Andrew Banks

Andrew Banks is one of the 'Sharks' on the television series Shark Tank Australia. An Australian entrepreneur, investor, film producer and talent & learning expert, Andrew began his career as an actor. His core business activities have been involved with building and growing companies in the recruiting, training and HR outsourcing space.

Together with Geoff Morgan, Andrew founded Morgan & Banks in early 1985 and grew the company to become the dominant recruitment force in Australia and Asia with a 17% market share before merging with TMP/Monster.com in 1999. In 2005 Andrew launched Talent2 International, which focuses on HR Outsourcing and Executive Search and Selection, with a team of 1,600 professionals operating in 20 countries; it was acquired by Allegis Group in 2014.

Spending time between the US and Asia Pacific, Andrew now focuses on advising clients around senior executive talent and Board appointments; he is a US Film Producer as Lila 9th Founder (Syrup/Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter) and an investor in a few "start-ups" leading to involvement in Shark Tank Australia on Network TEN.

Bob Bennett

Bob Bennett became the Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Kansas City, Missouri, in January 2016. Bob leads the implementation of the Smart City initiative, a suite of public WiFi projects, digital kiosk installation, dynamic traffic light control and smart lighting programs along the city’s new Streetcar line.

In February, he led the city’s planning effort to win the Department of Transportation Smart City Challenge, an effort that will transition many of the technologies in the current initiative to over 200,000 residents in a 200 square mile area in and around Kansas City. These efforts are more transformative than the current suite because they also help bridge the Digital Divide in the community.

Internally, Bob is working to digitize city processes, improve data-enhanced decision making and make city hall more efficient. A 25-year veteran of the US Army as both a senior troop commander and policy-level strategic planner, Bob has extensive experience working with big data and digital decision support systems.

Tom Bucklar

Tom started his career at Caterpillar 18 years ago and currently serves as the Director of Innovation & Digital. In his role, he has global responsibly for driving innovation throughout the enterprise, managing exponential technologies and developing digital products and services.

Tom has held a variety of roles in his 18 years, with a focus on dealer development and commercializing technology products and solutions.

Prior to coming to Caterpillar, Tom worked for Motorola as a sales engineer developing and deploying wireless networks.

Tom holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Marquette University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Jake Carnemark

With over 25 years of experience building and operating data centers, Jakob (Jake) Carnemark has dedicated his career to tackling an issue that has long plagued the mission critical industry. As Founder and CEO of Aligned Energy, Jake oversees a strategic platform of four innovative, forward-thinking companies -- Inertech, Energy Metrics, Karbon Engineering, and Aligned Data Centers -- all of which are committed to solving the world’s toughest challenges associated with data center building infrastructure, energy consumption and water usage. He is responsible for directing the overall strategy with a focus on lowering the cost and drain of resources needed to run data centers.

Before launching Aligned Energy, Jake was Senior Vice President of Skanska’s Mission Critical Center of Excellence, where he led and helped expand the international construction firm’s mission critical business.

Michael Docherty

Michael Docherty brings a unique perspective on innovation, having been an entrepreneur, senior corporate executive and venture capitalist. It might explain why he's passionate about the intersection of corporate innovation and entrepreneurship. In his book Collective Disruption, Docherty reveals how the smartest corporations are learning to partner and co-create transformative new businesses with startups.

As CEO of Venture2 Inc., Docherty and his organization provide growth and innovation consulting support to leading companies globally. Venture2 clients include Cisco, Unilever, Pfizer, Jarden and other leading companies. Through V2 Colabs, Docherty and his team build digital and internet-of-things (IoT) enabled business ventures ‘on-demand’ with corporate and entrepreneurial partners.

Mike holds an MBA degree from Northwestern University's Kellogg School and BSME degree from Drexel University. He is a highly rated speaker on innovation and corporate venturing and an active supporter of the entrepreneurial community.

John Hockenberry

John Hockenberry is the host of public radio’s live national daily news program The Takeaway. A multiple Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist, he is a former correspondent for NBC News, ABC News, and NPR, and has traveled the globe reporting on a wide variety of stories in virtually every medium for more than three decades.

He has written dozens of magazine and newspaper articles, a play, and two books, including the bestselling memoir Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and Declarations of Independence which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Wired, The Columbia Journalism Review, Metropolis, and The Washington Post.

