Visionary Headliners, Rockstars
and Fab Facilitators
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Headliners
Carl Russo
Chairman of the Board
Calix
Mr. Russo brings substantial expertise and knowledge regarding business strategy, markets, and operations to Calix. He also brings an extensive background in the communications and networking technology industries as a successful leader and entrepreneur with Network Systems Corporation (acquired by StorageTek), Xircom (acquired by Intel), Cerent Corporation (acquired by Cisco) and now at Calix as the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.
Prasoon Saxena
President, Manufacturing
NTT DATA
Prasoon is responsible for profitable growth, industry strategy and client satisfaction through modern, innovative solutions within the Manufacturing Business Unit. With more than two decades of global leadership, Prasoon is intensely passionate on driving value, innovation and trust while delivering on business outcomes for his clients. With extensive experience from the manufacturing and professional services industries, he brings a unique perspective on what’s necessary for organizations to survive and thrive.
Rockstar Insights
Hari Abburi
Managing Partner, The Preparation Company LLC
Co-Founder of MyLearningNFT LLC
With 30 years of global experience; across 55+ countries, Hari’s experience and expertise is in leading complex change or transformations, M&A’s/Integrations, and in Start-Ups. He has introduced a new approach to strategy through his agility framework comprised of three core elements: Intersections, Interfaces and Insights. Hari is a member of The Forbes Human Resources Council, The Fast Company Executive Board and Los Angeles Business Journals Leadership Trust.
Dr. Khaled Ahmed
Chief Technology Officer, Systems Supply Chain
Intel Corporation
Khaled has been an original innovator in the semiconductor, solar, and display fields for more than two decades. His experience with both technology and business models lends him a unique perspective on the changes in innovation and implications to business models. Specifically, Khaled’s focus on innovative supply chain models over the past 7 years would benefit the audience in the era of supply chain digital transformation.
Natalia Andreyeva
Senior Manager, Product Management
Carrier
Natalia is a passionate innovator, product leader, and problem solver. She has 10+ years of experience in product strategy and digital business model innovation across several business verticals, including Life Science, Education, and Technology. She is currently leading an emerging line of products and, as part of those responsibilities, is exploring faster options for getting to market through strategic partnerships.
Dr. William Barry
Emerging Technologies and Cybersecurity SME
United States Department of Defense
Dr. Barry is a Emerging Technology GovCon and Professor of Emerging Technologies and Cybersecurity at the Army War College. He is also the only professor in the United States who formally co-teaches with an AI android, Maria Bot.
Alp Basol
Senior Director, Strategy & Innovation
Enterprise Solutions
Retail, Restaurant, Grocery & Hospitality
AT&T
Alp is an Executive Partner helping equip CxO’s and senior technology executives with tools and insights to deliver business results. As a CTO with experience in leading complex transformation initiatives in innovation, strategy and architecture; Alp brings with him an in depth understanding of the Retail, Restaurant, Grocery & Hospitality vertical. Most recently he has been working with customers on technology strategy to address staff retention and automation.
Debbie Brackeen
Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer
CSAA Insurance Group
Debbie leads strategy, partnerships, innovation and venture investing for CSAA Insurance Group, a $4B insurance company that offers AAA-branded insurance in 23 states and the District of Columbia. She has more than 25 years of experience at innovative high-tech companies, including Apple, Sun, HP, and eBay, and served as the global head of innovation at Citigroup.
Scott Brindamour
Head of Product Innovation
Edge R&D and Platform Enablement
Lumen Technologies
Scott has been evangelizing technology innovation with clients, partners and product teams for more than two decades. His understanding of the business value of technology and how organizations can utilize technology to accelerate innovation and drive differentiating business outcomes.
Tom Camp
Principal
Verizon Ventures
Tom has had a 26 year career in sales and business development. He joined Verizon in 2009 and the ventures team in 2017. He has a BS in Management and Business from National Louis University.
Jim “Coop” Cooper
Chief Technologist, HP Personal Systems Services
HP
With more than 20 years of experience, focused on end user computing, Coop has a strong track record in advancing technology. As an innovator, he has researched new service designs and has been awarded multiple patents. Coop is a recognized advisor and influencer to many technology partners on new styles of digital services. He currently holds seats on the Microsoft Modern Workplace Partner Advisor Council and the Microsoft Distinguished Engineer Board.
Rod Forter
Senior Director, Business Development
Qualcomm
Rod leads initiatives focused on the development, provision and deployment of location and tracking services for IoT devices within the Connected Smart Systems group at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. Rod joined QTI through its acquisition of Skyhook, a pioneer in the development of Wi-Fi and cellular location services, where he served as Executive Vice President of Strategy & General Counsel.
