Katia Beauchamp
Co-Founder, Birchbox
Katia Beauchamp is the Co-Founder of Birchbox, the discovery commerce company changing the way women and men shop for beauty, grooming and lifestyle products. Through its multi-channel platform, the Birchbox experience features personalized sampling, informative editorial content and a hand-picked online store. Katia began her career as an entrepreneur after graduating from Harvard Business School in 2010, where she met Hayley Barna. Their connection grew into friendship and the pair’s collaborative idea for Birchbox inspired the company’s debut in September 2010. Katia’s love for all things beauty and style combined with her skills from a deal-focused and finance background are instrumental in forming partnerships with brands as well as in growing and scaling the Birchbox business.
Yves Behar
CEO, fuseproject and CCO, Jawbone
Yves Béhar is a design entrepreneur who believes that product, digital and brand design are cornerstones of any business. He is the founder of fuseproject, the San Francisco and New York based design and branding firm he established in 1999. He is also Chief Creative Officer at Jawbone, where for the last 10 years his products, brand and communications work has made the company a leader in wearable and audio consumer electronics. His other collaborations with renowned partners such as Herman Miller, GE, Puma, PayPal, SodaStream, Samsung, Issey Miyake, Prada and many others have received international acclaim. Béhar's works are included in the permanent collections of museums worldwide, and he is a frequent speaker on design, sustainability and business topics.
George Blankenship
VP, Worldwide Sales and Ownership Experience, Tesla Motors
George joined Tesla in 2010 bringing three decades of retail and design experience at the world's hottest brands. Best known as the chief strategist behind Apple's revolutionary retail stores, George created one of the most successful, brand-bolstering retail growth plans in history, spreading Apple’s influence across Asia, Europe and North America. Prior to Apple, George served as vice president, retail strategy for Gap Inc. He launched his career there as a store manager and over the course of his 20 year tenure held positions in operations, real estate, store design, construction and strategy. At Tesla, George's goal is to re-imagine the way people buy cars, forgoing the traditional dealership model in favor of stylish, consumer-focused showrooms.
Perry Chen
CEO, Kickstarter
Kevin Dallas
GM, Windows Embedded, Microsoft
Kevin Dallas serves as the general manager of Windows Embedded at Microsoft Corp. In this role, Dallas oversees the strategy, product development and marketing of the software and services offerings for intelligent systems. The mission of the business group is to realize the “Internet of Things” by extending Windows and the cloud to the world of intelligent systems for business customers across automotive, retail, medical, industrial automation, banking and energy industries. Since joining Microsoft in 1995, Dallas has served as general manager of the Windows Phone Division and product management director for Windows. Before joining Microsoft, Dallas worked for NVIDIA Corp. and National Semiconductor Corp. (now Texas Instruments Inc.) in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East in roles that included microprocessor design, systems engineering, product management and product unit management. Dallas has a bachelor’s degree in computer science and business from Staffordshire University in England. In his free time, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife and three children.
Tony Fadell
Founder and CEO, Nest
Fadell is the founder and CEO of Nest, maker of the Nest Learning Thermostat. The Nest thermostat remembers the temperatures you like and programs itself to help you save ~20% on heating and cooling bills. It automatically saves energy when you’re away and can be controlled from anywhere using a smartphone, tablet or computer. Prior to Nest, Tony served as SVP of Apple’s iPod division, reporting to Steve Jobs. He was responsible for creating the first 18 generations of the iPod and the first three generations of the iPhone. Before Apple, Tony built the Mobile Computing Group at Philips Electronics. Tony has authored more than 100 patents. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s in Computer Engineering.
Joe Gebbia
Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Airbnb
Joe Gebbia is the Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of the Silicon Valley success story, Airbnb - a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover and book unique accommodations around the world. At Airbnb, he leads an integrated team of designers, engineers, and researchers who create simple user experiences through sharp, intuitive design. While pursuing a double major at RISD, he exhibited strong leadership skills as student body president and in founding RISD’s basketball team.
