Thought Leaders

Botswana Oil, the state-owned oil utility responsible for the country’s fuel security, is leveraging on research, innovation and partnerships to contribute more towards Botswana’s drive to reduce its carbon emissions. Botswana is a minimal contributor to carbon emissions at global scale, with the last update showing that Africa as a...

On a MissionAt Zelis, we are passionate about working to reduce the rising cost of healthcare in America. We are on a mission to help make healthcare more affordable and more understandable for all of us. We partner with healthcare payers and providers to connect consumers with providers; to ensure...

I have been involved in the 3D computer graphics field for over 25 years and have helped build tools that simplify workflows for creators. Early on in my career, I came to understand that in any industry, creators are the key players driving progress and different perspectives forward. Creators have...

CONVERSATIONAL PERFORMANCEAre your people ready to do the job you’ve prepared them for? Do your managers know how to give feedback? Are your salespeople really listening to customers? Managing performance starts with measuring performance. But how do you measure workplace conversations? Language is complex. Conversations are rarely grammatical. Context matters....

What Is the Next Game-Changing Scientific Idea? That’s the Salk Ethos, and It’s Why We Say That Salk Is Where Cures Begin. San Diego’s scientific leaders include at least a half-dozen world-renowned research institutes (J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, Scripps Research and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical...

YOU GO OVER THE EDGE ANYWAY, BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHERE YOU NEED TO GO, AND THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO GET THERE. Kayakers have a name for the spot that a river disappears from sight, just before it turns into a raging rapid. They call it the horizon line....

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...

If I had to distil my years in science, innovation and entrepreneurship into a single lesson, it would be this: real progress happens at the intersection of curiosity and practical need. My journey — from analysing heavy metals in water samples as a young chemist to establishing Estonia’s Applied Research...

A new era of residential energy management is emerging in Australia in response to rising energy prices and environmental concerns. Driven by ‘prosumers’, so named as they both produce and consume resources, including energy, this emerging market has the potential to reshape homes of the future and it has already...

For well over a century, higher education has treated its primary role as preparing young adults for their first job. In today’s world, where skills expire faster than degrees can be completed and technology reshapes industries overnight, that model needs to evolve. If we’re serious about our mission to foster...

LEADING THE NEXT WAVE IN BUSINESSWe are in a huge change moment equal to the Renaissance and the Industrial revolution. The way we have always done business cannot continue to work in this new environment. The focus must move away from expecting employees to serve the company with no reciprocity...

“Our dream as institutions of higher learning in Africa is to facilitate the growth and capacity of our national economies; anchored on locally designed infrastructure in many and different spheres…” What is your vision for your specific industry? The transitioning from a resourced-based to a knowledge-based economy is not a...

Railways has been my constant obsession in the last 30 years, after I assumed the role of developing the Railway business in Portugal. As a fresh Engineer from IST, I started my career at Alcatel as telecoms engineer. Soon my commercial attitude and aptitude drove me to new challenges with...

When I joined Ülemiste City the vision of a smart city for smart people was already in place. Today, the vision has grown into a future-focused urban environment with 18 000 talents from more than 73 countries and 400 companies. Based on the labor tax from business ventures, the contribution...

Ahti Heinla is one of Estonia’s most visionary minds – the co-founder of Starship Technologies and formerly the Chief Technical Architect of Skype. His impact on global communication and autonomous technology is immense, yet his story is deeply rooted in Estonia’s culture of curiosity, experimentation, and civic spirit. Heinla wrote...

Dès mon arrivée à La Cité en 2010, j’ai constaté l’engagement et la passion de la communauté collégiale, la vitalité et la joie de vivre francophones, la culture de l’excellence dans un environnement des plus stimulants et fertiles, le désir profond de voir nos étudiants réussir, et des projets plus...

I’m just a boy from Benoni inspired by a loving family and good friends that put values first. My proudest contribution to this world will always be my son Nicholas, who inspires everyone around him. My career has primarily been B2B focused and spanned trade publishing, trade exhibitions, running a...

Having worked around the globe, I choose Stockholm every time. Close to nature, stunning water all around, super digital, wellbeing and family focused. Also, I believe Stockholm is best placed to lead a united Europe in human-centric innovation. In a world grappling with profound shifts — from volatile stocks, climate,...

English: At a time when local and global challenges demand discoveries at the intersections of diverse disciplines, fostering an adaptable, agile and multi-sectorial innovation ecosystem enables universities to lead as social and economic accelerators. To set this vision in motion, McGill has established a dedicated unit, Innovation, and Partnerships (I+P),...

At Rhoads Industries, innovation does not start with a product. It begins with a vision. As a 130-year-old, family-owned manufacturer, we don’t develop our own products; what we build is driven by our customers’ designs. Our role is to translate those ideas into reality through large-scale fabrication, welding, and assembly,...

Melissa Bradley is a professor of the practice at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where she teaches impact investing, social entrepreneurship, P2P economics, and innovation. Since graduating from Georgetown McDonough in 1989 with a B.S. in finance, Bradley has remained passionate about preserving the strength of the American financial...

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...

When people talk about innovation, it’s often described as a breakthrough moment — the spark that changes everything. In practice, it usually looks very different. Progress tends to come from the smaller steps: listening carefully, sharing experiences openly, and being willing to test something, learn from it, and try again....

One of the most pressing challenges is the need for an educated workforce, particularly amid a changing understanding of what that means. Over the last 20 years, creating that workforce centered on STEM fields and getting a bachelor’s degree. It is time to move beyond the “hard hats vs. high...