All firms eventually face disruption. If anything, shocks are increasing in both frequency and impact. New technologies like generative AI threaten business models that once seemed secure far into the future. Civil, political, and geopolitical events such as war and a global pandemic have exposed dangerous vulnerabilities in supply chains for energy, high-tech components, and even food. This recent history highlights the importance of investing to position organizations to take advantage of opportunities that dramatic changes create. To prepare for the future, corporations are forming internal venture groups. Corporate venture capital (CVC) initiatives do not just help organizations survive disruptions but also lead and shape the forces transforming their businesses.
This forum will bring together senior executives with thought leaders from MIT to explore the best methods for creating and organizing corporate innovation and venturing groups. We will also discuss how the MIT Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) helps firms engage with the world-leading thinkers at MIT who tackle humanity's most vexing challenges and the entrepreneurs who turn MIT innovations into working solutions.
Join us for an afternoon of talks from distinguished MIT faculty, an industry panel discussion, and lightning talks from MIT-connected startups. We'll finish with a networking hour, so you can connect with other attendees and engage with the startups while enjoying drinks and hors d'oeuvres.
Mr. Glickman joined the Industrial Liaison Program in January 2000, serving as the MIT liaison for companies worldwide, and joined the senior management of the office in 2005.
Prior to joining ILP, Todd was Assistant Executive Director of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the professional society for meteorologists, which is based in Boston. At AMS, Todd's responsibilities included strategic planning for conferences, headquarters' liaison with AMS member boards and committees, support to the AMS Council, and public relations. In addition, Todd was Managing Editor for the AMS Glossary of Meteorology (2nd edition).
From 1979 to 1994, Todd held a variety of positions with WSI Corporation of Billerica, MA, including Manager, New Product Development, Media Marketing Manager, and Manager of the Government Program Office. WSI was a pioneer in the development of real-time weather information, providing value-added information and workstations for clients in media, aviation, industry, academia, and government. Some of Todd's projects included development of the weather data/information infrastructure for The Weather Channel; the introduction of digital satellite and radar imagery for television; planning and implementation of a network of weather briefing systems for the Federal Aviation Administration; and serving as liaison with the National Weather Service and professional organizations. In addition, Todd was instrumental in helping to develop the public-private partnership between the weather information industry and the Federal government.
Concurrently, Todd has a more than 30-year career as a radio meteorologist, and has been heard on dozens of stations nationwide. Today, he can be heard occasionally on all-news WCBS Newsradio-88 in New York City. He has chaired numerous meteorological conferences and symposia, and served on a number of boards and committees for the American Meteorological Society (AMS). He was awarded the AMS Seal of Approval for Radio Weathercasting in 1979, and was elected a Fellow of the AMS in 1997.
Todd's interests include transportation systems of all types, and he is an officer and past-trustee of the Seashore Trolley Museum of Kennebunkport, Maine. At MIT, Todd an officer and trustee of the Technology Broadcasting Corporation, which oversees the campus radio station WMBR-FM. He also volunteers as the academic advisor to a group of MIT freshman.
Before MIT, Jim was the assistant dean of research business development at the UMass Amherst College of Information and Computer Sciences. Jim founded, built, and sold multiple technology companies in fintech and online media. He has bootstrapped startups and closed venture capital, angel, and private equity funding rounds. Jim also served as the Chief Operating Officer of a public company and a subsidiary of Pitney Bowes. He began his career at AT&T as a software developer, hardware engineer, and national account manager. Jim has authored patents and wrote one of the first books on Java programming. Out of all the roles he's held, Jim's favorite job title by far is dedicated dad of four. He earned a BS from Manhattan College and an MBA with concentrations in finance and international business from New York University.
Dr Phil Budden is a Senior Lecturer at MIT's Management School, in Sloan's TIES (Tech Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategy) Group, where he focuses on 'corporate innovation’ and multi-stakeholder innovation ecosystems, especially how corporates can get value from the latter (including start-up enterprises). He works closely with corporate executives and leaders of other large organisations on such strategies, through MIT Corporate Relations/ILP, the Corporate Innovation Program (https://corporateinnovation.mit.edu), Executive Education (https://executive.mit.edu/ci) and MIT’s global REAP program (https://reap.mit.edu), as well as custom and consulting work.
