Sahar is a seasoned tech entrepreneur passionate about using AI to solve real-world problems. With over 18 years of experience, she has successfully led the development and launch of innovative, award-winning consumer and enterprise products. Currently, as Director of New Ventures in AI at LG NOVA, Sahar focuses on discovering and developing cutting-edge AI solutions for high-growth businesses. She also actively mentors tech startups. Before joining LG NOVA, Sahar co-founded and served as COO of CloudMedx, a healthcare AI startup. Under her leadership, CloudMedx created an AI-powered data platform that transformed healthcare delivery by automating back-office workflows and providing AI-based operational, financial and clinical insights. The platform was widely adopted by major healthcare systems and payers across the United States. Sahar's contributions to the tech industry have been recognized with numerous awards, including U.S. Data Leader of the Year and U.S. Entrepreneur of the Year. She's also been featured on lists of top women leaders in healthcare startups and consumer health tech.
William Barkis, PhD, is Head of Grand Challenges and Ecosystem Development at LG NOVA, where he is focused on working directly with startups to drive the creation of transformative new businesses for LG. Formerly, he led corporate strategy and innovation programs at Orange, directed two open innovation programs at Mozilla and served at the National Science Foundation where he collaborated with the White House on advanced computer science topics. Will holds a PhD in Neurosciences from UCSD and a BS with Honors in interdisciplinary computer science (Symbolic Systems) from Stanford.
Wade is the founder of Energy & Sustainability practice at Plug and Play. Plug and Play is the largest corporate innovation center and one of the most active early stage investors globally. Wade works closely with entrepreneurs, corporate innovation leaders, and investors with a focus on the energy industry value chain.
Previously, Wade worked in solar, published scientific articles, and led business development efforts in a startup.Wade holds a master degree in Chemical Engineering and a master degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas engineering. His passion is at the intersection of technology and business.
Asya Bradley is a multi-exited Serial Founder, Super Angel Investor, LP, advisor and board director in tech startups and emerging fund managers. With over 20 years of experience in tech (founding team @Synapse, founder @Kinly: Acquired by Killer Mike's Greenwood, Cisco alum) and a track record of supporting underestimated founders, Bradley is an experienced investor, operator, and fintech entrepreneur. She is a world traveler, having lived and worked throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and now North America. Asya is also certified at the highest attainable level by the Yoga Alliance in Ashtanga Yoga and speaks multiple languages fluently including, amongst others, Dutch, Punjabi and Arabic.
Sarah Busch is a clean energy and climate technology advocate based in San Francisco. For the last decade, she has focused on building new markets to decarbonize energy systems by integrating policy with private-sector innovation, including advancing energy storage, green hydrogen, vehicle-to-grid integration, and carbon removals. Sarah is a Consulting Director of Climate Change at ERM, the world’s largest pure play sustainability consulting firm, and holds an MBA from UC Berkeley.
On February 1, 2021, Governor Jim Justice selected Senator Mitch Carmichael to be the first Secretary of Economic Development in West Virginia.Senator Carmichael previously served our state as President of the West Virginia Senate & Lieutenant Governor. Mitch is an accomplished businessman in the field of information technology and broadband deployment. He was raised in Jackson County and attended public schools in Ripley, WV. Mitch is an Honors graduate from Marshall University with degrees in Finance and Economics. He is active in many community and charitable organizations including Epworth United Methodist Church.Mitch Carmichael was first elected to the Senate in the year 2012 and served until 2021. His talent and leadership skills were quickly realized by his colleagues and he was selected to be Senate Majority Leader. Subsequently, the Senate unanimously elected Mitch Carmichael to the position of Senate President-Lieutenant Governor and re-elected him in 2019. Mitch is the first Republican to serve consecutive terms as Senate President & Lieutenant Governor in the past 90 years of West Virginia history.Mitch previously served our state in the West Virginia House of Delegates, where he was elected to five consecutive terms. His voting record has garnered awards from various organizations including the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, West Virginia Manufacturers, Hospitals, State Medical Association, and many others. Mr. Carmichael is recognized statewide for his pro-growth economic policies and broadband expertise. Secretary Carmichael is ideally suited to convey the many benefits of West Virginia to current and potential employers throughout America and the world.
Divya Chhabra is a health tech founder, investor, advisor, and mentor. She specializes in leading lean engineering teams from zero to one to build rapidly iterable products that delight enterprise customers. As the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Dosis, an AI-powered precision medicine SaaS company addressing drug dosing for chronic diseases, Divya has tackled all manner of product issues from co-development with legacy customers to managing numerous cross-functional groups in enterprise-scale rollouts in heavily-regulated, high barrier to entry businesses with legacy and first-adopter customers. Divya and her brother founded Dosis in 2017 from their apartment living room, and within three years scaled it into a profitable, multimillion dollar business that has since delivered over 100 million custom-tailored dosing recommendations to hundreds of thousands of patients nationwide. In her free time, Divya also acts as an advisor and fractional Chief Product Officer/Head of Product for other rapidly scaling startups.Divya started her career as a Product Manager at Athenahealth where she worked on the Epocrates team building athenatext, a secure messaging service for healthcare providers, as well as on the internal ops product team. She has invested in Seed through Series E companies and regularly advises founders on all manner of startup issues. Divya earned a bachelor of science in bioengineering from MIT.
Winston Choe is an entrepreneur, mentor and global tech executive with expertise in business, corporate and venture-development in Mobility, IoT, BigData, and Security. He recently joined LG as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) and Innovation Business Development Director at LG NOVA. Winston has over 20 years of experience and a track-record working with startups to grow from seed to exit, working on corporate-development to engage startups through commercialization, investment, acquisition, and doing venture-development with startups at Accelerators based in Silicon Valley. He was a Founding EIR at PlugandPlayTechCenter, a Venture Accelerator with 30000+ startups, 300+ VCs, 500+ corporate-partners, accelerator-programs in 20 industries, investment-portfolio including 14 unicorns, and global-operations across 30+ sites. Winston co-founded TechGrowthVentures, an accelerator for US-Asia businesses, where he built a portfolio of 20 companies, based on cross-border synergies for supply-chain, joint-development, market-entry, investment. He also worked with governments in South-Asia to establish Accelerator-programs leveraging their local ecosystems with a bridge to Silicon Valley. Winston was also the VP Programs and Partnerships at ReadWrite Labs, the world’s first IoT Accelerator, where he established programs for 100+ startups and developed corporate-partnerships for US-China businesses. Among the wide portfolio of startups that he has worked on, 3 of them in healthcare telepresence, mobile security and mobile advertising, were acquired for $1B+. Previously, Winston was Senior Director of Business Development at Intel, where he established a team for strategic-deals in the Client Computing Group, their largest division with revenues of $40B. He worked with startups in Wireless Charging and Immersive Vision through commercial-licensing, and investments through Intel Capital. He was also Senior Director of Business Development in Hewlett-Packard, where he managed a team for strategic-partnerships and new market-development for the Mobile division, and led commercial-deals with Google, Microsoft and acquisition of a Mobile Device Management startup. Winston holds a Bachelor of Math degree from the University of Waterloo, Canada, majoring in Computer Science and Operations Research. He started his career in R&D at Bell-Northern Research in Canada and Institute of Systems Science in Singapore, and subsequently completed a High-Tech Executive Management program at Stanford. He is an avid outdoorsman who has completed overlanding trips across North America, with a passion for cooking and playing tennis.
