2018 Speakers

Avram Piltch is Tom’s Hardware’s editor-in-chief. When he’s not playing with the latest gadgets at work or putting on AR helmets at trade shows, you’ll find him building Raspberry Pi projects, taking apart his PC or writing Chrome extensions.

Rob has a lifelong love of technology and enjoys the opportunity to learn from and pick the brains of every professional he meets in this industry. Being able to tell their stories is a passion of his and getting to play with all of their fun and innovative gadgets is just the cherry on top.

As vice president of marketing for Pioneer’s Car Electronics Division, Ted Cardenas is responsible for overall brand strategy, sales initiatives, promotional activities and advertising.  He and his team focus on the primary goals of educating consumers about Pioneer’s in-vehicle entertainment, navigation and connectivity solutions, while building excitement and demand that directs them to its retail and distribution partners. His passion for consumer electronics began junior year of high school in 1989, when he started a summer job at Sound and Service in Carroll, Iowa.  There he learned the fundamentals of the car audio business, which evolved into a 20+ year career in the CE industry.

One of the top U.S. writers on the mobile industry, Sascha has reviewed more than 1100 products in more than 14 years with PCMag.com. He’s also an experienced travel writer, having contributed to three books for Frommer’s, and has won awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and the Society of American Travel Writers. His commentary appears regularly in national and international press.

Robert S. Anthony is a veteran tech and travel journalist. He previously worked as senior writer at PC Magazine, copy editor at the New York Daily News and as a reporter at the old Milwaukee Sentinel. He’s a past president of the Deadline Club (NYC chapter, Society of Professional Journalists) and served on the board of the New York Association of Black Journalists for more than 15 years. His Pinterest board, Paper PC Picks – Best in Tech, has 1.2 million followers, making him one of the top 200 Pinterest users in the world.

Rob Pegoraro writes about computers, gadgets, telecom, the Internet, apps, and other things that beep or blink. You can find him covering policy issues at Yahoo Finance, answering consumer-tech questions at USA Today, offering telecom guidance at Wirecutter and showing up at various other online and (sometimes) print outlets. He has met most of the founders of the Internet and once received a single-word e-mail reply from Steve Jobs.

John R. Quain write for The New York Times, Tom’s Guide, and Car and Driver, among other publications. His articles have appeared in U.S. News & World Report, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and PC Magazine.

Jeremy is Editor in Chief of Digital Trends, responsible for keeping the site awesome. Over nearly two decades working in and with technology he saw the industry explode, from the growth of the Internet to the birth and dominance of smartphones, Facebook, Twitter and more. Before joining DT, he spent nearly five years at FoxNews.com, and over a decade at Ziff Davis Media, publisher of PCMag.com.

Anastasia Harrison is the Founder and Partner of And Design LLC, a detail oriented architectural interior design studio. Anastasia as an early member of the USGBC incorporates sustainability into everyday practices in architecture, interior, and planning, and has had direct involvement in over 40 LEED projects representing millions of square feet of built space. Prior to her founding AH&Design Anastasia’s 25 years of experience is from some international global firms such as Gensler as the Sustainable Design Director, and Gannett Fleming as the Director of Sustainability.

A 20-year company veteran, Melissa Andresko is Communications Director at Lutron Electronics, the leading manufacturer of smart home and smart building systems, focusing on light, shade and temperature controls. Andresko oversees the strategic creation and implementation of all North American Public Relations activities, including celebrity and industry relations, and develops communications messaging for Lutron’s residential business unit. In her role as Lutron spokesperson, Andresko appears frequently on national and local television programs as a smart home expert and speaks frequently at conferences aimed at the real estate market. She is Chairman of the CTA TechHome Board and a voting member of the Accessories and Communications Boards. With a passion for advancing women in the field of technology, Andresko runs the east coast mentoring circle within the Women in Consumer Technology association. Andresko holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.

Lee A. Rotenberg is one of the ladybosses behind Ivy! She is all about simplicity and that’s why two years ago she and her cofounder (Alexandra Schinasi) set out to modernize the workflow headaches of the interior design landscape. Lee is passionate about bringing easy (and beautiful!) solutions to complex problems. Before starting Ivy, she built a workflow solution for vendors. Ivy was acquired by Houzz in February 2018.

