Innovation

    Frans Johansson Speaker

    Frans Johansson

    Author of The Medici Effect, speaks on Diversity and Innovation.

     About

    Frans Johansson is the best-selling author of The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts and Cultures (Harvard Business Press, Republished 2017). Translated into 22 languages, The Medici Effect was named one of the top 10 best business books by Amazon.com. His acclaimed follow up, The Click Moment (Penguin Portfolio, 2012), obliterates the idea that in business we can plan and strategize our way to success. Known for his provocative, high-octane delivery style, Johansson is a widely sought-after leadership speaker. His presentations cover topics such as:

    • how to successfully execute innovative ideas
    • leverage different perspectives in an organization to create and execute new ideas
    • how to apply ideas from other industries and cultures to drive innovation, growth and profit
    • why and how diversity drives innovation

    In his role as thought leader and CEO of The Medici Group, Frans has advised executive leadership at Fortune 500 companies such as Disney, IBM, Nike, and Synchrony (formerly GE Financial).

    Johansson has lived all his life at the intersection where ideas from different fields and cultures meet and collide. He was raised in Sweden by his African- American-Cherokee mother and Swedish father. Johansson earned his B.S. in Environmental Science from Brown University and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He founded both a Boston-based software company and a medical device company operating out of Baltimore and Stockholm, Sweden. He has written articles on healthcare, information technology and the science of sport fishing and has been featured on CNN's AC360, ABC's Early Morning Show and CNBC's The Business of Innovation series along with Jack Welch and Muhammad Yunus.  Frans currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the New York Hall of Science.

    The Click of the Moment: Seizing Opportunity in an Unpredictable World is Johansson's latest book.

    Whitney Johnson Speaker

    Whitney Johnson

    Author and Co-Founder, with Clayton Christensen, Rose Park Advisors’ Disruptive Innovation Fund

     About

    Whitney Johnson is recognized as one of the 50 leading business thinkers in the world since 2015 (Thinkers50), Whitney Johnson is an expert on disruptive innovation and personal disruption? specifically, a framework which she codifies in the critically acclaimed book Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work. She is also the author of Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things  Happen When You Dare to Dream.  Her latest title, Build An “A” Team: Become a Boss People Love, will be released in May 2018 by Harvard Business Publishing.

    She developed her proprietary framework and diagnostics after co-founding The Disruptive Innovation Fund with Harvard Business School’s Clayton Christensen. This framework is complemented by a deep understanding of how executives create and destroy value, having spent nearly a decade as an Institutional Investor ranked equity analyst on Wall Street.

    In addition to her work as a speaker and advisor, Whitney is one of Marshall Goldsmith’s original cohort of 25 for the #100 Coaches Project, is a coach for Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program, frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, is a Linkedin influencer, and hosts the twice-monthly Disrupt Yourself Podcast. You can follow her on Twitter at @johnsonwhitney.

    Diana Kander Speaker

    Diana Kander

    New York Times Bestselling Author and Speaker on Innovation

     About

    • Diana talks about how to create an an internal culture of innovation so that every employee is a resource to the effort.
    • Audiences leave with the framework for how your organization – and the people within it – can flourish in this hyper-competitive world.
    • Diana is an attorney, founder, investor & successful entrepreneur, a Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Missouri and a Senior Fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
    • Past clients include: Lexmark, H&R Block, Hallmark, Ford, Gartner and Hyundai.

    Success can be surprisingly dangerous. The habits, skills, and thinking that helped us get to where we are are often the very things that keep us from growing further. Diana Kander helps attendees replace autopilot with curiosity and get excited for what's next.

    A serial entrepreneur who entered the United States as a refugee from the Soviet Union at the age of 8, Diana had launched and sold millions of dollars worth of products and services by her early thirties. Today, she is an innovation consultant, keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author whose books have been taught in over 100 universities.

    Diana has truly cracked the code on how Curiosity can serve as the catalyst for exponential growth, and she thrives on helping audiences understand that they can get better results if they learn how to ask better questions.

    Brett King Speaker

    Brett King

    Author of Bank 2.0 and speaker on financial services and the customer experience

     About

    Brett King, the best selling author of the groundbreaking book BANK 2.0, is the founder of the first direct mobile bank in the US and UK (Movenbank) and a strategic advisor to the world's leading financial services organizations. He is an International Judge for the GSMA Global Mobile Awards, the Asian Banker Retail Excellence Awards and for the MiddleEast Business Achievement Awards.

    A speaker at global events for financial services and innovation, King is a sought after expert on
    innovation, technology disruption, customer experience and channel distribution strategy. He publishes regularly in his role as industry advisor on The Huffington Post, Internet Evolution, FinExtra and his personal blog Banking4Tomorrow.com. He has recently been featured on Bloomberg TV, BBC, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, etc.

    King also a runs a niche strategic advisory firm, User Strategy and is a Board Advisor at Geezeo, a leading software services provider for banks and credit unions. He also advises IAFM, the International Academy of Financial Management (previously known as the American Academy of Financial Management). As one of the founders of IAFM, one of the world's fastest growing professional associations with more than 200,000 members, associates and affiliates in 145 countries,King was instrumental in the development of the worldwide certification training provided by IAFM.

    Previously, he led the Asia division for Modem Media/Digitas (part of the Publicis group) managing revenues in excess of $10m per year and a 100 to 150 staffpersons. King was also the Director of e-Business for Deloitte Consulting with service line responsibilities in the technology integration arena across the Asia region, particularly within the financial services practice. He is working with global banks like HSBC, BMO, TD, RBS and others as a strategic advisor, and also provides thought leadership to leading service organizations like Sapient, WiPro, Oracle, Microsoft and others.

    Scott Klososky Speaker

    Scott Klososky

    Technology Speaker, Author, Consultant and Founder, TriCorps Technologies

     About

    Throughout his career, Scott Klososky has stood on the nexus between technology and humanity. He has worked to define and help organizations discover the ideal blend of technology and human effort. He is widely recognized for his ability to forecast how technology will impact organizations, industries, and our world. He is the founder and principal at FPOV as well as a renowned consultant, speaker, and author.

    Scott’s unique perspectives on technology, business culture, and the future allow him to travel the globe guiding senior executives in organizations ranging from the Fortune 500 to universities, nonprofits, and countless professional associations and coalitions. He has worked with organizations such as American Fidelity Assurance Company, Roche, IBM, General Motors, Georgia Pacific, Legrand, International Franchise Association, and Great Clips. He regularly speaks in front of major conferences helping leaders in countless industries improve the way they integrate technology into their organizations. He is the author of four books including his latest title Did God Create the Internet? The Impact of Technology on Humanity.

    Scott began his career fresh out of high school, where his job as a delivery boy was a springboard into the world of technology. He became division head of a computer sales division and then purchased it as his own company. It was eventually built into a twelve-store operation in three states.

    His next endeavor was as founder and CEO of Paragraph, Inc., a Soviet/American joint venture founded in 1988, despite international tensions. Half of the company was sold to Silicon Graphics, and the other half is still expanding today (Parascript, Inc.).