Dr. Izzet Sidki Darendeli is the Director of The Smith Center for Entrepreneurship and an Associate Professor of Management at California State University, East Bay. He holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Management from Fox School of Business, Temple University, Philadelphia. In addition to his academic successes and research on innovation and entrepreneurship, he has founded, invested, and advised multiple startups and served as a member of the Board of Directors for several Multinational Corporations in the U.S and Europe.
Shalen runs a Medicaid and Medicare Advantage consulting practice, Slayer Consulting, providing growth and innovation consulting services in partnership with his network of C-level health plan collaborators. Shalen serves an array of Medicaid and MA clients ranging from publicly traded companies to Seed and Series A startups operating across a variety of SDOH, VBC and health equity oriented businesses from home care, remote monitoring, transportation, Long Term Supports & Services, food security, musculoskeletal transitions of care, and various AI-powered projects impacting the most vulnerable populations in US healthcare. Shalen spent over a decade of his early career in structured and leveraged finance. In 2011, he co-founded a global health nonprofit that provides cleft and cataract surgeries. That experience led to a transition to healthcare full-time in 2017, via the completion of an MPH at Harvard. From 2019 to 2023, Shalen was co-founder and CEO of Vincere Health, a Medicaid-focused startup. He raised $6 million in VC funding, secured contracts with MCOs, and partnered with UHC/Optum before selling the company to Optum. Following Vincere, Shalen was recruited to join as an SVP with NationsBenefits, but quickly realized that his heart was in entrepreneurship aligned firmly with driving innovation in the Medicaid space. Shalen holds degrees from Harvard, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics, and is a proud member of the Techstars and Harvard iLab alumni communities!
Kristie Deiuliis is a Managing Director at Black & Veatch, leading Decarbonization Strategy & Planning initiatives. She is focused on business model transformation, investment strategies, federal and state regulatory impacts, and technology implementation for Fortune 500 companies, regulated utilities, municipalities, and other asset owners across multiple sectors and industries.
With 30 years in the energy industry, Kristie leads strategic initiatives, driving the development of economic, policy, technology, and feasibility assessments for a broad range of global top tier clients. Her experience spans energy industry domains including wholesale and retail (regulated and competitive) markets, distributed energy resource business models, market entry and expansion strategies, and business case, scenario-based investment models for companies seeking to pivot or accelerate specific goals.
Joshua Di Frances is the head of incubation at LG and cofounder of U.S Digital Corps. He previously served as Senior Advisor for Technology Innovation and New Ventures to the Director / Commissioner of the Technology Transformation Services at GSA. He is also passionate about breaking down barriers to entrepreneurship in healthcare and translating technology into commercial healthcare products. He currently resides with my wife, Vanessa, in Washington D.C. In his spare time, he enjoys being outdoors (running, hiking, biking, skiing, etc.), reading, cooking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
“Tonton” Ali Diallo is a Silicon Valley-based investor, a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow, and an award-winning venture builder (10 startups and 2 exits) with deep expertise in contrarian innovation and in sustainable capitalism which combines profit, purpose, and planet.He is the Managing Director of NOVA Prime Fund, a VC fund that was launched through a partnership between LG Electronics and Clearbrook. He co-founded United Capital, a Dubai-based group that accelerates the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through large-scale international investments, public-private partnerships, and a $5B portfolio of global industrial projects. He is also a Partner at Ecogreen Capital and Polaris Ventures and a Board Member of the Great Green Wall, a global climate initiative launched by the African Union and supported by the European Union, the French Government, and the United Nations.Tonton co-founded Aurion Capital, an investment holding group that builds a connected and sustainable future for society through a portfolio of 7 funds and 50 startups; and RISE (Resilient Investments for Sustainable Economies), a global coalition of investors, corporations, and principled leaders that are uniting to drive systems changes and economic impact across emerging economies.As an advocate of financial and digital inclusion, he founded a TMT venture studio, a fintech company and a telecom group that advances connectivity and digital infrastructure in rural America and across Africa. He is a member of the MIT community as the former head of Global Programs of the MIT Legatum Center, the manager of MIT’s fintech prize for emerging markets, and a partner of the MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge.
Jami Diaz, Senior Manager, Ecosystem Community has over 15 years of experience building online communities for tech giants including Intuit, PayPal, eBay and Yahoo. She’s been responsible for enhancing the customer experience to foster an ongoing, value-driven relationship between the company and its customers, building communities of connection, inspiration, loyalty, and evangelism. Passionate about forging strong reciprocal relationships and representing the voice of the community internally, Jami is skilled at amplifying customer success stories and thought leadership as well as translating customer needs into tailored products and features. A true community pioneer, Jami has been focused on community initiatives long before it was popularized and when it was still a nascent space. Prior to her current role, Jami was Senior Practice Director, Community at Influtive where she developed and defined methodologies and best practices to help Influitive customers design, build, and launch thriving, deeply engaged advocacy and community programs. Before that she was Senior Community Manager at Intuit where she was instrumental in building Mint.com’s support community which was awarded a Forrester Groundswell Award. Jami is a published author and cultural anthropologist. This foundation serves as the basis in building content rich customer-centric communities that drive innovation, success and evangelism.
Lyndsay Donhoff is the co-founder and CEO of ThoughtfulGPT, a startup developing AI-powered tools to improve recruiting, leadership development, and business workflows. As an executive, Lyndsay built several teams from the ground up in various functions spanning across talent, people operations, data science, partnerships, and behavioral research, all of which give her insight into both the human and technical sides of business. It's this multifaceted perspective that drives her vision for ThoughtfulGPT: to create practical AI solutions that thoughtfully enhance the employee and candidate experience, while also making organizations more effective. Lyndsay's empathetic and human-centric approach to building AI tooling aims to empower, rather than replace, people. With her positive energy and strategic insights, she is pioneering a new path for how artificial intelligence can elevate the modern workforce when developed with genuine care for improving people's work lives
Dr. Carlos A. Escobar is a Research Assistant at Harvard University. He worked at Amazon as a Research Scientist in the Last Mile Delivery Technology Team, where he developed and applied algorithms to speed up customer delivery times and provide new innovations to customers. Before joining Amazon, Carlos worked for General Motors (GM) for seven years as a Senior Researcher at the Manufacturing Systems Research Lab. He conducted research in Industry 4.0 and Quality 4.0; applied and developed algorithms to drive manufacturing innovation.