Robert Heiblim is Principal and Co-Founder of BlueSalve Consulting. Robert has advised and worked for a legendary list of Consumer Electronics companies big and small. He has helped conceive, launch, market and sell many millions of CE devices and supported the development, launch and acceptance of new technologies. Mr. Heiblim’s firm helps companies define and overcome market challenges anywhere in a product’s or company’s lifecycle.

Melissa J. Perenson loves the ongoing quest for the next great gadget. She’s an avid consumer of the tech gear and media she’s covered throughout her career as an editor at PC Mag, PCWorld, and TechHive, and as a freelance writer for dozens of publications including Computer Shopper, Tom’s Guide, and The Hollywood Reporter. Melissa‘s also a storyteller and photographer, and is often seen with a camera in hand. She recently earned her M.S. in Technology Management from Columbia University.

At NKLS, we research, advise on and invest in virtual and augmented reality. We work with companies across all industries and stages of growth to build VR and AR experiences to meet their needs—from industrial manufacturers to employee training to social responsibility to retail sales. We also actively seek to invest in new content, ideas and companies that bring innovation to the XR landscape.

Gary Schultz is well known in the Consumer Electronics industry with over 25 years of mobile, wireless and IOT technology product and business development for leading CE Brands including Samsung, Plantronics, Casio and most recently iHome. At iHome Gary drives the development of the iHome Control IOT platform of connected home solutions and the award winning AI speakers with strategic collaboration with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant product teams.   Gary  has lead the positioning of iHome as the only leading brand to leverage the surge in AI voice control technology with the development both smart speakers and related connected home ecosystem of smart devices.

Robinson Hernandez has nearly 20 years of experience working at the intersection of business and government. He is currently the Executive Director of The Urban Tech Hub at Grand Central Tech – a 50,000-square-foot midtown Manhattan space that’s home to 50 companies working on the future of smarter cities in coordination with corporate partners and New York City government agencies. Previously, Robinson served as Deputy Commissioner of Small Business Services for the City of New York, where he oversaw NYC Business Acceleration and the launch of Small Business First, changing the way the City of New York interacts with small business owners. Prior to this, he was a Special Advisor to the Commissioner of the Department of Buildings and oversaw special projects, including urbanSHED. Robinson led a mayoral task force on regulatory reform and economic development when he worked at the Mayor’s Office of Industrial and Manufacturing Businesses. He started his career as part of the General Electric Financial Management Program, then went on to work at Ernst & Young, and at the startup govWorks.com, delivering technology solutions for businesses and local governments.

John Waraniak has thirty years of advanced technology, systems integration, product development and process improvement accomplishments as a system engineer at leading automotive, aftermarket, motorsports and aerospace organizations.  He is an acknowledged leader and advocate for automaker-aftermarket-technology innovation and collaboration to accelerate the development and deployment of mobility technologies, systems and solutions.

Stuart Narofsky, FAIA, is the principal of Narofsky Architecture, a multi-discipline design firm founded in 1983. Stuart is the recipient of the AIA Long Island “ Lifetime Achievement Award.” His projects are highly recognized through design awards, national and international publications, videos, and exhibitions. His firm has won competitions resulting in built work for MCA Records and Long Island Ronald McDonald House, and an unbuilt sustainable solution for Pratt Graduate Housing. He teaches and serves on juries at New York Institute of Technology, Pratt Institute, and Drexel University. Dedicated to pro bono service in South America, Stuart has lectured and overseen workshops at various universities in Bolivia and Argentina. He is a past president of AIA Long Island and currently 2018 Chair of AIA National’s Custom Residential Architects Network. He has lectured at architecture conferences and symposiums throughout the US and most recently speaking engagements in Poland and Hungary. In 2016 Stuart was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.

Vladimir Vukicevic is an entrepreneur and a lifelong believer in the power of art to foster human connection and improve our world. Driven by a vision of tech as a conduit for cultural access, Vladimir began as co-founder and CTO of RocketHub—an early crowdfunding platform that helped artists and entrepreneurs raise money to support their creative visions. Following the sale of his first company, Vladimir joined forces with longtime friend Jerry Hu to found Meural in 2013, in response to feedback from artists that sought a dynamic way to share their work on a more global scale. Meural’s flagship product, the Meural Canvas, now lives on thousands of walls across the world.