Rick Hammond
Director, 3M Connect
3M
Growth Innovation Leadership Council Member
Rick and his team were formed to help advance 3M’s digital innovation efforts to drive growth. For the past 20+ years Rick has been advancing the business effectiveness of connected solutions and commercialization enablement for companies like 3M, Apple, Adobe, Tennant and others. His experience with a broad range of business models, technologies, and products around the world lends him a unique perspective on the changes in business innovation and leadership.
Beverly Harris
Vice President Strategic Planning & Innovation
Texas Mutual Insurance
Growth Innovation Leadership Council Member
Beverly harnesses the power of research and data to develop strategy and uses storytelling to foster organizational buy-in of strategic plans. She is passionate about innovation and strategic thinking and helping leaders become the best version of themselves as they prepare for known and unknown challenges of the future.
Michelle Harrow
Senior Director
Talent Acquisition Innovation & Solutions
LinkedIn
Michelle is a senior business and operational strategist, systems thinker, and executive leader leading strategy and operations functions and initiatives at some of the world’s most recognized organizations: Apple, Twitter, Cisco, Visa and now LinkedIn, as well as at an emerging startup: CarForce. Michelle works at the intersection of strategy, data analytics, and digital transformation to help organizations drive their business and workforce strategies, solve complex challenges and establish operational excellence.
Galen Hatfield
Vice President, Technology
Pall Corporation, an operating company at Danaher Corporation
Galen has led strategy, innovation, business development and growth across an array of technology-driven businesses. He has extensive experience vetting emerging technologies and innovation portfolios, validating investment theses, and incubating businesses.
Christine Hawkins
Director, Global Head of Business Improvement
Pure Storage
Christine is a globally recognized presenter whose current role includes aligning resources across 11 global process improvements while identifying white space opportunities. She expertly designs and leads business processes that delight customers and exceed targets.
Andy Kannurpatti
Global Business Director, Films & Laminates
DuPont
Andy has a track record of delivering growth through innovation in many businesses at DuPont. Today, he is the Global Business Director of the Film & Laminates business which develops and markets material solutions to signal integrity and power transmission challenges of electronic interconnects that are ubiquitous today – from smartphones to electric/autonomous vehicles. With a background in R&D as well as Marketing, Andy is a firm believer in technological and business model innovation to sustain long-term growth.
Jessika Lora
Head of Innovation Strategy
General Motors
Jessika is a strategic business thinker that drives execution excellence whilst building world-class teams. She uses her strategic and tactical business expertise, tying this to tangible growth and scale. Jessika has deep automotive business knowledge at the macro and micro level and as founder of CarForce, Jessika was named Global Entrepreneur of the Year and also earned CarForce the prestigious Mobility Startup of the Year award.
Robert Phillips
Head of Quality & Regulatory, North America
Siemens Healthineers
At Siemens Healthineers, a Top 5 Global Medtech company, Robert is responsible for regional quality operations, systems, and regulatory compliance across USA and Canada for the entire healthcare product portfolio of medical imaging, radiation therapy planning and treatment, and in vitro diagnostic devices. He has been thought leader in global Medech for more than 2 decades and frequently advises regulators and trade associations on commercial activities.
Mary Jo Potter
Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director
Healthcare Angels
Mary Jo has been an active entrepreneur and investor for 30 years. She has invested in a variety of entities but is now focused on the healthcare sector. Currently, she is Managing Partner of Healthcare Angels, a GP in Keiretsu Capital, an LP in Purple Arch Ventures, an LP in Portfolia, a member of the Band of Angels, an investor and advisor for KYTO, and an advisor for Skydeck.
Rahul Ray
Senior Director & Investment Lead
Tyson Ventures, the VC arm of Tyson Foods
Over the course of his career, Rahul has overseen the deployment of $500M of capital in early and late-stage investments in technology, distribution/logistics, and Food/Ag. He serves as a board observer for a number of Tyson Ventures portfolio companies, including MycoTechnology and Soft Robotics. Rahul joined Tyson from a diverse professional background in areas including investment management, banking, and corporate finance at hedge funds, Sanford C Bernstein, Morgan Stanley and XPO Logistics.
Ali Raza
Chief Digital Officer
ChampionX
Ali has over 31 years of experience in oil and gas automation and business process optimization and software management. He was previously Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer for Apergy, which he joined in 2018 after serving as president of Dover Energy Automation, a division of Dover Energy.
