. She had an idea for integrating marketing data from the CMS into the shipboard signage system that was running on...
INNOVATE® Georgia
DR. FORREST SHRIVER
SENTINEL DEVICES - CEO & FOUNDER
We are on the precipice of major change – change that will define both America and the world for generations to come. Economically, politically, and technologically, the next ten years will be a trend-setter for the next hundred years. Wars and rumors of wars, worries over the future of work...
INNOVATE® Nashville
NATALIE M. CURCIO
M.D., M.P.H., M.M.H.C.CEO & FOUNDER, CURCIO DERMATOLOGY, P.C
My late father will always be my original mentor and the embodiment of everything I have wanted to be…a successful doctor and business professional with a limitless heart for caring for others, an unending passion for giving to those less fortunate, and an unbounded love of being a parent. Losing...
INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol.3
JR Griggs
Founder & President Of Red Wall Marketing
I’ve had a passion for startups and innovation for a very long time. Actually, ever since I was just a little kid I’ve had that entrepreneurial spirit. I was the kid selling candy at school and mowing lawns on weekends and during summers. I always knew I would own a...
Global Innovation Spotlight
VERI OSVALD
CEO OF SMARTHEAD
As CEO of SmartHead, Veri is responsible for fulfilling the vision, strategy, leadership, and sustainable business growth. She has represented SmartHead at the Chivas Venture Competition in Los Angeles and has also attended Accelerator at the University of Oxford. In 2018, Veri was part of the Forbes Top 10 Women...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
MICHAEL MACOLINO
MANAGING DIRECTOR, APAC, SVG VENTURES THRIVE
As an entrepreneur, I have always been passionate about leveraging technology to enhance efficiency across various industries Michael Macolino, Managing Director SVG Ventures Thrive (APAC), Ex-Startup Founder & CTO, Focused on AgriFood Tech commercialisation and eco-system, TEDx Speaker, InDaily 40 under 40. At the age of 21, I started my...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Marc Blumenthal
Co-Founder - Synapse Florida Partner
Marc Blumenthal Co-Founder, Synapse Florida Partner, Florida Funders 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...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
DR. ELIZABETH CANNON
OC, AOE, FRSC, FCAE, PRESIDENT EMERITA, UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
The energy of our community and the focus not on who you are, but what you can do – and how you can contribute – provided a platform where I knew that hard work would be rewarded. I was not disappointed. I was fortunate to be exposed to the Global...
AI Québec
STEVEN WEST
PROFESSOR, CBE, DL.
On the 27th March I attended a meeting on campus with colleagues from the NHS, army logistics, architects, designers and building contractors. Over the next two hours we agreed the site was viable and the preferred option to support the region. I made the decision there and then to handover...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
BRIAN HARSTINE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ACQUIRE
Nearly every socio-economic sector is asking more questions, new questions, and challenging the way they have been doing just about everything, all the way down to their own personal finances and investment decisions. I came across an observation recently; when mass groups of people increase their awareness and knowledge of...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
STEFAN SEEGER
VICE PRESIDENT AND PLANT MANAGER, ZF GRAY COURT
Since the inception of the Gray Court facility in Laurens County in 2012, ZF and the State of South Carolina have been a winning combination that has benefitted South Carolina citizens, state and local governments, the ZF Group, and all of our employees at our Gray Court, Charleston and Duncan....
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
Gordon Nameni, PhD
Managing Partner at August Brown
Innovation alone does not guarantee market success. Many promising technologies fail to gain traction because companies struggle to translate technical breakthroughs into commercially viable products. This is where Tech Translation—a structured framework for bridging the gap between technology development and market adoption—becomes essential. The Tech Translation Framework Tech Translation integrates...
INNOVATE™ Ottawa
Jim Stackhouse
Founder & CEO - Neolore Networks Inc.
AN EXERCISE IN INNOVATION AND DEMONSTRATING VALUE. The digital landscape of IT Support is forever changing. Just five years ago, the ways IT Managed Service Providers (MSPs) supported their clients is totally different than today. As more companies turn to MSPs for outsourced IT Support and Cloud services, the value...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
JENNIFER TAYLOR
NORTHERN VIRGINIA TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL - PRESIDENT AND CEO
As I look to the future of Northern Virginia, I’m filled with excitement and optimism about our region’s immense potential. Our area has long been known as a powerhouse for government contracting and cloud computing. Still, we are now on the brink of a new era driven by cybersecurity, artificial...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
ANK DE WILDE
FOUNDER & CEO, ABSOLEM
As founder and CEO, I lead an engineering company with my business partner Bruno Dejaeghere. Over the last 10 years I made it my ongoing mission to make this sustainable human-centric approach part of our organisation. I envision Absolem as a company that puts people and society first, without having...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
Jose Rui Marcelino
CEO - Almadesign
From an early age, I was fascinated with the possibility of materializing, through images or objects, what is created by our imagination and which, without the proper communication tools, exists only in our heads: whether to satisfy a need, solve a problem or just because its beauty inspires us. It...
