Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based CEO’ operating in the Product Design space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Rahul Vohra
Founder & CEO of Superhuman
Rahul Vohra is the Founder and CEO at Superhuman. He is also the Technical Advisor at BOLDstart Ventures and Investor & Advisor at Partender and Investor of sendwithus and EasyPost. Rahul Vohra is a former CEO and Co-Founder of Rapportive and Game Designer at Jagex. Rahul received a bachelor of arts in Computer Science at the University of Cambrigdge.
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About Clubhouse, LinkedIn, Rapportive, Superhuman, The Todd & Rahul Angel Fund: Superhuman is a software platform that weaves social insights into a workflow.
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Daniel Curran
Founder & CEO of CustEx
57%+ / yr. liquid returns >>> https://danielcurran.substack.com/ Forbes #7 rank: bit.ly/2Oh7XhF **Only interested in start ups OVER $40k MRR w/o competition! Eqvista #5 rank: https://eqvista.com/top-100-active-angel-investors-list-for-startups/ Media/PR: https://billionairechronicle.com/daniel-curran-super-angel/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvAUJzDCa3Q&t=2s https://angelconnect.libsyn.com/investor-connect-episode-122-daniel-curran-of-silicon-valley https://thesyndicate.vc/angel-investor-hit-4-unicorn-companies-using-simple-investment-framework-super-angel-daniel-curran/ https://borsen.dk/soeg/daniel%20curran Bad Ass x-Rocket Scientist Rock Star! Read my 110+ Founder recommendations below. We share deal flow with billionaire Family Offices, Midas List VC’s, and other Forbes superangels. Passions: stopping/reversing human aging/immortality/parabiosis, bci, brain emulation/download, quantum teleportation, & cryonics. CustEx launches website/app soon to help Biden Admin get voters’ demands right. Benefits corp innovation, BLM, prevents civil unrest, as THE place for ads and co-creation. 2020 EBRD-led B round: https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/31/allset-series-b/ 2017 Greycroft deal: bit.ly/2ylWbLB 2016 A16Z deal: bit.ly/2d67xJc Fortune 500 $16B WDC pivot from $2.20 to $114/share! Relentless, visionary Tech entrepreneur builds $B companies that improve world. Founded 14 startups, invested cash in 178+, created 1k+ jobs, personally netted investors $170M in exits. Startups I endorse get oversubscribed by top vc’s fast! As Angel Investor: $1B+ cash exits < 1 year @decacorn Cruise @DollarShaveClub: https://www.crunchbase.com/person/daniel-curran https://angel.co/dcurran-custex-com https://fundersclub.com/danielcurran/ Claims to Fame: -Founder/CEO, USLab NASDAQ IPO in 1998: raised $130M -VP & acting COO@Western Digital Silicon Valley sub [$40M sale to Brocade/PMCS/Snap, 2001], -Founder/CEO of 1st company [AlaStor, 2003] to converge IP+FC SAN, adopted by Cisco Systems [Andiamo], -Founder/CEO of CustEx Internet Platform [2012] Experienced ramping up companies using innate ability to quickly size up a company’s position & execute pro-customer action + cash-flow results. Began career at large companies as a software engineer and morphed into a business entrepreneur/CXO at startups with responsibility for up to 250 teammates Made sales ramp from $2M to $100M in 8 months as VP & acting COO of Western Digital’s Silicon Valley Connex Unit. Earned multiple top eng. school master's degrees (Illinois-PhD dropout, USC-cert, Penn State)
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About CustEx: If Google’s a nice-to-have, CustEx is a must-have. Try living without a voice.
Mariano Suarez-Battan
Co-Founder & CEO of MURAL
Mariano Suarez-Battan is a Co-founder and CEO at MURAL, a digital workspace for visual collaboration. He is a three-time co-founder and an inventor by trade, who is on a mission to inspire, enhance, and connect “imagination workers” so they can collaborate and solve hard problems together. Previously, he co-founded Three Melons, a video game studio that designed and published online games for clients like LEGO, Disney, Mattel, Warner Bros. Three Melons created more than 50 games as well as the soccer-based Facebook game Bola!, which had more than 20 million players globally in 2010 (1M daily during the World Cup). The company was acquired in 2010 by Playdom/Disney, where Mariano served as Creative Director following the acquisition. He then co-founded Idea.me, a leading crowdfunding site for the Latin American region. Mariano is an active angel investor and startup advisor at Endeavor.org, a global non-profit leading the high-impact entrepreneurship movement. As an Endeavor entrepreneur, he mentors other founders at various stages of their scaleup journey. He is a graduate of the Endeavor Leadership Program by the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
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About MURAL: MURAL is a digital workspace that provides a visual collaboration platform that enables teams to work remotely and efficiently.
Clark Valberg
Co-Founder & CEO of InVision
Clark Valberg is the CEO and Co-Founder of InVision, the digital product design platform used to make the world’s best customer experiences. InVision is the cornerstone of the product design process for more than 3 million people at tens of thousands of companies, including eighty percent of the Fortune 100 and brands like Airbnb, Amazon, HBO, Netflix, Slack, Starbucks and Uber. He is a former Co-Founder of Epicenter Consulting.
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About InVision: InVision is the visual collaboration platform powering the world’s smartest companies.
Stephen Olmstead
VP, Chief of Staff, Office of the CEO of InVision
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About InVision: InVision is the visual collaboration platform powering the world’s smartest companies.
Davis Smith
Founder & CEO of Cotopaxi
Davis is the CEO of Cotopaxi, an outdoor gear brand with a social mission at its core. Davis was named CEO of the Year 2016 by Silicon Valley Community Foundation and is a member of the United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council. He was previously the Co-CEO of Baby.com.br and Dinda.com.br, Brazil’s Startup of the Year in 2012, which raised over $40M in venture capital. In 2004, he also founded, and later sold, PoolTables.com, America’s largest pool table retailer. Davis holds an MBA from the Wharton School, an MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania’s Lauder Institute, and a BA from Brigham Young University.
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About Cotopaxi: Cotopaxi is an outdoor brand with a humanitarian mission at its core.
Jae Hoon Choi
CEO & Co-founder of Podo Labs
Jae Hoon Choi is Co-founder and CEO of Podo.
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About Exide Life Insurance, Podo Labs: We make Podo, Jack, Belle, and a whole lot more to come.
Jonathan Anderson
Co-Founder & CEO of Candu
Jonathan Anderson is a Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Candu.
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About Candu: Candu is a product experience platform for software teams who want to design, refine, and personalize their application’s user interface.
Osman Koc
Co-Founder & CEO of UserGuiding
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About UserGuiding, YNOT Partners: UserGuiding improves product adoption rates through ‘no coding needed’ interactive user onboarding flows.
Tarek Sherif
CEO Medidata Solution and Chairman Life Sciences Sector Board, Dassault Systemes of Dassault Systemes
A founder of Medidata Solutions, Tarek has served as chief executive officer since 2001 and chairman since 2009. Under his leadership, the New York City-based company has grown to become the leading global provider of cloud-based solutions to the life science industry—supporting clinical trials in over 115 countries—while defining the vertical cloud company business model. From inception, Tarek has focused on building the company, including setting Medidata’s growth strategy, driving its innovative business model and helping to attract and inspire the talent that has been the basis of the company’s success. He led Medidata’s successful IPO in June 2009, which has positioned Medidata as one of the best performing companies to go public since 2009 and New York City’s most successful public technology company. Prior to Medidata, Tarek was the managing member of a partnership focused on public and private investments in technology and life science companies. He co-managed a private equity fund specializing in publicly-traded technology companies, including those in the healthcare and information technology fields. Tarek also served as assistant vice president of corporate finance at General Electric Capital Corporation and was a mergers and acquisitions analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman & Company. Tarek received his BA in economics from Yale University in 1984. He graduated from Columbia Business School in 1991, where he earned a degree in business administration and finance. Tarek has received a number of industry accolades, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award for the metro New York area in 2010 and the PharmaVOICE 100 most inspirational people in the life science industry award in 2007. He is a board member of the Partnership Fund for New York City and is chairman of Blue Legacy International, a not-for-profit organization focused on preserving our water resources.