    Scott then collaborated with H.R. Haldeman to publish a diary of his years as an aide to President Nixon, which was a bestseller (Putnam Publishing), and involved Sony Interactive in the release of a book companion CD-ROM.

    The evolving Internet ushered in a world of opportunity for inspiring pioneers, and Scott was not left behind. He was founder and CEO of webcasts.com, an early producer of webcasted media ranging from corporate and government communications to sporting events and entertainment. He sold webcasts.com in 1999 for $115 million. His expertise in leadership and his creative approach to business direction inspired Critical Technologies to hire him as a turnaround CEO, where he completely rebuilt the underlying products and brought the company to profitability.

    In 2007, Scott founded a start-up called Alkami Technology. This company developed a second-generation online banking platform with innovative features non-existent in current systems. In 2021, the company went public valued at $2.9 billion.

    Tom Koulopoulos Speaker

    Tom Koulopoulos

    Chairman and Founder of Delphi Group, Author and Speaker on Innovation & The Future

     About

    Tom Koulopoulos is Chairman and Founder of Delphi Group, a 30-year-old Boston-based think tank named one of the fastest growing private companies by Inc. Magazine, and the founding partner of Acrovantage Ventures, which invests in early-stage technology startups. He is also the author of 13 books, an Inc.com columnist, the past Executive Director of the Babson College Center for Business Innovation, the past director of the Dell Innovation Lab, and a professor at Boston University.

    His insights have received wide praise from luminaries such as the late Peter Drucker, the father of modern management; Dee Hock, founder of Visa International, and Tom Peters, who called his writing, “a brilliant vision of where we must take our enterprises to survive and thrive.” His Inc. column is read by over one million people yearly.

    Mr. Koulopoulos’ thirteen books include his most recent, Reimagining Healthcare, The Bottomless Cloud, Revealing the Invisible, The Gen Z Effect, and Cloud Surfing. His upcoming book, Gigatrends, looks at the seven tech trends that are shaping the future of how we live, work, and play.

    According to Tom’s mentor, Peter Drucker, Tom’s writing "makes you question not only the way you run your business but the way you run yourself."

    Click Here to Watch Tom's Virtual Presentation

    Dr. Daniel Kraft Speaker

    Dr. Daniel Kraft

    Stanford and Harvard Trained Physician-Scientist, Inventor and Entrepreneur

     About

    Daniel Kraft is a Stanford and Harvard trained physician-scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, and innovator and is serving as the Chair of the XPRIZE Pandemic Alliance Task Force. With over 25 years of experience in clinical practice, biomedical research and healthcare innovation, Kraft has chaired the Medicine for Singularity University  since its inception in 2008, and is founder and chair of Exponential Medicine, a program that explores convergent, rapidly developing technologies and their potential in biomedicine and healthcare. Following undergraduate degrees from Brown University and medical school at Stanford, Daniel was Board Certified in both Internal Medicine & Pediatrics after completing a Harvard residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital & Boston Children's Hospital, and fellowships in hematology, oncology and bone marrow transplantation at Stanford.

    He is often called upon to speak to the future of health, medicine and technology and has given 5 TED and TEDMED Talks.

    He has multiple scientific publications and medical device, immunology and stem cell related patents through faculty positions with Stanford University School of Medicine and as clinical faculty for the pediatric bone marrow transplantation service at University of California San Francisco.

    Daniel is a member of the Kaufman Fellows Society (Class 13) and member of the Inaugural (2015) class of the Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellowship.

    Daniel's academic research has focused on: stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, stem cell derived immunotherapies for cancer, bioengineering human T-cell differentiation, and humanized animal models. His research has been published in journals that include Nature and Science. His clinical work has focuses on: bone marrow / hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for malignant and non-malignant diseases in adults and children, medical devices to enable stem cell based regenerative medicine, including marrow derived stem cell harvesting, processing and delivery. He also implemented the first text-paging system at Stanford Hospital.

    He is heavily involved in digital health, founded Digital.Health, and is on the board of Healthy.io and advises several digital health related startups. Daniel recently founded IntelliMedicine, focused on personalized, data driven, precision medicine. He is also the inventor of the MarrowMiner, an FDA approved device for the minimally invasive harvest of bone marrow, and founded RegenMed Systems, a company developing technologies to enable adult stem cell based regenerative therapies.

    Daniel is an avid pilot and has served in the Massachusetts and California Air National Guard as an officer and flight surgeon with F-15 & F-16 fighter Squadrons. He has conducted research on aerospace medicine that was published with NASA, with whom he was a finalist for astronaut selection.

    Click Here to Watch Dr. Kraft's Virtual Presentation

    Kaihan Krippendorff Speaker

    Kaihan Krippendorff

    Futurist, Strategy and Innovation Expert & Founder of Outthinker

     About

    • Talks about the Outthinker Process, a set proven business strategy tools he has used with more than 300 clients in almost every industry to create innovative strategies and growth ideas that have generated more than $2.5B in revenue.
    • Teaches audiences how to tap into the resources they already have to produce breakthrough market-disrupting solutions, without disrupting their own businesses
    • Thinkers50 recognized Kaihan as one of the 8 most influential innovation thought leaders in the world. Bestselling author of five books, most recently the Edison Award nominated,  Driving Innovation From Within: A Guide for Internal Entrepreneurs
    • Past clients include: AIG, Cisco, Google, Kraft, Sotheby’s, United Technologies, the YPO

    Kaihan Krippendorff is the founder of Outthinker, a global think-tank of chief strategy, innovation, growth, and transformation officers and executives from large public, private, and Fortune 500 companies.

    A former McKinsey consultant and author of 6 books including bestsellers Outthink the Competition, Driving Innovation from Within, and Proximity, Kaihan is recognized by Thinkers50 and Global Gurus as one of the top 20 global management thinkers in strategy and innovation.

    Known for rigorously researched tools and engaging programs, Kaihan is an innovation catalyst and sought-after strategic advisor for some of the world’s most recognizable companies including Aetna-CVS, JP Morgan, Lockheed Martin, Bank of America, Procter & Gamble, IBM, and Yahoo!. His work has created in excess of $3.0 billion in new annual recurring revenue.

    Kaihan is host of the Outthinkers podcast, The Chief Strategy Officer Podcast, and Strategy at Scale podcast. His ideas are frequently published in Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and other leading media outlets. He is a Senior Fellow at Wharton Business School and teaches strategy and innovation at NYU, Florida International University and other programs across the globe. He is an advisory board member of two tech startups.

    Kaihan holds a doctorate in economics and business and engineering degrees from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering, Wharton, Columbia Business School, and London Business School. With a mother from Bangladesh, father from Germany, and wife from Latin America, Kaihan is a global citizen who brings a holistic, diverse, and worldly perspective to everything he does. He is a passionate cook and lives in Miami, Florida, with his wife, three teenage kids, two cats, and a dog.

    Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus has said, "Kaihan shows that with a compelling idea anyone can change the world" and that message has made Kaihan one of the most sought-after business speakers in the world.

