2024 Speakers

Keynote Panel Moderator: Pathways to Entrepreneurial Success: Lessons Learned

John Gustavo Blair is originally from the Washington, DC area. He has been at the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) since 2017. At the EDA, John serves as the Director for National Business Investment and in addition to leading the team focused on supporting companies with a US headquarters, John specializes in working with emerging tech companies in sectors ranging from artificial intelligence and blockchain to drones and autonomous vehicles. Prior to joining the EDA, John spent close to a dozen years in business development roles for software and technical services companies and also consulted on sales and marketing strategies for emerging companies. John also has experience working for economic development authorities from Germany and the United Kingdom, including Frankfurt, the former East German State of Thuringia and Yorkshire, England.

John serves as the President on the Volunteer Fairfax Board of Directors. He has also served as the FCEDA representative on the Fairfax County Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) Task Force, which developed goals, strategies and actions that will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in Fairfax County, as well as on the Preservation Task Focus focused on preserving affordable housing in the county. John also represents the FCEDA in its memberships at the international organizations, Chamber of Digital Commerce, a leading blockchain association and at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). John has completed the Leadership Fairfax program.

A graduate of the University of Delaware with an international relations degree and George Mason University (GMU) School of Business with an MBA, John has also served as President of the Alumni Chapter of the School of Business at GMU. Other Board experience includes serving as an Executive Director on the Executive Board of Bretton Woods Recreation Center (BWRC) in Germantown, Maryland. Bretton Woods is a 286-acre facility owned by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Keynote Panelist: Pathways to Entrepreneurial Success: Lessons Learned

An investor, serial entrepreneur, and mentor. Experience includes founder CEO of an Intel Capital portfolio company, 20x exit, CTO and m&a for a $150M public company, $300M+ SBIR contracts, chairman of the IEEE 1451.5 Std for Wireless Sensor Networks, 10+ patents. Currently founder of 2 startups, investor of 50+ companies and board roles for 5+ companies.
His main Interests include cyber security, wireless, IoT and data analytics.

Steven received his BSEE from Tamkang University in Taiwan and MSEE from SUNY Buffalo.

Keynote Panelist: Pathways to Entrepreneurial Success: Lessons Learned

Blake Hall is the Co-Founder and CEO of ID.me, the next-generation digital identity network that simplifies how individuals can create a secure, private, and portable digital identity. More than 130 million members can use their ID.me Wallet to easily verify and use their identity across 30 states, 16 federal agencies, and over 600 organizations. ID.me's technology meets the federal standards for consumer authentication set by the Commerce Department and is approved as a NIST 800-63-3 IAL2 / AAL2 credential service provider as verified by the Kantara Initiative. ID.me is committed to "No Identity Left Behind" by enabling all people to have a secure digital identity.

Prior to ID.me, Blake led a reconnaissance platoon in Iraq. He was awarded two Bronze Stars, one for heroism in combat earned while stopping an Al-Qaida assault on a Combat Support Hospital in Mosul, and the other for exceptional performance hunting high-value targets. Blake holds a Bachelor of Science magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

TEDx-style Keynote w/ Dr. Cori Lathan: Techno-Optimism in a World of Disruptive Technology

For over 20 years, Dr. Corinna Lathan led AnthroTronix, Inc. as CEO, Co-Founder, and Board Chair to invent human-centered products in digital health, bioelectronic medicine, wearable technology, robotics, and augmented reality. Dr. Lathan details these projects in her 2022 best-selling book, Inventing the Future, Stories from a Techno-Optimist. During her tenure, AnthroTronix forged the regulatory path for Mobile Medical Apps receiving the first FDA 501k clearance for cognitive assessment and was recently sold to investors to scale the Dana Brain Vital product. Dr. Lathan continues as Chief Science Officer, and as an NIH-funded researcher, to lead scientific and operational breakthroughs in brain health outcomes measurement. She is also a member of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable and is a Former Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at The Catholic University of America and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland.

Dr. Lathan currently serves as an Independent Director of PTC, Inc., an S&P 500 member (Nasdaq:PTC) and global technology provider of Internet of Things and Augmented Reality platforms, and is a member of the Audit and Cybersecurity Committees. She is also an Independent Director of Ekso Bionics (Nasdaq:EKSO) a pioneer in the field of robotic exoskeletons, or wearable robots. Dr. Lathan serves on the Audit and Governance Committees.

In addition to her public board engagements, Dr. Lathan serves on the Board of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, an independent, non-profit organization, dedicated to accelerating global efforts to reduce deaths and harm from smoking. She also serves as a Director on the nonprofit boards Engineering World Health and The KID-Museum.

Dr. Lathan was named a Technology Pioneer and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and was the founding co-Chair of their Global Future Council on Human Enhancement. Dr. Lathan has been featured in Forbes, Time, and the New Yorker magazines and her work has led to such distinctions as Maryland’s “Top Innovator of the Year,” MIT Technology Review Magazine’s “Top 100 World Innovators,” and one of Fast Company Magazines “Most Creative People in Business.”

Dr. Lathan received her B.A. in Biopsychology and Mathematics from Swarthmore College and an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from MIT.

Keynote Panelist: Creating and Leveraging Innovation Ecosystems

Jack McDougle is the president and chief executive officer of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, a business organization that has served the District of Columbia, Northern
Virginia, and suburban Maryland for more than 130 years.

Jack has worked with business, government, and nonprofits for
more than 30 years to enhance competitive advantage. Before
joining the Board of Trade, he worked on economic capacity
building projects in the U.S., Central Asia, and India. Jack led the National Manufacturing and Innovation Initiative at the Council on Competitiveness. He also served as Deputy Undersecretary for Economic Affairs and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Industry Analysis at the U.S. Department of Commerce. At the U.S. Department of State, he led components of the U.S.-hosted G8 Summit at Sea Island.

In the private sector, Jack was Vice President for Strategic Management at People’s United Bank.

Jack regularly discusses economic, business, manufacturing, and trade issues with senior government and industry officials as well as presenting at various meetings and events. Jack earned his M.B.A. in strategy and finance at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Keynote Speaker: David Morey: The Magic of Innovation

David Morey, Chairman and CEO of DMG Global, is one of America’s leading strategic consultants—and one of the nation’s most sought-after speakers and magicians. Mr. Morey is the best-selling author of The Underdog Advantage, The Leadership Campaign, Creating Business Magic, #1 New Release on Amazon, and Innovating Innovation. He has worked with and helped add billions of dollars in revenue and market value to some of the world’s top companies.

Morey has advised six Nobel Peace Prize winners, twenty-two winning global presidential campaigns—along with a who’s who of Fortune 500 CEOs and companies including GE, Verizon, Apple, Samsung, Deloitte, LinkedIn, Google, The Coca-Cola Company, Mars, KPMG, McDonald's, Microsoft, News Corp., Nike, Pepsi, P&G, Disney, Visa, NBC, CVS, American Express, TPG, and many others.

Morey was a four-time All-American Decathlon competitor and is a graduate of the Wharton School (BS) and the London School of Economics (MSc).

Keynote Panelist: Creating and Leveraging Innovation Ecosystems

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-OverDrive Task Force which is developing NOVA's first new venture 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 co-founder and President of the IPv6 Forum Israel Chapter (now Chair Emeritus); 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.

Keynote Panelist: Creating and Leveraging Innovation Ecosystems
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Session Panelist: Fintech: Building Wealth Through Disruption

Kashif Siddiqui is the Head of Innovation for Bank of America’s Global Payments Solutions unit. In his role, Kashif leads the team responsible for managing the payments innovation pipeline, strategic analysis of emerging payment capabilities, and delivering transformative solutions across Consumer, Small Business, Business Banking, Merchant, Corporate and Large Corporate Business lines.

Kashif has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry in payments, digital product management, strategy, corporate development/partnerships, and execution. Some of the transformative industry projects he has been able to contribute to include the formation of Zelle, piloting and launch of Square and the creation of Apple Pay.

He began his career at JPMorganChase leading a variety of restructuring initiatives across the bank. Kashif then joined Silicon Valley Bank where he helped to start the bank’s payments business and was responsible for new product development and oversight. Subsequently, Kashif joined Cross River Bank as the Head of Payments product management supporting the creation of new products and payments access points for FinTech challengers. Kashif joined Bank of America in 2019.

Kashif is a recovering Computer Engineer with his BS and MBA from Columbia University.

Keynote Panelist: Creating and Leveraging Innovation Ecosystems

Session Panelist: Initiating & Maintaining Sustainability Initiatives

Dr. Natcha serves as a Board member of Thailand's National Innovation Agency, CU Enterprise, Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation. She is the Global Chief Innovation Officer, Chairman of the CUE Foundation, and an Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering at Chulalongkorn University.