Dr. Escobar is the author of the book “Machine Learning in Manufacturing: Quality 4.0 and the Zero Defects Vision”. His research work interest lies within the 99% percentile as compared with the cohort of researchers registered in the ResearchGate platform. His research topic has been presented in top conferences and according to a published bibliometric study, he is considered one of the most cited and fruitful authors in Quality 4.0. Dr. Escobar obtained his Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences with concentration in AI and master’s in quality engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey. He also obtained a master’s in industrial engineering from New Mexico State University and a master’s in management at Harvard University Dr. Escobar was recognized as the SHPE Star of Today by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). This award honors an engineer/scientist who has demonstrated outstanding technical excellence resulting in significant accomplishments. It also recognizes dedication, commitment, and selfless efforts to advance Hispanics in STEM careers. Dr. Escobar was in the Mexican national team of martial arts and today he enjoys teaching this sport to his colleagues.
Liz serves General Counsel at Expa, a venture capital firm with a venture studio, founded by Garrett Camp over 10 years ago. At Expa, she is focused on building, supporting and funding to scale seed stage tech companies. Prior to Expa, Liz represented startups and investment funds as an attorney at Fenwick & West in Mountain View, San Francisco and Santa Monica. Prior to Fenwick, Liz served as Assistant General Counsel for Outspoken, a mobile messaging tech company. Prior to law school, Liz co-founded Royal Road Entertainment, producing independent films including the Netflix release The Other Side of the Wind, the last film written and directed by Orson Welles. Liz received her B.A. from Princeton University and now lives in Los Angeles. Liz received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law and B.A. from Princeton University.
Annette is a serial entrepreneur with more than 30 years of operating, management, and venture capital investing experience. Her career has been dedicated to driving growth and building value through successfully identifying, financing, and developing innovation into products and businesses in untapped markets. Her global corporate board experience spans multiple industries, including compound semiconductors, energy storage, lighting, advanced materials, 3-D printing, and the Internet-of-Things. Annette serves as President and CEO of EnPower, Inc. In 2005, Annette founded Applied Ventures, the venture arm of Applied Materials. She was responsible for developing the venture group’s investment strategy and execution plan. She sourced, led, syndicated, and managed Applied Material’s investments while also managing a group of investment professionals. From 1996 to 2000, she was based in Russia, where she led Applied’s expansion into Eastern Europe, chartering Applied’s first office in Moscow. Other notable positions include CEO of MindShadow.com (acquired); Investment Manager at DaimlerChrysler Venture Capital; and CEO of Ketra (formerly Firefly Green Technology) (acquired).
Grace Gong is the founder and host of Smart Venture Podcast, where she interviews top tech companies’ founders, C-level/VP-level leaders, and investors about career development. She worked in VC and PE firms focusing on consumer tech and real estate investment. She is passionate about entrepreneurship and eager to learn from the world’s top talents. Grace shared how American entrepreneurs created their companies in her first book, The Last Key To Success, with 21 founders featured on Forbes 30 under 30 in 2016. In 2017, she interviewed 22 investors featured on the Forbes Midas List for her second book, How To Be A VC (Amazon No.1 New Release in Venture Capital Category), on how they invested in companies like Facebook, Apple, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. She is passionate about learning and sharing the knowledge she learned from top founders and investors in Silicon Valley. Grace is also a LinkedIn Top Voice in the Finance Category.
Megan Gray is the CEO of Moment AI. She is an engineer specializing in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Gray was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 23. Her experiences inspired her to launch Moment AI, an autonomous vehicle (AV) company, which uses physiological and traffic data to prevent accidents and better the driving experience. Epilepsy impacts over three million people in the US – and self-driving cars are the only way many of them might be able to drive.
Jason Griffiths is entering his sixth season with the Los Angeles Rams as the Vice President of Partnerships. In this role, he is responsible for managing existing partnerships and driving new collaborations, especially around SoFi Stadium, which has become a centerpiece of the Rams' business and fan engagement efforts. Griffiths came to the Rams with a diverse background, transitioning into sports from the tech sector. Prior to joining the Rams, he had a significant career in business development, focusing on innovation-driven partnerships. His move into the sports industry allowed him to leverage this expertise, particularly during major activations like the NFL Draft and the development of large-scale fan engagement initiatives, including activations with celebrities like Rebel Wilson at the Draft House. Jason Griffiths has also been featured in various industry podcasts and platforms discussing his unique insights into partnerships and the evolution of fan engagement through technology and innovation in sports.
Affectionately known as the "Tech Cat" (Technology Catalyst), Lori H. Schwartz is an award- winning innovator and visionary leader in the convergence of technology, marketing, and digital storytelling. As the Founder and CEO of StoryTech, she has been instrumental in shaping the future of content creation, distribution, and engagement.Her career trajectory, spanning film production, advertising, and digital media, has equipped Lori with a unique perspective on the evolving media landscape. She has consistently championed the fusion of storytelling with cutting-edge technology to forge meaningful brand experiences and drive audience engagement.
Lori's leadership at StoryTech has fostered strategic collaborations between storytellers and technology companies, resulting in profitable ventures and groundbreaking content. Her deep understanding of the content ecosystem, from production and distribution to audience engagement, has positioned her as a sought-after expert and advisor in the industry. A prominent figure at major industry events such as CES and the NAB Show, Lori has curated trend briefings, hosted panels, and led tours that showcase the latest advancements in storytelling technology.In addition to running her own firm, she is an experienced event host, moderator, and event facilitator as well as a CNN contributor, providing a unique and very playful insider's take on the biggest stories in tech and entertainment. She also served on the Board of Governors for the Television Academy, representing the Emerging Media Programming Group. Through these roles, she translates complex solutions and communicates the opportunities for clients and external audiences alike and most importantly, has fun along the way!
Previously, Lori was Chief Technology Catalyst for McCann Worldgroup, North America where she was responsible for driving technology innovation at one of the world's largest marketing communications companies. She was the key principle to launch the highly regarded IPGLAB. Lori oversaw the group's strategy, helping to keep clients ahead of the digital curve. She facilitated emerging media up-fronts for Microsoft, Intel, General Motors, Nestlé, and Sony.A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Lori is a dedicated mentor and role model for women in technology. She actively participates in initiatives that empower and uplift women in the industry, inspiring future generations of female leaders. She has been profiled as one of the ""30 Executives Shaping the Evolution of Media and Technology"" by Variety and ""100 People to Have Lunch with"" by MediaPost Publications. An active spokesperson, Lori launched Digital Hollywood's 'Women's Entertainment and Technology Mentor Program’; is an active mentor in the RISE Mentoring Programme and is a recipient of the Lucy Hood Digerati Award for her contributions to the Television Academy."
John Han is Director of Open Innovation and Partnership overseeing North America for LG Home Appliance and Air Solution Company. He has 18+ years of experience with multinational technology companies leading wide range of external partnerships in the areas of corporate strategy, product planning, business development, and open innovation. He holds MS in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA and MBA from Aalto University, Finland.