    Click Here to Watch Kaihan's Virtual Presentation

    Polly LaBarre Speaker

    Polly LaBarre

    Co-author, Mavericks at Work; Co-Founder, Management Lab; Founding Writer, Fast Company

     About

    In a world awash in profound change and at a time when everything is on the table, Polly LaBarre helps leaders make sense of and creatively respond to the forces buffeting their organizations. A bestselling author, speaker, and thinker who’s advised top global organizations, Polly’s mission for the past 20 years has been to make every kind of organization fundamentally more resilient, innovative and inspiring. Her insights embolden and equip leaders at every level to make a meaningful impact. Polly is an inspiring and provocative voice on the big ideas and important questions that will shape the future of organizations, work, and collective progress.

    Polly’s work is driven by three core questions: 1) How do we support human flourishing? 2) How do we cultivate the audacity of imagination required to tackle our most intractable problems? 3) And, how do organizations and individuals change how they change to become endlessly resilient?

    To make genuine progress on those questions, Polly studies and works with progressive organizations, creates curriculum, and runs experiments for unleashing creativity, expanding collaboration, and accelerating change.

    As cofounder of the Management Lab(with Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini), Polly spent the last decade working to develop a methodology, platform and practical tools for building organizational capability and accelerating change. Polly and her colleagues deployed that pioneering approach to collaborative innovation in a range of large-scale experiments in “hacking management” inside leading companies and across a global community of some 35,000 management innovators.

    Polly is the coauthor of the bestselling book Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win(which The Economist named a “Book of the Year” and called “a pivotal work in the tradition of In Search of Excellence and Good to Great”). She was a member of the original team of Fast Company magazine, where she played a central role in the remarkable success of a magazine that recast the conventional wisdom on working, leading, and winning.

    A sought-after speaker, moderator, and interviewer, Polly has delivered hundreds of keynote addresses around the world and developed and hosted numerous events. Her writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including Fast Company, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Fortune.com, the McKinsey Quarterly, and The Huffington Post. In addition to frequent television appearances on CNBC, PBS’s Nightly Business Report, Good Morning America, and the Today Show, Polly has also been a business and innovation correspondent for CNN where she produced regular segments on big ideas and best practices from the world of business and beyond.

    Polly is a passionate (and experimental) gardener, an ardent cook, and a devoted yogi. She serves on the board of CitySeed, a nonprofit working to build a just and healthy food system and economic opportunity in New Haven, CT. A graduate of Yale University, Polly lives with her family in New Haven.

    Charlene Li Speaker

    Charlene Li

    Best Selling Author, Entrepreneur, and Leadership Speaker

     About

    For the past three decades, Charlene Li has been helping people see the future. She’s an expert on digital transformation, disruption leadership and strategy, customer experience, and the future of work. She’s the author of six books, including the New York Times bestseller, “Open Leadership,” and co-author of the critically acclaimed book, “Groundswell.” Her latest book is the bestseller “The Disruption Mindset.” She is currently working on her next book, “Winning with Generative AI.”

    Charlene is also an entrepreneur, the Founder and CEO of Altimeter, a disruptive analyst firm that was acquired in 2015. She most recently served as the Chief Research Officer for PA Consulting and currently leads her own firm, Quantum Networks Group.

    Charlene has worked with hundreds of top companies ranging from Adobe to Southwest Airlines and advised 49 of the Fortune 100 companies. She has spoken at events like the World Economic Forum, TED, and SXSW.

    Named one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company and a LinkedIn Top Voice on Culture, Charlene graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School. She lives in San Francisco and teaches her cat tricks in her spare time.

    Greg Lindsay Speaker

    Greg Lindsay

    Speaker and Author on the Future of Travel, Technology, and Urban Development

     About

    • Greg talks about how cities‐as‐a‐service are changing how we live, work, move, and more – and the new real estate, services, and business model opportunities this creates.
    • Audiences leave with an understanding of how to recognize the changes technology and innovation have brought to urban environments and how to leverage the opportunities these disruptions have created.
    • Greg Lindsay is a journalist, urbanist, futurist, and speaker, director of applied research at NewCities and director of strategy at its mobility offshoot CoMotion. He is also a non-resident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council’s Foresight, Strategy, and Risks Initiative, a visiting scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, and co-author of Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next.
    • Past clients include: Intel, Samsung, Starbucks, Audi, Chrysler, Hyundai, Tishman Speyer, British Land, André Balazs Properties, Emaar, and Expo 2020.

    Greg Lindsay is a non-resident senior fellow of MIT’s Future Urban Collectives Lab, Ari­zo­na State University’s Threat­cast­ing Lab, and the Atlan­tic Council’s Scow­croft Stra­te­gy Ini­tia­tive. He was the foun­ding chief com­mu­nica­tions offi­cer of AlphaGeo and remains a senior advi­sor. Most re­cen­tly, he was a 2022-2023 urban tech fellow at Cor­nell Tech’s Jacobs Insti­tute, where he ex­plo­­red the impli­cations of AI and aug­men­ted rea­lity at urban scale.

    Greg speaks about the future of cities, mobility, tech­no­logy, security, and work, inclu­ding appea­ran­ces at 10 Down­ing Street, the United States Mili­tary Aca­de­my, San­dia Natio­nal Labo­ra­to­ries, Orga­ni­sa­tion for Eco­no­­mic Co-oper­a­tion and Deve­lop­ment, Har­vard Busi­ness School, MIT Media Lab, and Aspen Ideas Festival.

    He also speaks to companies (Micro­soft, Deloitte, Gensler, Ford, Star­­bucks), orga­ni­za­tions (U.S. Confe­ren­ce of Mayors, Canada Council for the Arts), mem­ber asso­cia­tions (ULI, NAHB, NAI­OP, SIOR) and uni­ver­sities (Harvard, Yale, Prin­ce­ton, NYU, McGill).

    He’s been cited as an expert by The New York Times, The Washing­ton Post, The Wall Street Jour­­­nal, The Guar­dian, USA Today, CNN, NPR, BBC, and CBC Radio.

    Greg’s also a part­ner at the advi­sory firm Future­Map, and has advi­sed Intel, Sam­sung, IKEA, Star­bucks, Audi, Hyun­dai, Tish­man Spe­yer, Brit­ish Land, André Ba­lazs Proper­ties, Aldar, Emaar, and Expo 2020, along with nume­rous G20 govern­­ment entities. Pre­viously, he was urbanist-in-resi­den­ce at BMW MINI’s urban tech acce­le­ra­tor, URBAN-­X, as well as direc­tor of applied re­search at New­Cities and foun­ding direc­tor of stra­te­gy at its mobi­lity-focused off­shoot, Co­Motion.