Dr. Natcha is a highly experienced leader in strategic planning and innovation, driving transformative initiatives in higher education. Under her vision of “Innovations for Society”, she conducted extensive research, authored three impactful whitepapers on Scaleup Nation. Additionally, she spearheaded the establishment of Thailand and University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem which includes CU Innovation Hub, Siam Innovation District, CU Enterprise, ASEAN University Network - University Innovation and Enterprises, and Global Innovation Club. These initiatives successfully brought together multiple global agencies, governments, academic networks, private partners, and investors to empower talents and develop over 300 innovation enterprises. These efforts resulted in a remarkable total market valuation of US$600 million, benefiting the lives, learning, and work of over 5 million citizens. Chula Deeptech Demo Day 2023 attracted over 500 global government and private sector representatives along with investors and experts. The event showcased over 100 Deeptech enterprises that have collectively raised more than US$10 million. As a global chief innovation offer, I played a key role in establishing a strategic partnership between Chulalongkorn University and Cornell University, known as the Cornell Global Hub Network , along with 11 other university partners. This collaboration focuses on addressing global research challenges facing humanity today. Dr. Natcha’s outstanding achievements, resulting in her being honored with the Prime Minister Award: National Startup 2023 in the Evangelist of the year category. Furthermore, she has been shortlisted for Outstanding Leadership and Management Team at the Times Higher Education Awards Asia 2021, and her CU Innovation Hub received the Asia Star awards in 2022. As a pioneer in Asia, she established a transdisciplinary platform that provides future-oriented and demand-driven education, research, and innovation enterprise and co-founded the School of Integrated Innovation. Under her leadership, Chulalongkorn university achieved a top ranking in Asia according to the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2021 in driving sustainable development goals. Dr. Natcha obtained her PhD in Manufacturing Engineering and Operations Management from the University of Nottingham, UK. She is a certified institute director (IOD) graduate member, Project Management Professional, and ISO9001 auditor. Dr. Natcha combination of academic prowess, leadership experience, and extensive government and industry engagement positions her as an invaluable asset to drive innovation and enhance sustainable growth in any forward-thinking organization. She is prepared to contribute to success, nurture future leaders, create sustainable impact, and embrace continuous learning.

Keynote Panel Moderator: Creating and Leveraging Innovation Ecosystems

Mr. Tien Wong is a tech investor, entrepreneur, and CEO. He is Chairman & CEO of Opus8, Inc., a private investment and advisory firm investing in exceptional life science and tech enabled services companies, as well as specializing in raising capital for promising tech companies and alternative investment fund managers.

He is Founder of CONNECTpreneur, a global community of 25,000+ founders, investors, CEOs, and business leaders. CONNECTpreneur organizes the world’s largest monthly virtual investor pitch events as well as in-person Forums with upwards of 500 attendees, featuring VIP guests, speakers, exciting presenting companies, and the best CXO to CXO networking on the East Coast. Since 2012, over 1200 companies have presented, half of whom have received funding from investors from the CONNECTpreneur investor network.

Mr. Wong is also a Venture Partner in IronGate Capital Advisors, a VC and Fund of Funds manager investing in dual use technologies; Investment Advisory Board member of Virginia Venture Partners; and Chairman of Lumious, an ed tech company which provides learning & development services to Fortune 500 customers.

Mr. Wong was appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley to the 9-person Maryland Venture Fund Authority which oversees $84 million in VC allocations; he serves on the Boards of Directors of the Austin Venture Association, Association for Enterprise Growth (Chair), Frederick Innovative Technology Corp., Inc. (FITCI), and Junior Achievement, as well as on the Council of Advisors for the Washington Institute for Business, Government, & Society and the Entrepreneurship Advisory Council of The Universities at Shady Grove. He is a Mentor at the Mach37 Cybersecurity Accelerator and Conscious Venture Labs.

Mr. Wong received the 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Greater Washington and the 2003 EY Performance Excellence Award. He was inducted into the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame and the Montgomery County Business Hall of Fame. He has been named by Washingtonian magazine as a “Tech Titan” for the last 7 years (’17 – ‘23), a 2-time Washington Business Journal "Power 100" selection as one of the region's most influential leaders (‘12 and ‘13), a 3-time SmartCEO Magazine selection as a "Smart100" CEO ('09, '10 and '11), a 2013 InTheCapital "Fifty on Fire" awardee, community service honoree as a member of Greater DC Cares 2009 "Class of Change” and The Gazette of Politics and Business selection in 2010 as one of "25 CEOs You Need to Know." He is a frequent guest lecturer on entrepreneurship, leadership, venture capital, and private equity at the University of Maryland and Georgetown University where he is an Entrepreneur in Residence.

In 1991, Mr. Wong co-founded and served as Chairman & CEO of CyberRep, Inc. until its acquisition in 2003 by Affiliated Computer Services, a Fortune 500 company. CyberRep was one of the world’s largest privately held CRM outsourcing companies, operating 9 customer interaction centers throughout the USA with over 2,300 employees and $80 million in revenue. Today, the CyberRep/ACS business generates $3 billion in revenue as divisions of Conduent (NYSE: CNDT), Continuum, and Xerox. CyberRep garnered prestigious awards including Customer Inter@ction Solutions magazine's MVP Quality Award, Customer Interface magazine's ACCE (Award for Call Center Excellence), as well as INC. magazine's "Inc. 500" recognition (2017-2000) as the 51st, 53rd, 72nd and 408th fastest growing private company in the USA, respectively. CyberRep was profitable for 11 straight years and was backed by Allied Capital, a $5 billion investment company.

A recognized international expert in CRM, direct marketing, and BPO, Mr. Wong has presented at dozens of conferences around the world. He has also provided industry commentary on the ABC, Fox, NBC, CNBC, Maryland Public Television, and China’s CCTV networks, as well as for Time Magazine, The Washington Post, Inc. Magazine, and Success Magazine.

In the past, he has served as Treasurer and National Board Member of the Professional Association for Customer Engagement; Chairman of the Executive Leadership Committee for the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE); Trustee of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and on the Boards of the Maryland Tech Council, Association for Corporate Growth, Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County (MD) Economic Development Corp., Monte Jade Science and Technology Association, Digital DC Tech Fund, TradeUp Capital Fund, Potomac Officers Club, FounderCorps, and Startup Maryland. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

Keynote Panelist: Pathways to Entrepreneurial Success: Lessons Learned

Denise Garcia Van Wyngaardt is the CEO of Indigo IT, a government contracting business located outside of Washington, DC that provides IT solutions and services to the federal government and commercial clients in the areas of cloud computing, cybersecurity, and IT service management. The company’s contract portfolio spans a broad range of both DoD and
civilian agencies with employees spread across 17 states. Garcia Van Wyngaardt has instilled a
values-based philosophy in Indigo IT's culture and operations that has shaped Indigo IT into an
award-winning IT service provider in an extremely competitive industry. Whether solving the smallest IT issues or developing solutions to complex IT challenges, Indigo IT is a company that
thinks ahead so clients can stay ahead.

A proud Latina and Texas native, Garcia Van Wyngaardt graduated from St. Mary’s University
in San Antonio, Texas, with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She was also a Public Policy
and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow and received her master’s degree in public policy from
Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Her previous work experience includes time at the
National League of Cities and its Institute for Youth, Education, & Families, where she worked on policy initiatives with mayors and other city leaders from across the country. She is a founding member of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Women Presidents’ Organization
(WPO) and currently serves on the Advisory Council of Executives for the Greehy School of Business at St. Mary’s University.

Session Panelist: Initiating & Maintaining Sustainability Initiatives
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Session Moderator: Innovation in Sustainability

Remi Abere, Founder and CEO of RoebiGlobal, is a seasoned executive and global thought leader with over 25 years of experience driving business growth and sustainability across various industries. With expertise in IT, Finance, Corporate Communications, Business Development, Sustainability, and Marketing, she advises organizations on strategy, sustainability, and operations.
As a passionate advocate for sustainability, green education, and digital skills, Remi has spearheaded initiatives to integrate sustainable practices and digital learning into public schools and organizations, fostering a more equitable and environmentally conscious future. She is a strategic advisor on corporate social investment and sustainability, and an experienced instructor to the global Oil and Gas industry, teaching best practices in sustainable operations.
Through RoebiGlobal, Remi empowers African tech talent for local and remote employment, as well as digital entrepreneurship, using cutting-edge assessments, online learning, and personalized mentorship. She is a guest lecturer at the University of Warwick, sharing her expertise with future leaders. During her tenure at IBM, Remi led strategic and operational projects throughout Africa, played a pivotal role in shaping IBM's corporate social responsibility and sustainability agenda, and oversaw their community investment portfolio.
Remi holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from Warwick Business School and is a chartered accountant. An adventurer, she is the first African woman to conquer Kilimanjaro twice within four months and is an avid cyclist.