Dave Gilboa
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Warby Parker
Dave Gilboa is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Warby Parker, a transformative fashion brand offering designer eyewear at a revolutionary price while leading the way for socially-conscious businesses. Prior to Warby Parker, Dave was an Associate at merchant bank Allen & Company and, earlier, worked at Bain & Company. He also served as Special Assistant to the Founder and CEO of the TriZetto Group, and has held strategy and business development roles at Genomic Health and Crescendo Bioscience. Dave has worked extensively with non-profit organizations and serves as a founding member of the Entrepreneur Board of Venture for America. Dave graduated with a BS in Bioengineering with Honors from UC Berkeley and holds an MBA from Wharton Business School.
Oren Jacob
CEO, ToyTalk
Before co-founding ToyTalk as CEO, Oren was an Entrepreneur in Residence at August Capital. A filmmaker and technologist, he spent more than 20 years at Pixar, most recently as Chief Technical Officer and Director of the Studio Tools group. His feature film credits include "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2", "A Bug's Life", and Supervising Technical Director for "Finding Nemo". Oren also helped found Pixar University and taught animation at the Academy of Art College for seven years. Oren currently teaches "Lean Launchpad" courses with Steve Blank at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia, and for the NSF. And Oren plans drop all of this in a heartbeat to become a pro snowboarder the minute that first sponsor shows up.
David Karp
Founder and CEO, Tumblr
Tumblr founder David Karp was born and raised in New York City, attending the Bronx High School Science before dropping out at age 15. An internship at Frederator Studios led to a gig leading product at UrbanBaby. When CNET acquired the company in 2005, Karp started his own development agency, Davidville. In 2007 his team launched Tumblr, now the home and platform for more than 70 million creators. As a top 20 US network, Tumblr serves an audience of more than 145 million people worldwide.
Alexander Ljung
Founder and CEO, SoundCloud
Alexander Ljung has been a cornerstone of SoundCloud’s success since he launched the company in 2008 with co-founder and CTO, Eric Wahlfross. In this capacity, Alex is responsible for SoundCloud’s vision, overall strategy and leadership. Currently, he oversees a team of over 80 people worldwide. SoundCloud is the world’s leading social sound platform that enables anyone, anywhere to create and share their originally created sounds across the web. The Company has experienced exponential user growth, reaching more than ten million registered users as of January 2012, and averaging one million new users per month.
Alexis Madrigal
Senior Editor, The Atlantic
Alexis Madrigal is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where he oversees the Technology channel. He's the author of Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology. The New York Observer calls Madrigal "for all intents and purposes, the perfect modern reporter." He co-founded Longshot magazine, a high-speed media experiment that garnered attention from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the BBC. While at Wired.com, he built Wired Science into one of the most popular blogs in the world. The site was nominated for best magazine blog by the MPA and best science Web site in the 2009 Webby Awards. He also co-founded Haiti ReWired, a groundbreaking community dedicated to the discussion of technology, infrastructure, and the future of Haiti. Madrigal is a visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley's Office for the History of Science and Technology. Born in Mexico City, he grew up in the exurbs north of Portland, Oregon, and now lives in Oakland.
John Maeda
President, Rhode Island School of Design
John Maeda is a leader who integrates technology, design and leadership into a 21st-century synthesis of creativity and innovation. An artist, graphic designer, computer scientist and president of the preeminent school of art and design, he was named one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century by Esquire. Called the “Steve Jobs of academia” by Forbes, his current focus is imagining how design and technology can bring clarity to organizational leadership in the era of social media. He currently serves on the the boards of Sonos and Quirky, and on the Davos World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership. Maeda’s books include The Laws of Simplicity, Redesigning Leadership, and Creative Code. Maeda received the AIGA Medal in 2010 and is in MoMA’s permanent collection.
John Markoff
Senior Writer, The New York Times
John Markoff, senior writer for The New York Times, writes for the paper's science section. He began writing about technology in 1976 and joined The Times in 1988. He gained some notoriety several years ago when he stated that he thought blogs might be the CB radio of the 21st century. He still believes that.
Paul Mascarenas
CTO and VP, Ford Motor Company Research and Innovation
Paul Mascarenas is chief technical officer and vice president, Ford Research and Innovation. He leads Ford’s worldwide research organization, overseeing the development and implementation of the company’s technology strategy and plans. Mascarenas previously served as vice president of Engineering for Global Product Development, with responsibility for engineering Ford’s car, truck, SUV and crossover vehicles. Since joining Ford in 1982, Mascarenas has amassed extensive experience in product development, having held various positions in product planning, program management, body engineering and powertrain while on assignments in Europe and the United States. Mascarenas holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of London, King's College in England. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and an SAE International Fellow.