    Josh Linkner Speaker

    Josh Linkner

    Serial entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and venture capital investor

     About

    • Speaker on Creativity, Change, Innovation, and Leadership
    • Talks about Big Little Breakthroughs -- how small, everyday ideas drive gigantic results
    • Tech start up leader, Josh started, built, and sold five companies for a combined sum of over $200 million
    • Author of four books including the New York Times Bestsellers, Disciplined Dreaming and The Road to Reinvention
    • Past clients include: Bank of America, Deloitte, Ford Motor Company, Intel, Coca-Cola, Nike, P&G, SAP

    Josh Linkner is a New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, venture capital investor, professional jazz guitarist, and a globally-recognized innovation expert. On the business front, he’s been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which created over 10,000 jobs and sold for a combined value of over $200 million. He’s the co-founder and Managing Partner of Muditā (mooDEE-tah) Venture Partners - an early-stage venture capital firm investing in groundbreaking technologies. Over the last 30 years, he's helped over 100 startups launch and scale, creating over $1 billion in investor returns. He's twice been named the EY Entrepreneur of The Year and is the recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.

    While proud of his business success, his roots are in the dangerous world of jazz music. He’s been playing guitar in smoky jazz clubs for 40 years, studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and has performed over 1000 concerts around the world.

    His experiences in both business and music led him to become one of the world’s foremost experts on innovation. Josh is the co-founder and Chairman of Platypus Labs, a global research, training, and consulting firm. Today, he’s on a mission to help leaders Find A Way™ through creative problem-solving, inventive thinking, and ingenuity.

    Click Here to Watch Josh's Virtual Presentation

    Beau Lotto Speaker

    Beau Lotto

    Neuroscientist, Entrepreneur, and Author of Deviate

     About

    • Beau talks about how we adapt and thrive in times of change to find solutions to questions that haven’t been asked yet.
    • Beau's interactive, and fun presentation will equip people to challenge their own assumptions and beliefs and come away better able to innovate, collaborate, lead, and adapt to new realities.
    • Beau Lotto is a three-time TED speaker, a best-selling author, professor and the founder and CEO of two companies –Lab of Misfits, the world’s first neuro-design studio, and Ripple, which holds several highly influential patents in Augmented Reality (AR).
    • Past clients include: Cirque du Soleil, L’Oreal, Asurion, Microsoft, Edelman, and The UAE’s Crown Prince’s Court.

    The only way to thrive in a rapidly changing world is to change with it. We know that. But the biggest barrier is in our heads. Neuroscientist and entrepreneur Beau Lotto shows why adapting –moving from A to B –means first moving from A to not-A. We needto let go of the assumptions and beliefs that keep us from seeing the world differently. A world-renowned expert in the science of perception, Beau reveals why trading certainty for doubt increases our capacity to adapt, lead, innovate, and thrive in the darkness of “I don’t know.”

    A professor with deep academic credentials and critical scholarly works on the subject, Beau is also founder and CEO of two companies –Lab of Misfits, the world’s first neuro-design studio, and Ripple, which holds several highly influential patents in Augmented Reality (AR). A three-time mainstage TED speaker with over 9,000,000 views, Beau has spoken around the world, delivering totally unique, visually stunning, interactive, and fun presentations that help people act differently in the face of change. His message is an ideal conference kick-off –providing powerful, positive, creative context that sets a tone for the content and collaboration that follow. Beau’s latest book is Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently.

    A professor with deep academic credentials and critical scholarly works on the subject, Beau is also founder and CEO of two companies – Lab of Misfits, the world’s first neuro-design studio, and Ripple, which holds several highly influential patents in Augmented Reality (AR). A three-time mainstage TED speaker with over 9,000,000 views, Beau has spoken around the world, delivering totally unique, visually stunning, interactive, and fun presentations that help people act differently in the face of change. His message is an ideal conference kick-off – providing powerful, positive, creative context that sets a tone for the content and collaboration that follow. Beau’s latest book is Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently.

    In 2001, Beau Lotto founded the Lab of Misfits Studio,the world’s only neuroperception creative studio that is also a real neuroscience lab. The Lab’s goal is to foster adaptability and creativity. Their unique process of experiential experiments unites neuroscience expertise and measurement with digital technology and immersive design. They study humans “in the wild” -in theaters, public spaces, even across entire cities -using a combination of digital, virtual, and physical techniques and neuroscientific methodologies. By unveiling the essential truths that drive human decisions, their work deepens connections and creates innovations. Pragmatically, their insights are scientifically unique and quantified, commercially valuable to thestakeholders, and emotional and actionable to public audiences. They havesince created public experiences around the world, including London’s Science Museum, Hayward Gallery on London’s South Bank, and a public art installation in London’s famous Silicon Roundabout. Their past clients include Cirque du Soleil, L’Oreal, Asurion, Microsoft, Edelman, The UAE’s Crown Prince’s Court, and others. Lab of Misfits currently powers the neuroscience offering at Burson Cohn & Wolfe, one of the world's largest public relations and communications firms.

    Beau is also CEO and founder of Ripple Inc, which holds five highly influential patents in Augmented Reality (AR) with two further patents pending. Using its technology and exclusive patented IP, the Lab creates digital platforms and custom, proprietary digital interactions that layer the world with immersive digital content. Examples include the GPS-based AR apps Traces, Acoustigram, and W_nder, all of which focus on location-tied storytelling, adding a layer of meaning to the world that has hitherto been impossible.

    Click Here to Watch Beau's Virtual Presentation

     

    Terence Mauri Speaker

    Terence Mauri

    Innovation & Disruptive Leadership Speaker

     About

    TERENCE MAURI - Global Authority on the Future of Leadership | AI & Disruption Expert | MIT Entrepreneur Mentor | Thinkers50 Author: 

    Lead What’s Next

    Terence Mauri helps leaders turn uncertainty into opportunity. Founder of Hack Future Lab, MIT Entrepreneur Mentor and five-time bestselling author, Terence works at the intersection of leadership, AI, disruption and the future of work.

    His high-energy, thought-provoking keynotes challenge audiences to question outdated assumptions, embrace new possibilities and make smarter, bolder decisions about what comes next. Terence doesn’t just tell audiences what the future might look like. He helps them decide what to do about it.

    WHY BOOK TERENCE MAURI?

    Your audience doesn’t need another speaker telling them AI is changing everything. They need someone who can help them understand what those changes mean—and how to respond. Terence connects AI, disruption and transformation to the real challenges leaders face:

    • How do we make decisions without all the answers?
    • How do we move faster without creating chaos?
    • How do we embrace AI without losing human judgment?
    • How do we turn disruption into opportunity?

    Through provocative ideas, business research, storytelling and practical frameworks, Terence gets audiences thinking differently—and ready to act differently.

    WHAT MAKES TERENCE DIFFERENT?

    • He Makes the Future Relevant
    • He Focuses on the Human Side of AI
    • He Challenges Comfortable Thinking
    • He doesn’t just want your audience listening.
    • He Makes Big Ideas Practical

    Through advance discussions with your leadership team and, where appropriate, audience members, Terence learns about your organization’s priorities and challenges.