A skilled presenter and moderator, Hockenberry has appeared at numerous design and idea conferences around the nation including the TED conference, the World Science Festival, the Mayo Clinic’s Transform Symposium and the Aspen Comedy Festival. He has served as a Distinguished Fellow at MIT’s Media Lab.

He and his wife Alison, also an Emmy and Peabody winner, have five children and live in Brooklyn, NY.

Amy Huntington

Amelia (Amy) Huntington currently serves as President of Philips Lighting Americas, where she leads all commercial, channel and marketing activities throughout North, South and Central America. In this role, she has responsibility for the complete portfolio of Philips Lighting professional and consumer products systems and services and is driving transformation in the market with an expanded focus on connected lighting systems. Amy was appointed to the position in January 2015, after completing a successful assignment in Amsterdam leading Philips Professional Lighting Solutions.

Amy joined Philips in April 2013 after a 22 year career with Schneider Electric where she held a variety of senior roles including responsibility for global strategic account development. Most recently she held the position of Chief Operating Officer, North America. Under her leadership at the company, Schneider Electric North America won the prestigious Robert W. Campbell Award presented by the National Safety Council to acknowledge excellence and commitment to operational safety, health and environmental stewardship.

Amy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management / Industrial Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Management, both from Purdue University.

Curt Kolcun

As vice president of U.S. Public Sector at Microsoft, Curt Kolcun is responsible for leading a team of sales professionals serving federal, state and local governments, education, and public sector healthcare customers and partners across the United States.

Kolcun has been with Microsoft for over 26 years and has a strong track record of results. His team is committed to empowering public sector leaders as they transform government, education and healthcare, change lives and improve citizen services with the help of Microsoft’s leading edge technologies, including the secure cloud. Their current focus is to encourage more pervasive use of the public cloud for the public good through solid infrastructure, next-generation skills development, trusted computing, and government leadership in delivering smarter and more efficient citizen services.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Kolcun began his professional and technical career as an airman in the U.S. Air Force, where he was named “21st Air Force Freight Traffic Specialist of the Year.” He left public service in 1983 to become a systems engineer for the federal branch of NBI, Inc., before joining Microsoft in 1989.

Stuart McClure

Stuart McClure leads Cylance as its CEO and visionary for a new approach to threat detection, protection and response. He is one of the leading experts and practical thinkers in the computer security industry today. With a highly regarded 25-year history in the security industry, Stuart has led some of the most notable companies in the space.

Prior to Cylance, Stuart was EVP, Global CTO and General Manager of the Security Management Business Unit for McAfee/Intel, where he was responsible for a $3 billion consumer and corporate security products business. During his tenure at McAfee, Stuart established an elite team of security researchers called TRACE, which frequently discovered 0-day vulnerabilities and emerging threats in embedded and critical infrastructure. Before McAfee, Stuart helped formalize the cyber security program at Kaiser Permanente, a $34 billion healthcare company.

In 1999, Stuart started Foundstone, Inc., a global consulting and products company, which was acquired by McAfee in 2004. Stuart is the founding creator and lead-author of the most successful security book series of all time: Hacking Exposed. This book is now on version 7.

Stuart McClure earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado. He also holds numerous IT and security certifications.

Corey Mohn

Corey is passionate about helping people make connections that allow them to live their dreams. Corey learned many lessons first-hand about the power of connectivity when he co-founded Planning Initiatives, LLC – a city planning consulting firm – at the age of 24. Since selling his share of the business, Corey has dedicated his professional life to public service, primarily through providing funding and technical support to the small business community. Corey is the Executive Director of the Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS), a program that empowers high school students to fast-forward into their future through hands-on work, real-world business projects, and the development of professional skills. Prior to CAPS, Corey served as the Director of Statewide Programs for the Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship (DBA NetWork Kansas). In July 2015, CAPS launched the CAPS Network, a consortium of school programs across the United States committed to this model of profession-based education.

Corey holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in political science and economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a Masters in Business Administration from Baker University.

James M. Phillips

Jim Phillips is the Chairman and CEO of NanoMech, Inc., the nano-engineering leader providing revolutionary nanoscale innovations in machining and frictionless lubrication, advanced coatings, specialty chemicals, energy efficiency and performance, and strategic military applications. He serves as a Member of the American Council on Competitiveness, the U.S. Technology Leadership Council and the U.S. Manufacturing Competitive Initiative Steering Committee. Throughout his business career, Jim has founded and co-founded many successful corporations and earning prominent leadership positions with Motorola, SkyTel, iPix, Telular, and The FedEx Institute of Technology, while inventing and introducing many products used by millions worldwide.