Alicia is the Principal for Institutional Partnerships at LG NOVA. Alicia is fortunate enough to have worked with both startup, private and public companies such as LG, Walt Disney, the Department of Defense, the NFL, and most proudly the US Army. After her six year service in the US Army Alicia returned to civilian life to lead the way for veterans to become startup founders, launching the LA chapter of Bunker Labs, and helping scale the organization from 10-35 locations in 15 months. Alicia has designed curriculum for use at Saudi Aramco’s Wa’ed Accelerator, worked with various family offices, and VC firms, and helped hundreds of startup founders develop and launch new businesses. Her perseverance through her military training, as well as overcoming a major loss in her life has helped her to be a successful adviser today for fast-paced startups & international celebrities such as NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis, and NBA Allstar and investor Baron Davis where she directed fund management, and investments. Alicia is the Founder & Managing Partner at Dear Mama Ventures. An investment platform, with a $1B initiative to deploy financial, social, and intellectual capital to Black, brown, female, and Veteran-led founders who are solving some of the world’s most challenging problems. Alicia believes that it is possible to change the world a little, to a lot each day. She demonstrates this through her commitment to empowering underestimated entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams, inspiring people to be their best, and building thriving, sustainable ecosystems for the communities she serves.
As both an operating executive and serial entrepreneur, Martin has spent his career identifying fast-growing market opportunities where market fundamentals have enabled him to create significant value across a company’s key constituents including customers, shareholders and team. As a catalyst for founding and subsequently investing in BrightNight, Martin saw a clear inflection point and strong need in the energy market for firm renewable energy. To capitalize on this enormous market opportunity, he built the company with a team of true energy experts. BrightNight differentiates through its focus on customer value, research and development, and an unparalleled understanding of sector dynamics using a quant-based approach. Prior to BrightNight, Martin founded 8minutenergy and as CEO built it over 10 years into the largest independent solar developer in North America. With its 10+ GW portfolio, Martin delivered several industry firsts, including setting industry PPA price-point records in some of the world’s most competitive markets. Before 8minutenergy, Martin helped grow Advent Solar, a manufacturer of solar cells and solar modules. He also held an executive management position in Intel’s wireless group, delivering the most innovative processors for wireless communication devices serving the burgeoning smartphone market; and founded CAD-UL a semiconductor programming tools company that he sold to Intel. Martin received his degree in computer science in Germany, in 1990. In his free time, Martin loves to read, specifically with a keen interest in technology. Also, he enjoys water sports, yoga and running. He lives in Florida, is married, and has two children.
Stephanie Hockenberry is an accomplished professional currently serving as the Growth & Retention Manager for the Ohio County Development Authority in Wheeling, WV. With a diverse background in sales, marketing, and leadership, Stephanie brings a wealth of experience to her role.Stephanie's career journey showcases versatility and commitment to growth. In her current role, she is focused on driving economic development through connectivity. As an Adjunct Professor she has shared her expertise with the next generation of professionals while also learning from them.As a Sales Manager for five-plus years for the largest cabinet manufacturer in North America, she managed a territory with a 3 million dollar budget across 41 Lowe's stores in two major markets. She achieved outstanding performance and earned several accolades, including Sales Tough Winner, Most Valuable Teammate, and Rep of the Year Nominee. Stephanie holds an M.B.A., which has undoubtedly contributed to her success in various leadership roles. Known for her ability to connect individuals and drive success, Stephanie is described as incredibly knowledgeable, creative, and articulate. Her well-organized approach and inspirational leadership style make her a valuable asset in sales, marketing, and management.Stephanie's professional experience extends beyond the corporate world. Her past roles include: General Manager in Wholesale Distribution, Marketing Director for a Non-Profit, Finance Director for a Church, and a Corporate Relations Manager for a National Non-Profit. These positions highlight her commitment to community. Stephanie is dedicated to ongoing personal and professional growth and the empowerment of others.Stephanie brings a unique blend of corporate and public sector experience, academic knowledge, and community engagement. Her expertise in small business entrepreneurship, coupled with her innovative approach to sales and marketing, makes her a valuable contributor to discussions on economic development and business innovation.
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Raghib Hussain serves as the President of Products and Technologies, overseeing product development but also shaping the company’s future through technology and innovation. His responsibilities span defining overall strategy, aligning various roadmaps, and ensuring that product development meets the company's goals. With his oversight of the Office of the CTO, he’s pivotal in driving the long-term technology vision and transformation efforts. In this role he is key in steering Marvell towards growth and technological advancement. Previously he served as Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of the company’s Networking and Processors Group. Prior to joining Marvell in 2018, Raghib served as the Chief Operating Officer of Cavium, a company he co-founded. Prior to Cavium, Raghib held engineering roles at both Cisco and Cadence and helped found VPNet, an enterprise security company. Raghib earned a B.S. in Computer Systems Engineering from NED University in Karachi, Pakistan, and an M.S. in Computer Engineering from San Jose State University. He holds more than 40 patents in the fields of networking and security.
Maryam Jahed is a seasoned product management leader and entrepreneur, now contributing to innovation at LG NOVA. With a solid foundation in the health tech sector, she has previously served as Head of Product at Lisa Health, where she played a vital role in developing digital health solutions focused on women's well-being. Before that, she led product teams at Carbon Health, helping to scale the company through innovative healthcare solutions, and at Woebot Health, where she contributed to AI-driven mental health tools. In addition to her corporate experience, Maryam co-founded Airo Health, a mental health-focused startup, showcasing her entrepreneurial spirit and ability to drive technology innovations. She holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, which has been integral to her approach in building impactful, user-focused products. At LG NOVA, she continues to draw on her diverse background, driving forward transformative initiatives in health and technology.
Haresh Kamath is Director for Cross-Cutting Technologies and Solutions at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), managing research, thought leadership, applications, and workforce development for Integrated Grid technologies with a focus on facilitating the reliable, resilient transition to a clean energy economy. As part of this portfolio, he also manages activities in the development, assessment, and implementation of energy storage technologies in grid storage applications.
Bio Coming Soon
Michael Kisch is a dynamic entrepreneur and business executive with over 20 years of success leading companies from inception through exit. He is a 3x Digital Health Chief Executive Officer with global experience running US and European businesses. He focuses on consumer-led and AI-driven companies and has unique expertise in developing products at the intersection of the consumer and clinical worlds. Over his career, he has raised over $100 million in venture capital and led teams that have generated over $750 million in revenue growth through consumer (B2C) and enterprise channels (B2B). His companies have been recognized with awards from Rock Health, The Edison Awards, CNBC Upstart 100, IoT Breakthrough Awards, and SXSW Innovation Awards. Before founding and leading early-stage start-ups, Mike was a go-to-market leader in Cisco's Emerging Technology Group, leading marketing strategy and execution for several of Cisco's most successful emerging businesses (IP Telephony, Telepresence). He is the host of the Health Explorers podcast, a Fellow at the Edmund Hillary Fellowship, and holder of (5) patents. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Wisconsin and currently serves as a StartX and CancerX Moonshot mentor to early-stage companies.