    He then connects his ideas directly to your industry, your strategy and your people. It isn’t simply a Terence Mauri presentation. It’s a Terence Mauri presentation for your audience

    CLICK HERE TO CHECK TERENCE MAURI'S AVAILABILITY NOW

    Scott McKain Speaker

    Scott McKain

    Best-selling Author and Dynamic Speaker on Sales, Innovation & Customer Service

     About

    • Talks about distinctive customer service to differentiate yourself in your industry and the marketplace
    • Audiences learn how to separate themselves from the competition by distinguishing their value in the marketplace
    • Author of  ICONIC: How Organizations and Leaders Attain, Sustain, and Regain the Ultimate Level of Distinction
    • Past clients include: BMW, Colgate, Fidelity Investments, Intel, Kaiser Permanente, Sobey’s, UBS

    Scott McKain is globally recognized as an authority on how organizations and professionals create the distinction required to attract and retain customers and employees.

    Scott’s presentations benefit from over three decades of experience, combined with his innate talent for articulating successful innovative ideas. McKain has spoken and consulted with leaders of the world’s most influential corporations, presenting his business strategies in all fifty states and twenty-two countries... from Singapore to Sweden; from Mexico to Morocco… from the White House with the President in attendance - to conferences in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

    McKain’s latest book, released by an imprint from Simon & Schuster, titled “ICONIC: How Organizations and Leaders Attain, Sustain, and Regain the Ultimate Level of Distinction” was released to rave reviews from the world’s leading executives and thought leaders - and was named a “Top Ten” pick of the year by Forbes.com.

    Scott’s unique platform style has earned him induction into the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame - and his remarkable content earned him membership (along with Dale Carnegie, Zig Ziglar, and Og Mandino) - as one of only 24 selected for inclusion in the Sales and Marketing Hall of Fame. He is currently Corporate Educator in Residence at High Point University - named by U.S. News & World Report as the nation’s “most innovative” university.

    Click Here to Watch Scott's Virtual Presentation

    Greg  McKeown Speaker

    Greg McKeown

    Social Innovator and Peak Performance Speaker

     About

    Greg McKeown has dedicated his career to discovering why some people and teams break through to the next level—and others don’t.

    The definitive treatment of this issue is addressed in McKeown’s New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. As well as frequently being the #1 Time Management book on Amazon, this book challenges core assumptions about achievement to get to the essence of what really drives success.

    McKeown is the CEO of McKeown Inc. Clients include Adobe, Apple, Google, Facebook, Pixar, Salesforce.com, Symantec, Twitter, VMware and Yahoo!.

    His writing has appeared or been covered by The New York Times, Fast Company, Fortune, HuffPost, Politico, and Inc. Magazine. He is among the most popular bloggers for the Harvard Business Review and LinkedIn’s Influencers group: averaging a million views a month.

    McKeown has been interviewed on numerous television and radio shows including NPR, NBC, FOX, and as a regular guest on The Steve Harvey Show. Entrepreneur voted his interview at Stanford University the #1 Must-See Video on Business, Creativity and Success.

    Essentialism was voted by Goodread as the #1 Leadership and Success Book to Read in a Lifetime.

    McKeown is an accomplished public speaker. He has spoken to hundreds of audiences around the world including in Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, England, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan and Singapore.

    Highlights include speaking at SXSW, interviewing Al Gore at the Annual Conference of the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland and receiving a personal invitation from Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway, to speak to his Annual Innovation Conference.

    McKeown challenges conventional wisdom in a unique and engaging style from the first moment to the last instant. As the event organizer at Greater Public said after McKeown addressed their 1,000-person conference, “I have been part of this event for 16 years and McKeown is the best speaker we have ever had!”

    McKeown is an active Social Innovator. Serving as a Board Member for Washington D.C. policy group Resolve and as a mentor with 2 Seeds, a non-profit incubator for agricultural projects in Africa. He has also been a speaker at non-profit groups including The Kauffman Fellows, Net Impact and Stanford University: he recently gave back to Stanford University by co-creating a popular class called, Designing Life, Essentially.

    He serves as a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum. He recently moderated a session at the “Summer Davos” in China called, “Unpacking Social Innovation Models for Maximum Impact”, served as a panelist at the “Sharpening Your Creative Edge” working session at the Forum.

    Prior to this, McKeown collaborated in the research and writing of Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter and worked for Heidrick & Struggles’ Global Leadership Practice assessing senior executives. His newest publication is Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most

    Originally from London, England, McKeown now lives in Calabasas, California with his wife, Anna, and their four children. He did his graduate work at Stanford University.

    Mike Michalowicz Speaker

    Mike Michalowicz

    Author & Speaker on Entrepreneurship

     About

    By his 35th birthday Mike Michalowicz (pronounced mi-‘kal-o-wits) had founded and sold two multi-million dollar companies.

    Confident that he had the formula to success, he became a small business angel investor… and proceeded to lose his entire fortune. Then he started all over again, driven to find better ways to grow healthy, strong companies. Mike has devoted his life to the research and delivery of innovative, impactful, entrepreneurial strategies to you.

    Mike is the creator of Profit First, which is used by hundreds of thousands of companies across the globe to drive profit. He is the creator of Clockwork, a powerful method to make any business run on automatic. And his latest, arguably most impactful discovery, is Fix This Next. In Fix This Next, Mike details the strategy businesses can use to determine what to do, in what order, to ensure healthy, fast, permanent growth (and avoid debilitating distractions).

    Today, Mike leads two new multi-million-dollar ventures, as he tests his latest business research for his books. He is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal and business makeover specialist on MSNBC. Mike is a popular main stage keynote speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics; and is the author of Fix This NextClockworkProfit FirstSurgeThe Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.

    Kaplan Mobray Speaker

    Kaplan Mobray

    Internationally Acclaimed Best-selling Author, Motivational Speaker, Career Consultant, Founder of The Kaplan Mobray Leadership Institute

     About

    • Kaplan talks about the ten principles for leadership excellence at all levels.
    • Teaches audiences ready-to-implement knowledge on how to become strategic thinkers, embrace accountability, leverage disruption and change for growth, and learn tools to drive operational excellence in how they engage with their team.
    • Kaplan is an internationally Acclaimed Best-selling Author, Motivational Speaker, Career Consultant, Founder of The Kaplan Mobray Leadership Institute.
    • Past clients include: Proctor & Gamble, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Shell, Xerox, Paypal, Qantas Airways, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Playboy Enterprises and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

    Click Here to Watch Kaplan's Virtual Presentation

    Recognized by Meetings and Conventions Magazine as one of the nation’s top business speakers, Kaplan Mobray is globally acclaimed as one of the world’s most dynamic and inspirational  speakers and award-winning author of “The 10Ks of Personal Branding”.

    Educated at the Wharton School he has been featured across global media outlets including CNN, Biz Asia, FOX Business, Businessweek, The Wall Street Journal, and shares his message to NFL players and fans annually at the Super Bowl. Kaplan has delivered keynote presentations and leadership development workshops on 5 continents helping individuals globally to build their brand, grow their business, become better leaders, increase sales, and advance their career.