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About Dassault Systemes, Medidata Solutions, Partnership Fund for New York City: Dassault Systemes provides project lifecycle management solutions that enable businesses to create and share experiences in 3D.
Todd Olson
CEO & Founder of Pendo
Todd Olson is co-founder and CEO of Pendo, a product experience platform that helps product teams create software customers love. A three-time entrepreneur, Todd has experienced the highs and lows of running fast-growth technology companies. A proficient coder by age 14, he spent his teen years working as a database designer and software architect for MBNA Bank in Delaware. By graduation from Carnegie Mellon University, he’d invented a data integration product, co-founded Cerebellum Software, and raised seed capital. Cerebellum went on to raise $17 million in institutional capital and hire 65 people, only to shut down when funding dried up during the dotcom era. A role as vice president of product development at TogetherSoft brought Todd to Raleigh, where he eventually started 6th Sense Analytics, which he sold to Rally Software. The inspiration for Pendo came as Todd led the product team at Rally. With no product usage data available, he struggled to decide which of the dozens of feature requests that hit his desk each week were worth the investment of time and capital. After Rally’s IPO, he teamed up with fellow product leaders and technologists from Red Hat, Cisco and Google to launch Pendo in October 2013. The company has since raised $56 million in venture capital, landed more than 500 customers and now employs 170 people across offices in Raleigh, San Francisco, New York and Yakum, Israel. It was named a Top 50 U.S. Startup by LinkedIn in 2017. Todd prides himself on his product background, and the knowledge, experience and empathy it lends to customers of Pendo. He frequently speaks at industry events on topics like Agile software development, product management, startup fundraising and entrepreneurship. Outside of work, Todd is typically enjoying life in Raleigh with his wife and four children, aged 1 to 21. He also loves to bake, especially cakes.
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About Pendo: Pendo is a product-analytics app that helps software companies develop products that resonate with customers.
Shawn Dougherty
Founder, CEO of EXOIO
Shawn co-founded mophie in June 2005, just prior to the release of the first iPhone. It grew to become the #1 selling battery case manufacturer for mobile devices in North America. Working as a founder, COO, President & Board Member, mophie created the first juice pack battery case for the first-generation iPhone in North America and built an exclusive partnership with Apple. I led a team which built a solid business structure at mophie, allowing the company to thrive and withstand rapid growth, both in the U.S. and internationally. Shawn became a skilled operator and raised millions of dollars in multiple rounds of capital and debt facilities. Under Shawn’s guidance and strategic vision, the company grew from 3 employees in her barn in Kalamazoo, Michigan to a multimillion dollar business, mophie sold products into 38,000 retailer partners in 130 countries with 300+ employees with facilities in California, Michigan, China, Hong Kong and Amsterdam. As a leader, I established longstanding relationships with national and global retail partnerships and collaborations with top industry icons including Apple, Amazon, Verizon, AT&T, Best Buy, Product Red, Valentino, and Supreme. I am passionate about developing products and growing a business from the ground up was one of the most challenging yet satisfying experience of my life. By 2015, mophie revenue has reached $250+ million, and resulted in company being sold in February of 2016 to a strategic acquirer. Shawn was also a seed investor, Board Member, and Co-founder of Paw Paw Brewing company in Paw Paw, Michigan. The company was originated in 2010 and Shawn exited in March 2017. Since the sale of mophie Shawn has catching her breath, tending to personal relationships, and has also started a new company called EXOIO that allows her to spend time networking, consulting, and acting as an advisor to company of all sizes.
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About EXOIO: We help accelerate growth.
Mark Parker
President & Chief Executive Officer of Nike
Mark Parker, 57, has been President and Chief Executive Officer and a director since 2006. He has been employed by NIKE since 1979 with primary responsibilities in product research, design and development, marketing, and brand management. Mark Parker was appointed divisional Vice President in charge of development in 1987, corporate Vice President in 1989, General Manager in 1993, Vice President of Global Footwear in 1998, and President of the NIKE Brand in 2001. In addition to helping lead the continued growth of the Nike brand, Parker is responsible for the growth of NIKE, Inc.’s global business portfolio, which includes Converse Inc., and Hurley International LLC.
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About American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), Nike, Oregon Health & Science University: Nike designs, develops, and markets footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessory products.
Mike Doernberg
CEO & Co-Founder of ReverbNation
Michael Doernberg is CEO and co-founder of ReverbNation, the leading online music marketing platform serving more than 2.9 million artists, managers, record labels and venues around the world. Every day, musicians turn to ReverbNation as a source for the powerful business tools needed to compete in the social media age, across the Internet as a whole, while other music industry participants work with ReverbNation to align themselves with the largest aggregation of independent artists. As CEO, Mike’s strategic thinking and exceptional business acumen has contributed to ReverbNation’s success and helped drive the development of their valuable social tools for the industry. Mike’s successful entrepreneurial career in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina stems from his experience in marketing and management of technology and Internet business. His past ventures include SmartPath, a marketing software company that was successfully acquired by DoubleClick (Google) in 2004. After the acquisition, he served as Vice President and General Manager of DoubleClick’s marketing automation group. Previous to founding SmartPath, Mike launched The Marathon Group, an Internet services organization. At Marathon he transitioned the company from its roots as a marketing and communication services firm to an Internet professional services company. In 1999 Marathon was acquired by MERANT, PLC and he was named Vice President and General Manager of the Interactive Division, where his team extended the business into international markets. Mike began his career in the entrepreneurial services group of Ernst and Young.
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About Adwerx, PlayMetrics, ReverbNation, Sound Around: ReverbNation connects Artists to the Music Industry.
Vijay Chattha
Founder and CEO of VSC
Vijay Chattha joined VSC Consulting as Founder / CEO in 2002.
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About BlackMahal, The100kPledge, VSC, Wareness.io: We are a band of strategists, storytellers and data nerds obsessed with helping Davids crush a sea of Goliaths.
Brady Brim-DeForest
CEO of TheoremOne
Brady Brim-DeForest is the Chief Executive Officer of Theorem.
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About Codex, Halmos Ventures, International Academy of Web Television, International Academy of Web Television, TheoremOne, TheoremOne: We are an engineering and innovation firm. We solve complex business problems through optimization of process, technology, and culture.
Isaac Saldana
Co-founder & CEO of Joy Labs
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About Hive Hatch, Joy Labs: Powering the innovation and network that develops the world’s software. Pushing the boundaries of science and happiness.
Shashank Samant
CEO of GlobalLogic
Since joining GlobalLogic in 2008, Shashank Samant has helped turn the company from a group of bright technology minds working with startups into a global Digital Product Engineering Services leader helping Fortune 500 companies on their innovation agenda. In Shashank’s time as President and CEO of GlobalLogic, the company has experienced explosive growth in size and revenue – all while developing a culture that fosters engaged employees around innovation and client success. Prior to joining GlobalLogic, Shashank was President of Ness Technologies, where he founded and built their product engineering services business. Prior to Ness, Shashank managed product engineering for Hewlett-Packard’s Verifone line of business. Furthermore, Shashank was instrumental in establishing IBM’s first Indian engineering lab, thus globalizing its R&D and engineering. Shashank started his career at Citicorp where he was part of the core team that developed the FlexCube banking product that changed retail banking. With a passion for technology and innovation, Shashank is focused on transforming GlobalLogic into a trusted partner for the Fortune 500’s and a trusted employer with a strong culture that evolves as the company grows. Shashank is a frequent speaker on the topics of global innovation and digital disruption. He is also an avid cook and history buff. You can find him dining late at night with the chefs of the hotels where he stays during his travels, or reading in his home library.