Session Moderator: Private and Public Sources of Funding

Eric S. Benderson, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Associate General Counsel for Litigation and Claims at the Small Business Administration. He manages and handles litigation concentrated in the areas of regulatory enforcement, financial law, Freedom of Information Act, administrative and constitutional law, as well as various aspects of environmental law. He has special expertise in the handling of complex commercial and regulatory enforcement litigation, such as those involving lenders and small business investment companies (SBICs). In addition, his Office is responsible for defending the various SBA procurement programs, including the 8(a) Program, the Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Program, Small Business Set Aside Program, as well as the Service Disabled Veterans Small Business Contracting Program. He is also responsible for compliance with environmental laws and the formulation of environmental policies. In addition, he is the Agency’s Chief FOIA Officer, as well as the Agency representative to the Administrative Conference of the United States. Mr. Benderson holds a B.A. degree from Syracuse University, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, national scholastic honorary. He has an M.A. degree from Columbia University, specializing in Chinese studies. He received his J.D. degree from George Washington University with honors. He is a frequent speaker at the Justice Department's Advocacy Institute and various other venues, including trade associations and bar associations.

Session Panelist: Sustainability Finance
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Session Panelist: The Energy Transition – Driving Change at the Local Level

Rokas Beresniovas is a prominent business and community leader with a diverse background in banking, commercial real estate, and non-profit sectors. He currently serves as a Senior Director of Commercial Business and Investments at the Montgomery County Green Bank. This role involves driving investments in clean energy projects and promoting sustainable financial practices within the community. In addition to his role at the Green Bank, Beresniovas is actively involved in various organizations. He was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce, where he contributes to developing policies and overseeing financial performance and programs of the Chamber. Rokas has a significant track record in commercial banking, having held senior positions at institutions such as State Bank of India and HSBC Bank. His expertise extends to community leadership, where he has made notable contributions to organizations like the Georgetown Business Association and Global Lithuanian Leaders. Overall, Rokas Beresniovas is recognized for his strong leadership skills, extensive network, and commitment to both business and community development.

Session Panelist: The Energy Transition – Driving Change at the Local Level

Driven by a strong desire to make a positive impact to the environment for future generations, I have devoted my career to advancing the energy transition through supporting investment activity in the areas of sustainability, clean energy, and energy efficiency.

Bauer Energy provides sustainably and building energy performance consulting services for owners and operators of commercial office and multi-family residential real estate assets. To ensure successful implementation of our strategies, we provide project management services for building renovations and system upgrades, and help ownership track their progress in meeting their carbon reduction goals.

Our mission is to make a positive impact to the environment for future generations by advancing the energy transition through supporting investment activity in the areas of sustainability, clean energy, and energy efficiency.

Laying the groundwork today to solve the problems of tomorrow, positioning our clients for long-term success.

Session Panelist: Artificial Intelligence: What You Need to Know

Franklin Bright is a highly experienced technology transfer and intellectual property professional at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. His expertise is in life sciences, biotechnology, and project management. Adept at crafting licensing agreements and developing commercialization strategies, Franklin has guided life science startups and evaluated emerging technologies for investment. He will be sharing his insights on AI and its applications at the Wharton Club of DC’s annual summit.

Session Panelist: Government-Backed Entrepreneurship Programs in Healthcare

Dave currently serves as a Pathfinder Tech Scout in the VHA Innovation Ecosystem. His education includes a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from Rutgers University and a Master of Public Administration degree from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania. He has held leadership positions at Rider University and Middlesex College before beginning employment with the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2015. At VA, he has held the roles of Community Outreach Program Manager, Deputy Public Affairs Officer, and Innovation Specialist in the New York City metro area of northern New Jersey. He oversaw community-based programming for more than 400,000 Veterans and human-centered innovation work for more than 3000 employees in one of the largest healthcare markets in the world. Dave is a combat veteran with 8 years of military experience in the US Army. He attained the rank of Sergeant before being honorably discharged in 2011. During his enlistment, David was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom three times.

Session Panelist: Fintech: Building Wealth Through Disruption

Mr. Cantlo serves as HomefreeUSA’s SVP & Chief Information Officer. Mr. Cantlo is an accomplished Information Technology executive with over 30 years of experience in InfoTech leadership, operational management, and global services delivery. His experiences in IT include roles as EVP, SVP, VP and CIO, with a progressive background encompassing a pedigree of market-leading global #1 brands. Mr. Cantlo has a broad business acumen and IT expertise across a diverse landscape of businesses and industries. This includes both corporate managerial and consultative advisory expertise, implementing IT strategies in multiple business models and technology environments.
Mr. Cantlo has led, managed, and advised in most IT functions within the CIO/CTO scope. He has executive IT leadership, management and advisory expertise within public, private and non-profit enterprises. His IT delivery experience spans both as a CxO and CxO advisor. Mr. Cantlo has Corporate IT experience leading multiple large Global IT functions through complex transformations – organizational, processes, and technology. As a Management Consultant he provides IT strategic advice, thought leadership, and strategy execution guidance to CxO clients of Fortune 100s, US Gov Agencies, Universities and Non-Profits.
Mr. Cantlo has extensive expertise in IT strategy, financials, technology, talent, and operational management, with delivery of IT services and capabilities in multiple enterprise IT functions. Mr. Cantlo is a SME in software and systems development, integration and management of enterprise business systems and technologies. Including expertise in implementing application platforms with new technology integration. He has global operational expertise with complex portfolio and programs, resource ecosystems, and services.
Mr. Cantlo’s core capabilities are in Global IT Strategy, Application Development & Management, Enterprise Architecture & Innovation, Governance, Infrastructure & Cloud, and IT Security. He has managed budgets in excess of $500M, 2500 FTEs globally dispersed, with IT services delivery, solution implementations, and operational management experience across 187 countries. Mr. Cantlo has certification in Six-Sigma, Executive Management programs in Global IT Management from MIT Sloan and Wharton UPenn and holds a BS in Computer Information Systems from DeVry University.

Session Panelist: Artificial Intelligence: What You Need to Know

Dr. Emil Carter in an AI generated expert in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, known for his pioneering work in developing intelligent systems and advancing AI ethics He is currently Chief AI Scientist at InnovateAI where he leads a team of researchers and engineers in developing cutting-edge AI solutions for healthcare, finance, and autonomous systems.
With over 20 years of experience in the field, he has significantly contributed to both academia and industry, focusing on creating AI technologies that enhance human capabilities and improve societal outcomes. He has Ph.D. in Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), M.S. in Artificial Intelligence, Stanford University and B.S. in Computer Science, University of California, Berke.

Session Panelist: Startup Pitch Session

Paul Chen is the CEO and co-founder of Neumetry Medical Inc, an AI startup that leverages waveform AI to build a personalized predictive healthcare cloud. Under his leadership, the company has achieved impressive success by bootstrapping the development of its Sleep AI Software as a Medical Device, which secured FDA 510(K) clearance in just 15 months.
Before starting Neumetry, Paul worked as a cloud architect on Wall Street, providing cloud consulting services to a range of global financial and pharmaceutical companies, including JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, UBS, Pershing, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. He also worked as a senior security consultant for Merrill Lynch, ING Barings, and Dow Jones, where he was responsible for business planning, management, and the design and development of security products and tools.

He is a highly skilled and experienced entrepreneur and technologist, with a deep understanding of the healthcare industry and a passion for using AI and machine learning to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes. Paul received an MS from the City College of New York and a BS from Hauzhong University of Science and Technology.

Session Panelist: Economic & Geopolitical Impacts on Cybersecurity Resilience

Wayne Chiang is a tech-savvy visionary dedicated to optimizing the world through innovative solutions. With over two decades of experience in software engineering, cybersecurity, and problem-solving, Wayne’s career is marked by a relentless pursuit of innovation and a passion for creating elegant products that tackle complex challenges. As the founder of ThreatQuotient, he has experience leading teams focused on defending against advanced cyber threats across various sectors.

Wayne’s expertise extends to cutting-edge technologies like AI and VR, but his approach also emphasizes building culture and fostering community connections. He believes in the importance of teamwork and human connection for technological advancement. Currently, Wayne is addressing the proliferation of compromised credentials on the dark web and developing solutions to combat infostealer malware.

In summary, Wayne Chiang is a dynamic leader blending technical prowess, entrepreneurial spirit, and a commitment to improving the world through technology.