Neville Boston is co-founder and CEO of Reviver, creator of the Rplate™, the world’s first digital license plate. Established in 2009, Reviver was founded with a mission to establish a universal connected car platform by modernizing the 125-year-old metal license plate into a fully interactive digital screen.  Prior to founding Reviver, Neville served as the chief operating officer for Kinetix Holdings, LLC, a NYC-based marketing firm representing clients such as Microsoft, Pepsi, Moet Hennessy, Heineken, and XBOX. Before Kinetix, Neville was the chief marketing officer and co-founder at Crosswalk Productions, whose clients included Crown Royal, Baileys, Tanqueray, Ciroc, and Smirnoff. Neville is a member of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and on the board of the California Technology Council. Neville has a B.A. in Political Science with a marketing focus from the University of California, Berkeley.

igloohome is a tech start-up from Singapore that introduced the world’s 1st smart keybox. Since joining 2 years ago, Matthew now leads the Product Team; responsible for building smart access solutions such as door locks.   The company is currently focused on innovative solutions that can enable  higher product adoption in enterprise as well as consumer segments.  He is based in San Diego, California.

Andy helped drive the first generation iPhone and 20+ generations of iPod as a product development leader at Apple. He then led development of the augmented reality headset as GM of Hololens at Microsoft.  He was then VP of Hardware Engineering & Strategy at Dropcam until its acquisition by Nest/Google. Andy founded Owl in his Palo Alto garage in late 2016.

David is the Co-founder, Executive SVP Sales and Marketing of Nuheara, an ASX listed innovative hearing intelligence company. David’s international career spans senior marketing and advertising roles in Fortune 1000 companies. He also has extensive experience in founding, advising and operating early stage technology startups with global aspirations in both the B2C and B2B space. Most recently he has focused on starting and building hearing intelligence companies that have the potential to change peoples lives.

Jon Schniepp is a Pennsylvania native turned North Carolina family man who loves “challenging the status quo” and using technology to create products that enrich people’s lives. An engineer with a marketer’s vision – Jon switches between right and left brain thinking to combine business, technology, and design in order to discover products that are forward thinking, feasible, and usable. As part of Republic’s founding executive team, Jon is responsible for driving product strategy and direction, and taking this vision through to our marketing efforts. It’s hard to find an area of the company without Jon’s fingerprints. He’s been deeply involved with Republic’s Data Refund Plans and the launch of their Anywhere suite of apps.
Lately his focus has been on the development a Relay, a brand new category re-defining product intended to help American families with young children who are grappling with screen time. Relay is just the sort of product that Jon enjoys digging into – using technology to solve complex problems with refined, simple designs. Early in his career, Jon did technology consulting in the public sector, with a focus on user experience design and developing deep data analysis tools for military clients. Prior to his time with Republic, he was a management consultant at Edge Consulting in Washington DC and Denver CO, during which time the startup grew to $30M in revenue and was acquired by IBM. He and his wife are the proud parents of two young sons and live in Raleigh, North Carolina. He earned a BS in systems engineering from the University of Virginia

Antonio A. (Tony) Rucci is the Director of Information Security & Threat Intelligence for GRIDSMART Technologies Inc, Knoxville, TN and is a retired Counterintelligence Special Agent and US Army Warrant Officer, with more than 34 years of technical security experience. Tony ran technical espionage and computer crimes investigations for a good portion of his operational career where he served as the Counterintelligence Operations Officer at The White House, serving two administrations from 1998-2004. He led technical accreditation for a critical facility at one of the DOE National Labs before being recruited to move to Reno, NV to build a data center for one of the beltway bandits. Since then, Tony started two of his own companies; served as the Chief Security Officer for two others; and built an InfoSec & Threat Intelligence vertical for another company before joining GRIDSMART earlier this year. Tony continues to serve national security efforts in his current capacities, stirring up the Transportation Industry by assessing and assisting smart/autonomous vehicle strategies along with their smart cities and traffic management support infrastructure, supporting both private sector and government interests.

Andrew Vloyanetes has spent the last 20 years in consumer electronics working in both retail and wholesale. For the past 9 years he has been at Sonos growing his career in parallel to the company’s growth. He started out leading the training and education department when the entire company was only 80 employees. After about 3 years he transitioned back to his roots in Sales and Marketing to help lead the Custom Integrator channel in the US and build it into the largest channel in the world for Sonos. 2 years ago, Andrew found his calling in Business Development where he was given the creative freedom to help lead the future direction of the company. He led the global business group to launch the Works with Sonos platform which allows Sonos to partner with thought leaders in the connected home industry on a product and Go-to-Market level. Now, Andrew leads the next evolution of the Custom Integrator channel as the Head of Sales leading the strategy for the Installed Solutions business unit.

