Our Speakers

Technology

Debora Spar

New York Times Bestselling Author; Leading Expert on How Technology Shapes Business, Political and Social Structures, Gender Roles and Society; Senior Associate Dean, HBS Online; Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Nicholas Carr

Acclaimed Writer on Digital Technologies and Their Impact on Society; New York Times Best-selling Author, “The Shallows” (Pulitzer Prize Finalist); Visiting Professor of Sociology, Williams College

Sinan Aral

Global Authority on Business Analytics and How Information Spreads Through Social Networks; Award-winning Researcher; Entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist; Director of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy and Social Analytics Lab; Author, “The Hype Machine” (2020)

Peter Weill

Renowned Expert on the Role and Value of Digitization in Enterprises; Award-winning Author and Highly Sought-after Advisor to Major Corporations; Senior Research Scientist and Chair of the Center for Information Systems Research, MIT Sloan School of Management

George Westerman

Leading Authority on Digital Transformation, Innovation, IT Leadership and Cybersecurity; Expert on Driving Advantage Through Technology; Principal Research Scientist with the MIT Sloan Initiative on the Digital Economy

Andrew McAfee

Innovation and Technology Expert; Scientist Investigating the Sources of Progress and Competitive Differentiation; Evidence-driven Optimist; New York Times Best-Selling Author; Co-founder and Co-director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy; Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan School of Management

Tom Davenport

Pioneer of the Concept of “Competing on Analytics;” Leading Expert on Using Artificial Technologies in Business; Professor of Information Technology and Management, Babson College; Co-founder of the International Institute for Analytics; Fellow of the MIT Initiative for the Digital Economy; Senior Advisor, Deloitte Analytics

Henny Admoni

Leading Authority on Human-robot Interaction; Assistant Professor, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

Christina Qi

Financial Technology Expert; Founding Partner, Domeyard LP; CEO, Databento; Contributor to World Economic Forum’s Research on AI in Finance; Visiting Lecturer at MIT and MIT Board Member

Karim Lakhani

Architect of Digital Transformation and AI-enabled Business and Operating Models; Leading Scholar of Technology Management and Innovation Experiments; Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Co-founder and Co-director of the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH) and the Harvard Business Analytics Program; Co-author, “Competing in the Age of AI” (2020)

Bharat Anand

Leading Expert on Digital Strategy, Media and Entertainment Strategy, Corporate Strategy and Organizational Change; Vice Provost for Advances in Learning, Harvard University; Senior Associate Dean of Harvard Business School Online; Author, “The Content Trap” (2016)

Marshall Van Alstyne

Leading Authority on Two-Sided Markets, Focused on Helping Organizations Thrive in the “Platform Economy;” Business Strategist, Scientist and Economist; Co-author of the International Best-seller, “Platform Revolution” (2016); Winner, Thinkers50 2019 Digital Thinking Award; Professor of Management, Boston University

Geoff Parker

Leading Expert on Network Economics and Platform Business Strategies; Professor of Engineering, Dartmouth College; Visiting Scholar and Research Fellow at MIT’s Initiative for the Digital Economy; Co-Chair of MIT’s Annual Platform Strategy Summit

Matt Beane

Leading Expert on the Future of Work Involving Intelligent Machines, Specializing in Robotics; Former Chief Human-Robot Interaction Officer, Humatics; Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara; Digital Fellow, MIT’s Institute for the Digital Economy

Jon McNeill

Visionary Leader and Entrepreneur; Expert on Scaling Organizations and Driving Innovation; Former COO, Lyft; Former President, Tesla Motors; Six-time Founder/CEO

Bart De Langhe

Leading Behavioral Economist with Alternative Models for Building Customer Loyalty; Data Scientist at the Intersection of AI and Human Decision Making; Marketing Thought Leader Helping Companies Optimize Data to Drive Growth; Professor, ESADE

Renee Richardson Gosline

Leading Marketing Expert Specializing in the Intersection of Behavioral Economics and Technology; Authority and Practitioner on Brand Strategy, Customer Experience and Inclusive Leadership; Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2020; Senior Lecturer in the Management Science Group, MIT Sloan School of Management; Principal Research Scientist, MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy

Kai D. Wright

Leading Expert on Building Culturally Fluent, Change-Resilient Organizations; Global Advisor on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Practices; Global Media Executive; Lecturer, Columbia University; Author, “Follow the Feeling” (2019)

Arnav Kapur

Leading Authority on Extended Intelligence, Closely Coupling Human Cognition and Artificial Intelligence; Pioneering Inventor and Lead Innovator Behind AlterEgo; Rising Tech Star and 2019 TED Fellow; Researcher, MIT Media Lab

Kevin Werbach

Leading Expert on the Business, Legal and Public Policy Implications of Emerging Technologies; Authority on the Future of Blockchain and its Implications for Trust in Business and Society; Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, The Wharton School; Author, “For the Win” (Revised, November 2020)

Hannu Rajaniemi

Acclaimed Sci-Fi Author, Entrepreneur and Scientist; Visionary & Futurist Whose Proven Framework Uses Fiction to Solve Real Problems and Inspire Future Innovation; Co-Founder, Helix Nanotechnologies

Katharine Wilkinson

Renowned Strategist, Expert and Author on How Organizations and Changemakers Can Address the Climate Crisis; Advisor on Advancing and Communicating Proactive Climate Solutions; Senior Writer, New York Times Best-Seller “Drawdown” (2017) and “Drawdown Review” (2020); Co-editor, “All We Can Save” (2020)