    He continues to serve as a consultant to multinational companies working with global business leaders to elevate Performance Excellence, Branding, Business Growth, Innovation, Leadership
    Excellence, Culture and Engagement, Inclusion, and Workforce Transformation. All of his innovative presentations have been described as life-changing events. In his personal pursuits, Kaplan is a professional saxophone player. Kaplan resides in New York and serves as a frequent speaker across the Global Conferences and Events Circuit. Kaplan has been a frequent main platform speaker at the prestigious Million Dollar Roundtable (MDRT) national and global conferences.

    Natalie Nixon Speaker

    Natalie Nixon

    Strategy, Foresight, and Innovation Expert, Award-winning Author

     About

    Natalie Nixon, PhD is "the creativity whisperer to the C-Suite". She is a creativity strategist who advises leaders on achieving transformative business results by applying wonder & rigor. She is a highly sought after global keynote speaker, valued for her accessible expertise on creativity, the future of work and innovation.

    Natalie was selected for Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2024; Real Leaders' "Top 50 Keynote Speakers in the World for 2022" list; and has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company and INC. She is the author of the award-winning The Creativity Leap—an honoree in the creativity category of Fast Company's 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards. Her firm, Figure 8 Thinking, was named among the top 20 women-led innovation firms in 2021 by Core 77. Clients have included Microsoft, Salesforce, Comcast, Citrix, Morrison & Foerster, Living Cities, VaynerMedia and Bloomberg.

    A hybrid thinker, Natalie consistently applies her background in cultural anthropology, fashion, design thinking and dance. She is an early-stage investor at two social impact ventures, valued for her ability to work at the intersection of commercial value and stakeholder equity.

    Natalie is a trustee of the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt Design Museum; and a former trustee of Vassar College and Leadership+Design. She has lived in Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Israel, and Sri Lanka and is proficient in Portuguese and Spanish. She is certified as a Foresight Practitioner by the Institute for the Future. She received her BA (honors) from Vassar College, and her PhD from the University of Westminster in London.

    When she's not dancing up a storm in hip-hop class, Natalie is fine-tuning her salsa, foxtrot and tango on the ballroom floor. She lives in her hometown of Philadelphia with her husband, John Nixon, and is the proud stepmother of Sydney.

    Angela Oguntala Speaker

    Angela Oguntala

    Global Authority on Foresight and Innovation

     About

    Named a Future Innovator by the United Nations, Angela Oguntala is a futurist and global authority on foresight and innovation.

    She is a founding partner at Greyspace, a foresight consultancy. Across the globe, she helps organizations understand and innovate for a world in transition. Her clients have included IKEA, Hermès, Philips, Sky, Deloitte, The World Economic Forum, The World Trade Organization, Microsoft, Bayer and Swiss Life.

    Over the past decade, Angela has been asked to speak on a wide range of future-facing topics. She has delivered hundreds of keynotes worldwide on themes including: innovating through uncertainty, emerging technology impacts, purpose driven innovation, leadership & organizational foresight, creativity, sustainability, as well as on specific domains from the future of work to futures of healthcare.

    Angela leaves audiences with insights, inspiration, and actionable tactics to engage with significant shifts ahead, and to critically question what needs to shift to meet future demands. She is a Salzburg Global Fellow for leaders challenged to shape a better worldand has been featured as an expert on futures thinking on outlets including Sky, TED, and NPR.

    Angela is an American who shares her time between the US (Atlanta, Georgia) and Copenhagen, Denmark.

    Dr. Roch Parayre Speaker

    Dr. Roch Parayre

    Speaker and Expert on Innovation, Decision-Making, Scenario Planning and Blue Ocean Strategy

     About

    Dr. Roch Parayre is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ Philadelphia office and a member of Heidrick Consulting. He was previously a senior partner at Decision Strategies International, a global strategy and leadership development advisory firm acquired by Heidrick & Struggles in 2016, where he also led the Blue Ocean Strategy Practice.

    A strategist and master teacher, Dr. Parayre has advised organizations on five continents across a broad spectrum of industries, helping them grow and transform their businesses. He is an expert and conducts executive education seminars on the topics of decision-making, scenario planning, innovation, and strategy. Roch teaches in executive education programs at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, at CEDEP and INSEAD in France, for Duke Corporate Education, and at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

    Dr. Parayre was previously a senior fellow at the Mack Center for Technological Innovation at the Wharton School and a faculty member at the Cox School of Business at SMU, where he won numerous MBA teaching awards. His published works are in a variety of academic journals, industry reports, and trade publications.

    Deborah Perry Piscione Speaker

    Deborah Perry Piscione

    Authority on Changing Mindsets, Best-selling Innovation Author and Entrepreneur

     About

    • Deborah talks about  every organization can develop new mindsets, organizational structures, and product development/problem-solving processes – that will maximize opportunities in the future.
    • Audiences leave inspired by her pragmatic presentation on harnessing the energy in every organization.
    • Deborah Perry Piscione is a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur, national bestselling author, media commentator and public speaker.
    • Past clients include: Google, McKinsey, TED Talks, Cadence Design, London School of Economics, Microsoft, McDonald's, NetApp, Princeton University, KPMG, Innotown, Qualcomm, Stanford University, and Accenture.

    As one of the world's leading thought leaders on the future, a Silicon Valley-based serial entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author of Secrets of Silicon Valley, Deborah Perry Piscione is the go-to authority on AI transformation, the future of work, and innovation leadership. Currently serving as Chief Future Officer at Work3 Institute and General Partner at Sterling Capital, her latest book Employment is Dead: How Disruptive Technologies Are Revolutionizing the Way We Work was named a Top 25 Business Book of 2025 by DisruptTV.

    A former legislative aide on Capitol Hill and the White House, Deborah brings a unique perspective spanning Washington power dynamics and Silicon Valley innovation. A Thinkers50 nominee and Senior Advisor for Global Peter Drucker Futures 2050, she speaks at over 100 global events annually on behalf of Harvard Business Review and has advised Fortune 500 companies including Microsoft, Oracle, Qualcomm, McKinsey & Co, Accenture, Pfizer and Nike.

    Deborah Perry Piscione: Recent Recognition:

    • Thinkers50 Nominee (2026)
    • Harvard Business Review: Regular contributor on AI strategy and future of work
    • New York Times Bestselling Author, Secrets of Silicon Valley
    • Former Television Commentator: CNN, MSNBC, Fox News
    • LinkedIn Learning Author with two flagship courses, “Executing on Innovation” and “Risk-taking for Leaders” reaching thousands of leaders globally (now translated into Mandarin, German, and French)
    Matt Phillips Speaker

    Matt Phillips

    Serial Entrepreneur, Leading Expert & Keynote Speaker on Innovation and Creativity

     About

    Matt Phillips is a leading expert on innovation and breakthrough thinking. For over 20 years, Matt has been an in-demand advisor to the Fortune 500, large nonprofits and rapidly growing mid-sized companies.