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About GlobalLogic, GlobalLogic: GlobalLogic is a product development services company that specializes in chip-to-cloud software engineering.
Mark Reynoso
CEO of EcoSense Lighting
Mark Reynoso is the CEO at Ecosense Lighting.
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About EcoSense Lighting: EcoSense Lighting designs and develops lighting solutions for commercial and residential applications.
Zack Onisko
CEO of Dribbble
Zack Onisko is CEO at Dribbble, the global community for designers and creative professionals to showcase, promote, discover, and explore design. Dribbble was founded in 2009 and has grown to become the designer community it is today for tens of millions of people around the world. Dribbble is on a mission to build the world’s best platform for designers to gain inspiration, feedback, education, community, and job opportunities. Before Dribbble, Zack began his career nearly 20 years ago as a web designer before shifting into business and executive roles at Autodesk, Creative Market, Hired.com, BranchOut, Monster.com, and Tickle.com. He is responsible for scaling multiple companies to successful exits over the past decade including the Creative Market acquisition by Autodesk in 2014. Zack is a startup investor and advisor working with Indicator Ventures, Dwell magazine, Reforge, and others.
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About Dribbble: Dribbble is a global community where the world’s top designers share, grow, and get hired.
Ron Garret
Founder and CEO of Spark Innovations
Ron Garret, Ph.D. began his career as a researcher at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, where he worked on autonomous spacecraft and mobile robots for planetary exploration. His work laid the foundation for the subsequent Mars rover missions, and he became the most referenced computer science researcher in all of NASA according to CiteSeer. Ron’s entrepreneurial streak was evident as early as junior high school, when he wrote his first business plan for a retail store that would sell nothing but computer software (a radical idea in 1979) and built one of the world’s first computer dating services on an Apple ][+. Ron’s first real startup was a company that built high-speed local area networks in the early nineties. In 2000 he left JPL to work for what was at the time an obscure Silicon Valley startup called Google, where he was the lead engineer on the first release of AdWords, and the author of the Google Translation Console, the interface by which volunteers translate Google’s site content into over 200 different languages including Klingon. After the Google IPO Ron started a new career as a serial entrepreneur and independent angel investor. He co-founded three startups, most notably an on-line marketplace for charter jets called Smart Charter, which was acquired pre-launch by Richard Branson and launched as Virgin Charter. During this time he also produced and directed a full-length documentary film about homelessness. In 2008, together with Brian Singerman (now a partner at Founders Fund) Ron co-founded a small investment fund called XGYC (not to be confused with XG Ventures) which to date has an annualized IRR over 60%.
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About Spark Innovations: Spark innovations is a product design & development industrial design company that offers benefits of intellectual patents and exceptional.
Zachary Hamed
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Clay
Zachary Hamed is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Clay.
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About Clay: The most beautiful and private home for the people and relationships in your life.
Matthew Achariam
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Clay
Matthew Achariam is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Clay.
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About Clay, Custora: The most beautiful and private home for the people and relationships in your life.
Mike Cessario
CEO / Co-Founder of Liquid Death
Mike Cessario is the CEO & Co-Founder at Liquid Death.
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About Liquid Death: Liquid Death is a non-alcoholic beverage brand that is focused on health and sustainability.
Vivian Wang
Co-founder and CEO of Friendshop
Vivian Wang is the co-founder and CEO of Friendshop.
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About Friendshop, Landed: Snag deals on the best in beauty when you shop with your friends.
Will Bruey
CEO & Co-Founder of Varda
Will Bruey is the Co-Founder and CEO of Varda.
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About Varda: Varda is a space manufacturing startup that focuses on creating products in space for terrestrial applications.
Ross Haghighat
Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Triton Systems
Ross Haghighat is a serial entrepreneur with nearly 25 years of experience in founding and transforming companies in the high tech fields of telecommunications, military electronics, biotechnology, and specialty materials. He is the founding CEO of Triton Systems, headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Haghighat serves on the Board of Directors of Triton Systems, S12 Technologies and FRX Polymers. Haghighat co-founded Coretek, Inc., a photonic-based telecom device company that was acquired by a Fortune 100 company in a billion dollar plus deal in 2001. Haghighat holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Advanced Materials from Rutgers University and M.B.A from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.
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About Chinook Therapeutics, Triton Systems: Triton Systems, Inc. (Triton) is an advanced materials, coatings and systems engineering product development firm headquartered near
Matt Gorniak
Chief Executive Officer of ThreeKit
Matt Gorniak is the Chief Executive Officer at Threekit.
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About ThreeKit: ThreeKit is a 3D product configuration and visualization platform that enables brands to create and manage beautiful visuals at scale.
Russell Cook
Chief Executive Officer of Ventris Medical
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About Ventris Medical: Ventris Medical design, develop and market a wide range of allograft, bioactive and synthetic products for all types of tissue application.
Jake Duneier
Founder & CEO of Purple Technologies
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About Clyde Duneier, Inc., Purple Technologies: Purple Technologies creates beautiful products that enhance the human experience.
Tobias Dengel
CEO of WillowTree
Tobias Dengel is the CEO of WillowTree® Apps, Inc., a leading mobile applications and web development company based Charlottesville, VA. Previously, Tobias co-founded Leads.com. As President of the company, he managed its rapid expansion as an early pioneer in packaging online search products, including Google, Yahoo!, MSN and AOL, together for sale to small businesses. After growing to over 60 employees in 2 years, Leads.com was sold to Web.com, where Tobias continued to work in an executive role until 2009. Prior to starting Leads.com, he was SVP & General Manager of AOL Local & Yellow Pages. He previously held a variety of roles in the AOL Business Affairs department, including VP, International. Tobias began his career as an Analyst at the management consulting firm AT Kearney. He holds a BSE in Finance (Wharton) and a BSE in Systems Engineering, both from the University of Pennsylvania.
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About WillowTree: WillowTree is a mobile innovation agency creating beautiful digital products designed to drive growth for brands.
Steven Thornton
CEO/President of Monte Sano Research
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About Monte Sano Research: MSRC provides full-spectrum defense system engineering, research, development, evaluation, and planning services to the US Government.
Mark S. Sutton
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of International Paper
Mark Sutton became chairman of the International Paper Board of Directors on January 1, 2015 and CEO of International Paper on November 1, 2014. Immediately prior to becoming CEO, he served as president and chief operating officer with responsibility for leading and running the company’s global businesses. He has been a member of the International Paper board of directors since June 1, 2014. Sutton has been with the company his entire career. He joined International Paper in 1984 as an engineer at the Pineville, La., mill. In 1994, he was named mill manager at the Thilmany, Wisc., mill, which at the time was part of International Paper’s industrial papers business. In 2000, Sutton relocated to Europe to serve as director of European corrugated packaging operations and was promoted to vice president and general manager responsible for all corrugated packaging operations across seven countries in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region in 2002. In 2005, he was named vice president of corporate strategic planning and relocated to Memphis. He was named senior vice president, global supply chain, in 2007 and in 2009 became senior vice president, printing and communications papers – the Americas. Sutton was appointed to senior vice president, industrial packaging, in November 2011.
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About International Paper: International Paper manufactures paper and paper-packaging products.
Alvin Yap
Co-Founder & CEO of Airship
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About Airship: Airship is a modern product flagging framework that gives the right people total control over what your customers see and experience.
