The Leading Speakers Bureau

RenownedCanadian Angel Investor, Advisor, Entrepreneur &Strategist

Salim Ismail is a sought-after speaker, strategist and entrepreneur. His last company, Angstro, was sold to Google in 2010. He is the founding Executive Director of Singularity University and spent the last six years building out this unique organization serving as its Global Ambassador, creating relationships in over a dozen countries. SU is based at NASA Ames and is training a new generation of leaders to manage exponentially growing technologies.

“Salim lays out the blueprint for wild advancements and how they will come to forever alter society”

[expand title=”In detail”] He started his career as a software engineer with CSC Europe and then joined ITIM Associates, a boutique consulting firm headquartered in London, as a business and technology strategy consultant. In 2007-2008, Salim was a Vice President at Yahoo, where he launched and ran Brickhouse, Yahoo’s internal incubator. His team analyzed over 3000 ideas around the company and launched four major products during his tenure. After building and operating two other early-stage companies, in 2002 Salim founded the New York Grant Company as a response to 9/11. In its first year, NYGC attracted over 400 clients and delivered over $12 million of federal grants to the local economy. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Co-founder of Confabb, PubSub Concepts and Angstro, Salim Ismail is a sought-after speaker who provides audiences with an insight on the future of breakthrough technologies and their impact on enterprises and society in general.Salim has a unique perspective and track record on how to innovate, turn cutting edge ideas into thriving start-ups and apply leading edge thinking to invigorate entire industries. His work has been featured in top publications and he advises Fortune 500 companies and world governments.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]His extensive experience in the global scenario and his leadership skills make Salim Ismail acaptivating speaker and sought-after commentator at prestigious conferences around the globe.Singularity University’s goal is “to educate, inspire and empower a new generation of leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges”and Salim personifies this.[/expand]

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Founder, The Analogies Project

Bruce Hallas is the creator and founder of The Analogies Project and the owner and principle consultant at Marmalade Box Ltd. His expertise has most recently been called upon by Hewlett Packards Research and Innovation Labs, the UK’s Economic & Social Research Council and UK CyberSecurity KnowledgeTransfer Network to drive public policy debate. He has also been called upon, by both BBC radio and television, to comment upon information security related incidents.

“One of the sharpest minds in Info Security”

[expand title=”In detail”] Bruce’s formal training was in law, finance and marketing. This, combined with experience in business development and resource management, led him to develop information and people centric approach to security where achieving acceptable levels of risk, and not 100% security, was his objective. His research, in particularly into Integrated Regional Information Security Strategies in 2007 and the challenges of SME adoption of security best practice brought him into contact with the UK House of Parliament, national policy advisors, information security and assurance bodies, leading IT securityindustry vendors, cyber security thinktanks, research councils andEuropean government.
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[expand title=”What he offers you”]Bruce helps executive management to understand information security risks to their strategic and operational objectives providing insights into opportunities and challenges with regards to information security management. He puts down his success in information security to storytelling, facts, figures, metaphors and delivering against expectations.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]In his presentations, Bruce likes to draw parallels between events happening around us, and information security, and raise awareness of these through Twitter, his blog and The Analogies Project.[/expand]

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Paraplegic Motivational Speaker

Deepa Malik is an Indian paraplegic swimmer, biker and athlete. She won numerous accolades for her participation in various adventure sports, and whether it is swimming against the strong Yamuna current, riding a bike or even taking a shot at the Paralympic Games, she has done it all. Deepa has won bronze in the Women’s Javelin Throw and was nominated in Limca Book of Records for her swimming records.

“Award winning motivational speaker”

[expand title=”In detail”] Deepa is associated with the Himalayan Motorsports Association and the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India. She drove 1700 km in 8 days in negative temperatures and was even able to sustain an altitude of 18000 feet during the Himalaya Raid which covered many difficult and remote Himalaya paths. Deepa is a member of the working group on sports and physical education of the Indian Sports Ministry. In addition, she is a successful business woman running a restaurant in Ahmed Nagar, India.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Deepa’s disability has not stopped her from taking up challenges. With determination and a positive attitude, the mother of two turns adversity into opportunities and success and encourages audiences to face their fears and become the best they can despite whatever life throws at you.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Combining enthusiasm with an engaging speaking style and all of her experiences in life, from the trauma of her disability to the determination to strive for success, Deepa creates an inspirational appeal amongst any audience.[/expand]

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Founder and Former CEO, Zipcar, Buzzcar and GoLoco

Robin Chase is the founder and former CEO of Zipcar, co-founder of Buzzcarand GoLoco, an online ridesharing community. Zipcar, GoLoco and Buzzcar have been seen as disruptive and innovative: they used technology and marketing to change the way people own and use cars; they changed the ways cities are lived in and built; they changed prejudices about the incompatibility of environmentalism and capitalism. She is Executive Chairman of Veniam, a vehicle communications company building the networking fabric for the Internet of Moving Things.