    As the founder of Phillips & Co., a Chicago-based innovation think tank, Matt leads a team of researchers, strategists and inventors who help organizations invent new products, services and businesses. Their clients include Paramount Pictures, Dell, Verizon, Purina, Pella, the National Science Foundation, the TSA, and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

    Matt holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Conservatory Program in Improv at The Second City.

    Vince Poscente Speaker

    Vince Poscente

    Peak performance speaker, Olympic skier and best-selling author.

     About

    Vince Poscente, one of the most in-demand speakers today, is an expert on resiliency - the ability to overcome challenges and motivate to bounce back even stronger than ever before. His client list includes top organizations with one thing in common: they understand that success is not just about reaching your goals and getting what you want. There also has to be an intent to handle set-backs and overcome obstacles and end up smarter, stronger and more focused than ever before, Vince knows first-hand the power that attitude, determination and innovation play in your future success -- especially when life doesn’t go as planned.

    Vince has two signature keynotes where the first half of his life he went downhill. The second half he goes up. First, Full Speed Ahead reveals the formula for big goals in short order with his story of recreational skier to Olympics in just four short years. Second, Become a Local Hero, outlines the qualities of everyday heroes using the backdrop of ten years of leading Heroes Climb expeditions in the Himalayas. In both cases audiences experience the way to bounce back and find another path. Another solution. Another way to achieve extraordinary outcomes. Vince is a New York Times Best Selling author. Hall of Fame Speaker in the USA and Canada.  Award winning business owner. Expedition leader.

    So, what are your teams’ obstacles? The economy?  Competition?  Negative attitudes?  Lower productivity? And the list goes on.

    Vince is the #1 go-to guy for taking a team and teaching them how to lead better.  Produce more.  Sell more. And move past the obstacles and into a mental space that creates the kind of success you and your team want and deserve.

    This is NOT Vince just telling his story. Because everybody has a story. This is about Vince sharing strategies and solutions that will definitely change how your team handles crisis. Problems.  Competition. And change.   Without understanding resiliency and the absolute importance it plays on everything and everyone - your team will not have the skills they need to overcome the things that will inevitably stand in their way.

    Freddie Ravel Speaker

    Freddie Ravel

    Celebrated Performer, International Expert and Keynote Speaker on Business & Communication

     About

    • Freddie talks about how leaders can challenge and inspire organizations to discover their untapped potential through the power of Active Listening & The Music of Leadership, using music focused stories to help leaders build stronger teams.
    • Audiences learn how to enhance interpersonal and professional leadership skills, amplify engagement and clarify their desired goals and outcomes.
    • Bilingual Speaker (English & Spanish) Freddie Ravel is a GRAMMY nominated maestro & performer, Founder of "Life in Tune," and Business Success Expert. His clients have described his keynotes & emcee services as the "ideal balance of entertainment and content."
    • Past clients include: IBM, Toyota, Red Bull, NASA, Apple, Blue Cross, Prudential, Google and Citi.

    Click Here to Watch Freddie's Virtual Video

    Freddie Ravel is the GRAMMY-nominated Keynote Maestro - who combines his expertise for business breakthroughs and virtuoso piano performances with a clear and concise application of music’s communicative and scientific powers to inspire, ignite and lift the minds, hearts and potential of audiences around the world.

    Backed by number one hits and collaborative successes with Madonna, Earth, Wind and Fire, Prince and Carlos Santana to leading the teams of J Lo, Jimmy Kimmel and Lady Gaga - the #1 chart-topping composer is the Founder of “LIFE IN TUNE," a worldwide program that delivers customized peak performance experiences - to reveal how the structure of music enhances leadership, innovation and productivity for entrepreneurs to major corporations alike. Dubbed the “Keynote Maestro” by the City of Los Angeles, Ravel received the city’s Award of Recognition for creating a music-based system to “renew the national and international economy” - while his film, TV, radio and recording credits include CBS, FOX, CW, Universal, iHeart and XM Sirius. Straddling sectors across Media, Tech, Healthcare and Wellness, Diversity and Inclusion, Communications, Social Impact and Financial Services - clients refer to him as “The ideal balance of Entertainment and Content”.

    These include IBM, Toyota, Red Bull, NASA, Apple, Blue Cross, Prudential, Google and Citi where he continues to serve as a captivating access point through which to transform corporations, education, entertainment and the human condition. Based on decades of entrepreneurial and corporate training, scientific research and directing and performing with many of the music legends of our time - conference planners often engage Freddie and his team in the program planning process to help design and incorporate their meeting objectives into a rich, harmonious and rewarding experience. Having performed in over eighty countries, Freddie is in tune with cultural nuances and sensitivities delivering the universal language in both English and Spanish - as well as collaborating with translators to uplift your audience to success.

    Rebecca Ryan Speaker

    Rebecca Ryan

    Innovator, Speaker, Author, Futurist and Economist

     About

    Rebecca Ryan is a human sparkplug - part futurist, part economist. She is always engaging - and is one of America’s most influential and innovative thought leaders who helps cities and companies think around the corner to what’s next. Rebecca is the Resident Futurist at the Alliance for Innovation, a Senior Advisor at the Governing Institute, a faculty member at the Institute for Zen Leadership, the Founder of Futurist Camp, the inventor of Futures Labs - and the owner of NEXT Generation Consulting, Inc.

    What is Strategic Foresight? "Strategic foresight" is a bland term for a great idea: to look into the future - and figure out what’s coming, so you can be ready. Rebecca is one of a few hundred people in the world who hold the designation of "APF" - conferred to full members of the Association of Professional Futurists. Her peers call her "one of the world's leading futurists" - and she has led foresight projects for Fortune 500 companies and many of America's most innovative cities.

    She is the author of The Next Big Things: The Future of Local Government (2015), ReGENERATION: A Manifesto for America’s Future Leaders (2013), and Live First, Work Second: Getting Inside the Head of the Next Generation (2007).

    As Founder of Next Generation Consulting, Rebecca leads the team that best-selling author Richard Florida calls, “One of the most reliable sources for leaders who want to attract and retain the next generation of creative workers." Rebecca has also been named: Top 100 Most Influential People by Accounting Today and Entrepreneur of the Year by U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

    Robert Safian Speaker

    Robert Safian

    Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company & Inspiring Speaker on the Future of Business

     About

    Robert Safian is one of the most sought-after speakers, moderators, and interviewers in modern business. From leadership positions at Fast Company, Time, Fortune and Money, to incisive analysis across multiple TV networks, podcasts and digital platforms, Safian has been lauded as an unparalleled source of insight on the future of the global enterprise. He is not only among the most acclaimed publishing executives in history but has deep relationships across the C-suite in multiple industries, accessing the cutting-edge developments that are reshaping our world.

    For decades Safian has chronicled thousands of odds-defying organizations and leaders, uncovering their secrets of success. He synthesizes their lessons into eye-opening and thoroughly entertaining presentations filled with compelling storytelling. Whether assessing a startup in Detroit, the tech scene in Palo Alto or an iconoclast in Shanghai, Safian is constantly translating what is next and new to the mainstream. By presenting stories of the people behind innovative business thinking, he provides hope to millions of talented professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders that meaningful change is possible.