Adam Roe
Founder and CEO of Zero Labs Group
Founder, CEO and Product Architect for Zero Labs Group – a privately held Southern California based business incubator and idea development firm for business and retail strategies, product ideation, business model architecture and exit strategy. ZLG has a specific focus on innovation for EV Automotive, Digital Retail, Snowsport Equipment and Conservation sectors. Adam competed as a skateboarder for 14 years. With a background in Advertising and design, and inspired by skateboardings energy and creativity, he started Lunchbox Studios in 1991 as an type-foundry, advertising and design company landing MTV as his first client. After, Adam went on to produce advertising and branding for hundreds of top level clients, founded New York’s Pavement Magazine, Reelhouse Footage and FX. Along with former partners, Adam reopened the Los Angeles office of Lunchbox in 2004 as the agency CEO to develop business solutions for Walmart, Unilever, P&G, Time Warner and Viacom. Adam also is a Licensed Master practitioner Neuro Linguistic Programming, Licensed Clinical Hypnotherapist, Certified NLP Communication Skills Master, Time Line therapist and has certifications from Society of NLP, American Institute Hypnotherapy and American Board Hypnotherapy among others.
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About Zero Labs Group: Private Business Incubator/Lab with a specific focus on innovation for EV Automotive, Retail, and Conservation technology.
Troy Lee
Founder and CEO of Troy Lee Designs Inc.
Troy Lee took the art of painting custom racing helmets and turned it into Troy Lee Designs (TLD), one of the world’s leading motorsports visual design, apparel and riding gear companies. Troy and his team of artists create the helmet designs worn by a Who’s Who of racing stars including: Jeremy McGrath, Jeff Ward, Juan Pablo Montoya, Al Unser Jr., Danica Patrick, and Scott Dixon. Besides helmets and race team graphics, Troy has also designed SEMA concept cars for Land Rover, Nissan, Toyota, Hyundai, Mazda, and a custom supermoto bike for Honda. A long-time motocrosser and recent supermoto racer, Troy also serves as a race team owner, event promoter, and video producer.
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About Troy Lee Designs Inc.: Troy Lee Designs Inc is a maker of motorcycles, bicycles and apparels for the motorbike industry.
Gary M. Lowenthal
CEO of Boyds Collection
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About Boyds Collection: Boyds bears have been making people smile for over 30 years.
Todd Khozein
Founder & Co-CEO of SecondMuse
Todd Khozein is the Founder & Co-CEO ,Director of Secondmuse Foundation.
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About SecondMuse, Secondmuse Foundation: SecondMuse is an innovation and collaboration agency.
Vibhav Prasad
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of CreateMe Technologies
Vibhav Prasad is the Co-Founder & Co-CEO of CreateMe Technologies. University of Pennsylvania – The Wharton School Degree NameMBAField Of StudyFinance and Marketing Dates attended or expected graduation2001 – 2003
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About CreateMe Technologies: CreateMe is a technology platform for apparel manufacturing through automation, product design, product management, and 3D visualization.
Patrick Herning
CEO & Founder of 11 Honore
Patrick Herning is a leading executive in brand marketing and influencer engagement, and co-founder and CEO of 11 Honoré, the first size-inclusive shopping site to offer women luxury fashion straight from the runway. His impressive background spans from business development during the initial tech boom of Silicon Valley to fashion, lifestyle and philanthropic clients, projects and major marketing initiatives throughout the country. Patrick was one of the first 50 employees at Cybersource in Silicon Valley responsible for business development for their partner channels. After the company he helped build and grow IPO’d, he held two other business development positions at leading technology companies in Silicon Valley, ultimately culminating in VeriSign’s Payment Services division acquisition to PayPal. From there he relocated to Los Angeles where he formed Fathom Event Strategy, a marketing and communications agency, which was eventually acquired by global communications agency HL Group. After leading business development efforts on the West Coast at HL Group for 5 years, Patrick combined his vast experience, talent for business development and extensive client and influencer relationships to form PMH partners, before teaming up with co-founder Kathryn Retzer to start 11 Honoré.
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About 11 Honore, Thirteen lune: 11Honoré a size-inclusive shopping site that for the first time ever, gives more women the option to experience the best designer clothing
Juan David Cruz Serrano
Founder & CEO of Dhamova, Inc
Juan David Cruz Serrano, born in Bogotá, is a former student of Universidad de los Andes with a major in Computer and Systems Engineering. He currently works in the world of technology and software development. He is the founder and former president of two North American companies called Vhista Inc and Dhamova Inc. At Vhista, he developed accessible software for people with visual impairments around the world and at Dhamova he developed software for clients in different countries. Another project is AppShuttle, it helps people create their own app without a single line of code or any engineering background. Juan David has been awarded by organizations such as Apple, Facebook, Stripe, and MINTIC, for his focus on creating ventures and developments that add value to society through technology. Among its award-winning ventures are projects for the automated development of applications, artificial intelligence projects, image recognition projects, augmented reality projects and even free and distance education projects.
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About Dhamova, Inc, Pineapple.build, Vhista: Dhamova, Inc is an innovation company that preaches design and functionality in each of their projects.
JB Osborne
Co-Founder & CEO of Red Antler
JB is currently the CEO of Red Antler, a brand company based in Brooklyn that he co-founded with Emily Heyward and Simon Endres. JB started his career at Saatchi & Saatchi, working for clients such as Procter & Gamble, General Mills, and the award winning international launch of Air Tahiti Nui. An entrepreneur at heart, he left Saatchi to open the New York office of Consortium, a New Zealand ad agency. In August 2007, JB founded Red Antler, where he works with clients on brand positioning, user experience, business strategy and marketing. JB has a Bachelors degree in Business, Magna Cum Laude, from Cornell University. He is an advisor and board member to several startups, and serves on the Entrepreneurship at Cornell Advisory Council. A Philadelphia native, he currently lives in DUMBOl with his wife, his dog Brodie, and a lot of plants.
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About Red Antler: Red Antler is a brand company that works with startups and new ventures.
Jeremy Parker
Co-Founder & CEO of Swag.com
Jeremy Parker is a Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Swag.com.
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About Swag.com: Swag.com helps companies create quality promotional products that people will actually want to keep.
Steven Yu
Founder & CEO of StandDesk
Steven Yu is the founder and lead product developer for StandDesk, Inc., a innovative company poised to change the way people stay healthy, happy, and productive. From a very young age, Steven and his father (mechanical engineer) have designed, maintained, and repaired complicated machinery, like automative engines and transmissions. Although he received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, he later applied his engineering talents during his International Masters Program in Beijing. Steven took on a project to develop the most affordable electric powered actuating system. Armed with his childhood mechanical engineering skills and married with his unique business flare, Steven completed the project in record time and now is poised to provide an affordable sit-to-stand desk solutions to the world.
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About StandDesk: A Wellness Company That Makes Awesome Standing Desks
Samuel Jurist
Co-Founder & CEO of SHO Products
Samuel Jurist is the CEO of SHO Products, an international ancillary product distributor for the cannabis industry housing the brands Rosin Tech Products, Dab Nation and Masterminded Distribution.
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About SHO Products: SHO Products is the leading equipment and technology provider in the world for solventless agricultural equipment
Dan Adika
CEO & Co-Founder of WalkMe
Dan Adika Before co-founding WalkMe, Dan was a software engineer at HP. Prior to that, Dan completed with honors a 6 year tenure in the Army’s elite computing unit.
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About WalkMe: WalkMe provides a digital adoption platform to let organizations measure, drive, and act to maximize their digital transformation.
Alex Kalinovsky
CEO of AgileEngine
Alex Kalinovsky is a technologist and entrepreneur with more than 14 years of experience in software development. Coming from architecture and development background Alex was the original developer of AjaxSwing product. Prior to AgileEngine he has co-founded 2 successful companies in CTO role. He is actively helping startups and established companies with technical architecture and product vision and considers development as his main hobby. Alex is the author of Covert Java book and a frequent speaker on topics of tech startups, lean development and automated testing. Still writes code for fun while dedicating his time to building the best vehicle for product development – AgileEngine. Has immense respect for people changing the world. Never stop learning!
