Lou Gerstner’s “Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance” was a harbinger of an era of technological and business model disruption that has led corporate America to learn to continuously re-invent itself or go bust. And in the fifteen years since, the pace of technology development and digital innovation has only accelerated.

 

Is innovation your enterprise’s friend or foe?

Are you innovating to catch up, to chase competitors or to lead the charge?

How does your organization track, assess and integrate technology development for a competitive advantage?

Are you watching, leading or doing a bit of both? Do you partner with others in industry or work with universities or go it alone?

How do you decide which bets to make and when to “cut bait”?

 

These questions and more will be discussed in a provocative roundtable with leaders from companies on the cutting edge of AI/Cognitive Computing, Business Model Innovation and Transformation.

PANELISTS INCLUDE:

Nick Donofrio

Nick Donofrio’s personal brand is inextricably linked to game changing innovation. In addition to his many fellowships and trustee board memberships, he is particularly valued as a Board Director with deep domain expertise at the intersection of corporate governance, transformation and innovation. Nick is a 44-year IBM veteran who led IBM’s technology and innovation strategies from 1997 until his retirement in October 2008. During his long tenure, he was also vice chairman of the IBM International Foundation, chairman of the Board of Governors for the IBM Academy of Technology, responsible for IBM Research, Governmental Programs, Technical Support & Quality, Corporate Community Relations, as well as Environmental Health & Product Safety. In 2008, IBM Chairman, Sam Palmisano elected Nick as an IBM Fellow, the company’s highest technical honor.

Cary Pappas

Cary Pappas is the President and CEO of a new FedEx operating company, Forward Depots, a FedEx Trade Networks subsidiary. He is responsible for the development and execution of the global, 3D/Additive Manufacturing and Critical Inventory Logistics strategy for FedEx with initial focus on aerospace. He oversees all aspects of strategy, planning, technology, engineering and operations. Pappas joined FedEx in 1983 as a front line employee in Dallas, Texas. Over the course of his FedEx career he has held many leadership positions in the company. Pappas is a seven-time recipient of the prestigious Five Star Award, the highest recognition bestowed by FedEx. Pappas’ genuine leadership style empowers team members to innovate and deliver exceptional experiences for customers. Throughout his 30-plus years with FedEx, Pappas has embraced the traditions that define the renowned brand and that position FedEx as a leader in the global marketplace.

Karl Iagnemma

Karl is co-founder and President of Boston-based nuTonomy, Inc., the leading developer of autonomous vehicle software. nuTonomy was acquired by Aptiv in 2017. Karl is an authority on robotics and autonomous vehicles whose opinion and commentary has been published and broadcast worldwide on Bloomberg, CNBC, BBC, and many other media outlets. As former director of the Robotic Mobility Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), his research resulted in more than 150 technical publications, 50 issued or filed patents, and numerous edited volumes, including books on the DARPA Grand Challenge and Urban Challenge autonomous vehicle competitions. Karl was named one of 2017’s “Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs” by Goldman Sachs and designated a member of the 2017 “Recode 100” list of technology influencers.

Terri Fiez

Dr. Terri Fiez joined CU Boulder in September of 2015 as the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation. In this role, she is responsible for the over $500 million research portfolio that includes supporting current research operations, growing cross-disciplinary collaboration, and building research partnerships with other universities, industry and federal laboratories. The Research and Innovation Office (RIO) has been expanded to include the office of technology transfer and the office of industry collaboration. RIO is leading the university’s first grand challenge focused on space exploration and earth observation. Additionally, RIO is leading the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative for campus. Prior to arriving in Boulder, Terri spent 16 years at Oregon State University as Head of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She is passionate about building partnerships with industry, the startup community, and federal labs to build a strong ecosystem for the state and nation. In collaboration with colleagues at the other Colorado research institutions, she hopes to share the impact of world-class research institutions for educating a talented, work-ready workforce, creating new IP and ventures for economic prosperity and seeding the innovation ecosystem. Terri is an Electrical Engineer whose research is in analog integrated circuits. She took a leave of absence in 2008 to co-found a Solar Electronics startup company. She was bitten by the startup bug and hopes to seed entrepreneurial experiences for CU Boulder students and faculty connecting them to everything that the vibrant Boulder startup community has to offer.

Sam Valenti

Samuel R. Valenti is Director of Engineering & Technology Strategy, Space Systems Company for Lockheed Martin Corporation. In this capacity, he is responsible for the vision and execution of the engineering strategy for more than 10,000 engineers and translating that strategy into product and technology road maps. He enables collaboration across Engineering, Operations, Business Development, the Advanced Technology Center and Lockheed Martin Corporate Engineering Technology and Operations to mature product and technology road maps and to ensure connectivity to Space Systems Company’s mission needs.

 

CO-MODERATORS

Robin Bienfait

Robin Bienfait is the CEO of Atlanta Tech Park a thriving technology accelerator and the CEO of Emnovate an advisory firm that delivers enterprise class services to help businesses embrace innovation. Robin is a global senior executive and board member with 30 years of leadership experience in enterprise technology, mobility, and security. Leveraging her C-level success driving transformation for AT&T, BlackBerry and Samsung. Robin is also Chairman of Global Aviation and a partner with Valor Ventures. Robin has been selected to multiple public and private boards due to her collaborative, entrepreneurial approach to strategy creation, consensus building, corporate governance, and shareholder relations. Robin is a past member of the Hewlett Packard Advisory Board and the Cisco Strategic Advisory Board. Robin is also a member of the Georgia Institute of Technology Advisory Board and a Tiffany Circle Member of the American Red Cross. Robin is a global influencer with 15 patents and is routinely tapped to present at global enterprise conferences, including the CIO Forum, Gartner and Forrester. She has received extensive exposure in Forbes, Fortune and The Wall Street Journal, and was recently named one of the Top 100 CIOs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Currently residing in Atlanta, Robin holds a master’s degree in management of technology from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Central Missouri State University.

Pam Drew

Dr. Pamela (Pam) Drew is Board Director and a senior executive in the aerospace and defense sector. In her 28 year career, she led large scale multi-billion dollar P&L operations in aerospace & defense, high technology R&D and technical services for Boeing, Northrop Grumman, TASC and ITT Exelis. Her career highlights include generation of multi-billion dollar contract awards through innovative application of advanced technologies, often in very short time horizons, for customers in the military, global/homeland security, civil and commercial aviation markets. Pam is now serving as a Director of Serco, Inc., a sub a wholly-owned subsidiary of Serco Group plc, a $5 billion international business that helps transform government and public services around the world. She also serves on various non-profit and advisory boards including as Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the U. S. Air Force Museum Foundation and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Pam is a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Governance Fellow and a Game Change Agency Studio Host holding interviews with senior executives and thought leaders on various pressing business topics; the first interview series is focused on cyber security oversight in the board room.

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