VOICES of the Future
DR. RISA RYGER
EMBRACING CHANGE FOR A VIBRANT FUTURE
In an era where change is our only constant, one woman has taken it upon herself to guide us through the shifting sands of time: Dr. Risa Ryger, a distinguished clinical psychologist, international speaker, and entrepreneur. She has dedicated her life to helping individuals and organizations navigate the often turbulent...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
DANIEL X JOHANSSON
CSO & CO-FOUNDER, AAX BIOTECH
Some of the most meaningful innovations don’t begin with a grand plan. They begin when you hit a wall. A few years ago, we were developing a new therapeutic antibody. To really understand it, we had to figure out where it grabbed onto its target molecule—and what happened to that...
RICHARD BUTLER
FOUNDER, RAGE WORKS
There is truly no one size fits all approach when it comes to podcasting and running a business, especially in New York City. However, this flexibility has allowed me to remain passionate about podcasting and do what I can to help the space grow and thrive, either by adding my...
DR. CHRISTIAN GUTTMANN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NORDIC AI INSTITUTE & SENIOR RESEARCHER, KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET
I wrote my first lines of AI code at 13 on a home computer—little did I know I was joining the earliest wave of AI natives. By 17 I’d launched a startup building intelligent inventory systems so small retailers always knew what was on their shelves before their accountants did—a...
CHARLES WOODIN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, GEEKDOM
I forgot about my dream of being part of a city and space my children would one day want to call home. When I learned about Graham Weston’s vision for founding Geekdom, those dreams came flooding back to me. Graham’s overall vision for revitalizing downtown San Antonio was to build...
Erin Mays & Kalyn Rozanski
CO-CEOs - Ebco
Thought leaders in the truest sense, Erin Mays and Kalyn Rozanski of Ebco are completely reenvisioning and disrupting the trend and innovation research space with unique and differentiated products and services that support global Fortune 1000 companies. Coming from design thinking and qualitative research backgrounds, Mays shares “we no longer...
Brian Kornfield
Synapse - Building The Community, One Connection At A Time
Over the last year, I have been asked time and time again about my story: where I came from and why nobody knew my name. While the long answer involves transitioning from life as a rocket scientist to the President of Synapse (a 501c3 working to connect and organize the...
Justin Gray
CEO - LeadMD
Introduction Justin Gray is a serial entrepreneur, who has launched four multi-million dollar companies, become a recognized speaker and been published over 350 times throughout his career. Justin is the CEO and founder of LeadMD, a role he’s held for the past ten years. He also co-founded PaidSuite, a SaaS...
Greg Ross Munro
Founder And Chief Executive Officer - Sourcetoad
Greg Ross-Munro, Founder And Chief Executive Officer – Sourcetoad That’s when one of the marketing managers from a completely different office walked over to chat with the IT director. She had an idea for integrating marketing data from the CMS into the shipboard signage system that was running on...
DR. FORREST SHRIVER
SENTINEL DEVICES - CEO & FOUNDER
We are on the precipice of major change – change that will define both America and the world for generations to come. Economically, politically, and technologically, the next ten years will be a trend-setter for the next hundred years. Wars and rumors of wars, worries over the future of work...
NATALIE M. CURCIO
M.D., M.P.H., M.M.H.C.CEO & FOUNDER, CURCIO DERMATOLOGY, P.C
My late father will always be my original mentor and the embodiment of everything I have wanted to be…a successful doctor and business professional with a limitless heart for caring for others, an unending passion for giving to those less fortunate, and an unbounded love of being a parent. Losing...
JR Griggs
Founder & President Of Red Wall Marketing
I’ve had a passion for startups and innovation for a very long time. Actually, ever since I was just a little kid I’ve had that entrepreneurial spirit. I was the kid selling candy at school and mowing lawns on weekends and during summers. I always knew I would own a...