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About AgileEngine, AgileJS: The provider of solutions and services for the full cycle of software product development.
Simon Enever
Co-Founder & CEO of quip
Industrial Design Consultant, now founder and CEO of quip – A Modern Oral Care brand www.simonenever.com www.getquip.com
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About quip: quip designs and delivers oral care products, advice, and services.
Bill May
Co-Founder & CEO of quip
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About quip: quip designs and delivers oral care products, advice, and services.
Jeffrey O’Neill
Founder/CEO of Zephyr Aerospace
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About flyClever, Zephyr Aerospace: Zephyr Aerospace designs affordable lie-flat seating solutions for transportation companies.
Daniel Kwak
Co-Founder & CEO of Steady
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About Steady: The simulation platform for design engineers.
Brian Chen
Co-Founder and CEO of ROOM
Brian Chen is the Co-Founder and CEO at ROOM.
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About ROOM: ROOM is a startup that specializes in designing modern workspaces.
Haven Allen
CEO and Co-Founder of mHUB
Haven Allen, chief executive officer and co-founder, is an entrepreneur and technology strategist who most recently concentrated on growing the manufacturing industry and strengthening its community throughout Chicagoland. As an economic development strategist at World Business Chicago, he directed the Advisory Council for Chicagoland Manufacturing through which he established and led the implementation of an economic development agenda to support growth and job creation in the manufacturing sector. During his graduate education, Haven served as a Mayoral Fellow at the City of Chicago. As a fellow he provided research and analysis on policy initiatives dealing with infrastructure, electricity markets and municipal marketing. In order to give back to his country, Haven joined the Peace Corps and served as a community economic development volunteer in Panama where he worked to strengthen the management and leadership capacities of rural cooperatives and local organizations in order to increase economic opportunities. In addition, Haven was a small business owner in the production and publishing industry. Haven has a Master of Public Policy and a Certificate of Graduate Studies in Science, Technology and Public Policy from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of Illinois at Chicago.
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About mHUB, mHUB, mHUB, mHUB Accelerator Incubation LLC: mHUB is a hardtech innovation and manufacturing entrepreneurial center.
David Dauch
CEO of American Axle & Manufacturing
David C. Dauch is Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM). David is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of AAM which include more than 30 locations in 13 countries. He is also responsible for developing and implementing the Company’s operating and strategic objectives as well as providing AAM’s Board of Directors with the vision and insight that is vital to AAM’s strategic plans for the future. David has over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry. He began his automotive career in 1982 as a Manufacturing Co-op student with the former Chrysler Corporation. He continued with Chrysler’s Summer Co-op Program until he completed his bachelor’s degree. In 1987, David joined Collins & Aikman Products Co. where he served as Sales Manager of Ford Programs, receiving the company’s President’s Award for leadership and innovation. David also managed the Toyota and Honda accounts for Collins & Aikman. In 1995, David joined AAM as Manager of Sales Administration. He was appointed Director of Sales of GM Full-Size Truck Programs in May 1996, and was named Vice President of Sales & Marketing in August 1998. Since 2001, he has served as Vice President of Manufacturing, Driveline Division; Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Driveline Division; Senior Vice President of Commercial; Executive Vice President of Commercial & Strategic Development, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer and President & Chief Operating Officer. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as President & Chief Executive Officer. He has served on the Board of Directors of AAM since 2009 and currently serves on the Boards of Business Leaders for Michigan, The Detroit Economic Club, the Detroit Regional Chamber, the Great Lakes Council Boy Scouts of America, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, and the Amerisure Mutual Holdings, Inc. and the Amerisure Companies. He served on the Collins & Aikman Board of Directors from 2002–2007. David is also a member of the Miami University Business Advisory Council. David obtained a B.S. degree from Miami University with dual majors: One in production/operations and one in purchasing management. He received an MBA from Michigan State University. David and his wife, Anita, reside in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan with their four children and are active members of Christ Church Cranbrook.
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About American Axle & Manufacturing: AAM was founded in 1994, with manufacturing expertise rooted in more than 90 years of experience.
Ely Tsern
Co-Founder & CEO of Bryte
Ely is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bryte. He served as the vice-president and chief technologist at Rambus, leading new business and technology roadmap initiatives from concept to production, including licensing and IP development and the invention of over 180 U.S. patents.
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About Bryte: Bryte is a sleep technology company that designs and sells restorative intelligence products and services.
Philip Krim
Co-Founder, CEO of Casper
As CEO, Philip leads Casper’s comprehensive business strategy, expansion, and vision for the future. Working with the company’s four other co-founders, Philip drives Casper’s goal of becoming the first end-to-end sleep brand. Philip and Casper’s co-founders recognized a paradox in 2014 — a generation of entrepreneurs and working professionals who were placing increasing value on their health and fitness were neglecting sleep. Casper is now reimagining the sleep industry from the ground up. A serial entrepreneur, Philip has founded and served as CEO at two previous startups, where he focused on new and evolving consumer and ecommerce trends. He launched his very first business out of his dorm room at the University of Texas, Austin. Philip’s work has been profiled in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and he has been featured on CBS This Morning, Mad Money with Jim Cramer, and Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN. He was named one of Business Insider’s Silicon Alley 100 and received a TechCrunch Crunchie award for Best in ECommerce
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About Casper: Casper is a sleep startup that launches a comfortable mattress sold directly to consumers, eliminating commission-driven inflated prices.
Ashish Toshniwal
CEO of Y Media Labs
Ashish Toshniwal is CEO and co-founder of Y Media Labs, an investor in numerous mobile-first technology companies, and a frequent speaker on the future of mobile, emerging technologies and business transformation in the digital age. At a time when mobile was just taking off, Ashish and co-founder Sumit Mehra moved to Silicon Valley to start Y Media Labs. Carving a niche as an agency that could deliver both excellent design as well as the creative technology to successfully execute transformational experiences, they caught the attention of Steve Jobs and several top-tier companies around the world. Y Media Labs has since grown to a 250+ size global agency and has helped dozens of Fortune 500 companies successfully transition to the digital landscape. Recently partnered with MDC, Y Media Labs was selected by Forbes as one of the most promising companies in 2015. Other recent acknowledgements include Most Forward Thinking Company from Entrepreneur and Top 10 Fastest Growing Company in Silicon Valley by Business Journal. Ashish’s greatest strength as a CEO is building strong teams and empowering them to succeed. He truly enjoys mentoring employees and other bright minds in the mobile space and is always looking to connect with other in the community. “I believe that anyone can build a successful company if they believe in themselves, put the work in and invest in their own future.” – Ashish Toshniwal
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About Y Media Labs: An award-winning digital product and design agency. We create digital products and experiences that export Silicon Valley to the world.
Steve Rendle
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of VF
Steve Rendle is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer at VF Corporation. He has more than 35 years of experience in the specialty outdoor and action sports industry, more than half of which have been with VF. Steve was appointed CEO in January 2017 and then Chairman of VF’s Board of Directors in October 2017. Prior to being named CEO, he was President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing all of VF’s business coalitions worldwide: Outdoor and Action Sports, Jeanswear, Imagewear and Sportswear. He also was responsible for VF’s Global Supply Chain and Direct-to-Consumer platforms. Prior to becoming President and COO, Steve was Senior Vice President, Americas, and was responsible for driving strategies to support VF’s continued growth in its Americas-based businesses. Previously, Steve spent three years as Group President, Outdoor and Action Sports Americas, leading VF’s Outdoor and Action Sports businesses in North and South America. He also served as President of VF’s Outdoor Americas coalition, where he oversaw The North Face®, JanSport®, Eagle Creek® and lucy® brands, as well as business development for the coalition. Steve began his VF career with The North Face in 1999 and shortly afterward was promoted to Vice President of Sales, where he worked to reshape the business’ sales organization, product and marketing strategies, and go-to-market model. In 2004, Steve was appointed President of The North Face brand, a role he held for seven years. Under Steve’s leadership, the brand expanded globally and experienced considerable growth from $483 million in 2004 to $1.6 billion in 2011. Before joining The North Face, Steve held leading sales management roles at Youngone Corporation and at W.L. Gore and Associates. Steve serves on the Board of Directors of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. He is a founding board member of the Outdoor Industry Association’s Outdoor Foundation and has served in an advisory capacity to Bainbridge Graduate Institute where he provided insight into its creation of a Master of Business Administration program with a focused concentration on sustainability. In 2018, Steve was named CEO of the Year by Corporate Responsibility Magazinefor his progressive environmental, social and governance agenda. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Washington.