Ramkumar Krishnan (Ram) is currently the head of cleantech incubation for LG-Nova and LG-Electronics. Ram leads the efforts to launch new and disruptive business ventures in Cleantech areas including energy, environment and sustainability. Ram is an entrepreneur and a driven climate and sustainability leader, with over 20 years of industry leading expertise in developing new technologies and products, program management, and a track record of delivering new business lines globally through leading cross functional teams. Ram's education, leadership and expertise span wide areas of cleantech including renewable energy generation, storage, and conversion technologies, smart systems and energy management solutions.
Prior to joining LG-Nova, Ram led the business development and go-to-market strategy for BattGenie (as acting CMO), a BMS software tech spinout from University of Washington, developing AI and physics based models to improve charging time and performance of Lithium-ion batteries. Ram has also served as CTO of BrightNight, a renewable IPP and led the development of PowerAlpha, a single, integrated platform for designing, optimizing, and operating hybrid renewable power plants that leverages the power of AI. At BrightNight, Ram helped build a green hydrogen business line with a sales pipeline of over a GW of renewable power projects. Prior to BrightNight, Ram was part of the founding team of Fluidic Energy (also, NantEnergy) and as president/CTO, helped launch the world’s first rechargeable and long-duration metal-air energy storage technology as well as hybrid energy storage products combining Li-ion with long duration energy storage solutions.
Ram has served as advisory board member of multiple cleantech startups and was also a board member of the California Energy Storage Association. Ram has been recognized as one of the “Top 50 Leaders in Energy Storage and Microgrids” by India Energy Storage Association.
Dr. Luqman Lawal: Championing Healthcare Innovation and Global Health EquityDr. Luqman Lawal is a renowned thought leader at the intersection of clinical medicine, global health, business development, and technological innovation. With a rich background in medicine and public health, Dr. Lawal’s journey began at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria and progressed through advanced studies at the University of Minnesota, Harvard School of Public Health, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.Currently leading the global expansion for the Mayo Clinic Platform, Dr. Lawal drives the adoption of cutting-edge digital health and AI/ML solutions in diverse regions including Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, India, and many other LMICs. His strategic leadership is crucial in enhancing healthcare delivery and optimizing health resources across these markets.
A distinguished member of the World Economic Forum's Digital Healthcare Working Group, Dr. Lawal’s work is highly influential on the global stage. His recent publication, "How Fintech in LMICs Can Inspire the Digital Healthcare Revolution," showcases his vision for integrating technological advancements to revolutionize healthcare systems in underserved regions.As a Sloan Leadership Fellow and MIT Sloan MBA graduate, Dr. Lawal combines executive acumen with a passion for health equity. He has held pivotal roles, including Director of Global Health at Starkey Hearing Foundation and VP of Health Equity at Bright Health Group, where he utilized AI and ML to bridge health disparities.Beyond his executive roles, Dr. Lawal is a Managing Partner at Erez Capital, advocating for investments in health innovations and supporting entrepreneurs from underserved communities. His board memberships with organizations like RoundtableRx USA and Healthful Data further reflect his commitment to driving impactful change in health equity and digital health innovation.Join Dr. Lawal’s session to engage with a visionary leader whose expertise and dedication to sustainable healthcare solutions continue to shape the future of global health.
Kirk Marple is the founder and CEO of Graphlit, an end-to-end API that leverages RAG to that ingests unstructured data and leverages retrieval augmented generation to improve accuracy, domain specificity, adaptability, and context understanding in vertical AI app dev. His 30 year career in data and software leadership includes serving at Microsoft and General Motors.
David McDonald serves as Vice Chancellor for Administration. He is the university’s lead administrative and financial officer and has oversight for auxiliary services, business and financial services, budget, capital planning, facilities, government relations, human resources, information technology, and university planning and design. He works closely with other members of the university’s Executive Team and campus community to support the fulfillment of the UH West Oʻahu Strategic Action Plan. Prior to joining UH West Oʻahu he served in multiple roles at Western Oregon University including Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Public Affairs, Associate Provost, and Dean of Enrollment Admissions and Retention. McDonald has also served as the Director of Enrollment Services for the Oregon University System. At the University of California, San Diego he was the Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies. While covering a broad area of university functions including academic affairs, student affairs, external relations, and government relations, McDonald has maintained a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have enhanced student access and completion efforts. He was the 2011 recipient of the Michael C. Holen Pacesetter Award from NACADA for his commitment to academic advising excellence. He has served on numerous state, regional and national committees focused on various areas of higher education policy and operations. McDonald earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Oregon and his Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington.
P.K. Mishra is a technical product manager (PM) and entrepreneur with experience in launching new products in AI, machine learning, hardware, and SaaS. Between 2014 and 2023, PK was the PM for launching four products, each generating at least $10 million in revenue within the first year. He is currently the AI Product Lead for LG Nova's new business incubation division. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a Master's degree in Computer and Information Science from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also an inventor, holding 8 patents, and has contributed to 12 peer-reviewed publications. PK has held pivotal product management roles at leading companies such as 10x Genomics, Matterport, Infineon Technologies, and General Motors R&D. At 10x Genomics, he was instrumental in launching the Xenium In Situ platform, a groundbreaking tool for spatial transcriptomics. During his time at Matterport, he launched the Deep Learning-based Matterport Axis Mobile Scanner, which creates 3D models from images, used by platforms like Redfin. As the Director of Applied AI and ML at Infineon Technologies, PK led the development of a scalable hybrid cloud-edge AI-ML Industrial sensing SaaS platform as well as led the development of an analog deep learning processor-embedded MEMS microphone. Prior to that, as the founder and CEO of this VC-backed startup Fingertips Lab, Inc., he led the development of a product that shipped over 30,000 devices earning awards, including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Innovation Award, Red Dot Design Award, and the University of Michigan Entrepreneur-of-the-Year Award. His passion lies in driving technological innovation, delivering impactful results, and leveraging cross-disciplinary collaborations to advance cutting-edge products.
Gbemi Ogunyomi is a Serial Tech Entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist with 20 years of experience managing over 350 Million Dollars of total assets under management in the healthcare, life sciences, energy, and software technology industry sectors. Her expertise spans clinical operations, engineering, finance, business development, fundraising, startup investments, portfolio management, and M&A deal execution. Gbemi is passionate about fostering innovation and driving growth within the healthcare and life sciences ecosystem. Gbemi holds both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and certifications from renowned institutions including MIT Sloan School of Management, Harvard Medical School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Wharton, LSU, and Missouri S&T. Gbemi is a Venture Partner and Strategic Advisor to Healthcare and Life Sciences Startups at The Texas Medical Center For Innovation. She is a Guest Lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and is a member of the MIT Sloan School of Management Alumni Board.