Session Panelist: Digital Health and Wellness

Christine brings over three decades of experience as a corporate officer and board member in varied biotechnology enterprises ranging from oncology, virology and neural stem cells to pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment and BioMed IT. She has a Ph.D. in molecular biology with over ten years of bench research experience. Her responsibilities have included fund raising, business development, operations, build out, cGMP manufacturing build/design, regulatory affairs, human resources, international marketing and sales, corporate communication, PR, investor relations, legislative liaison and R&D. She is a founder of 2 publicly traded companies - Microfluidics and Neuralstem and ran the seed venture fund of the American Society of Microbiology. Chris currently is the Chief Strategy Officer at SciTech Development an oncology company and Chief Operating Officer at ETX Pharma a gastroenterology company. She also serves on several private corporate and advisory boards including miRecule, Inc., a genomic based drug development platform company, the Maryland Industrial Partnerships Board and the Washington D.C. ArchAngels Board where she Chairs their Bio-Life Science Caucus.

Session Panelist: Initiating & Maintaining Sustainability Initiatives
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Session Panelist: Sustainability Finance

Chris Cucci has spent his banking career, spanning two decades, in the Central Florida market where he’s had the opportunity to finance transactions across the nation. He serves as Chief of Staff at Climate First Bank where he leads strategic initiatives and oversees the bank’s lending initiatives in mission-aligned sectors including commercial solar, ESOP finance, and more. Cucci also serves as Senior Advisor at OneEthos, fintech affiliate to Climate First Bank, where he supports efforts to provide mission-based technology solutions to community finance partners nationwide. His prior experience includes commercial banking and leadership roles at SouthState Bank, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase.

Session Panelist: Private and Public Sources of Funding

Ms. DeVries serves as the Associate Administrator and Head of the Office of Investment and Innovation where she leads the Agency’s portfolio of private investment partnerships and innovation funding programs. These programs include the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program, the Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer Programs (SBIR/STTR), and SBA’s innovation ecosystem support organization (ESO) development programs including the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) and the Federal and State Technology Partnership Program (FAST).

Ms. DeVries comes to the SBA after a private sector career in the asset management and defense industries. She has served in leadership and executive roles while at T. Rowe Price, Greenspring Associates (now Stepstone), Trail Mix Ventures, and Sotera Defense. She began her career at the strategy and management consulting firm, CEB (now Gartner Research).
Ms. DeVries holds an M.B.A. from Georgetown University, an M.S. from Northwestern University, and a B.A. from Wake Forest University.  She serves on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee.

Session Panelist: Economic & Geopolitical Impacts on Cybersecurity Resilience

Jon DiMaggio is the chief security strategist at Analyst1 and has over 16 years of experience hunting, researching, and writing about advanced cyber threats. In 2022, Jon's authored his first book, "The Art of Cyberwarfare," which earned him the prestigious SANS Difference Makers Award, solidifying his status as a thought leader in the industry. The following year, SANs recognized his work once again, awarding his most notable research, "The Ransomware Diaries," detailing his operation to infiltrate the real-world humans behind the LockBit criminal operation. Jon’s other notable achievements include his appearance on 60 Minutes, where he discussed his undercover operations infiltrating some of the world top ransomware gangs. Jon’s research has been featured in The New York Times, Wired, Bloomberg, Fox, CNN, Reuters, and other news organizations.

Session Panelist: Fintech: Building Wealth Through Disruption

Dr. Jack Ding is the Founder/CEO of Domi Chain, a highly secured high
speed blockchain. Jack has 23 years of experience designing high
performance distributed software solutions for Nasdaq, the World Bank, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. He has a Ph.D. degree from Dartmouth College and a M.S. degree from Johns Hopkins University.

Session Panelist: Initiating & Maintaining Sustainability Initiatives

Mr. Edwards focuses on working with companies who are driving the energy transition. Rob is an energy industry executive and strategic advisor on global Next-Gen energy solutions and investments. Rob brings more than 20 years of diverse leadership and advisory experience supporting senior decision makers in the private sector (JPMorgan Chase, Tesla, Edison Mission Energy, DTE Energy), and in government (Department of Energy Loan Programs Office). As a recognized thought leader in Next-Generation Energy Solutions, he brings together public and private stakeholders to develop, structure, and implement multibillion-dollar energy projects in the United States and around the globe, furthering society's transformation to a decentralized, decarbonized, durable, digital grid.

Rob has spent 25 years in a series of roles in banking, project development and finance, government service and law focused on companies and projects in the climatetech, renewable energy, electric vehicles and related sectors. Rob has led more than $15 billion in energy and automotive project finance and energy M&A transactions.

Rob served the first Director of Outreach and Business Development at the Department of Energy Loan Programs Office (2021-2022) and as a Senior Presidential Appointee (non-career SES) the Deputy General Counsel for Energy Policy at the Department of Energy during the Obama Administration (2009-2011).

Rob excels in working cross-functionally with legal, finance, sales, and operations to develop innovative solutions that help clients and customers achieve sustainability strategies worldwide. In 2010, Rob was selected by Vantage Point Partners to participate in its 100 Clean Tech Leaders held at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Sundance, Utah and in 2015 Rob was selected as one of 21 nationwide leaders to participate in the National Renewable Energy Lab's Executive Energy Leadership Program.

Session Panelist: The Energy Transition – Driving Change at the Local Level

Andy Fraser, known for his role at Sandglass, is a seasoned professional in the realm of software development. With a career marked by pioneering contributions to cloud computing solutions, he brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his current position. Fraser's commitment to innovation and customer-centric values underscores his dedication to excellence in product development and service delivery. As a key figure at Sandglass, he continues to lead initiatives in agile software development methodologies and cloud-native architectures while driving innovation and success within the organization.

Session Panelist: Private and Public Sources of Funding

Katie Frost serves as the Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) where she leads the Agency’s lending programs, overseeing a $500+ billion loan asset portfolio across the 7(a), 504, microloan, disaster loan, Paycheck Protection Program, and COVID-EIDL products. Mrs. Frost joined the Biden-Harris Administration at SBA in early 2021, working as a Senior Advisor to the Administrator to support implementing SBA’s pandemic programs and loan programs. Prior to joining SBA, Mrs. Frost served in several leadership positions in government operational improvement, data analytics, and management consulting.

Mrs. Frost earned an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she was a Belfer Scholar, and a BA in political science from UCLA.

Session Panelist: Innovation in Sustainability

Industry and functional leader with 20+ years of experience supporting industrials, transportation, aerospace and defense, and aviation clients, globally. Leads sustainability initiatives through strategy by aligning technical, operational, engineering, management, and corporate agendas. Expertise in large-scale transformation, business start-ups and supply chain for multi-national companies.

Session Panelist: Innovation in Sustainability

Kathleen Galvin is a Vice President with CGI, a global consultancy of more than 90,000 professionals with the scale, reach, and capabilities to meet clients’ digital transformation needs. Responsible for CGI’s commercial and non-federal public sector business in the Greater Washington Area, she leads a multi-industry portfolio providing end-to-end information technology and business consulting services. With 25 years’ experience across CGI’s regions, coupled with abundant curiosity and a passion for networking, Kathleen connects the dots—drawing on CGI’s global practitioners, centers of excellence, and capabilities to identify, develop, and implement innovative strategies and solutions.

For most of his career, Frank Ganis has been immersed in innovation. He has always been enthusiastic about developing, launching and improving game-changing or even life-changing products and services which leverage digital technology.

Frank became immersed in the principles of strategic planning and technology development while working as a software engineer at the great idea factory, AT&T Bell Labs. During his decade there, he worked on a series of distributed database applications which are precursors to today’s cloud offerings, and a futuristic interactive television platform with programming and features that are forerunners to the metaverse. Thanks to AT&T’s sponsorship of Spaceship Earth in EPCOT, he was also trained in the detailed discipline of Disney Imagineering.

Currently, Frank is Senior Advisor and Board Member of the DC Archangels where he participates in review teams to evaluate early-stage companies for investment readiness and growth potential. Industry segments include smart cities, urban agriculture, artificial intelligence, drone applications, digital healthcare, online education, eldercare and immersive entertainment.