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About VF: VF offers a diverse portfolio of iconic outdoor and activity-based lifestyle and work-wear brands.
Todd Siegel
CEO of Affinion Group
Todd H. Siegel is the Chief Executive Officer at Affinion Group. Todd H. Siegel was appointed Chief Executive Officer in September of 2012. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from November 2008, having been promoted from Executive Vice President and General Counsel, a role he assumed in October 17, 2005. Mr. Siegel joined Cedant in November 1999 as a member of the Membership Division of the Legal Department of Cendant and served as General Counsel of Trilegiant starting in July 2003 and Cendant Marketing Group starting in January 2004. Prior to joining Cendant, Mr. Siegel was employed as a corporate associate at, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, Flom. Prior to that he was employed as a certified public accountant with Ernst & Young.
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About Affinion Group: Affinion Group develops customer engagement and loyalty solutions that extend relationships between brands and its consumers.
Matt Kandela
Co-Founder and CEO of Dear Future
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About Dear Future: Venture Design and Innovation Studio
Andrew Martz
CEO of ArchForm
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About ArchForm: Archform is making the next generation of clear aligners enabled by powerful by 3D software and 3D printing.
Mark Floreani
CEO & Co-Founder of FloSports
Mark Floreani co-founded FloSports in 2006 with Martin Floreani and Madhu Venkatesan, filling a need in the market for high quality live broadcasts and original content by athletes, for athletes. An All-American track star at the University of Texas, Mark found early success filming athletes when he posted a video of the first American to break the hour barrier in the half-marathon. It went viral, kick-starting a journey that resulted in FloSports becoming a premier sports media company. Mark became CEO in 2018 and led the company to its most successful year to date in 2019. Fun fact: Mark co-founded Flo with just $20k and a van.
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About FloSports: FloSports is a media and events company that provides live streaming of premier events, original video programming, and weekly studio shows.
Andrew Dickson
Founder & CEO of Acre Designs
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About Acre Designs: Acre creates beautiful, simple and smart net zero homes.
Stephanie Rosenbaum
CEO of TecEd
Stephanie Rosenbaum is CEO of TecEd, Inc., whose clients include Google, VMware, Varian Medical Systems, Ford Motor Company, Cisco Systems, and a wide variety of smaller firms. Stephanie has attended all but two of the past UPA/UXPA conferences and presented at most of them; she is also active in ACM SIGCHI, received the STC’s Rainey Award for Excellence in Research, and was awarded an IEEE Millennium Medal in 2000. She co-authored a chapter on ROI in Cost-Justifying Usability, contributed an invited chapter on “The Future of Usability Evaluation” to Maturing Usability, and spoke at a recent IEEE conference on Communication in a Self-Service Society. Judith Ramey is professor emerita at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she chaired the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering and directed the Laboratory for Usability Testing and Evaluation. She recently served as interim dean of the College of Engineering, and now administers the University of Washington Royalty Research Fund, a program that redirects intellectual-property revenues as seed money to fund new research efforts across the university. Judy has facilitated workshops at many UPA/UXPA and SIGCHI conferences. She has edited or co-edited two journal special issues on usability and co-edited Field Methods Casebook for Software Design on user experience field research methods. Thea van der Geest is a professor in the Department of Media, Communication and Organisations at the University of Twente and research professor in Media Design at HAN University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands. She leads a research center and teaches graduate courses on topics such as Human-Centered Design for New Media and Personalized Service Design. She is principal investigator and supervisor of numerous e-government service R&D projects, reported in journals such as Technical Communication and Government Information Quarterly.
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About TecEd: TecEd is a user experience research and design company.
Kelly Watkins
CEO of Abstract
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About Abstract: Abstract is the design workflow management system that empowers design teams and stakeholders to seamlessly manage, version and collaborate.
Steve El-Hage
Founder & CEO of Drop
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About Drop: Drop is a product company that uniquely uses data and insights from enthusiasts to create and curate innovative products that fuel passion.
David MacLennan
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Cargill
David MacLennan is chairman and chief executive officer of Cargill, responsible for setting the company’s strategic direction, investing for growth and delivering strong earnings. He leads the company’s Executive Team. MacLennan was elected to the Cargill Board of Directors in 2008. He had previously served as chief financial officer and chief operating officer. After joining Cargill in 1991, MacLennan established broad Cargill expertise, holding management positions across the financial, risk management, energy, and animal protein businesses, working from London, Geneva and now, Minneapolis. Prior to joining Cargill, he worked in the futures and securities trading sector in Chicago, and later served as president of Fixed Income Capital Markets at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Amherst College and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago.
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About Cargill: Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services.
Dan Maccarone
CEO/Co-Founder of Charming Robot
Dan is the co-founder of Charming Robot, a product design company based in NYC. For the past twelve years, he has been helping startups and media companies shape their online product strategy, including Foursquare, Rent The Runway, Jetsetter and Savored. His experience also includes television, music and print media, and he has worked with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Gawker, Saturday Night Live, Universal Music and The Wall Street Journal. One of his most noted projects was creating the original strategy and user experience for Hulu. Prior to Charming Robot, Dan co-founded the design agency Hard Candy Shell. Dan received his Master’s Degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and his Bachelor of Arts from Colby College in English and Performing Arts.
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About Charming Robot: Charming Robot is a company that aids early- and mid-stage startups with product strategy, user experience and visual designs.
Firas Kittaneh
Co-founder, CEO & Creative Director of Amerisleep
Firas Kittaneh is a serial entrepreneur, marketer and writer with a passion for product design, innovation and sustainability. He’s the co-founder and CEO of both Amerisleep and OCLU. In 2006, Kittaneh co-founded Amerisleep and since then has helped hundreds of thousands of customers sleep better every night with his company’s technology. Amerisleep is an award-winning producer of eco-friendly memory foam mattresses, adjustable beds and related accessories sold throughout the U.S., South Korea and Australia. Most recently, Kittaneh and his team launched OCLU, a stylish, integrated action camera system that is smarter and easier to use than any other on the market. The OCLU camera allows everyone — from sports fanatics to families on vacation — to document their experiences in extraordinary detail. Kittaneh is a sought-after expert on business leadership, product development, and sleeping habits having appeared in The New York Times, Mashable, Lifehacker, Fox Business, Inc., The Huffington Post and others. As a writer, he’s a contributor to Entrepreneur Magazine covering business and how sleep impacts a company’s bottom-line. Kittaneh has previously written for The Huffington Post, The Next Web and others.
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About Amerisleep, Entrepreneur Magazine, HuffPost, OCLU, The Next Web: Amerisleep is an eco-friendly foam mattress brand focused on creating progressive, eco-friendly sleep solutions.