Iliana Oris Valiente is an accomplished corporate executive, innovation and emerging tech pioneer, board member, investor, author, and global citizen. She serves as the Managing Director and Head of NA Innovation Hubs at Accenture, leading initiatives in emergent areas such as AI, and leading multi-disciplinary teams across design and data, and working closely to scale their Venture investment companies. Iliana is also a venture capital fund investor and advisor, with a focus on emerging fund managers. She is also on the board of directors at Sunnybrook Hospital and CPA Ontario, is a published author, and speaks regularly at global conferences. Her work reflects a deep commitment to societal change and global citizenship.
Shilpa Prasad is an experienced leader in the startup ecosystem, with a strong passion for entrepreneurship and corporate startup engagement/innovation. She brings over 15 years of global experience in corporate startup strategy and venture-building to her role as entrepreneur in residence at LG Nova, where she is helping the company identify market trends and build partnerships. Prasad has been instrumental in driving innovation for various open innovation projects across corporations, governments, and accelerators and in establishing new partnerships across the global startup ecosystem. An experienced founder, she has also contributed her time to mentoring and advising startups.
My passion is working with teams of innovators from large corporations to startups to create high-impact products and services. Extensive worldwide enterprise technology business development, strategy and strategic partner leadership experience with IBM, Oracle, Amazon, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. Active in the startup ecosystem as a 5X founder, advisor and as a mentor with multiple startup accelerators. I also on the Board at MassChallenge RI Accelerator and as a Mentor with the MIT Venture Mentoring Service. Today I lead IBM's WW Startup Ecosystem Partnerships focused on bringing trustworthy, enterprise-ready AI to market.
Sokwoo Rhee is Corporate Executive Vice President for Innovation at LG Electronics and Head of LG NOVA, a new Silicon Valley-based innovation center. He leads LG Electronics’ global innovation projects, new business creation, strategic partnerships, and ecosystem development. Prior to joining LG, Sokwoo served as Associate Director for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Innovation at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce, covering innovation programs for Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Cities. He managed the Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC), a U.S. federal government program to develop a global ecosystem of major business and technology stakeholders to create replicable and scalable IoT/smart city projects. Sokwoo previously served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow on CPS, a program by the White House. During his tenure, he co-led the SmartAmerica Challenge, which brought together IoT technologies and organizations across the nation to demonstrate how they can collaborate to create technology-based projects with a focus on socio-economic benefits. Prior to joining the U.S, government, Sokwoo was a co-founder and CTO of Millennial Net, Inc., one of the first organizations to successfully commercialize low-power wireless mesh/sensor networks and IoT technologies from academia. He also worked on wireless medical sensors as a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His work and achievements have been widely recognized and he has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the MIT Technology Review’s “Top Innovators under 35.” Dr. Rhee received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Matt is Head of Startup Ecosystem, US at Google. In this role, Matt runs accelerators for early stage companies using AI/ML, Cloud and other technologies. Prior to this role, Matt worked in Google Hardware UX on Wearable devices (Pixel Watch) and AR. Prior to Google, Matt led accelerators and innovation programs at IDEO, supporting early stage organizations across the world focused on education, health, climate change, food systems and more, with clients like the UN and The Rockefeller Foundation. Matt is a former architect and designer and holds his MBA from California College of the Arts and his Bachelors from Cal Poly SLO. Matt is a proud husband and father of 3 young (energetic!) kids.
Dr. Zafer Sahinoglu is currently the General Manager of Mitsubishi Electric Innovation Center (MELIC Ventures), which was launched in April 2021 as the innovation and investment arm of Mitsubishi Electric in North America. He is also serving as VP Innovation at Mitsubishi Electric US (MEUS). In MEUS, he developed and launched SaaS businesses and new products in logistics, air mobility, energy management, smart infrastructure, human machine interaction, and connected vehicles. He has led and managed product design and agile product development, built new business models, developed technology strategies, and bundled these steps into customized processes with continuous innovation.
Zafer was a senior principal research scientist in MERL between 2001 and 2016. In his MERL years, he was an inventor on more than 80 patents, co-authored more than 100 international journal and conference papers, made more than 50 key contributions to international standards including ZigBee, IEEE 802.15.4a UWB PHY and MAC, IEEE 802.15.4e MAC, and MPEG 21. His technical expertise includes deep learning, stochastic signal processing, space-time adaptive processing, ultra-wideband and OFDMA wireless communications, indoor localization and tracking, biomedical signal processing, and Li-ion battery modeling. He has written two books on wireless communication and localization systems published by Cambridge University Press. Zafer received his M.Sc. degree in Biomedical Engineering, Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, in years 2002 and 1998, respectively; and M.B.A. degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013.
Known for a keen ability to locate disruptive and innovative technology, Elizabeth’s day job is the Director of Incubation Enablement at HP, helping internal founders at HP build and unleash innovative businesses. Elizabeth recently cofounded Find Ventures, a non-profit organization providing transformational non-dilutive grants and support to under-resourced entrepreneurs in Washington State. She also is a professor at the University of Washington teaching entrepreneurship to undergraduates and graduate students in the Foster Business School. Before Find Ventures and HP, Elizabeth led the Go To Market & Operations for the Amazon Alexa Fund and Startups team, as well as lead innovation business development for Amazon’s innovation team, Grand Challenge. Before Amazon, she led the launch of WeWork's startup and incubation arm, WeWork Labs in US West and LATAM, and previous to WeWork Elizabeth led the team at CoMotion Labs at the University of Washington coaching and growing the robust bench of NW tech and biotech startups.
Limor Schafman is the Director of Strategy at LG NOVA, a team within LG Electronics dedicated to working with the startup and entrepreneurial community to innovate and create impactful technologies that will lead LG, its partners, and the world into the future. She also heads the Cleantech/Climatech Task Force which develops ventures in this market sector. In her role, she leads strategy development and cross-team collaboration for incubation, corporate development, strategic partnerships, ecosystem, engagement and fund activities. This global program works with startups and entrepreneurs to innovate for the future. Prior to joining LG, Limor co-founded and lead the Telecommunication Industry Association’s Smart Buildings Program, which convened commercial real estate and information, and communication technology experts to develop its TIA-UL smart building benchmark and certification, Spire™. As founder of KeystoneTech Group, Limor provided market strategy and business development consulting services to startups in PropTech, telecom/mobile and other sectors. She co-led the National Institute of Standards and Technology–Global City Teams Challenge Smart Buildings SuperCluster and co-chaired the Smart Buildings & Urban Design group of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, Smart Regions Initiative. Limor has a deep understanding of the digital and digitized environment, stemming from her work in IoT, mobile and communications infrastructure, theme park, video game, and other technology sectors, and her experience as an international corporate attorney. She has led technology-oriented organizations, serving as the President of the World Future Society DC Chapter and co-founder and head of Games Gateway, a serious games meetup. Limor is also an international speaker and moderator and has served as a show host for several online media outlets.