This talk will explore actionable insights and effective strategies for corporate innovation, and how venturing initiatives (beyond Corporate VC) can fit into these strategies. Drawing on extensive research and real-world case studies, Dr.Phil will give attendees valuable insights on forging strategic partnerships in the external ecosystem, and then integrating entrepreneurial ventures back inside established corporations – which can help foster a more innovative culture inside, and attract entrepreneurial talent from outside. The objective is to equip participants with the necessary frameworks and to strategically identify, assess, and capitalize on entrepreneurial opportunities, while mitigating systemic challenges.
Reed is a General Partner on the investment team at The Engine. Built by MIT, The Engine is a venture firm investing in the next generation of Tough Tech: a transformative and broad approach applying cutting-edge technology to solve challenges in human health, climate change, and advanced systems and infrastructure.
Reed serves as a Board Member for Amide, Axoft, Celestial AI, Emvolon, Hyperlight, Sync Computing, and The Routing Company. He was a founder and Managing Director at Project 11 Ventures and Techstars Boston. He attended MIT and has a background in software. Reed ran Microsoft Startup Labs in Cambridge and was VP of Technology at Idealab, Boston. Early in his career, he created Freelance Graphics which was acquired by Lotus Development Corp. He has been a lecturer at MIT Sloan and is a frequent speaker at MIT entrepreneurship courses and programs.
This talk will provide invaluable insights into the world of investing in disruptive technologies with a long-term vision. With the rapid pace of technological advancements, traditional investment models often fall short when dealing with complex, deep-tech innovations. Drawing on their extensive experience, Reed Sturtevant will discuss the unique challenges and opportunities associated with investing in "tough tech" ventures, which require significant time, capital, and expertise to reach commercialization. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the strategies, frameworks, and risk management approaches necessary to navigate the complex landscape of tough tech, ensuring sustainable growth and impact in the long run.
Jesse Podell leads the day-to-day activities for Ally Ventures. An active member of the fintech ecosystem, Podell leads investments and partnerships in alignment with Ally’s strategic priorities. As a member of Ally's Strategy & Corporate Development Group, Podell is involved in aspects of developing and executing the firm's corporate strategy, business development, and M&A opportunities.
Angie is the Managing Partner and a Co-Founder at IBM Ventures, the VC arm of IBM that invests from Series A to C rounds across five themes – data and AI, security, sustainability, automation, and quantum. IBM Ventures looks for high-growth startups with the potential to leverage IBM's platform to make them successful. Angie taps into her venture investing, strategy, corporate development, and M&A experience, as well as a wide IBM network to help bring value to partners.
Kester has 15 years experience as a founder, consultant and investor. He’s spent the last five years building Barclays direct equity investment business in the US and had led a number of investment rounds in fintech and software companies including: Touchbistro, Amount, Revelio, Applica.ai and Openfin. Kester sits on a number of Boards including Symphony and Acadia.
Ariadna Rodenstein is a Program Manager at MIT Startup Exchange. She joined MIT Corporate Relations as an Events Leader in September 2019 and is responsible for designing and executing startup events, including content development, coaching and hosting, and logistics. Ms. Rodenstein works closely with the Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) in promoting collaboration and partnerships between MIT-connected startups and industry, as well as with other areas around the MIT innovation ecosystem and beyond.
Prior to working for MIT Corporate Relations, she worked for over a decade at Credit Suisse Group in New York and London, in a few different roles in event management and as Director of Client Strategy. Ms. Rodenstein has combined her experience in the private sector with work at non-profits as a Consultant and Development Director at New York Immigration Coalition, Immigrant Defense Project, and Americas Society/Council of the Americas. She also served as an Officer on the Board of Directors of the Riverside Clay Tennis Association in New York for several years. Additionally, she earned her B.A. in Political Science and Communications from New York University, with coursework at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico City, and her M.A. in Sociology from the City University of New York.