Michael Chow
Founder & CEO of Dart Technologies
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About Dart Technologies: Passenger In-Vehicle Infotainment for Connected and Autonomous Mobility
Seven Volpone
CEO of Big Block
An accomplished musician and entrepreneur, Seven Volpone earned his big break in the entertainment industry when his band, Seven and the Sun, was signed to Atlantic Records in 1999. In 2002, the pop-rock group released its debut album, Back to the Innocence, which included a Billboard-charting single, Walk with Me, which was featured in the film America’s Sweethearts. The following year, Seven Volpone found a new outlet for his creative pursuits as he co-founded the music and branding company We3Kings. Under Mr. Volpone’s leadership, We3Kings produced more than 70 television and brand music themes and thousands of pieces of music for popular TV shows such as Tru Calling and Toddlers & Tiaras. In 2007, Mr. Volpone returned to singing as the front man of the country group Whiskey Falls. In addition to its three Billboard-charting singles, the group agreed to a partnership with AAMCO Transmissions and produced original music for Mark Burnett’s reality TV series, Toughest Cowboy. In recent years, Mr. Volpone has provided consulting services through his consulting firm, Push Point Management Group, to leading media companies such as Maestro and Turtle Entertainment. Mr. Volpone presently serves as the CEO of Big Block Media and the managing director of Big Block Capital.
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About Big Block, Subnation Media, Surround Ventures: Big Block is a production company, design boutique, and entertainment group.
Dave Hodgson
CEO of Project Rōnin
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About Project Rōnin: Project Rōnin is a cancer intelligence software provides oncologists with real-time data to create the best treatment plans.
Alexis Xavier Rivas
Co-Founder & CEO of Cover
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About Cover: Cover’s mission is to make living in a thoughtfully designed and well-built home a reality for everyone.
Nick Kishfy
Founder & CEO of MojoTech
Nick is the founder of MojoTech, a full-service software design and development agency. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island with offices in New York City and Boulder, Colorado, MojoTech’s client base ranges from early-stage startups to Fortune 100 companies. For more than ten years, Nick has helped startups to become successful companies. As an engineer, he has built applications and infrastructure used by millions, including critical safety systems for the US Coast Guard. As a leader, he has hired, trained, and managed teams responsible for creating category-leading products. Nick believes that even the best ideas can only succeed with equally strong execution, so he constantly strives to refine the process of turning ideas into products. Founded in 2008, MojoTech’s award-winning team is composed of engineers, designers, and strategists. Their innovative projects have been recognized by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Mashable and more. MojoTech was recently ranked the 42nd Fastest Growing Software Company in America by Inc Magazine, and was listed as one of 2014’s Best Places to Work, by Providence Business News.
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About Allocate, MojoTech: Software Design and Development Agency
Jason Enos
Founder & CEO of Empire Group
Jason has always had a passion for building things. He began his career in the early 90s as pattern maker for Hasbro. In 1999, Jason founded Empire Prototype (known today as the Empire Group). From its inception, Jason and the company embraced technology, 3D printing in particular. The company quickly grew into a 16,000 sq. ft. facility. Breaking away from the traditional model/pattern maker role required Empire to create a new process for creating prototypes faster and at a higher level of quality than its overseas counterparts. This process has since become the industry standard.
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About Empire Group: Empire Group is a full-service product development provider – from design and engineering, to prototype, to low-mid volume production.
Justin Kifer
CEO of Modern Games
Magic happens when previously disparate threads are brought together to form a new reality. These opportunities aren’t obvious to most. This is where I spend most of my time exploring. I am an entrepreneur, writer and adventurer. Having spent nearly all of my eighteen professional years creating and building companies, I have found a deep passion for design and storytelling. I am writing the first in a series of YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels set to publish in 2020.
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About Modern Games: Modern Games is a new studio working to create games that combine physical and digital play.
Roger Lang
CEO & Co-Founder of Predicta
Roger Lang is the CEO and Co-founder of Predicta.
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About Predicta: Predicta delivers actionable insights to brands by analyzing data from social media, reviews, and blogs within market categories.
Michael Scott Cohen
CEO of Harper+Scott
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About Harper+Scott: Harper+Scott is a creative marketing agency focused on design and manufacturing of branded merchandise.
Karol Banaszkiewicz
Founder, CEO & Board Member of Displate
Karol Banaszkiewicz is the Founder, CEO, and Board Member of Displate.
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About Displate: Displate is a global marketplace and a manufacture specializing in creating Magnet-Mounted Metal Posters.
Bismarck Lepe
Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Wizeline
Bismarck Lepe founded and manages Wizeline. Previously, he was the founding CEO of Ooyala. Lepe came from Google where he was a Senior Product Manager guiding the development of content monetization products for AdSense, Social Networks and Online Video. At Google, he deployed display advertising for the $900 million Google-MySpace deal and the YouTube Video Monetization product. Lepe has a B.A. from Stanford University. Bismarck is now starting a new company. Source: [Ooyala](http://www.ooyala.com/management)
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About MiSalud, Startup GDL, Wizeline: Wizeline is a product design and development services company that builds data-driven, cloud-native products and platforms for its clients.
George Matus
Founder & CEO of Teal Drones
George loves creating wonderful things and putting them out into the world. Over the past 5 years he’s dedicated himself to starting Teal, from raising several rounds of venture funding, assembling a world class team, guiding full hardware and software product development cycles, and successfully launching 2 consumer products.
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About Teal Drones: Teal Drones is a commercial and government unmanned aerial vehicle technology.
MacKenzie Brown
CEO of Cad Crowd
MacKenzie is a startup pioneer with ecommerce experience dating back to 1999. He is the current founder and CEO at Cad Crowd. He has launched 10+ web startups with three successful sellouts since 2008. His knowledge in fundraising, feasibility studies, contract negotiation & procurement makes him a perfect hire to fast-track startup growth & revenue. His business development skills have allowed him to turn 20+ Fortune 500 companies into ongoing clients.
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About Cad Crowd: Cad Crowd helps clients hire global 3D CAD designers, industrial designers and product developers on demand.
Twyman Clements
Co-Founder and CEO of Space Tango
Twyman Clements is a Space Systems Engineer for Kentucky Space, LLC, a company based in Lexington, KY, which develops entrepreneurial space platforms for research and educational purposes. Before working full-time at Kentucky Space, Mr. Clements was a graduate assistant in the Space Systems Lab at the University of Kentucky. While there he worked on near space balloons, payloads for suborbital flight, was the lead mechanical engineer for KySat-1, the state’s first orbital spacecraft, and helped develop the architecture and hardware for research systems currently installed aboard the International Space Station. Currently with Kentucky Space, LLC, Mr. Clements works on developing hardware and experiments that use microgravity to seek unique outcomes.
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About Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC), Space Tango: Space Tango designs and builds hardware and software platforms that enable microgravity research.
Brian Krejcarek
Founder and CEO of Reelables
Brian Krejcarek is the Founder and CEO of Reelables. He was a Consultant at Drayson Technologies Ltd and Co-Founder of Appaparel, Ltd., and ZowPow. Krejcarek studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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About Appaparel, Reelables: Reelables makes ultra-thin, flexible Bluetooth labels for automating logistics and supply chains.
Biplab Sarkar
CEO of Vectorworks
Biplab has been with Vectorworks since 2000. After first serving as a manager of geometry and rendering, he was the chief technology officer from 2008 to 2016. With 25+ years of experience developing CAD software, he was promoted to CEO in April 2016. As CEO, Biplab provides strategic leadership to the company by establishing and meeting company sales, growth, and market share objectives. He continuously seeks out technology innovations and evaluates the competitive landscape to ensure Vectorworks software remains a best-in-class CAD and BIM solution for designers in the architecture, landscape, and entertainment industries. Biplab earned a Ph.D. in CAD and a M.S. in mechanical engineering at The Ohio State University.He also holds a B.Tech. in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
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About Vectorworks: Vectorworks is a global design software developer serving the architecture, landscape and entertainment industries.