He is internationally credited with being very instrumental in launching instant messaging, the PDA, the Cable Modem, PCS, Fixed Cellular, Time Magazine’s Medical Invention of the Year- the VeinViewer, and iPix.

Jim holds BBA and MBA degrees from the University of Memphis, graduating with academic honors, and attended Jet Fighter training in the USAF earning distinguished military graduate and aerospace awards.

Clinton O. Robinson, P.E.

Clint is the father of three publicly educated girls; a recovering school board member; and a registered professional engineer in a global engineering corporation. Individually none of these accomplishments are significant but in concert they are a powerful force towards better connecting education and business. Clint is the great grandson of one of the first three professors at the University of Kansas teaching Greek and Latin back in 1865. He is also the great grandson of an attorney that made elixir in his basement and founded the Burma Vita Corporation. This company was responsible for one of the most successful advertising campaigns with roadside jingles for the first brushless shaving cream, Burma Shave. It is not surprising then that Mr. Robinson has dedicated himself to finding ways to improve education and how we sell it. While serving on the Blue Valley School District School Board he helped create and implement the successful Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) which revolutionized how business and education work together for a common goal. Now while providing thought leadership in his industry to the U.S. Conference of Mayors and National League of Cities, he is never very far away from the topic of how to create jobs, fill the pipeline, and change the landscape of education forever. His motto is "learn to teach" which means 1) if you can teach it then you know it, and 2) there is no value in learning something if you are not willing to teach it to someone else.

Edo Segal

Edo Segal is CEO of TouchCast and the Founder of incubator bMuse. Mr Segal is a serial entrepreneur, prolific inventor and private investor, who has founded, launched and sold several companies. With over 20 years of experience in media and technology, Mr. Segal is a noted expert in emerging media technologies and platforms, including immersive entertainment, stereoscopic 3D and 360 Video formats.

Prior to founding bMuse, Mr. Segal was VP of Emerging Platforms at AOL. He joined AOL following the acquisition of Relegence, a real-time search company he founded in 1999. He has invented and patented a wide range of game-changing media technologies.

Alan Stern, Ph.D

Dr. Alan Stern is a planetary scientist, space program executive, aerospace consultant, and author. He leads NASA’s New Horizons mission to the Pluto system and the Kuiper Belt.

In 2007, he was named to the Time 100 and was appointed NASA’s chief of all science missions. Since 2009, he has been an Associate Vice President and Special Assistant to the President at the Southwest Research Institute. Additionally, from 2008-2012 he served on the board of directors of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, and as the Chief Scientist and Mission Architect for Moon Express from 2010-2013. From 2011-2013 he served as the Director of the Florida Space Institute. Dr. Stern currently serves as the chief scientist of both World View, a near-space ballooning company, and of the Florida Space Institute.

In 2007 and 2008, Dr. Stern served as NASA’s chief of all space and Earth science programs, directing a $4.4B organization with 93 separate flight missions and a program of over 3,000 research grants. Since 2008 Dr. Stern has had his own aerospace consulting practice. His current and former consulting clients include Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, Naveen Jain’s Moon Express Google Lunar X-Prize team, Ball Aerospace, Paragon Space Development Corporation, the NASTAR Center, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and the Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Stern is also the CEO of two small corporations -- Uwingu and The Golden Spike Company -- and serves on the board of directors of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Dr. Stern is the Principal Investigator (PI) of NASA’s $723M New Horizon’s mission to reconnoiter Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. New Horizons launched in 2006 and arrives at Pluto in July 2015

Nancy Tennant, Ph.D

Dr. Nancy Tennant is a consultant, professor and best-selling author in innovation, leadership and organization change. She is one of the world’s leading practitioners in transforming businesses to achieve innovation from everyone and everywhere.

Businessweek named Dr. Tennant one of the 25 Innovation Champions in the world. She is an instructor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern and The University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business. She is the co-founder of the Certified Innovation Mentor program at the University of Notre Dame and the I-Mentor Boot Camp.

She is the Chief Innovation Officer Emeritus for Whirlpool Corporation where she transformed the Fortune 200 company into an innovation powerhouse resulting in acclaim from publications such as Fast Company and Fortune. She co-founded Whirlpool University, with an enrollment of over 17,000 students per year from 170 countries, teaching leadership and strategic competencies.

