Innovation Expert and Author, The Medici Effect. An advocate for looking to other cultures and disciplines–science, art, business, politics and fashion–for innovation inspiration.
Frans Johansson is the best-selling author of The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts and Cultures. Translated into 18 languages, The Medici Effect was named one of the top 10 best business books by Amazon.com.
In his book and in his presentations, Johansson clearly shows how the best ideas and innovation come from collaboration between people with diverse experiences, skills, expertise, perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. Simply stated, Johansson is known for making the business case for diversity. He packs his programs with plenty of examples and gives people what they need to know and what they need to do to break down silos and bring out the best that everyone has to give to any challenge or opportunity. Regardless of rank or where they reside on the org chart–even if they are not on it.
His latest book The Click Moment: Seizing Opportunity in an Unpredictable World (September 2012), focuses on the ideas and moments that successful leaders must leverage to unleash innovation and growth.
Johansson has lived all his life at the intersection where ideas from different fields and cultures meet and collide. He was raised in Sweden by his African- American-Cherokee mother and Swedish father. Johansson earned his B.S. in Environmental Science from Brown University and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He founded both a Boston-based software company and a medical device company operating out of Baltimore and Stockholm, Sweden. He has written articles on healthcare, information technology and the science of sport fishing and has been featured on CNN’s AC360, ABC’s Early Morning Show and CNBC’s The Business of Innovation series along with Jack Welch and Muhammad Yunus.
Johansson resides in New York City with his family.
TEDxNASA – Frans Johansson – The Future is Diverse and Unexpected
2013 Lunch Keynote: George Siemens
Educator and researcher on learning, networks, analytics, and openness in education
Symposium Theme: Unlocking our Potential and the Culture of Teaching and Learning
George Siemens is the author of Knowing Knowledge, an exploration of how the context and characteristics of knowledge have changed and what it means to organizations today, and the Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning.
Knowing Knowledge has been translated into Mandarin, Spanish, Persian, and Hungarian. Dr. Siemens is the Associate Director of the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute at Athabasca University, leading the learning analytics research team. He has delivered keynote addresses in more than 30 countries on the influence of technology and media on education, organizations, and society.
His work has been profiled in provincial, national, and international newspapers (including NY Times), radio, and television. His research has received numerous national and international awards. He received an honorary doctorate from Universidad de San Martin de Porres for his pioneering work in learning, technology, and networks in May 2012.
Penn Stater