Stefan Olander
VP, Digital Sport, NIKE
Stefan Olander is one of the industry’s leading digital marketers. Over the past decade Stefan has held a number of key marketing leadership positions with Nike. Blending his passion for the digital world with traditional communications skills, Stefan has led many of Nike’s most innovative and cutting edge initiatives, from launching EMEA's new digital platform in 2000, to overseeing all communications for one of Nike’s most comprehensive global football initiatives; The Secret Tournament in 2002. In his role as Vice President of Digital Sport, Stefan has created and is leading a team dedicated to enhancing the consumer experience through the use of digital tools. His group is responsible for the recent expansion of the Nike+ ecosystem with the creation of the Nike+ FuelBand, Nike+ Basketball, Nike+ Training and the soon to be launched Nike+ Kinect Training which was co-developed with Xbox. Stefan recently wrote a book called Velocity with AKQA cofounder and chairman Ajaz Ahmed.
Bobby Podesta
Head of Creative, ToyTalk
Bobby Podesta graduated with his BFA in Film from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where he completed several films, including his short Smoke…, which received the student Emmy for Animation in 1997. After graduation, Bobby joined Pixar Animation Studios, where he worked as an animator and story artist on A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. Bobby was a Directing Animator on Cars and Supervising Animator on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at Disneyland. Most recently he was Supervising Animator on Toy Story 3 before leaving Pixar to become Head of Creative at ToyTalk.
Jennifer Pahlka
Founder and Executive Director, Code for America
Jennifer Pahlka is the founder and executive director of Code for America, which works with talented web professionals and cities around the country to promote public service and reboot government. Government Technology named her one of 2011’s Doers, Dreamers and Drivers in Public Sector Innovation and the Huffington Post named her the top Game Changer in Business and Technology the same year. She is known for her TED talk, Coding a Better Government. She spent eight years at CMP Media where she ran the Game Developers Conference, Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra.com and the Independent Games Festival. She is a graduate of Yale University and lives in Oakland with her daughter and eight chickens.
Mike Senese
Senior Editor, Wired
Mike Senese is a senior editor at Wired, overseeing their coverage of design and the emerging world of at-home, on-demand manufacturing. He's also a TV personality who has co-hosted shows on Discovery and Science Channel. On Science’s Catch It Keep It, he posed a weekly challenge to contestants to best his machination of destruction, while explaining the engineering, science, and physics of the enormous contraptions. Fuse TV's Rock and Roll Acid Test saw Mike applying the Mythbusters ethic to music legends and lore. Mike is also a regular on How Stuff Works, and hosted the 2009 coverage of Science Channel’s favorite annual competition, Punkin Chunkin. He discusses technology, teaches science, and inspires people to build things through his DIY website, mikesenese.com/DOIT. Mike and his wife recently relocated to San Francisco from Los Angeles.
Ben Silbermann
Co-Founder and CEO, Pinterest
Ben Silbermann is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Pinterest, a virtual pinboard that lets its millions of users collect, discover and share things they love. An avid collector himself, Silbermann co-founded Pinterest on Thanksgiving Day in 2009. Prior to Pinterest, Ben spent two years as a product specialist at Google, where he helped to design, test and launch new display advertising products. He also worked on a few fun personal projects including a user-generated trivia site.Silbermann was born in Des Moines, Iowa and attended Yale University.
Kevin Systrom
Co-Founder and CEO, Instagram
Kevin graduated from Stanford University in 2006 with a BS in Management Science & Engineering—he got his first taste of the startup world when he was an intern at Odeo that later became Twitter. He spent two years at Google—the first of which was working on Gmail, Google Reader, and other products and the latter where he worked on the Corporate Development team. Kevin has always had a passion for social products that enable people to communicate more easily, and combined with his passion for photography Instagram is a natural fit.