She is the (co)author of numerous articles and has co-authored three best-selling books, including Unleashing Innovation: How Whirlpool Transformed an Industry (2008). She is currently working on her new book, Innovation 1-2-3: The Minimal Viable Guide to Generate, Embed and Lead Innovation in Legacy Companies.

Dr. Tennant holds a doctorate from The George Washington University.

Gary Gulman

Gary Gulman is a stand-up comedian who lives in New York City. Originally from Boston, Gary has been a scholarship college football player, an accountant, a barista, a doorman, a waiter and a high school teacher. Now he is one of the most popular touring comics and one of only a handful of comedians to perform on every single late night comedy program. "Gary will be the next giant ex-Bostonian comic to break huge, CK, Burr, Gulman: You heard it here first" raved the Village Voice. He's made three TV specials, and three albums. Gary marked his 20-year anniversary in stand-up with the "It's About Time Tour," selling out theaters throughout the country. It's no wonder the New York Times wrote "Gary is finally being recognized as one of the country's strongest comedians."

Ken Gray

Ken is an internationally recognized innovator and product management leader who launched Caterpillar’s first three hybrid construction machines, the first of which is now regarded as one of the top 10 most innovative products in the brand’s 90 year history. In addition to receiving a Caterpillar Chairman’s Award for Innovation, Ken received an Edison Award, a Platts Global Energy Award, and an International Construction Economic Forum Equipment Innovation Award—all Caterpillar firsts.

Ken’s career focused on serving Caterpillar customers, dealers, employees, and shareholders around the world from 1982 through 2015 with assignments in North America, Asia, and Europe. He held positions with diverse areas of responsibility including engineering, marketing, product management, dealer development, and leadership.

Ken was Caterpillar’s first Director of Innovation and an Analytics & Innovation Division Director. He developed and executed Caterpillar’s transformational innovation strategy to create value for customers and for dealers while increasing bottom line results for Caterpillar shareholders. He guided his team to bolster the best capabilities from Caterpillar’s innovative history and to broaden the scale of innovation by introducing a new innovation vocabulary and integrating new tools, leaner processes, and external perspectives. Ken built an innovation incubator to drive a global culture of trust, collaboration, and experimentation while generating revenue through new products and services.

Ken holds a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science, with Magna Cum Laude honors, in Mechanical Engineering from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois and completed executive development programs at Bradley University, Stanford University in Stanford, California, and The Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Clinton O. Robinson, P.E.

Clint is the father of three publicly educated girls; a recovering school board member; and a registered professional engineer in a global engineering corporation. Individually none of these accomplishments are significant but in concert they are a powerful force towards better connecting education and business. Clint is the great grandson of one of the first three professors at the University of Kansas teaching Greek and Latin back in 1865. He is also the great grandson of an attorney that made elixir in his basement and founded the Burma Vita Corporation. This company was responsible for one of the most successful advertising campaigns with roadside jingles for the first brushless shaving cream, Burma Shave. It is not surprising then that Mr. Robinson has dedicated himself to finding ways to improve education and how we sell it. While serving on the Blue Valley School District School Board he helped create and implement the successful Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) which revolutionized how business and education work together for a common goal. Now while providing thought leadership in his industry to the U.S. Conference of Mayors and National League of Cities, he is never very far away from the topic of how to create jobs, fill the pipeline, and change the landscape of education forever. His motto is "learn to teach" which means 1) if you can teach it then you know it, and 2) there is no value in learning something if you are not willing to teach it to someone else.

Robert E. Rubin

Martin G. Travers

Martin G. Travers is the President of Black & Veatch’s Telecommunications Business, an infrastructure, engineering, and construction services business focused on deployment of wireless and wireline telecommunications facilities. The Telecommunications Business provides vertically integrated solutions to both public, private and public safety network clients around the world.

Mr. Travers is also the Executive Sponsor of the Smart Integrated Infrastructure Growth Platform which is Black & Veatch’s initiative to expand its services in the areas of Smart Analytics, Smart Communities and Integrated Infrastructure.

In addition, Mr. Travers is a member of the Black & Veatch Holding Corporation Board of Directors and the company’s Investment Review Board.

Martin has an extensive background in the engineering and construction of infrastructure facilities. With more than 35 years of experience in projects such as electric power generating stations, transmission lines, substations and telecommunications networks, he has a thorough understanding of the key issues that influence successful project development and deployment.