Aaron Dignan
Culture is changing rapidly at the intersection of people and technology. Author and digital strategist Aaron Dignan translates disruptive innovations at the fringe of the digital space and the world of gaming into meaningful lessons for the mainstream.
Dignan dressed up as a super hero for 180 straight days of the first grade, which marked the beginning of his life as an iconoclast, observer, theorist, and performer. Now, as a founding partner of the digital strategy firm Undercurrent based in New York, he advises global brands and complex organizations like GE, PepsiCo, Ford, and Disney on their future in an increasingly technophilic world. Read more
Steve Wozniak
Considered by most to be the real “brains” behind Apple, Steve Wozniak is not just a first class engineer with three decades of world-famous credentials; he’s also a really nice guy. Personally invested in making the world a better place on a global and local level, Wozniak has been dedicated –from the first design of the Apple I — to a vision of making technology functionally and financially accessible. This is more than just a design spec; it’s about real life: Wozniak has “adopted” the Los Gatos School District, providing students and teachers with hands-on teaching and donations of state-of-the-art technology equipment. He’s also founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and was the founding sponsor of the Tech Museum, and Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. This Silicon Valley icon and philanthropist has been awarded the National Medal of Technology by the President, the highest honor bestowed on America’s leading innovators, and was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame. He also won the prestigious Heinz Award, for Technology, Economy and Employment. Wozniak recently released his bestselling biography, iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It. His role in shaping the computing industry cannot be underestimated: he’s the engineer/inventor/fifth grade teacher/philanthropist and irrepressible prankster who is changing our world even at this very moment. Read more
Tom Koulopoulos
President and founder of Delphi Group; named one of the industry’s six most influential consultants by InformationWeek; author of eight books; Innovation Executive in Residence at Bentley University, lecturer at the Boston College Graduate school of management and Harvard; and frequent contributor to national and international print and broadcast media, Tom Koulopoulos is one of the most prolific thought leaders in the country. His insights provide a beyond-the-edge view of the turbulence created by the collision of technology and business. Tom Peters has called his writing, “a brilliant vision of where we must take our enterprises to survive and thrive.” The late management guru and 20th Century business icon Peter Drucker, said of Koulopoulos’ writing “[it][/it]makes you question not only the way you run your business but the way you run yourself.” His latest book, The Innovation Zone, (www.theinnovationzone.com) looks at how we can overcome individual and organizational inertia the create breakthrough innovation, and his upcoming book, The Social Economy, will examine the ways in which organizations will leverage the power of social networks, influence, relationships, personalization and trust by creating brands that people are drawn to not only because of their reputation but because of their ability to align with the values and personal interests of buyers. Read more