Dan Doney is Co-founder and CTO of Securrency, Inc, a financial markets infrastructure technology company providing financial services solutions that harness the power of blockchain technology and DeFi to institutional-grade compliance and scalability. Prior to founding Securrency in 2015, Dan served as the US intelligence community’s first Chief Innovation Officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency. Dan is a recognized expert and leader across a wide variety of fields, including enterprise architecture and software development, artificial intelligence, process automation, financial modeling, organization theory, robotics, and signal processing. Dan is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Control Systems Engineering and an additional major in Economics He also received an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from MIT in 1994. Dan and his wife, Jodi, have 5 lovely children and live near Annapolis, Maryland.
Elaheh Ahmadi is a co-founder and CEO of Themis AI. She received her BSc and MEng in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT. Ahmadi and her peers at MIT CSAIL spun-off Themis AI with the vision to bring fair AI into the industry. Themis AI is a leader in providing high-performance and risk-robust AI solutions — identifying and tackling bias, uncertainty, and other real-world generalization challenges.
Vinayak Ramesh is the CEO and co-founder of the MIT startup, Ikigai Labs, a platform for building AI Apps. Previously, he co-founded and was CTO of Wellframe, a digital health company focused on AI to help payors better manage their patient populations (acquired by Blackstone). He received his S.B./M. Eng degrees from MIT and is Forbes 30 under 30.
Dr. Michael Fleder’s MIT research forms the basis for Covariance.ai: A machine learning startup that enables near-real-time competitive and market insight with previously-impossible accuracy and depth. Michael’s work has been featured in MIT News (2021, 2019) and leading modeling conferences. Michael has extensive background in robotics (MIT, NASA/JPL), quantitative trading, and technology advising for the C-Suite at retail banks. Michael earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from MIT.
Christina Qi is the Co-Founder and CEO of Databento. Previously, Christina founded Domeyard LP in 2012, a hedge fund focused on high-frequency trading (HFT) that traded up to $7.1 billion per day. Domeyard's story was featured in Forbes, Nikkei, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNN, NBC, and the Financial Times due to the controversy and fascination with HFT.
No amount of therapy has quashed Christina's impostor syndrome, but she will always be proud of her non-profit volunteer work. Christina was elected as a Member of the MIT Corporation, MIT's Board of Trustees. For five years, she served as Co-Chair of the Board of Invest in Girls, bringing financial literacy education to underserved populations across the US. Christina is a Board Director of The Financial Executives Alliance (FEA) Hedge Fund Group and is a 100 Women in Finance Senior Practitioner. Although "X Under X" lists are a gimmick, she'll admit that Forbes 30 Under 30 positively impacted her life by giving her a community - friends who dragged her out of bed during the lowest days of her life. Christina holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Science from MIT and recently celebrated her class's 10-year reunion.
Dr. Alain Briancon is a serial entrepreneur and inventor with 22 granted patents on AI (81 total). He is the Chief Data Officer for VZBL. Alain has vast experience in extensive data systems, enterprise software, mobile systems, and the Internet of Things. Over the last ten years, Alain has applied data science to IoT through various startups, predicting appliance failures, political campaigns, food and diet management, customer engagement, surveys, and engineering productivity. Alain graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in ’86. Outside work, he enjoys long-distance swimming, collecting fountain pens, and keeping up with family and dogs.
Eli Paster is the Chief Executive Officer of PolyJoule, a Boston-based MIT spinoff. PolyJoule is on a mission to lower the barrier to entry and enable the universal adaptation of energy storage without sacrificing safety or the environment. He holds an S.M. and Ph.D. in electrochemistry, high-throughput instrumentation, and entrepreneurship from MIT. Eli speaks four languages, is the author of several U.S. and international patents, and has published monographs in chemistry, engineering, biology, literature, and advocacy.
Yunus is the co-founder and CTO of Almond FinTech. His work centers around promoting equitable access to technology across many fields. Before Almond, Yunus held leadership roles in early-stage ventures commercializing cutting-edge medical research and devised low-tech approaches to poverty alleviation in rural Southeast Asia. He is the author of several patents and scientific papers across medtech, additive manufacturing, and robotics. Yunus holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has recently been named among Singapore's 30 and Under Fintech Leaders.