The MIT Startup Exchange Lightning Talks below are part of the full agenda for 2023 MIT London Symposium: Value, Values, and Future Platforms hosted by BT.
How should institutions invest in human and technology capabilities and co-evolve to create growth and value? How might public and private enterprises best collaborate - or compete - around emerging technologies, such as AI, synthetic biology, and energy, to drive prosperity, health, education, and beyond?
These technologies offer stunning potential for shared futures. Their development, however, is influenced by overlapping and competing innovation ecosystems whose purpose and values do not necessarily align. As policymakers and investors alike debate whether stakeholders or shareholders deserve investment priority and protection, clarifying values, as well as value, becomes paramount.
The United Kingdom's innovation ecosystem is highly interconnected, with universities, government, and industry collaborating closely. The UK government has been at the forefront of promoting innovation through various initiatives, including a newly established department dedicated to science and technology to create higher-paying jobs, improve public services, and stimulate economic growth.
Join us in London to explore technology through three complementary perspectives: Economic Value, Social Values, and the Future of Platforms. We will advance the conversation around several increasingly important questions and provide actional insights to all participants, comprising of senior leaders, including MIT ILP corporate members, partners, and BT clients and stakeholders.
Program Director, MIT Corporate Relations
Marie-Teresa manages the relationship between companies and other organizations headquartered in the US, UK and Iceland, and the senior administration and faculty of MIT. As Program Director for Corporate Relations, Marie-Teresa convenes teams of researchers and faculty members to provide ongoing emerging technology intelligence and strategic advice to the companies and government groups in her portfolio. She is noted for organizing networking activities across portfolios of ILP member companies.
Marie-Teresa has also worked at GE, Arthur D. Little, Millipore and as an independent consultant and writer. She earned two degrees in Materials Science & Engineering- a BS from Cornell University and an MS from Northwestern University.
VP Product & Partnerships, Gradient
George leads Product & Partnerships at Gradient. He brings over 20 years of product management and engineering experience from the networking, processor, and semiconductor markets. He held senior executive and marketing positions at Qualtre, Bluespec, and others where he led product teams, and engineering positions at LSI Logic and IBM, where he developed microprocessors and operating system software. He has a BSEE and MSEE in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard University.
Founder & CEO, TrustPoint Inc.
Prior to co-founding TrustPoint, Patrick Shannon was the Vice President of Business Development and Operations at Astro Digital, where he was responsible for strategy formulation, business development, and product management. During his tenure at Astro Digital, he also directly led five satellite programs including the Palisade and Mandrake-2 programs. Before that, Mr. Shannon was VP of Business Development at SpaceQuest, where he drove company strategy and oversaw all contract and internal R&D program execution. He got his start as a satellite systems engineer at Orbital Sciences, later transferring to their Corporate Strategy group supporting M&A and government relations. Mr. Shannon has spent over 12 years studying and developing commercial service solutions for historically DoD-operated systems and capabilities and holds degrees from MIT and Stanford University.
Founder & CEO, iQ3Connect
Ali Merchant is the founder and CEO of iQ3Connect. He brings 20+ years of experience in developing 3D design and simulation software in the aerospace industry to the iQ3Connect team. Software tools and methods he has developed are used in the aerospace industry and university education.
Marchant holds a Masters and Ph.D. from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
CEO and Founder, UrbanXR
James Lee Burgess is a RIBA Architect with over 20 years of experience. He is also a full member of the Association of Project Managers (MAPM), Unity Software Developer, Digital Poverty Ambassador, and a Fellow of the Royal Association of Arts, Manufacturers, and Commerce.
His passion for collaboration, sustainability, and technology led him to establish Urban XR (formerly XLwerks) in April of 2019 as a response to the quickly changing landscape of design and tech with its potential for revolutionizing the way that urban design and placemaking is created, communicated and delivered.
CEO and Founder, Extend Robotics
Chang Lui is the CEO and Chief Designer of Extend Robotics. He is also a research associate at Imperial College London and the University of Southampton.
Founder & CEO, Claira
Katie is the Founder and CEO of Claira, a competency analytics platform helping companies understand their workforce and hire better. Before starting Claira, Katie spent 10 years in global workforce development, where it became clear that customers and the market were ready for a more precise, inclusive future of work. Katie regularly speaks and writes on a variety of topics including diversity hiring, ai ethics, and automation impact on the workforce.
Previously, Katie worked for the United States Attorney’s Office, Department of Justice, Executive Office of the President, The White House and the State of Michigan. She holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and an MPA from the University of Michigan, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and a BA in Political Science from Hope College. She also played and coached volleyball for 20 years.
Board Advisor, Kinnami Software Corp.
Dr. Guy Bunker supports UK business development Kinnami Software Corp. He is also an advisor and early investor in the company and has worked with the team on both engineering and marketing aspects of their solution since the company was founded.
Previously Guy held executive and senior engineering roles with companies including Clearswift, HP, Symantec, Veritas, and Oracle. Guy is a frequently invited speaker at security conferences and has made many appearances in the media.
Guy currently works with several small businesses and advises a number of PE companies in both the UK and USA. He has published multiple books, holds a number of patents and is a Chartered Engineer with the IET.
Disclaimer: MIT Startup Exchange can make introductions that ideally provide open ended discussions in order to share mutual interests and potentially create common ground that incite the parties to collaborate. MIT Startup Exchange introductions may eventually lead to mutual partnerships, but that is not in any way guaranteed by MIT, MIT Corporate Relations, MIT Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) or MIT Startup Exchange, which takes no responsibility for these outcomes and no formal part in such discussions following our introduction. MIT Startup Exchange and its activities and events are not for purposes of soliciting investment or offering securities.