Serving as the Director of Industry and Business Engagement for UNLV’s Office of Economic Development (OED) and Associate Director of the UNLV Research Foundation, which recently announced its early-stage venture fund to provide capital to developing startups in the UNLV ecosystem, Ms. Schwartz is focused on management strategy, industry partnerships, technology development, ecosystem support, and development of UNLV’s research and technology park. Ms. Schwartz earned her MBA from UNLV’s Lee School of Business and carries designations as a Certified Valuation Analyst and Certified Exit Planning Advisor. She also serves as Co-Principal Investigator with Dr. Jeffery Cummings of UNLV’s Department of Brain Health on a unique innovation acceleration program, funding by the National Institute of Aging, designed to advance solutions around Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Ms. Schwartz's background as a Business Valuator and Exit Strategist with over a decade in Bio-Medical Research brings together a unique experience profile in Executive Management, Value Assessments, Commercialization, Real Estate Development, and Strategic Planning.
Farzin is an Investment and Innovation leader. He has more than 17 years of varied experience in Investment, Operations Management, Consulting, and Business Development, globally. Farzin is a Partner at Silicon Foundry, the largest Innovation center in San Francisco. prior to that, Mr. Shadpour was a Partner at Plug & Play, LLC., the most active Venture Capital firm, Accelerator, and Corporate Innovation Center in Silicon Valley and the world. Plug & Play has invested in over 30 unicorns including 2 that were led by Mr. Shadpour. Farzin has led investments in more than 50 startups globally, including the United States, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, all in the area of Supply Chain and Logistics. The current value of his investments is 3X. Through this, he has had a front-row seat to changes, disruptions, and transformations happening in Supply Chain and Logistics. Mr. Shadpour has advised executives of over 50 of the Fortune 500, including Walmart, DHL, Geodis, JB Hunt, ArcBest, Lufthansa Cargo, Maersk, CMA-CGM, BNSF, Union Pacific, FedEx, USPS, Ryder, Mitsubishi Electric, Japan Post, and Yamato on investment and transformation. Before moving to Silicon Valley, Mr. Shadpour was with the Boeing co. where he had positions of increasing responsibility domestically and globally. There, Farzin assisted in preparation of materials for the company's quarterly earnings releases and communication to the Market. Mr. Shadpour has worked in the U.S., U.K., France, and Israel, and has managed teams in Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore, Japan and China. Mr. Shadpour currently resides with his wife and two children in San Francisco, CA. Farzin Shadpour is an engineer and a graduate of University of California, Berkeley.
Sharmila Mulligan is an investor and strategic advisor to tech companies ranging from early stage to high growth, late-stage companies. She has created and shaped several game-changing multi-billion dollar market categories and created winning companies in each category. Sharmila also serves on the Board of Fortune 500 companies, including Director at ConocoPhillips, serves on Northwestern University’s Entrepreneurship Board and the Board Northwestern’s College of Arts and Sciences. Most recently Sharmila served as Chief Strategy Officer at Alteryx and prior to that was CEO and founder of data analytics company acquired by Alteryx. She’s been early member and executive of 6 tech companies from inception to IPO and acquisitions, including General Magic, Netscape, Aster Data, and Opsware with Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. She’s also one of the earliest investors in Databricks, Cloudera, Starburst, and Anyscale, creator of the Ray AI platform, that OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Cohere and leading Generative AI companies use to scale AI. She is deeply involved in innovative companies across the enterprise B2B and consumer market space today.
Atul is passionate about inspiring and leading diverse teams to deliver meaningful digital health solutions at scale that are clinically appropriate, improve patient health, and drive revenue growth. As general manager of digital health at LG, Atul fuels innovation for LG and its partners by establishing a community to nurture, grow, and create businesses. Outside work, he enjoys travel, reading non-fiction books, learning Latin dances, and playing golf.
Abhinai is the founder and CEO at Mashgin Inc. which makes AI self checkout that is deployed at more than 5000 locations across the United States. Prior to Mashgin, Abhinai worked at Yahoo!, Microsoft and Facebook.
I'm deeply passionate about harnessing the power of AI to address complex real-world challenges at scale. I've been very lucky to surround myself with brilliant minds and have the pleasure of building, deploying, and scaling AI tools and companies for enterprises in healthcare, big tech, government, and media sectors. I've navigated diverse leadership, and highly technical roles and founded an AI company focused on big data, deep learning, and healthcare. My core belief lies in AI's potential as a transformative force, augmenting human capabilities and revolutionizing industries rather than merely automating tasks.
Brian Sykes is currently a Principal at NextEra Energy Investments, where he focuses on enterprise SaaS and AI/ML startups. He specializes in identifying and investing in early-stage software companies, with funding rounds ranging from Seed to Series C and investment sizes between $500K and $20M. Before joining NextEra Energy, Brian amassed a wealth of experience across the venture capital landscape, working as an investor at several prestigious firms including Raine Ventures, Jump Capital, and Advance Venture Partners. His track record in venture capital has seen him actively participating in backing and scaling innovative technology companies across various sectors. Brian's expertise lies in identifying high-growth potential and supporting startups as they navigate challenges from early funding stages to expansion. His focus areas of SaaS and AI/ML showcase his commitment to driving technological advancements and creating sustainable, long-term value in emerging industries.
Angeline heads BLOCK71 Silicon Valley, a dynamic hub of the National University in Singapore in the U.S. where she develops cross border partnerships and collaborations in tech and innovation between Singapore, Asia and the U.S.She identifies and attracts disruptive startups with high-growth potential, guides startups through the complexities of cross border markets, connects founders with key industry players and investors to provide strategic guidance on product development, go-to-market strategies, and fundraising.Through BLOCK71 Silicon Valley, Angeline hosts several events monthly focusing on impact sectors to rally founders, investors and corporate executives in meaningful discussion, market discovery, product development and networking.
Brian has been an innovator and investor in impact-driven businesses for 25 years, with a focus on energy, AI, data, and new market development. He has deep expertise in scaling startups, corporate development, and product management across industries such as AI, EVs, edge computing, marketplaces, and last-mile grid electrification, working with both startups and Fortune 100 companies. As the Founder and CEO of Stem, Inc. (NYSE: STEM), Brian pioneered the first AI-powered energy storage systems, automating energy cost savings. Stem now operates the world’s largest commercial energy storage network, enhancing grid efficiency, sustainability, and resilience while creating value for commercial property owners, electric vehicles, solar projects, and utility-scale energy deployments. He was the CEO and Co-Founder of CRE Simple, Inc., a fintech company that partnered with the largest commercial real estate brokerage firms in the U.S. to revolutionize access to capital for investment properties, managing over $16B in commercial real estate transactions. Currently, Brian is an Innovation Partner at Alpha Studios, a pioneering studio lab in partnership with Offline Ventures. He is also an active Independent Director at Bridge to Renewables (BTR), focused on transforming transportation by maximizing the value of EV ownership, carbon markets, and renewable integration. He is focused on early-stage companies in AI, energy, fintech, and emerging technologies, while frequently lecturing on entrepreneurship at Duke, Wharton, and UC Law School San Francisco.