    Safian has been propelled by a reputation for near-clairvoyant prediction. He was the first editor to put Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg on a magazine cover and covered Airbnb, Netflix and Uber long before they were household names. For nearly twelve years he led the influential, award-winning business magazine Fast Company, turning it into the world's leading progressive business media brand. He was named Editor of the Year by Adweek, and earned the highly coveted National Magazine Award for Magazine of the Year in 2014, beating out rivals including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine and more.

    Prior to Fast Company, Safian was the executive editor for Time and Fortune and headed Money as its chief editor for six years. He is a frequent guest on CBS, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC and other TV networks.

    His latest projects include The Flux Group, an advisory firm that is driving awareness of new business practices to both individual companies and mass-market audiences; The Flux Network, a special invitation-only community of leading thinkers, creative collaborators and idea generators; and a highly-anticipated forthcoming book on the reinvention of business that is identifying how leaders at all levels can best adapt and thrive in today’s high-flux environments and turn disruption to their advantage.

    Safian has also built a reputation as one of today’s top interviewers, conducting onstage dialogues with many of the world's most intriguing leaders including the CEOs of Starbucks, Nike, Target, Ford, Pepsico, Pixar, Walmart.com, Chobani, Under Armour, J Crew, Soulcycle, Casper, Pinterest, Warby Parker and more, plus celebrities including Kate Hudson, Serena Williams, Chelsea Clinton, Princess Reema Bint Bandar of Saudi Arabia, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jordan Spieth, Jared Leto, Alicia Keys and more. He has been a keynote presenter at events ranging from SxSW Interactive to the United Nation's Global Accelerators Council, the National Retail Federation's "Big Show" to the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, HSM Brazil to The World Congress on Intelligent Transport.

    In addition to all of Safian's wide experiences, pool of knowledge, and deft storytelling skills, he is also warm, approachable, and an expert at working with event organizers to personalize his presentations for each audience.

    John Sanei Speaker

    John Sanei

    Best-selling Author, Futurist & Keynote Speaker with a passion for psychology & technology

     About

    • A co-host of the 2x award-winning business podcast, The Expansive.
    • An author and co-author of 11 books, five of which are best-sellers.
    • Ranked 5th among the World's Top Futurists for 2025, according to Global Gurus research.
    • Faculty at Duke Corporate Education.

    John Sanei has worked with thousands of leaders and organizations across the globe, including Google, Mastercard, NASA, Singularity University, and clients in technology, finance, FMCG, consulting, government, education, and beyond. He is a sought-after futurist and transformation specialist who helps decision-makers navigate uncertainty, especially in an A.I-disrupted world, so they can turn anxiety into confidence, complexity into clarity, and confusion into purposeful action.

    He speaks on topics including futures thinking, organizational transformation, human adaptability, technology integration, resilient leadership, and the evolving relationship between humans and A.I. His sessions are known for being emotionally resonant, commercially relevant, and rich in insights drawn from neuroscience, psychology, and systems strategy.

    Ross Shafer Speaker

    Ross Shafer

    Emmy Award-Winning Network Talk Show Host, Best-selling Author, and Hilarious Change Expert

     About

    • Ross talks about how professional and personal success follows from one's commitment to being accountable--when we are the architect of our own life, we will have more time, money and happiness.
    • Audiences learn that they can no longer blame “government regulation,” “the economy” or “the competition” – or “changes in management" -- for their discontent. Focus on what you can control. Personal growth and opportunity always emerge from realizing that nobody cares more about your career and success than YOU do. Be accountable – and you won’t have to wait for anybody to elevate your position in work and life.
    • 6-time Emmy Award Winning TV host, comedian, and writer; Author of 9 Business Books & Entrepreneur
    • Past clients include: ACE Hardware, Aflac, Hilton Hotels, Hyundai, iPipeline

    As a popular headline comedian and 6-Time Emmy Award winning TV host, Ross Shafer has been a lifelong student of human nature. He says, “I have been eternally fascinated by the laughter and tears business.”

    To date, Ross has hosted (5) network TV shows, (Match Game on ABC, Love me, Love Me Not on USA, The Late Show on FOX, Days End on ABC, and Almost Live on NBC).

    As a serial entrepreneur, Ross has rescued (23) businesses from bankruptcy and turned them around for a tidy profit. To that end, he has leveraged his business savvy to write and produce (14) Human Resource training films on Customer Service, Motivation, Leadership, and Peer Pressure, and has authored (11) books; Cook- Like-A-Stud, Nobody Moved Your Cheese, Customer Empathy, The Customer Shouts Back, Are You Relevant? No More Customer Friction, Grab More Market Share, Absolutely Necessary (coauthored with Michael Burger), Behave Like a Startup, Success, It’s on You, and Rattled (co-authored with Allison Dalvit).

    Today, Ross is the funniest and most sought after corporate keynote speakers on the subjects of Customer Friction, Personal Growth, Reinvention, Resilience, and Market Relevance.

    Ross is the beaming father of three children and “Papa” to four grandchildren.

    Click Here to Watch Ross' Virtual Presentation

    Stephen Shapiro Speaker

    Stephen Shapiro

    International Best Seller and Innovation Evangelist

     About

    • Stephen talks about how all leaders can learn to innovate and teach their teams how to innovate to stay one step ahead of the competition.
    • Audiences leave with specific advice on how to build a culture of innovation, through practical ideas and processes.
    • Stephen Shapiro is one of the foremost authorities on innovation culturecollaboration, and open innovation. He is a best selling author and regular contributor to Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
    • Past clients include: Nike, Microsoft, Staples, GE, NASA, BP, Johnson & Johnson, The United States Air Force, Fidelity Investments, Pearson Education, Nestle, and Bristol-Myers Squibb

    Click Here to Watch Stephen's Virtual Presentation

    Stephen Shapiro is one of the foremost authorities on innovation culture, collaboration, and open innovation.

    During the past twenty years, his message to hundreds of thousands of people in over 40 countries around the world has focused on how to enable innovation by bringing together divergent points of view in an efficient manner.

    Over the years, Stephen Shapiro has shared his innovative philosophy in books such as 24/7 Innovation, The Little Book of BIG Innovation Ideas and Goal-Free Living. He led a 20,000 person process and innovation practice during his 15 year tenure with Accenture. And his Personality Poker - system has been used by more than 50,000 people around the world to create high-performing innovation teams.

    His latest book, Best Practices Are Stupid: 40 Ways to Out Innovate the Competition (Portfolio Penguin), has been featured on ABC News, CBS Interactive's BNET, Southwest Airline's Spirit Magazine, Investor's Business Daily, and more. It was selected as the best innovation and creativity book of 2011 by 800-CEO-READ. And it is an international #1 best selling business book.

    His work has been featured in Newsweek, Entrepreneur Magazine, O-The Oprah Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. His clients include Nike, Microsoft, Staples, GE, NASA, BP, Johnson & Johnson, The United States Air Force, Fidelity Investments, Pearson Education, Nestle, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.