Frank is also a member of the Enhanced Digital Solutions consulting consortium. His success at working with clients to improve their businesses is grounded in experience in EdTech (Blackboard, Sylvan Learning), financial services (Capital One, USF&G) and telecom (AT&T, MCI). Career highlights include:

• Launching Gradarius, a Calculus Learning Platform that leverages AI so students can solve problems online in a step-by-step manner and receive real-time feedback and guidance.
• Growing the Gilfus Education Group by crafting leading-edge education solutions for school districts, colleges, universities, corporate training companies, academic publishers and toy manufacturers to promote institutional efficiencies and improve student success.
• Negotiating and managing strategic partnerships at Blackboard, Inc. to create new eLearning applications. Partners ranged from technology leaders (Microsoft, Oracle, Dell, Google, Intel) to major academic publishers (Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin) to early-stage online education companies.
• Improving and expanding Sylvan Online, the first large-scale online tutoring programs to deliver live multimedia instruction between teachers and students.
• Pioneering a series of Web-based products at Capital One for teens and young adults, along with free Internet access and the company’s first Web site for auto loans,
• Leading the Multimedia Commerce Group at USF&G Insurance and introducing online insurance sales through a collection of targeted Web sites for consumers, small businesses, large corporations and independent sales agents.
• Collaborating at MCI/News Corp. Internet Ventures, on the development of YourMoney.com, a pioneering Web-based personal finance community. Also participating in the design of the first Web sites for retailers such as Macy’s, Brooks Brothers and Neiman Marcus’ Horchow Catalog.

A life-long learner, Frank earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Penn State, an MSE in Computer and Information Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from The Wharton School.

Session Panelist: Cell & Gene Therapies

Jeff Galvin is the CEO and Founder of American Gene Technologies®. He earned his BA degree in Economics from Harvard in 1981. He has more than 30 years of business and entrepreneurial experience including founder or executive positions at a variety of Silicon Valley startups.  Several of his companies were taken public and/or sold to public companies, including one in the medical-technology arena that was sold to Varian, the leading maker of linear accelerators used in cancer therapy. Following his startup experience, he retired to become an Angel Investor in real estate and high tech. He came out of retirement to found and fund AGT ™ after meeting Roscoe Brady at NIH.

Session Panelist: Startup Pitch Session

Dr. Sandra Garrett is the Chief Executive Officer of MediMergent, LLC and one of the four founding partners of the Company. She also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Global Records Systems, LLC, an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) service and software company providing support to community-based medical practices. Previously, Dr. Garrett served as Executive Chairman of Global Research Services, LLC, a full service international clinical research organization (CRO) with offices on 3 continents. Dr. Garrett was also the founder of Medifacts International and served as its President and CEO until 2006. Medifacts pioneered the use of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in clinical trials. The Company also developed, in alliance with the Max Planck Institute, algorithms for the analysis of QT prolongation as measured by ambulatory 12-lead electrocardiogram (Holter) monitoring. In conjunction with these technologies, Dr. Garrett served as the co-principal investigator with Raymond Lipicky, MD (decd), a past director of the Division of Cardio-Renal Drug Products of the USFDA, under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). This landmark research defined critical analytics used in the drug approval process for all anti-hypertensive therapies. Dr. Garrett currently serves as the co-principal investigator with Norman Stockbridge, MD, Ph.D., Director of the Division of Cardiology and Nephrology, USFDA, under a Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA) focused on the collection and analysis of Real-World Data and Real-World Evidence using disruptive technologies.

Dr. Garrett has been an invited speaker at over 100 industry forums, authored multiple publications related to clinical trials methodologies, and served as co-chair of the annual New Paradigms to Fund Life Science Innovations, conducted in conjunction with the JP Morgan Health Care Conference. Dr. Garrett served on the Board of Directors of a regional bank as well as the Board of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO). In addition, she was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in the area of Life Sciences, and a three-time honoree by Women in Bio (WIB) for notable women entrepreneurs in life sciences. SmartCEO selected Dr. Garrett as one of the top 50 businesswomen in Washington, D.C. She also served as a member of the Leadership Council of the National Small Business Association serving on its Health and Human Resource Committee.

Session Panelist: Sustainability Finance

Gideon Gradman is the Managing Director and Leader of Baker Tilly's Energy & Infrastructure Group, visiting us today from Philadelphia.
Gideon is an experienced energy executive and adviser on energy development and finance. His work centers on understanding the spectrum of energy resources from oil & gas to renewable fuels, how best to use them, and strategies for financing them. As a Managing Director of Baker Tilly's Energy & Infrastructure Group, Gideon advises companies, asset owners, and investors on energy markets, project finance, tax credits and incentives, and developing energy and industrial assets. He is one of Baker Tilly's experts on the Inflation Reduction Act's energy provisions and advises energy developers, universities, municipalities, and regional government agencies on energy development and tax credit finance. With over 19 years of experience in the industry, Gideon is a trusted advisor to corporate leaders and government officials. He is also a frequent speaker at energy and manufacturing industry conferences.

Prior to joining Baker Tilly Capital and founding Integrated Energy Advisors, Gideon served as U.S. Director of Business Development for Braskem, a worldwide maker of polymers, resins, and renewable plastics, where he was responsible for developing new businesses, and new manufacturing and logistics assets in the United States. Prior to his work at Braskem, Gideon held management and advisory positions at Charles River Associates, Deloitte, and two cleantech venture-capital funded portfolio companies. He also served as an appointed Public Member of the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board, the statewide authority charged with licensing the construction of major energy infrastructure in the state, from 2006-2007, appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts.

He holds an MBA (Finance) and a Masters degree in Public Policy (Environmental and International Policy) from the University of Chicago, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Science from Washington University in St. Louis.

Session Moderator: Cell & Gene Therapies
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Session Moderator: SoPE Workshop: Fostering Entrepreneurship & Innovation
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Session Moderator: AI in Healthcare
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Session Moderator: Government-Backed Entrepreneurship Programs in Healthcare

Jeffrey Hausfeld, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.S., has served on the national board and committees of specialty medical societies since he began his practice in Otolaryngology/Facial Plastic Surgery in 1982. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at George Washington University School of Health Sciences and an alumnus of the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Hausfeld is widely published in the medical literature, is the pioneer of innovative laser surgery techniques, is the author of a lay oriented medical book, and has appeared on numerous local and national television and radio shows as a medical expert. He has also served as a health care consultant, spokesperson, and executive coach for multi-national pharmaceutical companies, health care firms, as well as the U.S. military. Dr. Hausfeld stepped down from his clinical duties after receiving a Master’s in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Hausfeld is presently developing and operating assisted living facilities specializing in Alzheimer's and dementia care services. He serves as a consultant to several healthcare/life science startups in diagnostics, devices, biotech and Health IT. Dr. Hausfeld serves on the Investment Advisory Board of the Center for Innovation Technology's Life Science Gap Fund. The fund supports promising healthcare and life sciences ventures in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Dr. Hausfeld is the Chairman and Co-Founder of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs (www.sopenet.org ), a global network focused on educating healthcare and life science professionals in Bioentrepreneurship and Innovation. Dr. Hausfeld acts as the Chairman of the Board and Chief Medical Officer of BioFactura, Inc., a Maryland biotech firm specializing in biodefense and biosimilar therapeutics. (www.biofactura.com )

Session Panelist: Sustainability Finance

Juliet Huang is a partner in the Public and Institutional Banking & Finance Group as well as the National Public Finance Department of Chapman and Cutler LLP. Juliet represents clients in a wide variety of public finance transactions, including direct lending, credit-enhancement, public offerings, municipal leasing, secondary market tax-exempt securitizations, and municipal distress workouts and restructurings. Juliet regularly serves as counsel to a broad range of financial institutions that are direct lenders and/or that provide credit and liquidity in public finance transactions. Juliet also serves as underwriter’s counsel and bond counsel on a variety of public finance transactions, including affordable housing, governmental and conduit financings and advises clients regarding securities law matters.

Juliet’s practice also focuses on the municipal leasing industry and the origination, placement, and securitization of tax-exempt and taxable installment purchase, lease-purchase, and other non-bond financing and operating lease arrangements with state and local governments (including for the benefit of qualified 501(c)(3) entities) for the acquisition, construction, equipping, and installation of a broad range of essential government buildings, facilities, equipment, and other real and personal property.

Juliet has considerable experience in financings for renewable energy, solar, and energy efficiency projects. Juliet also represents bank-affiliated and independent lenders, investors, leasing companies, servicers, and buyers and sellers in municipal asset portfolio transactions, syndications, pooled securitizations, and other secondary market municipal asset products.

Juliet serves as President of the Association for Governmental Leasing and Finance (AGLF) and is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL). Juliet is a frequent speaker on elective pay tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act and on topics relevant to financial institutions and investors in the municipal bond market. She served as Chair of NABL’s The Workshop 2023 Conference.
Juliet has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Chicago Law School (2005) and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University (1998).