Vijay Sankaran
Chief Technology Officer
Johnson Controls
Vijay and his team accelerate and unify product software engineering development efforts creating common software architecture to further drive the enterprise software technology strategy while expanding customer solutions through the OpenBlue digital platform. Vijay has held leadership roles in technology transformation across a spectrum of industries and most recently was Chief Information Officer and Head of Innovation at TD Ameritrade, with responsibility for digital strategy, customer platforms, software engineering, technology operations, cybersecurity, data management and analytics, and enterprise innovation. Sankaran also held executive roles at Ford Motor Company.
Taylor Shinn
Global Vice President – Strategy – Industrial Asset Management
Baker Hughes
Taylor has been a leader in corporate strategy and technology with domestic and international companies in the industrial energy sector the past 18 years. His experience with developing, driving, and executing transformative strategies and corporate development initiatives with a team enables him to share a unique perspective of an evolving technology strategy while undertaking a corporate portfolio repositioning.
Lizbet Simmons Ph.D.
Senior Anthropological and Futurist Researcher
Cisco
Lizbet leads research on the Future of Work at Cisco. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and builds on a rich understanding of human beings and their environments to drive meaningful technological innovation.
Elizabeth St.John, Ph.D.
Director, Strategy and Market Intelligence
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Elizabeth has been in the fast-paced, high growth Next Generation Sequencing market for 14 years. With experience in R&D, product management, market intelligence and strategy, her unique background enables her to provide valuable insights for business decisions in dynamic markets.
Christopher Spears
Principal
bp Ventures
Chris focuses on investments in transformational companies aligned with bp’s ambitions in bioenergy, renewables, and hydrogen. He is an ex founder and joined bp Ventures in 2019 after starting his career working to bring stranded energy resources to market.
Giovanni Spitale
Chief Executive Officer
Davis Standard
War for Talent, Labor Crisis, Offshoring, Onshoring, The Great Resignation – Giovanni has led organizations through all of them. His appreciation for collaborative teams, clear objectives, and pragmatic approach to attracting and retaining talent has enabled success in multiple companies spanning several industries.
Rens Valk
Venture Capitalist
Shell Ventures
Rens has been an investor with Shell Ventures focused on the transportation and automotive domain for the past five years and has been active in the energy space for nearly a decade. He has led and supported various innovation projects and investments in both companies and VC funds. He has helped start-ups grow their business while bringing innovation to corporates driving towards a decarbonized future of mobility.
Scott Walbrun
Principal
BMW i Ventures
Scott is a venture capital investor who focuses on early and mid-stage investments across information technology, deep tech, vehicle and mobility tech, sustainability, and intelligent supply chain. Prior to joining BMW i Ventures, Scott provided M&A and capital markets advisory to technology companies and investors as a member of Jefferies’ Technology Investment Banking team.
Matt Wagner
Director, New Technology & Product Development
Procter & Gamble
At The Procter & Gamble Company Matt has assignments spanning analytical chemistry, new product and technology development, and perfume technology development. Prior to joining P&G, Matt completed his PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Washington and a postdoctoral research fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Rockstar Insights from Frost & Sullivan
David Frigstad
Chairman
Frost & Sullivan
David is passionate about supporting companies with the generation, evaluation and implementation of innovative growth opportunities. David’s leadership has steered Frost & Sullivan to the center of an ecosystem of best practice cultivation, executive peer support, and cutting-edge insights that is singularly focused on reshaping the world through managed growth.
Ethan Smith
Vice President, Global Client Leader
Frost & Sullivan
Ethan works with the C-suite of leading Energy and Industrial companies, helping them prioritize their most promising growth opportunities from Decarbonization and Sustainability to Automation and Autonomy. His experience integrating market potential with internal capabilities and leadership aspirations enables him to accelerate companies’ path to achieve disproportional and sustainable growth.
Krishna Srinivasan
Global President
Frost & Sullivan
As the architect of the Growth Pipeline Engine, the Growth Pipeline Audit and the Frost Radar, Krishna is focused on transforming the company’s overall strategy to deliver the Growth Pipeline as a Service (GPaaS) value proposition. To that end, he is deeply involved in shaping the company’s product, sales and advisory strategies and most importantly, leads the charge with many client organizations in defining and delivering innovative growth strategies. In serving as Executive Board Member, Krishna combines his 12 years of experience as Global President of Frost & Sullivan with nearly 30 years of experience in research and consulting across multiple markets and technologies.