Silicon Valley Chapter Meeting
Online Registration Closed
Contact Franca Gargiulo, franca.gargiulo@att.net, for onsite registration availability.
DATE & TIME
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
11:30 PM – 2:00 PM
LOCATION
Latham & Watkins
140 Scott Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025
TITLE
The Creation of Innovation Ecosystems: Germinating and Thriving in Today’s Economy
MODERATOR
Victor W. Hwang, T2 Venture Capital, co-author of the new book, The Rainforest: The Secret Recipe of Innovation Ecosystems
PANELISTS
Greg Horowitt, T2 Venture Capital, co-author
Ade Mabogunje, Stanford University, Center for Design Research
Eric Muller, Society of Kauffman Fellows, Entrepreneur-in-Residence
DESCRIPTION
Intellectual property is only unleashed when great ideas are surrounded by a nurturing ecosystem. What makes communities like Silicon Valley tick? Only a few places like the Valley have become enduring innovation ecosystems – human networks that generate extraordinary economic output. What is the nature of such ecosystems, and how can we deliberately build them? Authors Victor W. Hwang and Greg Horowitt propose a radical new theory to explain such ecosystems. This panel involves leading practitioners who are shaping the growth of innovation ecosystems in places as far flung as Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, India, and the Palestinian Territories. They will share stories, insights, and new ways to understand how human networks can flourish.
SCHEDULE
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Lunch and Networking
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Program
REGISTRATION
Early, by Friday, February 24, 2012, 9 PM
LES Members: $45
Non-Members: $50
After Friday, February 24, 2012, 9 PM
LES Members: $50
Non-Members: $55
Online Registration Deadline: Monday, February 27, 12 PM
After February 27, contact Franca Gargiulo, franca.gargiulo@att.net
CANCELLATION POLICY
No refunds after Friday, February 24, 2012
Substitutions are permitted
SPEAKER BIOS
Greg Horowitt
Greg is the co-founder and Managing Director of T2 Venture Capital, a seed and early stage venture fund focused on high impact investment in the technology and healthcare sectors. He has led T2VC’s investments in Autopoint Software, Biomatrica and Somark Innovations. He is a Kauffman Fellow, an advisor, speaker and consultant to organizations around the world including the World Bank, US State Department, The OECD, USAID, The Aspen Institute and the National Academies of Science. Greg is also co-founder of Global Connect, a think tank based at the University of California, San Diego focused on the growth of innovation clusters worldwide.
Victor Hwang
Victor Hwang is the co-founder and Managing Director of T2 Venture Capital, a Silicon Valley venture firm at the intersection of private venture and public policy. T2VC grows startups, manages capital and builds innovation ecosystems around the world. T2VC advises governments on capital formation, innovation policy and entrepreneurial programs. Victor is a Kauffman Fellow, a member of a selective program to groom leaders of the venture capital industry. He is the immediate past president of LARTA Institute, co-founder of Liquidity Before joining LARTA, Victor was a corporate attorney in technology matters with Irell & Manella and the international firm of Mayer Brown & Platt. He graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. with Honors, graduated from the Law School of the University of Chicago and was appointed as Law Clerk in the General Counsel’s office in the US Agency for International Development in 1997 and served in national politics from 1995 to 1997. He is co-author of the new book, The
Rainforest, which addresses how society can enhance the output of innovation in human networks.
Ade Mabogunje
Ade Mabogunje is the Associate Director for Stanford’s Center for Design Research and serves as a strategic advisor to the Kauffman Fellows Program. He is currently working on the NSF-sponsored project, Digital Libraries for the Distributed Innovative Design Education and Team work (DIDET) and on the Real-Time Venture Design Laboratory for Creating Sustainable Ventures in Economically Challenged Communities. He is also program leader in the School of Humanities and Sciences Kozmetsky Global Collaboratory. Ade earned an MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and originally hails from Nigeria where he earned his undergraduate degree.
Eric Muller
As Entrepreneur-in-Residence and previously Chief Operating Officer at the Center for Venture Education, Eric works closely with the venture capitalists who make up the Society of Kauffman Fellows. A veteran of several startups, Eric currently serves on the Board of the Vancouver-based portal company The Level. Eric was CEO of the Java performance company Optimizeit , which was acquired by Borland. Earlier, Eric worked with Guy Kawasaki at Garage Ventures, investing in the founding teams of Pandora, Psionic and Gravitate. At Accenture and Arthur D. Little, he worked with a range of technology firms on new products, marketing and sales. Eric earned a BSEE from Carnegie Mellon and an MBA from Yale.