Session Panelist: Cell & Gene Therapies

Jeffrey Hung, Ph.D, is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Cell and Gene Therapy and CEO of DiscerNMR. Dr. Hung was the General Manager and Chief Commercial Officer of Vigene Biosciences, a leading gene delivery company that was acquired by CRL in July 2021 for $302 Million. As the General Manager of GMP Business, Dr. Hung orchestrated Vigene Biosciences’s acquisition of Omnia Biologics in 2016, a CMO specializing on GMP manufacturing of viruses.
Dr. Hung was a lead author for A-Gene book on AAV-based gene therapy by Alliance of Regenerative Medicin. In addition, Dr. Hung is the author of multiple patents, per reviewed publications and book chapters. Dr. Hung earned his PhD from Cornell University, MBA from UC Berkeley, and BS from Peking University.

Session Panelist: Innovation in Sustainability

Pascal Jaillon is the Senior Vice President, Products & Digital Accounts at OVHcloud US. He joined the company as its first employee in 2015, leading its entry and expansion into the US market. In his current role, Jaillon leads the strategy and development of the company’s product, marketing, and e-commerce divisions.

In his previous roles with OVHcloud US, Jaillon was a key contributor to the deployment of bicoastal data centers, the first startup program in the company, and the development of the product portfolio following the acquisition of vCloud Air in 2017. His extensive experience in rapid market expansion has proven to create big impact in the scaling of OVHcloud, and he continues to provide strategic product feedback based on real-time customer needs to his European counterparts, ensuring the development of new solutions to further serve the US market.

Prior to joining OVHcloud US, he held multiple positions at startups and large companies in the Silicon Valley, including iPIN (an Intel Company) who pioneered the development of online payment solutions, and CEON (now an NEC company), a leader in product portfolio management for telecom operators.

Jaillon is also a board member of the Internet Security Research Group where he works with companies like Mozilla, Cisco, and others to promote security and internet encryption. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from Institute National Polytechnic of Grenoble in France, where he also completed three years of postdoctoral studies.

Session Panelist: Cell & Gene Therapies

Dr. Kalayoglu is Co-Founder of Cartesian and served as the company’s President and CEO prior to its merger with Selecta in November 2023. Prior to Cartesian, Dr. Kalayoglu was co-founder and CEO of Topokine, which he led from concept to late-stage clinical trials, followed by a successful sale to Allergan (NYSE:AGN). Dr. Kalayoglu was also co-founder and COO of HealthHonors Corporation, which he led from concept to commercialization, followed by a successful sale to Healthways (NASDAQ:HWAY). Dr. Kalayoglu is a board-certified ophthalmologist who completed his residency and research Fellowship at Harvard, MD/PhD in immunology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Session Panelist: Artificial Intelligence: What You Need to Know

Ario Keshani is an experienced entrepreneur, investor, and advisor and is currently working as an advisor with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Techstars He is a three-time founder, with outcomes ranging from failure to successfully exit via acquisition and has over a decade of experience building, investing in and advising startups, with over 35 investments in mobility/logistics, B2B SaaS, and AI. Ario’s focus as an advisor is on helping startups with “CEO-challenges” like fundraising, hiring, solving strategic challenges, figuring out Go-To-Market strategies, and building true company culture. Ario received a B.S. from Georgetown University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Session Panelist: Down to Business

Jason Liaw launched his first business at age eleven, building and maintaining websites for a local chamber of commerce. He is a three-time class president, is the president of his school’s entrepreneurship club, and won first place for a financial literacy project in a DECA state competition. As an American-born Chinese student, Jason navigates the world in two languages.

Session Moderator: Startup Pitch Session
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Session Moderator: Digital Health and Wellness

Dan Loague has an extensive background in venture capital and early stage investments. Over the past twenty-five years he has built, and now works with a national network of exceptionally active angels, professional investors, corporate, business development professionals, technology enterprise executives and government officials. He is currently President, Washington DC ArchAngels, and formerly the DC representative of Ventana Capital, Irvine CA, and Executive Director, National Association of Seed and Venture Funds.

In addition, he is Executive Director, Capital Formation Institute, Inc., a non-profit serving a national network of leading startup investors, licensees and commercialization professionals. In past positions, Mr. Loague has worked extensively as a state-level economic development professional, serving six consecutive governors of the state of Oklahoma. He is also a former university professor and instructor, and during 1963-67, served in the U.S. Air Force Systems Command as an Avionics Officer in RF-4C aircraft test program.

Workshop Moderator: How to Start an IdeaFire – Leveraging AI to Accelerate Innovation
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Workshop Moderator: Unlocking the Power of AI to Advance Your Career

Sean Makulowich is the Founder and CEO of IdeaFireTM, an award-winning digital marketing and AI consulting and training firm based in downtown Bethesda that is celebrating a decade of innovation this year with its 10th Anniversary. For over 15 years, Sean has been consulting, training, and advising sales, marketing, and HR executives – providing and guiding them with deep insights and expertise on how to develop creative and effective marketing campaigns that drive their customers to take action. Sean is a compassionate leader who encourages his team and his business partners to foster creativity and further company growth through client success.

His consulting client base is extremely diverse and that’s exactly the way he likes it. Sean has worked with all types of businesses across many different industries – from local startups to global membership organizations like American Chemical Society and Fortune 500 brands such as Volvo. A digital native, Sean studies the ever-changing digital landscape on a daily basis – from new and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to the latest marketing, advertising, and ecommerce tools, tactics, and growth hacking strategies.

Thanks to his father, Sean's interest and background in computers and digital technology dates back to the creation of the World Wide Web in 1993, when he also started building his own computers and websites. Since they were launched, Sean has also been a software and hardware Beta Tester for META and Snapchat – two of the earliest adopters of AR, VR, and AI. The arrival of Generative AI and incredibly powerful tools like ChatGPT only added fuel to his burning obsession with technology and innovation. Immediately, Sean started exploring how he could leverage AI for his clients to accelerate customer acquisition, innovation, and growth. And he hasn't stopped yet.

Beyond IdeaFireTM, Sean loves working with other entrepreneurs and thoroughly enjoys the work he does as a Mentor, Advisor, and Investor with Founder Institute – a world-renowned startup accelerator that has helped launch over 7,000 companies across 200+ cities and six continents.

Born and raised in Montgomery County, Maryland, Sean is passionate about supporting his local community and the businesses that fuel it. He has worked closely with The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce since 2018, where he sits on the Board of Directors, Co-Chairs the Communications Committee, and sponsors the NextExecs Young Professionals Committee through his company, IdeaFireTM.

Session Panelist: AI in Healthcare

Michael McShea is a Chief Scientist for the Health and Human-Machine Systems Group at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) supporting the National Health Mission Area. In this role, he works with the Military Health System, Johns Hopkins Medicine, other Academic Medical Research Organizations and civilian federal agencies on population health, precision health, telehealth, clinical decision support, AI, and digital health initiatives. Relevant research includes applying machine learning to population health predictive analytics, design for autonomous medical systems, modeling human performance of military medical personnel, and developing clinical decision support for point of care medical readiness assessments in the Military Health System. Mr. McShea also supports the National Patient Safety Board Coalition as a technology advisor, and advocate for use of artificial intelligence to prevent avoidable patient harms.
In addition to his APL position, Mr. McShea is the CareFirst Maryland Affiliate Board Chair. He joined the CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Board of Directors in 2016 and serves on executive committee, governance and nominating committee, audit and compliance committee, service quality and operations committee, and cybersecurity subcommittee, as well as the CareFirst Holdings board which has oversight of CareFirst’s venture arm HealthWorx. Mr. McShea also is part of the Maryland TEDCO Entrepreneur Resource Network.
Prior to APL, Mr. McShea was a product management executive in the population health business group at Philips Healthcare, where he managed product portfolios including the eICU Tele Critical Care platform, remote patient monitoring, population health, care management, clinical decision support, and other digital health solutions. Before Philips Healthcare, he worked in mission critical infrastructure technologies in the call center, aerospace, financial services, and aviation industries. He has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Bucknell University, a Masters in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

Session Moderator: Economic & Geopolitical Impacts on Cybersecurity Resilience

Brian is a startup evangelist, advisor, and angel investor. He is the Managing Partner at the SparkLabs Web3, a SparkLabs Group accelerator fund. The group has invested in over 350 startups with a $6.3 billion in total post money valuation. He was the former Global Solution Architect at Chainalysis. He was also the former COO of Startup Grind, which is one of the largest hi-tech startup communities in the world with over 2,000,000 startup entrepreneurs in 600 cities. He has over 25 years professional experience in web/online/mobile product development from AOL, Merrill Lynch, and Verizon and has started three previous startups. He has been featured in Forbes as “17 Top Business Gurus to Follow” and other publications such as Washington Post, Huffington Post, Politico, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Washington Business Journal. He has a BS in Information Systems/Policy & Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Session Panelist: Startup Pitch Session

Joe Paul is the Founder and CEO of OptimaNova AI Strategies and Solutions, where he spearheads initiatives to help organizations drive transformation and innovation in business growth by leveraging AI technologies. With a rich background in leading high-impact turnaround strategies, Joe specializes in business development, strategy formulation, and enhancing operational efficiencies across various sectors.
 
