Futurist Speakers

Michael (Mike) Steep is the executive director of Stanford Engineering School's Center for Disruptive Technology and Digital Cities and the former senior vice president of global business operations at innovation mega-hub, PARC Xerox. He draws on first-hand experience and anecdotes from time spent with the biggest names in Silicon Valley to instruct audiences on how to get ahead of disruptive innovation. Viewing new technology as opportunity, Mike highlights the importance of allowing innovation to trump company culture and legacies—and not the other way around.

Neil Jacobstein is the chair of the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Track at Singularity University, an organization whose founders hail from Google and the X PRIZE Foundation and has a goal “to educate, inspire and empower a new generation of leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges.” Jacobstein shares one of the most thoughtful and up-to-date looks at the future of technology and how it will impact a variety of industries. He explores innovation, disruption, and artificial intelligence as he offers audience a glimpse into the future and its real-world applications.

Dr. Hakeem Olyuseyi, author of a highly-anticipated upcoming memoir, The Stars in My Soul: My Unlikely Journey through Space and Time, is an internationally-recognized astrophysicist, science TV personality, and global education advocate who has had a long, distinguished career in academia and scientific research. Currently, he is stationed at NASA Headquarters, where he serves as an Astrophysicist and Space Science Education Lead for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. A former TED fellow, Dr. Oluseyi holds three degrees, eight U.S. patents, four E.U. patents, and co-hosts several shows on Science Channel and Discovery International, including Outrageous Acts of Science, How the Universe Works, Space's Deepest Secrets, Strange Evidence, You Have Been Warned, and Strip the Cosmos. Dr. Oluseyi’s success is even more impressive given his incredible personal background and story. Motivating audiences globally with his message of persevering past naysayers, self-doubt, and seemingly immovable obstacles, he is exclusively represented by Leading Authorities.

Paul Zikopoulos is changing the way audiences are looking at their businesses in terms of sales, obstacles, and potential for growth - and the key ingredient is data! He’s been named an expert on big data by publications such as Big Data Republic, Technopedia, and Analytics Week. He is also included on multiple "experts to follow" lists around the world - including SAP’s “50 Big Data Twitter Influencers”. Paul has been consulted on this topic by “60 Minutes” and advises various universities as they develop their curriculums to match market needs. Paul has won multiple awards for his speaking in part because he has a unique ability to take the often complex world of analytics, big data, AI, data science, machine learning, etc. and reach audiences of all ages and skills levels with the right message. Paul is a Fortune 35 (IBM) Vice President focused on Analytics, an award winning writer (who has published more than 19 books and over 350 articles on various topics) and sits on the advisory board of Women 2.0 - a for profit company committed to close the gender gaps in founding, investing, and workplace leadership.

Dex Torricke-Barton has managed communications for leaders and organizations working at the heart of global change. From 2012 to 2016, he led the executive communications team at Facebook and served as speechwriter for Mark Zuckerberg. Prior to Facebook, he was Google's first executive speechwriter, supporting Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, CEO Larry Page, and other senior Google leaders. Before coming to Silicon Valley, he was a speechwriter and spokesperson for the United Nations. Most recently, he led SpaceX's communications team. Dex is passionate about technology, public policy, and storytelling, and in his talks, he helps leaders and organizations craft their messages.