TECHNOLOGY

10 stimulating speakers already announced for Inspirefest 2016

30 Oct 2015

Buzzcar CEO and founder Robin Chase, who will be speaking at Inspirefest 2016. Photo via Pemo Theodore/Google+

Buzzcar CEO and founder Robin Chase, who will be speaking at Inspirefest 2016. Photo via Pemo Theodore/Google+

Inspirefest returns to Dublin in summer 2016, and there are already 10 names on the bill for what’s set to be another inspiring two-day conference.

Inspirefest 2016 is shaping up to be Ireland’s major sci-tech event of the coming year, bringing together some of the world’s leading thinkers in tech, science and innovation for two days of talks followed by relaxed networking at the ancillary Fringe festival.

On the back of these early announcements, Ultra Early Bird tickets for Inspirefest 2016 are now sold out, but you can still pick up a discounted Super Early Bird ticket from 1 November. Here’s 10 reasons why you might want to.

1. Emer Coleman (@emercoleman)

Open data advocate Emer Coleman recently added her new position as chair of Ireland’s first Open Data Governance Board to her many-stringed bow. Coleman was the architect of the London Datastore, which involved releasing all of London’s public sector data. She has provided leadership training to organisations such as the Local Government Association, The Leadership Centre for Local Government, PwC Ireland (and their clients), Chinese publishing giant PPMG and The National University of Singapore.

2. Jules Coleman (@julescoleman)

No relation to the above, Jules Coleman is the co-founder and chief product officer of Hassle.com, the start-up that connects users with cleaners. Founded in 2011, Hassle was awarded Start-up of the Year at the 2013 Tech City Awards and, this year, was acquired by Berlin-based home-cleaning services provider Helpling.

3. Poornima Vijayashanker (@poornima)

Engineer and entrepreneur Poornima Vijayashanker was instrumental in building the software for Mint.com as part of the start-up’s founding team. Since those early days, before Mint was acquired by Intuit for $170m, Vijayashanker has branched out with her own ventures, BizeeBee, a CRM solution for fitness businesses, and Femgineer, an education company for tech professionals and entrepreneurs.

4. Adam Quinton (@adamquinton)

Lucas Point Ventures founder and CEO Adam Quinton appeared on an impassioned panel at Inspirefest 2015, calling bull on Silicon Valley’s alleged meritocracy. Quinton will return to the Inspirefest stage in 2016 with – we hope – the same level of candour, sharing his experience as an investor and influencer in the New York tech scene.

5. Robin Chase (@rmchase)

Named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People, Fast Company’s Fast 50 Innovators and Business Week’s Top 10 Designers, Robin Chase also has a string of leading roles in sharing economy start-ups to her name. She is co-founder and former CEO of both Zipcar and GoLoco, and she is currently the CEO of Buzzcar, a peer-to-peer car-sharing service she also founded. As an early instigator, you could say Chase wrote the book on the collaborative economy – and she has. Peers Inc, is a must-read for anyone interested in how this area is disrupting the capitalist model.

6. Nilofer Merchant (@nilofer)

With a nickname like ‘the Jane Bond of Innovation’, Nilofer Merchant is a speaker not to be missed. Hailed as a Silicon Valley business guru, she graced the TED stage in 2013 with advice on ‘walking meetings’ to allows ideas to flow. To date, the video of her TED talk has had more than 2m views and Merchant was awarded the Thinkers50 Future Thinker Award in recognition of her influence on the future of management.

7. Isis Anchalee (@isisAnchalee)

Earlier this year, Isis Anchalee was enjoying her San Francisco job as a platform engineer for identity management company OneLogin, before a simple ad campaign propelled her into the spotlight. In response to online commenters who refused to take her tech credentials at face value, Anchalee launched what became the global #iLookLikeAnEngineer movement, which she continues today.

8. Jeanne M Sullivan (@gianna212)

With more than 25 years’ experience in investing, Jeanne M Sullivan will bring her passion for the ‘experienced economy’ to Dublin in 2016. Now co-founder of StarVest Partners, a venture capital firm in New York City, Sullivan gained her operating experience with AT&T and Bell Labs, as well as in the advertising business. As well as her day job, she’s on a mission to show people around the world how to create a ‘second act’ at 50-plus.

9. Mary Carty (@marycarty)

We met head Stemette and Outbox Incubator co-founder Anne-Marie Imafidon at Inspirefest 2015, and 2016 welcomes the other half of that equation, Mary Carty, to the stage – and she won’t be alone. Carty will be joined by some of the Outbox executives, young women innovators who participated in this first-of-its-kind incubator in London this summer.

10. Lorna M Ross

The Mayo Clinic is a renowned 150-year-old medical institution, but its way of thinking is far from stuck in the past. Catching on quickly to the concept of design thinking – a creative problem-solving approach – the clinic’s Center for Innovation has Lorn M Ross leading this charge as its director of design, bringing 24 years’ experience in design, design research and innovation to health and healthcare.

Inspirefest is Silicon Republic’s international event connecting sci-tech professionals passionate about the future of STEM. Join us again from 30 June to 2 July 2016 for fresh perspectives on leadership, innovation and diversity. Get your Super Early Bird tickets from 1 November.

Photo of Robin Chase via Pemo Theodore/Google+

In-Depth: Events, Inspirefest

Related: Inspirefest 2016, Dublin

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com