At Byte Back, Inc., as CEO, Joe secured a record $4.5 million in funding, nurtured a culture of innovation, and maintained an 85% talent retention rate. His strategic leadership at Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. as the Executive Director & COO resulted in a $1 million revenue spike within his first 90 days during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a 94% increase in membership revenue.
 
As COO at The Stafford Foundation, Joe led the creation of a 5-year strategic plan that boosted revenue by 83% through new e-commerce initiatives. He founded Campus 2 Careers Solutions, delivering impactful soft skill and professional development training solutions driving a 90% job placement rate
for participants within 30 days.
 
Previously, Joe enhanced HR functions as the Human Resources Officer for DC Government and as the Human Resources Manager at Save the Children – US Programs, where he established comprehensive HR infrastructures and led significant compensation and restructuring projects.
 
Joe holds a BA in Social Science and a BS in Spanish and Russian from
Florida State University, the Digital Leadership Certificate from Wharton
School of Business, complemented by True Colors® and PMP certifications. His contributions to the field have been recognized with numerous awards, including the SHRM HR Hero Award, FSU Alumni of the Year, and the 2023 SXSW Innovation Award for Community Service in Tech.
 
Fluent in English, Spanish, French, Russian, and Haitian Creole, Joe is also a published author, with works such as "Morning Cup of Joe," “AI for Good,” and "The Doing Good Book," showcasing his dedication to community service and thought leadership in his field.

Session Panelist: The Energy Transition – Driving Change at the Local Level

Mala Persaud is a former journalist, current communications consultant and the owner of Trace, the only zero waste store in Fairfax County. Mala began her career with Dateline NBC, based in London for more than a decade. There, she covered everything from Princess Diana’s funeral to the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

She has owned Trace in Vienna for nearly three years, refilling more than 19,000 containers and winning awards for environmental leadership. She also serves on the Town of Vienna’s Conservation and Sustainability Commission and works full-time for for the Milken Institute in Washington, DC.

Session Moderator: Fintech: Building Wealth Through Disruption

Drew is a risk management professional with a background in financial services, cybersecurity and foreign policy. He is currently Manager, Security Governance & Risk at Navy Federal Credit Union where he implements risk reporting and mitigation strategies designed to safeguard members. He previously worked as Government & Industry Relations Manager at U.S. Mortgage Insurers, where he collaborated on legislative and industry strategies to support record-setting levels of new originations and address the impacts of COVID-19 on homeowners throughout the nation. He is also a consultant for the Korea Risk Group, publishing analysis on U.S.-China and China-Korean Peninsula relations. He holds a BA from George Washington University and an MA and MBA from Georgetown University.

Session Moderator: Down to Business
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Session Moderator: Artificial Intelligence: What You Need to Know

Randall Reade is the co-founder of the Washington DC ArchAngels, an angel investment group that finds, vets, and presents early stage companies to hundreds of investors. Founded in 2011, The ArchAngels has presented over 800 companies from clean tech, biotech, medical devices, AI and blockchain, energy, apps, games, and even cookies. Mr. Reade has developed an extensive network of investors around the US, and taken companies to China and Poland for investment and access to markets in Asia and the EU.

Recently, Mr. Reade has become a popular speaker for webinars and podcasts on what investors are looking for when they hear a company pitch. He has also develop a Training Program for investors and entrepreneurs on how become an investor and an entrepreneur at dcarchangels.org.

Ruwan Salgado is Principal of Strat8gy International, LLC, an international management consultancy, and was a Partner at Sino America Investment Partners, a venture seeking to assist Chinese companies with investing in the United States. He has expertise in business development, project management, operations, financial management and analysis, and strategic planning. As a management consultant in and outside of the U.S., Ruwan has worked with senior government officials and corporate executives in a wide range of industries including oil, mining, healthcare, finance/capital markets, education and agribusiness. He has served in general management, strategic planning, business development, operations and finance roles with both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Early in his career, he gained experience in venture capital at Calvert Ventures, which established the first socially responsible venture capital fund, helping to manage its portfolio companies and identify and assess new investment opportunities. More recently, Ruwan served as the Executive Director of World Links, an internationally award winning (e.g., from the World Economic Forum etc.) and innovative spin-off from The World Bank that focused on leveraging information and communications technology to improve global education. While at World Links, he spoke on educational technology at international conferences in Africa, Asia and the U.S.A. Ruwan served for over a decade as the President of the University of Chicago Booth School’s alumni club in the Washington, D.C. area and was co-founder and co-Chair of its Entrepreneurs’ Advisory Group, which provided monthly pro bono advise to Washington, DC area entrepreneurs. He serves on the White Flint Implementation Advisory Committee tasked to advise Montgomery County, Maryland’s Planning Board on the implementation of the County’s multi-billion dollar White Flint Sector Plan. Ruwan has an M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago and an M.Phil. in Economics from Oxford University. He received both a B.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Engineering from Swarthmore College.

Session Panelist: Government-Backed Entrepreneurship Programs in Healthcare

Dr. Michael Salgaller leads the Technology Analysis and Marketing Unit (TAMU) within the NIH’s Technology Transfer Office, where he leverages over 20 years of business, scientific, and investment experience in various life science sectors to support technology development and commercialization. The TAMU serves in a business development role to foster licensing and collaborative activity between buy-side stakeholders and the NIH. Immediately prior to returning to NIH, Michael was a Vice President at The Conafay Group, a healthcare-focused government affairs firm in downtown DC, where he led alliance development activities centered on civilian health. He served as President of Biologics Consulting Group, a boutique firm providing professional services focused on regulatory affairs. Michael spent several years on the investment team of an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to the life sciences. He began his buy-side career as Vice President of R&D for Northwest Biotherapeutics, where he led the development of cancer cell therapies that achieved clinical benefit. He began his career as a Senior Scientist at the NIH. He is the author of “Biotechnology Entrepreneurship,” and teaches an entrepreneurship class at NIH. He has written over 70 scientific/business articles and book chapters. Dr. Salgaller received his PhD in Pathology from The Ohio State University.

Session Panelist: Startup Pitch Session

Dr. Deepak Saluja is Founder and CEO of Clinibooth. He is an experienced IT healthcare administrative executive with extensive experience working within the health information technology of both hospitals and vendors. Dr. Saluja has the ability to apply his healthcare background to improve the functionality and physician utilization of new technologies across automated patient and billing systems. He has proven success in providing education to physicians, other clinical staff, and IT staff and is able to develop collaborative relationships and apply exceptional communication skills in cross-departmental communication. He received his MD from the Windsor University School of Medicine and a BS in Biology from Wright State University.

Chuck Schilke is a real estate, corporate, environmental. and energy lawyer based in Washington DC. He is also a real estate developer, financier, strategist, and educator.

He has practiced law in firms mostly in the Washington DC area, but also on Wall Street and in Boston. He has also practiced in-house at Exxon Mobil, Marriott, and the American National Red Cross.’

In his real estate law practice, he seeks to reconcile the imperatives of sustainability, economic development, and the housing needs of citizens. Similarly, in his energy practice, particularly at Exxon Mobil, he has attempted to harmonize environmental concerns with society’s need for abundant energy.

In real estate development, Chuck has developed projects valued at up to $1 billion, such as rebuilding the Red Cross’s entire blood processing system nationwide.

In real estate finance, Chuck performed all of the real estate legal due diligence for the Exxon-Mobil merger, and collaborated on teams at the Cadwalader law firm on Wall Street to issue multi-hundred million dollar tranches of Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities every few days at the peak of the CMBS boom.

His major environmental projects include managing 100 Superfund sites while at Exxon Mobil, and remediating 20 of them.

As an educator, he has founded, led, and/or taught in real estate graduate and executive education programs at Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, and George Washington University. He created the Georgetown program and grew it into the 2nd largest graduate real estate program in the US.

Prior to his legal and business career, Chuck was a doctoral student in International Relations at Harvard, where he focused on American Foreign Policy Institutions, East Asia, and Russia. At Cornell Law School, he majored in Business and Regulation Law and specialized in International Legal Studies. Chuck’s father is a Wharton alumnus.

Alan is the Summit Chair and President of the Wharton Club of Washington, DC. His dedication to the School and the Club resulted in his becoming a recipient of the Club’s Joseph Wharton Award and Wharton’s Distinguished Alumni Service Award. During his tenure, the Club has had 15 successful conferences, including the five Innovation Summits that have stimulated, connected and empowered a diverse group of innovators and entrepreneurs within and well beyond the Wharton alumni network.