Brian has been an innovator and investor in impact-driven businesses for 25 years, with a focus on energy, AI, data, and new market development. He has deep expertise in scaling startups, corporate development, and product management across industries such as AI, EVs, edge computing, marketplaces, and last-mile grid electrification, working with both startups and Fortune 100 companies. As the Founder and CEO of Stem, Inc. (NYSE: STEM), Brian pioneered the first AI-powered energy storage systems, automating energy cost savings. Stem now operates the world’s largest commercial energy storage network, enhancing grid efficiency, sustainability, and resilience while creating value for commercial property owners, electric vehicles, solar projects, and utility-scale energy deployments. He was the CEO and Co-Founder of CRE Simple, Inc., a fintech company that partnered with the largest commercial real estate brokerage firms in the U.S. to revolutionize access to capital for investment properties, managing over $16B in commercial real estate transactions. Currently, Brian is an Innovation Partner at Alpha Studios, a pioneering studio lab in partnership with Offline Ventures. He is also an active Independent Director at Bridge to Renewables (BTR), focused on transforming transportation by maximizing the value of EV ownership, carbon markets, and renewable integration. He is focused on early-stage companies in AI, energy, fintech, and emerging technologies, while frequently lecturing on entrepreneurship at Duke, Wharton, and UC Law School San Francisco.
Nicole Valentine is the FinTech Director of the Milken Institute’s Finance pillar with over a decade of financial services, international Mergers & Acquisitions, technology, and innovation experience. As the FinTech Director, Nicole explores market innovation and developments, analyzes alternative regulatory approaches, and offers policy recommendations to facilitate FinTech’s responsible development. Her work engages and educates policymakers and stakeholders to improve access to capital, financial inclusion, transparency, and compliance. In 2023, Nicole was appointed to become a member of the CFTC GMAC (Global Markets Advisory Committee) Digital Assets Market Subcommittee. Nicole is also a member of the Goldman Sachs Sustainable Investing Group Inclusive Growth Corporate Network.Nicole’s thought leadership on digital assets, Web3, FinTech, AI, the metaverse, and the future of finance is also frequently featured in news publications, including CNBC, Forbes, USA Today, Worth, FinTech Times, Fox Business, Yahoo Finance, CQ Roll Call, E-Crypto News, Miami Herald, and Protocol Braintrust (Politico). She weighs in on topics that include Digital Assets legislation and regulation, innovative technologies, financial inclusion and fluency, and crypto’s cultural relevance in society.An attorney by background, Nicole practiced Mergers and Acquisitions and Securities at Wall Street law firm, Debevoise & Plimpton and then served as Assistant General Counsel and Vice President at global financial services firm, Cantor Fitzgerald. Nicole founded Synergy Business Development where she served as business strategist, advisor, and consultant to CEOs and Innovation Leads at Fortune 500 companies, innovative startups, non-profits, and government agencies. Nicole Valentine earned her JD from the University of Virginia School of Law and her BA from American University in Political Science. She is a member of the NY Bar.
Chris Villarreal is President at Plugged In Strategies which provides consulting services across the electricity industry to state utility commissions, governmental agencies, consumer advocates, and other non-governmental advocates and organizations. He focuses on grid modernization, advanced metering infrastructure, distribution system planning, distributed energy resources, data access and privacy, and rate design. He spent 11 years working for state regulatory commissions in California and Minnesota prior to starting Plugged In Strategies. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow with the R Street Institute, a non-partisan free market think tank where he works on research and regulatory matters on electricity markets at the wholesale and retail levels.
Technology leader with entrepreneurial spirit driven to discover and launch new lines of business. I thrive when creating, collaborating on and explaining exciting opportunities for technology.
Scott Walbrun is a principal venture capital investor at BMW i Ventures, the independent venture capital fund managed on behalf of BMW Group based in Silicon Valley, where focuses on Series A & B investments in clean energy, AI/ML, software, mobility, and intelligent supply chain. In this capacity, Scott has invested in or serves on the board of nine companies. He also serves as a mentor and workshop leader for hundreds of startups through various accelerator programs across the country.Prior to joining BMW i Ventures, Scott provided M&A and capital markets advisory as a member of Jefferies’ Technology Investment Banking team, where he supported the closing of more than $3 billion of transactions on behalf of clients including Thoma Bravo, Palantir, Monday.com, Procore, Malwarebytes, and PlushCare. Scott joined Jefferies after completing his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. While completing his MBA, he worked at Kinzie Capital Partners evaluating private equity investments, as well as at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation supporting the commercialization of science-based and deep tech companies.Prior to business school, Scott managed Strategic Finance and FP&A at Truck Hero (a TA Associates portfolio company) and began his career in Fiat Chrysler’s Finance Leadership Development Program.
Norman Winarsky, in a few words, is a founder of many ventures. In a few more words, Norman is a tech innovator who did more than dream about the future—he’s building it. As the co-founder of Siri, the voice assistant that’s now a household name, He has truly revolutionized how we interact with our devices. And that’s just a small portion of his impact. As the former president and founder of SRI Ventures, he played a key role in launching more than 70 companies, each with the potential to change the world. With a total market value over $100B, and a focus from AI to healthcare, his fingerprints are all over the tech landscape. If you’re looking for someone who knows how to strategically take an innovative idea and turn it into a successful startup, Norman has the history to share. His keynote, "If You Really Want to Change the World: A Blueprint for Building Successful Breakthrough Ventures," will be a guide for those with a big idea, inspiration, and the drive to make it happen. Norman will share tips for creating ventures that don’t just survive but thrive—changing industries and lives along the way. With a career that includes investing in and mentoring startups, teaching at Stanford,receiving a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago, winning an Emmy award, and investing in the next generation of tech leaders, Norman has so much to share to founders and innovators. He writes a weekly blog focused on breakthrough ventures (normanwinarsky.substack.com). Norman’s current interests include Generative AI, Computer Vision, Robotics, and Mobility.
As a CEO Coach and Board Advisor, I leverage my extensive experience in leading, growing, and exiting high-tech businesses to help CEOs and startups achieve their goals and overcome their challenges. I have led five ventures as the CEO and guided dozens as a Board member or an advisor, including TeleSense, an AgTech company that was acquired by UPL in 2020. I am also passionate about teaching and mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators. I have been teaching entrepreneurship and innovation at UC Berkeley since 2005 and at Northeastern University since 2017, where I am the faculty director and Professor of the Practice. I have written five books on topics related to entrepreneurship, some of which are used as curriculum textbooks at various universities. My mission is to promote the lessons of Silicon Valley to organizations and entrepreneurs all over the world. I have served on the Board of Directors of several companies (see concordiaventures.com) and as the Board Chair of OPEN Silicon Valley and AspirePK.org. I am also the Founding President of the Brown University Club of Silicon Valley.
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