Accomplished 15-year executive focused in the consumer electronics sector. Wide array of experience focused on forward-looking solutions that realize a connected lifestyle in every consumer environment. Speaker, thought leader and presenter at technology changing shows and conferences for the past 15 years.

30 Year Industry Veteran with experience in all facets of the Mobile Electronics Industry. 16 Year tenure with Voxx Electronics managing business development, product development, manufacturing and sales/marketing initiatives.

Suzanne Murtha has is a Vice President for Smart Connected and Automated Transportation at AECOM. She is based in Alexandria, Virginia and is also on the Board of Directors of the OmniAir Consortium, a trade association that advocates for the development and promotion of certification for the intelligent transportation industry. A 20 year veteran of the ITS industry, Suzanne has significant background in ITS and advanced automotive technologies including dedicated short-range communications, connected and automated vehicles, smart cities and big data. She has worked in- depth with the international ITS community and industry on advanced research, standards development, and certification processes. She has supported large-scale program management contracts and evaluation efforts for federal, state, local, and private clients.

Andrew has over 30 years of experience developing products for the automotive and consumer markets. He started his automotive career in the UK developing test equipment, then transferred to the US in 2000 to support and grow an end-of-line test business. Leaning on his PRINCE2 and PMP certification, Andrew now serves as Danlaw’s Program Manager for DSRC V2X products and services. He is responsible for the Connected Vehicles Test and Certification program with its resulting OmniAir-certified test products widely used by industry for DSRC certification. Andrew also supports the development and rollout of Danlaw’s onboard and roadside DSRC V2X equipment, including pilot programs at UMTRI and NYC

Cordell Schachter is the Chief Technology Officer for the New York City Department of Transportation.  He leads its IT & Telecom organization and department-wide initiatives to innovate safety, mobility, smart and accessible infrastructure, software development, mapping, communications, public data, and customer support. IT & Telecom has earned local, state, and national recognition for its work making New York City Safer, Faster, and Smarter. Cordell has over 30 years of experience in New York City government and private sector technology management. He is a certified project manager by the Project Management Institute and IBM. He holds an MS in Management from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and a BA in Economics from SUNY Buffalo. He serves on the board of directors of ITS America, and is an adjunct Associate Professor at NYU’s Center for Urban Science + Progress.

Bob Rausch is a Vice President with TransCore with over 48 years of experience in the design, installation, & integration of Intelligent Transportation Systems including traffic management centers and the production of hardware and software for transportation infrastructure devices and systems. He has been TransCore’s Technical Lead for New York City’s Traffic Management Systems since 1989 which now includes centrally managed Transit Signal Priority for the City’s Select Bus Service. He is active in the development of ITS & Connected Vehicle (CV) standards both in the US and internationally and is the Technical Development Lead for the New York City’s Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Project. He holds both a Bachelors and Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT.

Catherine McCullough is Founder and Executive Director of the Intelligent Car Coalition, a group of autonomous and connected car industry leaders. She also advises companies on technology and regulatory matters. In 2012, Catherine saw that the diverse auto, tech and telecommunications industries would converge and transform transportation. She built the ICC and has guided members through newly emerging regulatory territory, successfully helping to shape the marketplace into one that welcomes life-saving innovations.  Catherine also advises established and start-up companies in the IoT field that want to understand the marketplace implications of their regulatory exposure, and non-tech companies that want to understand how emerging technologies will impact their businesses. Catherine was raised in Washington and has spent the last 27 years building her own businesses and advising corporate and government decision-makers. She speaks regularly on complex issues at the heart of autonomous and connected car business models such as V2V and V2X communications, data use, privacy, cybersecurity, and federal autonomous vehicle policy at top industry conferences and to media.  Recently Catherine has brought her leadership and governance experience to roles serving on the Advisory Board of Gastropod, the award-winning podcast; as a mentor to start-ups at SXSW 2018; and as a member of the Steering Committee of Road to Zero, a group of over 600 stakeholders shaping the technologies that will eliminate road deaths.  Prior to building and operating the ICC, Catherine led teams to resolve critical issues for corporate clients as a government affairs consultant. Before that, she served as a Counsel for the powerful U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation working on issues shaping the tech, auto, insurance, and consumer product industries.  Catherine is an attorney and also holds degrees in Journalism and Political Science.