VERI OSVALD
CEO OF SMARTHEAD
As CEO of SmartHead, Veri is responsible for fulfilling the vision, strategy, leadership, and sustainable business growth. She has represented SmartHead at the Chivas Venture Competition in Los Angeles and has also attended Accelerator at the University of Oxford. In 2018, Veri was part of the Forbes Top 10 Women...
MICHAEL MACOLINO
MANAGING DIRECTOR, APAC, SVG VENTURES THRIVE
As an entrepreneur, I have always been passionate about leveraging technology to enhance efficiency across various industries Michael Macolino, Managing Director SVG Ventures Thrive (APAC), Ex-Startup Founder & CTO, Focused on AgriFood Tech commercialisation and eco-system, TEDx Speaker, InDaily 40 under 40. At the age of 21, I started my...
Marc Blumenthal
Co-Founder - Synapse Florida Partner
Marc Blumenthal Co-Founder, Synapse Florida Partner, Florida Funders 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...
DR. ELIZABETH CANNON
OC, AOE, FRSC, FCAE, PRESIDENT EMERITA, UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
The energy of our community and the focus not on who you are, but what you can do – and how you can contribute – provided a platform where I knew that hard work would be rewarded. I was not disappointed. I was fortunate to be exposed to the Global...
STEVEN WEST
PROFESSOR, CBE, DL.
On the 27th March I attended a meeting on campus with colleagues from the NHS, army logistics, architects, designers and building contractors. Over the next two hours we agreed the site was viable and the preferred option to support the region. I made the decision there and then to handover...
BRIAN HARSTINE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ACQUIRE
Nearly every socio-economic sector is asking more questions, new questions, and challenging the way they have been doing just about everything, all the way down to their own personal finances and investment decisions. I came across an observation recently; when mass groups of people increase their awareness and knowledge of...
STEFAN SEEGER
VICE PRESIDENT AND PLANT MANAGER, ZF GRAY COURT
Since the inception of the Gray Court facility in Laurens County in 2012, ZF and the State of South Carolina have been a winning combination that has benefitted South Carolina citizens, state and local governments, the ZF Group, and all of our employees at our Gray Court, Charleston and Duncan....
Gordon Nameni, PhD
Managing Partner at August Brown
Innovation alone does not guarantee market success. Many promising technologies fail to gain traction because companies struggle to translate technical breakthroughs into commercially viable products. This is where Tech Translation—a structured framework for bridging the gap between technology development and market adoption—becomes essential. The Tech Translation Framework Tech Translation integrates...
Jim Stackhouse
Founder & CEO - Neolore Networks Inc.
AN EXERCISE IN INNOVATION AND DEMONSTRATING VALUE. The digital landscape of IT Support is forever changing. Just five years ago, the ways IT Managed Service Providers (MSPs) supported their clients is totally different than today. As more companies turn to MSPs for outsourced IT Support and Cloud services, the value...
JENNIFER TAYLOR
NORTHERN VIRGINIA TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL - PRESIDENT AND CEO
As I look to the future of Northern Virginia, I’m filled with excitement and optimism about our region’s immense potential. Our area has long been known as a powerhouse for government contracting and cloud computing. Still, we are now on the brink of a new era driven by cybersecurity, artificial...
ANK DE WILDE
FOUNDER & CEO, ABSOLEM
As founder and CEO, I lead an engineering company with my business partner Bruno Dejaeghere. Over the last 10 years I made it my ongoing mission to make this sustainable human-centric approach part of our organisation. I envision Absolem as a company that puts people and society first, without having...
Jose Rui Marcelino
CEO - Almadesign
From an early age, I was fascinated with the possibility of materializing, through images or objects, what is created by our imagination and which, without the proper communication tools, exists only in our heads: whether to satisfy a need, solve a problem or just because its beauty inspires us. It...
DR. RISA RYGER
EMBRACING CHANGE FOR A VIBRANT FUTURE
In an era where change is our only constant, one woman has taken it upon herself to guide us through the shifting sands of time: Dr. Risa Ryger, a distinguished clinical psychologist, international speaker, and entrepreneur. She has dedicated her life to helping individuals and organizations navigate the often turbulent...
DANIEL X JOHANSSON
CSO & CO-FOUNDER, AAX BIOTECH
Some of the most meaningful innovations don’t begin with a grand plan. They begin when you hit a wall. A few years ago, we were developing a new therapeutic antibody. To really understand it, we had to figure out where it grabbed onto its target molecule—and what happened to that...