An accomplished business attorney with the highest rating, “a v,” from Martindale-Hubbell, Alan’s career has been split between private practice (now in business and general practice) and public service. He received a Distinguished Service Award for his decade of service as a Senior Trial Attorney at the Federal Trade Commission after two years at the Justice Department. Alan earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School following his undergraduate work at the Wharton School.

Greg Schlimm is a technology executive currently leading research initiatives at the Transaction Advisors Institute, the leading Institute for corporate M&A professionals. In this role, he collaborates with the Institute’s members to build knowledge about how corporate acquirers can improve their deal performance and maximize deal value to their shareholders. He also provides board-level advisory services to multiple technology firms, focusing on increasing growth rates and preparing for funding and/or exit.
He has proven sell-side and buy-side experience with B2B technology businesses in the US and the UK. His experience includes growing stand-alone businesses and scaling businesses within large global companies.
Highlights include:
• As CEO, grew technology analytics firm 25x after being hired by the founders of this UK-based firm to scale the business. Established a complex multi-supplier ecosystem to expand client value. Expanded the client base in the US and Europe, leveraged suppliers in Eastern Europe, and engaged with partners in all world regions. Ran the exit process, ultimately leading to the firm being acquired by the industry’s gold standard market intelligence firm.
• Established a new global technology-based analytics product line and grew business by 150 percent. Led multi-country team with US, UK, and Eastern European staff. Collaborated with other product and delivery teams to launch and support the offering in all major world regions. Also ran special projects for the corporate M&A Integration Management Office (IMO).
• Merged nine acquired firms into one global Information Management business unit at a global technology software firm, dealing with and learning about the value of post-merger integration when executing deals.
• In addition, held various roles at large and small firms, including senior P&L leadership, change management, strategic supplier management, and growth/scalability advisory.

He recently completed his research doctorate at the Warwick Business School (London, England), where he studied technology acquisitions by large serial acquirers, with an eye toward practices that can expand deal value during post-merger integration. In 2023, he was awarded the WBS Best Doctoral Thesis award for his research.

He previously received his MBA from the TRIUM program, which is co-taught by the London School of Economics and Political Science, HEC Paris, and NYU Stern, and is focused on building skills to manage across countries. He also has a BS Economics degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

He lives on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, with his wife Lynne and their two dogs.

Session Panelist: Down to Business

Fenley Scurlock has run a business making artisanal soaps and pens since he was seven; he sells at farmers’ markets, in his online store, and at kids’ business fairs. He has won multiple business, sales, and marketing awards and has been interviewed by Fast Company and Kids 2 Market, as well as many local media outlets.

Session Panelist: Artificial Intelligence: What You Need to Know

Dr. Singh is VP and Head of Washington DC operations for Los Alamos Technical Associates (LATA) where he directs federal, international and cybersecurity business. He is a leading cyber security expert at world stage. He serves as Executive Director of LATA’s Global Institute for Security and Training. Previously, Dr. Singh served as Director and Managing Partner at Deloitte Consulting LLC where he managed Systems Engineering and Security Practice. At BearingPoint, Inc. (formerly KPMG Consulting), Dr. Singh was Managing Director and Partner, and global practice in Systems Engineering, Security and IT. He has extensive business and technology management experience with proven P&L track record. He founded three mid-size high tech companies and served as President and CEO. His business and consulting experience includes management, security solution engineering, domestic and international business development, mergers and acquisition, turn-around, investment capital. Dr. Singh has executed engineering, security and IT business in 49 countries and has traveled to 81 countries.

Session Moderator: Initiating & Maintaining Sustainability Initiatives
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Session Moderator: Sustainability Finance
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Session Moderator: The Energy Transition – Driving Change at the Local Level

Based in Charlotte, as Sustainability Strategy Executive for Business Banking (BB) and Global Commercial Banking (GCB), Erin works to align BB and GCB Sustainability efforts to the broader Enterprise wide Bank of America Sustainability goals. In her current role, Erin focuses on banker preparedness and client engagement as it pertains to social impact, climate action and overall Sustainability strategy. Erin joined the Bank in 2016 and most recently served as Senior Vice President and LIHTC Syndication Senior Relationship Manager for the Community Development Banking group and Sustainability Co-Chair of the GCB Sustainability Taskforce.

Before joining the Bank, Erin worked in NYC, starting her career in the KPMG Audit Real Estate Financial Services Practice where she served as Lead Senior for the Northeast. Erin then spent three years in JPMorgan Chase’s Global Real Assets group as a Financial Manager of ~$6 billion in real estate assets.

Erin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Accounting, from Fordham University; a Master of Business Administration in real estate, corporate finance and strategy from New York University, Stern Executive MBA Program where she served as Class Representative and Co-Chair of the class council. She also holds several Certificates of Achievement and Executive Education in Sustainable Finance, ESG investing, and Leadership from New York University, Stern Business School. She is a recent graduate of the IESE International Business School and NYU Stern’s Inaugural Pathway to C-Suite Program. Additional, Erin was elected President of the inaugural class and will represent her international cohort going forward.

Erin served as a Class 9, 2019 participant in Charlotte’s Leading Under 40 Program, an initiative run by Charlotte’s Community Building Initiative organization. She is a Bank of America Better Money Habits Lead Champion and is a member of the Bank of America Black Professional Group. Erin is also a 2021 Columbia University Women in Leadership participant, and serves on the NYU Stern EmpowHER Program as a Mentor and Advisory Committee Board Member. Erin actively serves as a mentor in various other capacities to younger professionals both inside and outside of Bank of America.

Erin was a Women’s Basketball D-1 scholarship point guard, Student Athlete representative and team captain for the Fordham University Lady Rams. She enjoys international travel, sports and fitness, hiking, volunteering and spending time with family.

Session Panelist: Government-Backed Entrepreneurship Programs in Healthcare

Ashim is the Director of the BARDA DRIVe Catalyst Office, where he leads a team dedicated to fostering health security innovation and commercialization of technologies through public-private partnerships like BARDA Ventures, BARDA Accelerator Network, and the J&J - BARDA Blue Knight partnership. With over a decade of experience in biomedical entrepreneurship and product development, Ashim previously worked at the NIH, supporting entrepreneurs and startups at the NCI Small Business Development Center, NIH Small Business Education and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) Office, and the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program.

Session Panelist: Innovation in Sustainability

Ignacio is an energy & sustainability executive with a deep technical background. His career spans 4 continents and several technologies, with a predominance of wind and storage, in which he’s led product management, project delivery, business development, and services operations. He finds fun in learning and teaching, and in developing practical solutions rooted in technical developments. His original aim was to foster renewables and, now that they are generally accessible, he is concentrating on facilitating a deeper penetration to the grid via deployment, integration, and management of energy storage assets. Focusing on people, products, planet, with a Master's in Energy Engineering, an Exec. Energy MBA, and a BatteryMBA, he leads teams to make sure that we innovate towards a more sustainable energy system.

Session Panelist: SoPE Workshop: Fostering Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Mark VanderZyl is the Associate Director of Startup Advancement for Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures. His role is the help foster startup and ecosystem success through the connection of human capital resources to high-potential startup opportunities. This includes experienced entrepreneurs and subject-matter experts acting as mentors, professional support from the industry sponsors of FastForward, customer discovery through the NSF I-Corps program, entrepreneurial educational programming, and venture recruitment support.
Mark manages the relationships with sponsors of FastForward and acts as liaison between the sponsors and startups & entrepreneurs. Mark also hosts informational tours for high-profile visitors, investors, and industry collaborators to tell the story of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures and FastForward.
Mark previously served as the Senior Operations Manager for FastForward, where he managed the expansion of 33,000 square feet of brand new, purpose-build incubator spaces in Baltimore for startup companies. His primary role was to interface with current and prospective tenants in FastForward, and to direct all external request for use of innovation hub spaces.
Before Johns Hopkins, Mark spent 10 years as a Financial Advisor with AXA. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Iowa and a Masters in Finance from Johns Hopkins University.

Session Panelist: AI in Healthcare

Fabien Vaucheret is a Senior Solutions Architect at Databricks, specializing in working with emerging digitally-native businesses in the healthcare and life sciences space. He provides expert data architecture guidance through the Databricks Intelligence Platform with a focus on building a state-of-the-art data landscape that can support advanced data use cases such as Generative AI, ultimately helping customers achieve their goals like enhancing operational efficiency and patient outcomes. His rich professional journey spans significant roles at Tamr, a master data management startup, and pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, where he honed his skills in data architecture and analytics. A Cornell University alumnus, Fabien possesses a deep understanding of complex data systems and their pivotal role in advancing data-centric health solutions.