Michael (Mike) Steep is the founder and former 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.

Poppy Crum works to bridge the gap between technology and insightful, effective human interaction. As a multi-dimensional advocate of empathetic technology, she builds technologies that best leverage human physiology to enhance our experiences and how we interact with the world. Poppy serves as the Chief Technology Officer at NextSense and is an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University in the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, as well as its Symbolic Systems Program. She is formerly the Chief Scientist at Dolby Laboratories. She is dedicated to the development of immersive technologies that leverage human physiology and perceptual realities to enhance our experiences and interactions in the world. She is a frequent speaker on topics related to the intersection of human experience, artificial intelligence, sensory data-science, and immersive technologies.

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.

Renowned psychology expert and Stanford University professor Michele Gelfand is one of the leading researchers and writers on culture and the impact of culture on behavior. Gelfand uses field, experimental, computational and neuroscience methods to understand the evolution of culture and its multilevel consequences for human groups. Her work has been cited over 50,000 times and has been featured in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, National Public Radio, Voice of America, Fox News, NBC News, ABC News, and The Economist, among other outlets. Most recently, she is the author of "Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire the World."

Dr. John Grotzinger is the chief scientist and head of strategic planning for the Mars Science Laboratory Rover mission, which riveted the country with its dare-devil landing in August 2012. A geologist, he hopes to gain more understanding of Earth’s evolution through the study of Mars. Grotzinger was also a part of the team that made the discovery of evidence for liquid water on ancient Mars. He discusses strategic planning, motivating teams, and the need to take on a “grand challenge” while sharing amazingly unique and cutting-edge stories, video, and photos about space.

Curt spent more than 13 years as a Navy SEAL and was deployed 13 times, spending more than four years overseas. While at SEAL Team ONE, he deployed to the PACIFIC and CENTCOM areas of operation and was personally selected to command the personal security detail for the President of Iraq. Curt is the co-founder of global consulting firm Ridgeline Partners, a top five graduate of the United States Naval Academy and has received the Bronze Star with Valor, Bronze Star medal, and three Distinguished Meritorious Service Medals while serving in the U.S. Navy.

Named one of the "40 Most Influential Minds in Tech" by TIME magazine, Vivek Wadhwa is a Distinguished Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley. Based in Silicon Valley, he researches exponentially advancing technologies that are soon going to change our world. Wadhwa has held appointments at Duke University, Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and Emory University and is a faculty member at Singularity University. He is a globally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post and the author of four books on the intersection of technology and society.

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.

Stewart Liff, a successful executive coach and teacher, sought-after advisor and consultant, renowned keynote speaker, acclaimed author of seven books, is an internationally-recognized expert on (visual) performance management, human resources management (HRM), and team development. He is also the president and CEO of Stewart Liff & Associates, Inc., a consulting company specializing in management training, consulting, and motivational speaking. With 32 years of HR experience working in high-level positions for the Federal government, he served as a senior executive for 12 years and managed a national HRM program representing 13,000 employees and successfully represented the government in approximately 30 hearings before third parties. His tenure was highlighted by numerous awards, including three Hammer Awards from Vice President Gore for outstanding achievement in reinventing government and OPM's prestigious PILLAR Award, among others. Drawing on the wisdom gained from his 40+ years of experience working as an HRM expert and consultant, he shares practical tools and simple visual solutions to help managers transform culture, improve the effectiveness of employees, and establish accountability within their organizations.

Mark has been working in Silicon Valley for over 30 years and has worked on over 1,000 venture capital transactions. He has significant experience in applying the law to the issues raised by new technologies, such as open source software, blockchain, IoT and domain names. For example, in 1994, he assisted Network Solutions, Inc. in developing the first domain dispute resolution system which is still the basis for the system in use today. His clients range from Fortune 500 such as Oracle Corporation and Sony Corporation to unknown startups. Currently, he and his team work with over 50 startups. He has worked across a wide variety of industries, including software (in particular open source software), blockchain, IoT, semiconductor, consumer electronics, content licensing (from music to characters), and medical devices.

Jürgen Klinsmann is a titan of football, both as a player and manager. Jürgen's successful playing career saw him lead the line for some of the most prominent teams in Europe, including: Bayern Munich, Tottenham and Inter Milan. A constant attacking threat, Jürgen racked up an impressive 108 international appearances for West Germany, scoring 47 goals. Jürgen boasts the impressive record of scoring in all six of the Major International tournaments that he participated in, from Euro 1988 to the 1998 World Cup. In 2004, Jürgen was subsequently named in the FIFA 100 list of the ‘125 Greatest Living Footballers’ and in 2016 he became the fifth player to be named as honorary captain of Germany. In 2004 Jürgen transitioned into management, leading the German national team through to 2006. He then went onto to manage Bayern Munich ahead of taking on the role with the USA team 2011 – 2016. Given his wealth of experience across various leagues and at international level and a sharp footballing brain, Jürgen is a popular and insightful broadcaster working with ESPN and the BBC. In 1995, Jürgen and some of his close friends founded the children charity foundation Agapedia, which stems from the Greek language and translates to "Love for Children.”

William McNulty is the Founder & CEO of Team Rubicon Global and the Co-Founder of Team Rubicon USA. Team Rubicon a nonprofit that utilizes the skills and experiences of military veterans to rapidly deploy emergency response teams in the wake of natural disasters. A Marine Veteran who served for nine years in both the infantry and intelligence, he worked for the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Council’s Iraq Threat Finance Cell.