“She is one of the pioneers of the sharing economy”

[expand title=”In detail”] Robin served on the board of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the National Advisory Council for Innovation & Entrepreneurship for the US Department of Commerce, the Intelligent Transportations Systems Program Advisory Committee for the US Department of Transportation, the OECD’s International Transport Forum Advisory Board, the Massachusetts Governor’s Transportation Transition Working Group, and Boston Mayor’s Wireless Task Force.Robin lectures widely, has been frequently featured in the major media, and has received many awards in the areas of innovation, design, and environment, including Time 100 Most Influential People, Fast Company Fast 50 Innovators, and BusinessWeek Top 10 Designers. [/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Highly innovative, Robin helps individuals, companies and government understand where to look for innovation and how to enable it. She explores how rethinking “excess capacity” can be combined with technology and platforms for participation to unlock innovation, new profit centres and ultimately lead us to a sustainable planet. [/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Robin prepares each presentation to perfectly suit each event and offers audiences a wealth of useful actionable information with real life examples honed from her own business successes.[/expand]

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Williams F1 Development Driver

Susie Wolff is the only female F1 racing driver. She is a development driver for Williams F1 and an ambassador for Wings for Life and FIA Women in Motorsport. Sheis much more than just a great race car driver; she is a brilliant role model for women making headway in a profession dominated by men. In 2013 Susie was awarded an Honorary Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh in recognition of her role as an ambassador for women in sport

“The fastest woman in the world”

[expand title=”In detail”] Her debut came in 2001, when she started with Formula Renault. In 2003, she was selected as the BRDC Rising Star and qualified as the only woman for the final round of the coveted McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award. The following year, she made the leap into the British F3 International Series. In 2006, Susie had her debut in DTM and finished her first race within the top 10. In 2012, she was appointed development driver for the Williams F1 Team. Getting the FIA Super Licence in 2014, Susie was allowed to finally really be part of Formula 1. In November 2014 Williams announced that Susie will be stepping up to the position of Official Test Driver for Williams Martini Racing for the 2015 Formula One season. [/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Susie shares with audiences worldwide how it is possible to succeed in all areas of the sport. She is doing a magnificent job at promoting the sport to women, considering it is generally thought of as a man’s sport.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Susie’s presentations are packed with ideas, constructive suggestions and real life examples. Audiences always find them revealing, exciting, inspiring and brilliant. [/expand]

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Founding Chairman of the Advanced Human Technologies Group

Ross Dawson is globally recognised as a leading futurist, entrepreneur, keynote speaker, strategy advisor, and bestselling author. He is Founding Chairman of the Advanced Human Technologies group of companies, which includes international consulting and ventures firm Advanced Human Technologies, futures think-tank Future Exploration Network, leading events company The Insight Exchange, and three more companies being developed in stealth mode.

“Proven Prescience & Ability to Stimulate New Insights”

[expand title=”In detail”] Ross has run executive education programs and lectured at numerous academic institutions around the world, including the University of Virginia, Australian Graduate School of Management, Singapore Institute of Management, Institute of Banking and Finance, and Singularity University in Silicon Valley. Ross holds a B.Sc (Hons) from Bristol University and a Grad.Dip in Applied Finance from Macquarie University, and is certified as a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Ross frequently appears in the media, including on CNN, Bloomberg TV, SkyNews, ABC TV, New York Timesand the Today and Sunrise shows.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Ross is an engaging speaker with the ability to get people thinking beyond tomorrow. He spells out what it will take for businesses to succeed in the knowledge-based economy of the future, providing a practical framework that audiences from any services industry can understand.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Ross is a dynamic speaker who presents his ideas in an exciting and interactive manner.[/expand]

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Cybersecurity Expert

Keren Elazari is an internationally celebrated researcher, author and speaker on all matters related to cybersecurity and hacker culture. Since 2000, Keren has worked with leading security firms, public organizations, Big 4 and Fortune 500 companies. Her research and writing about security has been featured in Scientific American, WIRED, CNN and she has been quoted, interviewed and frequently contributes to leading newspapers and magazines such as Focus, Der Spiegel and Neue Zuricher Zeitung amongst others. Keren’s 2014 TED talk has been viewed by 1.5 million people and was translated into 25 languages.

