Visionary Headliners, Rockstars &
Fab Facilitators
Interested in Becoming or Nominating a Speaker?
Rockstar Insights
Elaine Barsoom
Former Global Head, Tech Innovation Partnerships & Strategy
Nike
Elaine helps companies turn frontier technologies into durable engines of growth. With more than two decades leading innovation at Nike, American Express, and Airbnb, she builds scalable frameworks that translate emerging tech into real enterprise value. Today, she advises Fortune 1000 leaders, VC-backed founders, and private equity firms on anticipating market shifts, mobilizing ecosystems, and enabling responsible, enterprise-scale AI adoption that accelerates competitive advantage.
Lutz Beck
Chief Information Officer
Daimler Truck North America
Lutz is shaping the future of IT at Daimler Truck North America. By directing cultural change through digital activation, his visionary IT strategy, “Building the Intelligent Company,” guides digital transformation at DTNA, positioning the organization at the cutting edge of technology. Lutz champions IT Leadership, disruptive ideas and innovation by re-imagining the way business is done.
Greg Chiocco
Chief Technology Officer
Taylor Farms
Greg has spent the last 25 years as a business and innovation leader focused on food, agriculture, AI and robotics at companies like Google, Amazon, Bayer and Taylor Farms. He has led cross-functional teams spanning startups to large enterprises, translating emerging technologies into real-world products with concrete financial impact. His work centers on partnering with founders and operators to create solutions that deliver meaningful value at scale.
Joe Epstein
Strategic Partnerships Lead
Lockheed Martin Space
Jenny Gusba
Vice President R&D, Global Beverage Strategy & Technical Project Management
PepsiCo
Greg Horowitt
Director of Innovation
UC San Diego
Sobhan Khani
Partner and Vice President
Plug and Play
David Matheson
President and Chief Executive Officer
SmartOrg
With over two decades of portfolio and innovation management experience, David is a leader in helping executives achieve better growth results. He holds a Ph.D. in organizational decision making from Stanford University, is a Fellow with the Society of Decision Professionals (SDP), and always has chocolate within arm’s reach (especially at workshops).
Jay Nakagawa
Director of Competitive Intelligence
Dell Technologies
Daniel Rich
Vice President, Startup & Venture Partnerships
Mastercard
J. Cris Salinas, MD
Head of Industry Strategy, Healthcare and Life Sciences
Adobe
Dr. Salinas is an innovator at the crossroads of medicine and technology, advancing the future of healthcare through strategic leadership and digital transformation. With 20+ years of global experience, including roles at Salesforce, Stryker, Pfizer, and Best Buy Health, he has helped organizations rethink commercial models and improve patient outcomes. Now serving as Adobe’s Head of Industry Strategy for Healthcare and Life Sciences, he partners with leading organizations to design impactful, tech-driven solutions. A frequent speaker and thought leader, he continues to shape the conversation on the future of health.
Lesley Stolz
Head West North America External Scientific Innovation
Johnson & Johnson
Lesley has spent the last 30 years working in corporate development and partnering in life sciences. She spent more than 20 years working for innovator companies partnering with multinationals, and she is now working for a multinational partnering with innovators. The only way that new solutions for health will get to families is through these partnerships.
Omid Toloui
Faculty
UCLA Anderson School of Management
Gregoire Viasnoff
Global Head of Accelerator
SE Ventures
Gregoire is a senior leader with deep experience working alongside early stage startups, helping founders accelerate product market fit, scale breakthrough technologies, and successfully navigate the complexities of corporate–startup collaboration. He leads the SE Ventures Accelerator — part of SE Ventures, a $1B fund backed by Schneider Electric. Over his career, he has facilitated more than $1B in fundraising and generated tens of millions in revenue for startups ranging from pre seed to Series B.
Doug Williams
Associate Director, Innovation
SmartOrg
An industry veteran with nearly 15 years of experience in the field, Doug leads the innovation practice at SmartOrg. He has helped over 80 organizations build and grow innovation programs through his work at Planview Spigit and a leading research organization.
Master of Ceremonies
Brian Fitzpatrick
Partner, Events
Frost & Sullivan