Beyond Hubs:
Decentralized Innovation

With more people working remotely
is the role of innovation hubs changing?

November 16, 2022, 5pm-8pm
SRI International, Menlo Park

Silicon Valley long enjoyed an enviable density of tech entrepreneurs and investors, but other strong hubs have emerged as well. These include Singapore, NYC, Tel Aviv, London, Tokyo, Bangalore, Shanghai, Austin, Stockholm, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Silicon Valley still leads. As of the fall of 2022, Global 2000 companies operate 94 corporate venturing offices and 104 R&D centers in Silicon Valley.

The innovation landscape has shifted powerfully – twice. First, with the Internet making global real-time collaboration possible, and then again with the Pandemic forcing many to work from home. With about 40% of Americans working from home and distributed work becoming mainstream, innovation is now increasingly decentralized. In this session, we will look at what happens as innovation moves beyond traditional innovation hubs.

We will discuss:

  • Hybrid work in innovation hubs
  • Recruiting and motivating remote innovation talent
  • Remote collaboration, including collaboration between hubs
  • The relationship between outposts and company headquarters
  • Innovation opportunities outside major hubs
  • What industries do best with decentralized innovation
  • Investing in decentralized ventures – risks and benefits
  • The post-pandemic innovation landscape

Program

5pm-6pm Reception, networking
   Wine, beer, sodas, and light appetizers will be served.

6pm Opening Remarks
    Suresh Sunderrajan
    President, Commercialization Group, SRI International

6:10pm Post-Industrial Innovation 
    Frode Odegard, CEO, Post-Industrial Institute

6:30pm: Industries of Tomorrow Panel Discussion + Q&A

    • Deborah Magid, Director of Strategy, IBM Ventures
    • Matthieu Soulé, Head of BNP Paribas C.Lab Americas
      BNP Paribas Group
    • Stefan Petzov
      VP Innovation and Technology, Silicon Valley.Outpost
      Swisscom
    • Laureen Knudsen, Chief Transformation Officer
      Broadcom Software

7:30pm: Networking
8pm: Program Conclusion

Speakers


Deborah Magid
Director of Strategy
IBM Ventures

Deborah Magid represents IBM’s high growth software and hardware businesses in the company’s IBM Ventures. She is responsible for sharing insights about emerging markets, technologies, and business models with venture firms and entrepreneurs around the world. She also brings insight from the venture community to the development of IBM’s growth strategies. Deborah is responsible for fueling IBM’s ecosystem pipeline in high growth strategic areas such as artificial intelligence, internet of things, sustainability, security, analytics, and cloud computing; and contributes to filling out the IBM product portfolio through M&A. She leads the IBM team of venture partners based in innovation ecosystems around the world.

Deborah is based in Silicon Valley. Her relationships are global and extend into emerging geographies. Deborah is a frequent spokesperson on topics of relevance to entrepreneurs and investors, such as open innovation, disruptions in various industries, ESG and climate, women in technology and trends in investing. She is a former board director and past Chair of Silicon Valley Forum, and a member of the Corporate Venture Advisory Board of the NVCA.


Matthieu Soulé
Head BNP Paribas C.Lab America
BNP Paribas Group

Matthieu Soulé is the Head of the Innovation Lab of BNP Paribas in San Francisco and Venture partner for BNP Paribas climate tech fund called BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund. He advises global clients, who are leaders in financial services, mobility, energy, retail and food & ag sectors on their innovation strategy and their low carbon transition journey.

Matthieu is also involved in the startup community as a mentor for a startup accelerator called Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) based in San Francisco and an advisor to GreenTech Alliance, a greentech startup association based in Europe.Matthieu received a Master’s degree from Audencia Business School in management with a major in Consulting & International Strategic Management.


Laureen Knudsen
Chief Transformation Officer, Broadcom

Laureen Knudsen has led enterprise transformations in four global companies.  She works with industry leaders and internal experts to define the future of business and bring Lean principles to all parts of an organization, focusing on optimizing end-to-end value stream flows, removing waste, and ensuring executives can make data-driven decisions.

Laureen is the Co-Author of Modern Business Management: Creating a Built-to-Change Organization. Laureen is a Forbes Technology Council Member and she is also on the Forbes 2021 Top 100 Women in Tech list.

 


Stefan Petzov
VP Innovation and Technology
Swisscom Silcon Valley Outpost

Stefan Petzov is leading Swisscom’s Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley. In this role, he is responsible for identifying and evaluating new technologies and services. Stefan is also responsible for strategic innovation initiatives and works closely with the senior leadership to ensure that Swisscom is always at the forefront of innovation.


Frode Odegard
Chairman and CEO, Post-Industrial Institute

Frode Odegard studies how enterprises, investors, and policymakers can best navigate the transition to a post-industrial civilization and economy. He is the founder of the Post-Industrial Institute, which provides advisory, educational, and strategic services to corporates and investors to help them turn disruption into opportunity. Frode is also the founder of the Post-Industrial Forum, a global community formed to develop and promote a better understanding of the post-industrial transition and how to navigate it. Its members include investors, executives, founders, and policymakers.


Dr. Suresh Sunderrajan
Director of Global Partnerships, SRI International

Suresh Sunderrajan brings over 25 years of experience and a passion for innovation at the intersection of technology and business. He focuses on developing SRI’s commercialization strategy and provides overall leadership for the institute’s commercialization efforts. Sunderrajan oversees SRI Ventures, Global Partnerships, the Nomura-SRI Innovation Center (NSIC), SRI Products and the Center for Innovation Strategy and Policy (CISP).

Previous to SRI, Sunderrajan was Associate Laboratory Director for Advanced Energy Technologies at Argonne National Laboratory. He earned a doctorate in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University and a master’s degree in system design and management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sunderrajan holds more than 30 U.S. patents and has received the Distinguished Inventor Award at Eastman Kodak. 

Anchor Partner