“Keren’s 2014 TED talk was selected for TED’s list of ‘Most Powerful Ideas’

[expand title=”In detail”] Keren holds a CISSP certification and Masters in Security Studies from the prestigious Security & Technology workshop at Tel Aviv University where she is a senior researcher with the Balvatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center. In 2012, she held the position of Security Teaching Fellow with Singularity University, NASA Research Park, California.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Keren Elazari moves through business, academic and security circles, researching new technologies and emerging security threats. Inspired by science fiction and fuelled by insatiable curiosity, Keren spent years investigating the darker corners of cyberspace. Today, she emerges with a new understanding of the hacker underworld.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Challenging and thought provoking, Keren’s presentations are always a highlight at conferences around the globe.[/expand]

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CEO and CHO of Delivering Happiness, Business Advisor

Jenn Lim is the CEO and CHO (Chief Happiness Officer) of Delivering Happiness, a company she founded with Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos.com) to inspire science-based happiness, passion and purpose at work, home and in everyday life. Jenn is dedicated to growing Delivering Happiness to inspire people, companies and communities to change their world, so together, we can change the world.

“Let’s make happy work!”

[expand title=”In detail”] A consultant from Zappos’ start-up days in 2003, Jenn created the Zappos Culture Book, an embodiment of how companies can use happiness as a business model to increase productivity and profitability. Upon the discovery that every organisation can have similar results, Delivering Happiness evolved into the culture coach-sulting company it is today to help businesses, public and private organisations and governments actualise their own sustainable culture for positive ROI. Jenn was featured in Forbes, the NYT, TED, USA Today and CNBC amongst others and she advised companies such as PWC, Facebook, Inc., Audi of America and Marriot International Inc. [/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Jenn’s experience, combined with her development of scientific frameworks for workplace happiness, created the evidence that happier employees = happier customers = successful companies (and meaningful lives). Jenn has addressed these topics to audiences in over 30 countries and shares the practical ways of how this equation works. [/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]The topics Jenn touches in her presentations can be used immediately and her message makes a real difference in any organisation. She leaves her audiences highly inspired and motivated. [/expand]

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Associate Director of MIT Media Lab, Expert on Human-Computer Interfaces

Hiroshi Ishii is the Jerome B. Wiesner Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab. At the MIT Media Lab, he founded the Tangible Media Group in 1995 pursuing a new vision of Human Computer Interaction. In addition, Hiroshi co-directs the Things That Think consortium. For this work he was awarded tenure from MIT in 2001 and elected to the CHI Academy in 2006 recognizing his substantial contributions to the field of Human-Computer Interactions through the creation of new genre called “Tangible User Interfaces.”

“Dr. Ishii pioneered the Tangible User Interface in the field of Human-Computer”

[expand title=”In detail”] Prior to MIT, from 1988-1994, Hiroshi led a CSCW research group at the NTT Human Interface Laboratories, where his team invented TeamWorkStation and ClearBoard. He was a visiting assistant professor at the University of Toronto and served as an Associate Editor of ACM TOCHI (Transactions on Computer Human Interactions) and ACM TOIS (Transactions on Office Information Systems). He received B. E. degree in electronic engineering, M. E. and Ph. D. degrees in computer engineering from Hokkaido University, Japan.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Hiroshi Ishii’s research focuses upon the design of seamless interfaces between humans, digital information, and the physical environment. In his presentations he gives insights on how technology will lead to behavioural changes in society and in business, reflecting that the future is something that we are creating.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]A mesmerising speaker and pure inspiration, Hiroshi Ishii’s presentations bring the wonders of science to any audience. [/expand]

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Founder and Head of BMW Startup Garage

Gregor Gimmy is co-founder and head of the BMW Startup Garage, the incubator for early stage automotive startups of the BMW Group. The Garage helps startups with technologies that can significantly advance or transform the automotive sector to succeed in this multi trillion dollar industry. Prior to the Garage, Gregor helped create BMW InnovationWorks, an internal Innovation Strategy team. He has also been a successful founder of three Internet startups and one innovation consultancy.

“An accomplished tech innovation strategist and entrepreneur”

[expand title=”In detail”] Before joining BMW, Gregor started various VC funded software companies in Silicon Valley and Europe. Prior to entrepreneurship, he worked at IDEO in Palo Alto where he helped transform IDEO from a Design to a strategic innovation consultancy by creating the Business Factors practice (which is the Business circle in IDEO’s Design Thinking). Gregor also lectures and publishes about innovation, and he mentors student research work. He studied business, engineering and acting at TU Stuttgart, Harvard and the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]With more than 15 years of experience in consulting big corporations and startups, Gregor is a leading expert who helps to identify new strategic product opportunities in the fields of Electric Vehicles, Digital Mobility, Autonomous Driving and Big Data. He shares insights into how to apply new innovation methods to any corporation worldwide. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]A gifted speaker, Gregor engages any audience as he explores new landscapes of business development and innovation strategy.[/expand]

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