Neri Oxman

Award-winning Architect, Designer and Inventor; Pioneer of the Field of Material Ecology; Leading Authority on “Hacking” Nature for the Purposes of Speculative and Practical Design; Founder, Mediated Matter Research Group; Professor, MIT Media Lab

Mark Mortensen

Expert on Remote Work and Solving the Challenges of Organizational Design, Company Culture, Social Psychology and Human Dynamics; Authority on the Impact of Technology on Employee Behavior, Coordination and the Future Design of Work; Professor, INSEAD

Courtney D. Cogburn

Pioneer in Using Virtual Reality to Expose the Devastating Impact of Racism on Individuals, Organizations and Society; Expert on Understanding How Racism in the Media Affects Human Health; Transdisciplinary Scholar; Associate Professor of Social Work, Columbia University

Ben Waber

Leading Authority on the Revolution of Big Data in the Workplace; Expert on Using Analytics to Inform Strategy and Decision Making; Specialist in Creating and Sustaining Innovative, Data-Driven Corporate Cultures; President and CEO of Humanyze; Visiting Scientist, MIT Media Lab

David Blake

World’s Foremost Expert on the Future of Credentials, Skills, and the Workforce; Leading Authority on Future-Proofing Companies and Their Employees; Co-Founder & Executive Director, Degreed; Co-Founder, Vice.Run; Co-Author, “The Expertise Economy” (2018)

Kelly Palmer

Cutting-Edge Thought Leader on the Future of Work, the Future of Learning, and the Challenge of Upskilling and Reskilling the Workforce; Chief Learning Officer, Degreed; Co-Author, “The Expertise Economy” (2018)

Iyad Rahwan

Renowned Computer Scientist and Developer of AI Technology; Expert on the Ethics and Impact of AI and Social Media on Society, Government and Future of Work; Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2020; Director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development; Professor, MIT Media Lab

Ayanna Howard

Renowned Educator, Researcher and Innovator in the Cutting-Edge Fields of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence; Pioneering Developer of Robotic Technology for Pediatric Health Care; Founder and CTO, Zyrobotics; Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology; Author, “Sex, Race and Robots” (2020)

Mary Lou Jepsen

Acclaimed Futurist, Inventor, Entrepreneur & Technology Thought Leader; Pioneer in Medical Imaging and Telepathic Technology; Former Professor, MIT Media Lab; Founder, Openwater

Isha Datar

Cellular Agriculture Pioneer; Executive Director, New Harvest; Co-Founder, Perfect Day (fka Muufri) and Clara Foods

Andrew Hessel

Futurist and Trailblazer in Biological Technologies; Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Genome Project-write; Founder and President, Humane Genomics Inc.

Neha Narula

Foremost Expert on Digital Currencies and Blockchains; Financial Democratization Enthusiast; Director of the Digital Currency Initiative at the MIT Media Lab

Erik Brynjolfsson

Foremost Authority on Technology’s Effect on Business Strategy, Productivity and Performance; New York Times Best-selling Co-Author, “The Second Machine Age” and “Machine, Platform, Crowd”; Director, Stanford Digital Economy Lab at the Institute for Human-Centered AI

Pattie Maes

Pioneering Authority on Human-Computer Interaction, AI and Human Augmentation; Entrepreneur; Director, MIT Program in Media Arts and Sciences; Professor, MIT

Hugh Herr

Leader of the Bionic Age; Champion for Creating Technology to Improve the Human Body and Redefine Human Potential; Professor & Leader, MIT Center for Extreme Bionics

Rana El Kaliouby

Pioneer and Inventor of Emotion and Human Perception AI; Visionary Entrepreneur and Authority on Developing and Implementing Ethical Business Strategies; Co-Founder and CEO, Affectiva; Author, “Girl Decoded” (April 2020)

Jeff Hancock

Authority on Social Media Behavior & Psychology of Online Interaction; Expert on Technology’s Role in Deception and Trust; Founder, Stanford University Social Media Lab

Marco Bertini

Foremost Authority on Strategies that Build and Sustain Revenue; Leading Expert on Creating and Sharing Value with Customers; Co-Author, “The Ends Game: How Smart Companies Stop Selling Products and Start Delivering Value” (MIT Press, September 2020); Professor of Marketing, Esade

Rosalind W. Picard

Affective Computing Authority and Expert on Emotional Machines Impact on Marketing and Medicine; MIT Media Lab’s Affective Computing Research Group Director; Co-Founder, Affectiva and Empatica

Andrew Gordon

Master Storyteller and Champion for Creative Company Cultures; Award-winning Animator and Film Director; Former Head of Animation, Pixar; Co-Founder, The Animation Collaborative

Amy Webb

World-Renowned Futurist and Leading Authority on Forecasting and Strategic Foresight for Business; Founder, Future Today Institute; NYU Stern School of Business Professor; Nonresident Senior Fellow Atlantic Council; Visiting Fellow, Oxford University Säid School of Business; Fellow, US-Japan Leadership Program; 3x Bestselling Author, “The Signals Are Talking,” “The Big Nine” and “Data, A Love Story”

Mark Roberge

Foremost Authority on Modern Revenue Generation, Sales and Marketing Strategy in the Digital Era; Founding CRO at HubSpot; Best Selling Author of “The Sales Acceleration Formula”; Professor at Harvard Business School; Venture Capitalist and Startup Board Member; Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting Group