Technology Speakers

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.

Nick Bilton, Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair and former Lead Technology Writer for the New York Times, is a journalist, designer, UI specialist, technologist, author, hardware hacker, and researcher. Bilton has worked in many industries within the context of design, research and development, and technology. He is also the author of Hatching Twitter and I Live in the Future: & Here’s How It Works, which explores the effects of new technology on our brains. With highly visual presentations, he addresses innovation, the future of media, technology, and society and how technology affects our work and minds.

Greg Williams is a leading authority on technology trends and how those impact business and society. As Editor-in-Chief of WIRED, Greg meets the innovators, thinkers, scientists, entrepreneurs and creatives who are changing the world and writes on a variety of subjects, including innovation, technology, business, creativity and ideas. As a journalist and author of five novels, Greg possesses a unique combination of storytelling expertise and an in-depth knowledge of the future of technology and entrepreneurship. This enables him to transform complex information into entertaining and accessible insights that prepare audiences for what’s coming next.

Salim Ismail is the best-selling author of Exponential Organizations – required reading at the world’s top brands, and the Founder and Chair of ExO Works. The former executive director at Singularity University and a former Yahoo! exec who built and sold his company to Google, he consults on innovation and growth. Believing that “if you aren’t disrupting your business or industry, someone else is,” he shares jaw-dropping insights on how companies can leverage technology and strategy to grow 10 times faster than their peers. He turns cutting edge ideas into thriving startups and applies leading-edge thinking to invigorate industries.

Vivek Wadhwa is a Distinguished Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley. Formerly Fellow at Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University and Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at the Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University. Previously Director of Research and Policy at Singularity University, he was also named by Foreign Policy Magazine as Top 100 Global Thinker in 2012. In 2013, TIME Magazine listed him as one of The 40 Most Influential Minds in Tech.

When brands like Google, Starbucks, Shopify and GE want to use technology to better connect with their consumers, they call Mitch Joel. Mitch is the best-selling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the President of Mirum, a global digital marketing agency operating in 25 countries with close to 3000 employees. He shares how to not only adapt to but succeed in the new digital, hyper-connected business environment. He is a charismatic and funny storyteller, and takes audiences on an exciting ride that helps them understand how to manage disruption and leverage technology to outpace the competition.

Jon Steinberg is the founder and CEO of Cheddar, a new video media company sitting at the intersection of business news and culture. He was named to Ad Age’s 2015 40 under 40. He was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of DailyMail.com North America. Steinberg grew U.S. revenue 45% while at Daily Mail and doubled direct advertising revenue. He joined DailyMail.com from BuzzFeed where he was President & Chief Operating Officer, responsible for business management, company operations, finance, and social advertising operations. Under his leadership, BuzzFeed became a global and profitable social advertising business working with over half of the top 100 brands. He grew the company from 15 employees to over 500. Steinberg was previously Strategic Partner Development Manager on Google’s SMB (small medium business) partnerships team.

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.

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.