Brett Lovelady
Founder and CEO of Astro Studios
Brett Lovelady founded Astro Gaming, LLC in 2006 and serves as its Chief Design Officer and President. Brett Lovelady founded Astro Studios, Inc., in 1994 and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. At ASTRO, he acts as Chief Design Officer, juggling a variety of directorships and venturous fireballs. His portfolio of work at ASTRO Studios includes the design direction of the Xbox 360, Alienware PCs & laptops, Nike Triax Watches, the original iPaq for Compaq, 2 BusinessWeek Design of the Decade awards and many other industry blockbusters. Brett Lovelady served as Vice President of Design at both Lunar and Frog Design.
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About Astro Studios: They create multi-dimensional brand experiences that define popular culture.
Ben Parsa
CEO of Inside Weather
Ben Parsa is the Chief Executive Officer of Inside Weather.
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About CABA Design, Inside Weather: Inside Weather is a designer and manufacturer of home and office furniture products.
Tony Hemmelgarn
President and CEO of Siemens Digital Industries Software
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About Siemens Digital Industries Software: Siemens Digital Industries is a world-leading provider of product lifecycle management and manufacturing operations management software.
Peter Dering
Founder & CEO of Peak Design
Peter Dering is Peak Design’s CEO and founder. He created the company after he launched Capture Camera Clip on Kickstarter in 2011. Peter obtained his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering at University of Wisconsin.
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About Climate Neutral, Peak Design: Peak Design is a design company that engineers professional grade camera accessories for photographers of all types and abilities.
CEO of Sparkart
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About Sparkart, Sparkart, Tari Labs: Sparkart is a digital agency developing websites and interfaces.
Joel Trammell
Founder & CEO of Khorus
Joel Trammell is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Khorus, CEO and Chairman at iGrafx.
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About Khorus, Lake Austin Advisors, Lone Rock Technology Group, MGR360, Texas CEO Media: Khorus specializes in the fields of corporate strategy, leadership, analytics, and performance management.
Karl Glassman
President and Chief Executive Officer of Leggett & Platt
Mr. Glassman was appointed the Company’s Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2016, and continues to serve as President since his appointment in March 2013. He previously served the Company as Executive Vice President from 2002 until 2013, President of the Residential Furnishings Segment from 1999 to 2006, Senior Vice President from 1999 to 2002 and in various other capacities since 1982. He was first elected as a director of the Company in 2002.
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About Leggett & Platt: Leggett & Plat, which pioneered sleep technology when it introduced its bedspring more than 125 years ago.
Frederic Lasnier
Chairman & CEO of Pentalog
Frederic Lasnier is a passionate entrepreneur and globetrotter who founded Pentalog together with four university mates in France in 1993. Starting from 1997, he has opened 8 branch offices in Europe, 1 in Asia, 1 in the USA and 1 in Canada. His skills & expertise: – Offshore, low cost solutions – HR-based businesses – International project sponsoring – Digital strategies – Venture capital and startups – Eastern European development opportunities
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About Pentalabbs, Pentalog: IT Services and Outsourcing Company
Maurice Martin
CEO & Founder of iRise
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About iRise: iRise offers enterprise visualization software that enables users to create and review high-fidelity prototypes of apps.
Aiyanna Greene
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Greene Street Innovation
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About Ader, Alkimee, Greene Street Innovation: Venture Studio | Impact Fund | Consultancy
Liz Bacelar
Founder and CEO of TheCurrent
Bacelar is a global leader on open innovation for fashion and retail. She is the founder of TheCurrent, an open innovation firm connecting fashion, retail and luxury brands with ground-breaking ideas & technologies. Prior to that she founded, grew and exited Decoded Fashion, a top global event series connecting Fashion & Technology in New York, London, Milan and Tokyo. In 2016, Liz also launched FlowJourneys with WIRED UK editor-in-chief David Rowan.
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About Decoded Fashion, TheCurrent: TheCurrent is the leading platform for open innovation in the fashion and retail markets.
Tim O’Shaughnessy
President, Founder & CEO of Graham Holdings
Tim O’Shaughnessy is the President, Founder & CEO of Graham Holdings & he Attended Georgetown University in 2000.Timothy O’Shaughnessy became president and chief executive officer of Graham Holdings, effective November 2015. O’Shaughnessy joined the Company as president in 2014 to oversee investments and acquisitions, and to help set a new direction following the sale of The Washington Post. Previously, he served as chief executive officer of LivingSocial, which he co-founded in 2007. During his tenure, the e-commerce and marketing company grew sales to nearly $2 billion. A native of Minnesota and the youngest of four children, O’Shaughnessy was born in 1981. Following his graduation from Georgetown University in 2004 with a BSBA in Marketing, Operations and Information Management, he joined AOL as a product manager. In 2006, he moved to Revolution Health, where he rose to vice president of product development. During that time, he and three others developed a successful series of apps for Facebook. That company grew into LivingSocial, where O’Shaughnessy was CEO for seven years. O’Shaughnessy is a member of the Executive Committee of the Federal City Council. He is married to Laura Graham O’Shaughnessy, a daughter of Donald E. Graham. She is CEO of SocialCode, a social marketing technology company, wholly owned by Graham Holdings. The O’Shaughnessys live in Washington, DC, and have two young children.
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About Graham Holdings: Graham Holdings Company is a diversified education and media company whose operations include educational services.
Andrew Zenoff
Chairman, CEO and Founder of BEAM Authentic
Andrew is a social entrepreneur, a businessman with a heart. He is an innovator who believes in living an authentic life and building authentic businesses that solve real problems in new ways. He has spent his professional career inventing products and creating companies that positively impact people’s lives in meaningful ways. In August 2017 Andrew launched BEAM Authentic, Inc. (BEAM), a real world and online integrated platform that connects people around shared interests, positive intentions, and social impact. To bring his idea for BEAM to fruition, he invented a new type of wearable: a BEAM. So much more than a fashion statement, a BEAM is a “Smart Button” that gives us an entirely new way to express ourselves and create positive change. BEAMING is the natural extension of social media into the real world. BEAMING is philanthropy 3.0. Over 20 years ago Andrew’s first company, My Brest Friend, set out to do what no one had done before: create a product whose sole purpose was to answer the needs of breastfeeding moms and babies. Today that product, My Brest friend, has revolutionized the way nursing mothers nurture their infants. Its patented wrap-around design is the world’s leading breastfeeding support product and has helped tens of millions of moms breastfeed successfully in over 50 countries. Many of these moms were going to give up on breastfeeding until they found My Brest Friend. Fifteen years ago he founded his second company, DayOne, a next generation healthcare and retail integration center providing a one-stop-shop for parents of newborns–a holistic solution for information services and support, including expert advice, community, products, and social networking, all under one roof. Before he sold the company in early 2010, DayOne was the regional go-to resource for tens of thousand of Bay Area families at the most precious time of their lives. Andrew has served as mentor, advisor, investor, and Board member to a number of nonprofits and for-profits dedicated to doing good and making a positive impact on the planet. Most recently he served as Vice Chair for The Representation Project and advisor to Embrace. He also guest lectures on entrepreneurship at his alma mater Babson, where he earned a double degree in entrepreneurship and marketing. Andrew enjoys surfing, nature, music and dance with his incredible wife Sarah who partners in most pursuits, including leading the way with their three young kids.
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About BEAM Authentic: BEAM Authentic offers a Bluetooth smart button that allows users to create your message, share online, make an impact with the free app.
Dan LaCivita
Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Play
Dan LaCivita is a co-founder at Play.
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About Play: The first native iOS design tool built for creating mobile products. Design, prototype, and collaborate directly from your phone.
Wellford Dillard
Chief Executive Officer of Campaign Monitor
Wellford Dillard is the CEO of Campaign Monitor.
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About Campaign Monitor, CM Group: Campaign Monitor is an email marketing platform that allows marketers to take control of their email program.