Evan Williams
CEO, The Obvious Corporation
Evan Williams is an American entrepreneur who has co-founded two of the biggest services on the Internet—Blogger, which he ran for four years before selling to Google in 2003, and Twitter, where he was CEO for two years and now serves on the board of directors. Most recently, he launched Medium, a new publishing platform, currently in private beta. Evan is currently CEO of The Obvious Corporation, which supports world-positive ideas and technologies through building, investing, and advising. Obvious spun out Twitter, Inc. in 2007 and has recently helped companies such as Beyond Meat, Branch, Karma, Lift, and Neighborland. Evan was raised on a farm in rural Nebraska and has been recognized as one of Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneurs of the Decade, one of the 100 most influential people in the world, according to TIME, and named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two sons.
Scott Wilson
Founder and Principal, MINIMAL
Scott Wilson is the founder and principal of Chicago-based MINIMAL. A former Global Creative Director at Nike, Wilson has been a design leader in organizations such as Thomson Consumer Electronics, IDEO, Fortune Brands and Motorola. Equal parts visionary designer and serial entrepreneur, Wilson consistently delivers disruptive yet thoughtful solutions to market across a diverse range of industries and has created some of the most recognized consumer design icons. His groundbreaking use of crowdfunding with LUNATIK has established MNML at the forefront of a game-changing revolution in product development, one that empowers designers to see their vision from concept to market. Scott Wilson is the 2012 recipient of Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Product Design.
Katie Fehrenbacher
Senior Writer, GigaOM
Katie Fehrenbacher has been covering cutting-edge technology, startups and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley for more than 7 years. She is the founding Editor of Earth2Tech, which she launched in July 2007. Prior to starting Earth2Tech she was a Staff Writer for GigaOM where she covered wireless and broadband technology. She has been a reporter at Red Herring, an editor at Engadget and began her career as a reporter in the Silicon Valley bureau of the largest Japanese daily newspaper, the Yomiuri Shimbun.
Mathew Ingram
Senior Writer, GigaOM
Mathew Ingram is a senior writer with GigaOM. Prior to that he was an award-winning journalist with the Globe and Mail who spent the past 15 years writing about business, technology and new media as a reporter, columnist and blogger. Until January 2010 he was the Globe’s first online Communities Editor, helping the paper and its staff understand and appreciate the benefits of social-media tools such as blogs, comments and Twitter. He also launched the Globe’s ground-breaking Public Policy Wiki, writes for the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University and is one of the founders of Mesh, Canada’s leading Web conference.
Ki Mae Heussner
Staff Writer, GigaOM
Ki Mae joins GigaOM from Adweek, where she was a staff writer covering technology. Prior to that, she produced the science and technology section for ABCNews.com and reported on topics ranging from social media and innovation to space and science fiction. Ki Mae’s previous roles include writing for an independent political news site in Malaysia, creating public advocacy campaigns for Lifetime Television and working for a U.S. Senator. She works out of GigaOM’s East Coast office and covers New York startups.
Om Malik
Founder and Senior Writer, GigaOM
Om Malik has more than 15 years of experience as a journalist covering technology and business news. He was part of the founding team of Forbes.com as a Senior Editor. He then went on to become a senior writer at Red Herring during its glory days before joining Business 2.0 in March 2003, covering telecom, innovation and broadband stories. His contributions have been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Economist and MIT Technology Review. Additionally, Om is the author of “Broadbandits: Inside the $750 Billion Telecom Heist.” He is also the recipient of many industry awards, including Excellence in Journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2001 and the Gold Award from American Society of Business Publication Editors in 2001.
Janko Roettgers
Staff Writer, GigaOM
Janko has been covering all things tech for more than 10 years. His career as a technology journalist began in Germany, where he published a number of books about subjects like the online music revolution and Internet subcultures. He first began contributing to GigaOM in 2007 and joined the staff in 2009. Janko is also the host of GigaOM’s Cord Cutters series.
Joseph Turian
President, Metaoptimize and Analyst, GigaOM Pro
Joseph Turian, Ph.D., heads MetaOptimize LLC, which consults on data science, machine learning, natural language processing, and predictive analytics (http://metaoptimize.com/). He has over a decade of expertise on these topics. MetaOptimize provides best-of-breed implementations, strategic advice to C-level execs, and coaching and guidance for in-house tech teams. In summary, MetaOptimize creates value by helping organizations transform data into actionable information. Joseph Turian holds a Ph.D. in computer science (with a focus on Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing) from New York University since 2007. During his graduate studies, he developed a fast, large-scale machine learning method for parsing natural language. He received his AB from Harvard University in 2001.