Mitch Dornich is Vice President of Product at Sirius XM Connected Vehicle where he oversees all aspects of strategic product development and service implementation, focusing on improving customer mobility experiences, while also driving revenue growth.  SiriusXM is a leading provider of connected vehicle services to OEMs in the US market, providing customers access to a suite of safety, security, and convenience services.  Mitch joined SXM in 2015 as Vice President of Operations, managing a variety of cross functional programs, systems and processes, interfacing directly with OEM partners.  Prior to SXM, he worked at Verizon Wireless where he was the Director of Product for Mobile Entertainment.  Mitch is a visionary product executive with over 20 years of experience building creative and advanced products for connected vehicles, consumer internet and mobile domains.

Dr. Jingtao Ma is co-founder and CTO of Traffic Technology Services, the information provider for the award-winning vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) application Audi connect ® Traffic Light Information. Dr. Ma oversees research, engineering, and cloud-based software system development in his role. He is also co-inventor of the core patents that comprise the company’s IP portfolio. Dr Ma is a registered Professional Engineer with a background in transportation engineering.

Click here for more information on Tim Cavanaugh.

Anna Convery-Pelletier joined Radware as the Chief Marketing officer in December 2016. As a member of the executive leadership team, she leads the global marketing organization, which consists of the corporate, product, field and channel marketing teams.  Ms. Convery is responsible for the marketing strategy that shapes the future of the Radware brand while directly increasing the marketing contribution to drive revenue and increase market share. Prior to Radware, Ms. Convery held the position of Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Strategy for OpenSpan Inc. (now Pega Systems Inc.) for five years. Ms. Convery has more than 25 years’ experience in enterprise technology, helping FORTUNE 500 companies drive operational and financial excellence, leveraging technology innovation to deliver digital transformation and world-class customer experience. At OpenSpan, Ms. Convery’s responsibilities included global go-to-market strategy and strategic enterprise growth for the company. Prior to OpenSpan, Ms. Convery held senior executive roles at NICE Systems Ltd., ClickFox, Inc., and Nexidia Inc., as well as global marketing and business development roles at IBM Corporation, Jacada Ltd. and Unibol Inc. Named a “Woman of the Year in Technology” by Women in Technology (WIT), Ms. Convery has received numerous industry awards and is a respected customer experience and enterprise transformation thought leader.

Michael Dean, the creator of the KidsConnect KC2 GPS Tracker Cell Phone. The worlds first 4G GPS Tracker Cell Phone designed specifically for keeping kids safe and in touch. Allowing parents to obtain peace of mind when letting their children explore this big wonderful world we live in. Michael is a graduate of Boston University with a Degree in marketing, and has been a lifelong entrepreneur. He has owned many successful business and has finally found one that lets him explore his passion for keeping children safe. Michael was inspired to find an easy to use cell phone and tracker by his grandson, who was born with Anophthalmia, a birth defect where the child is born blind. With this inspiration the KC1 (first version) was born. When other parents saw the device they asked if they can they use it for their children, and with the urging of these parents KidsConnect was born. “Imagine if you left the house without your phone, the anxiety would drive you crazy. There are 34 million children in the USA between the age of 4 and 11 who leave the house every day without any way to contact a family member or call for help. We live in a big scary world right now: School Shootings, Bullying at school, Abusive caregivers, or something as simple as missing a bus or getting off at the wrong bus stop can cause fear and distress in the heart of any parent and child.”

Danielle Michel is the CEO and Founder of Eyetemp. Tragedy almost struck in 2016 when an unattended candle she forgot about (located close to her son’s room) almost caused a fire. Danielle was very shaken up by this event and thought there must be a way to prevent this! She did her research on fire statistics and it was clear that the concern of leaving unattended appliances and candles in use was an extremely common problem that did not yet have a solution. Every since that day Danielle has dedicated 7 days a week working on a technical solution which evolved, Eyetemp. Eyetemp is a fire prevention device that reminds you if you leave on appliances or candles by alerting you through a mobile application.   Eyetemp has become both her passion and mission in life. She is also a CPA and has worked in the business field for over 10 years holding many key management positions, the latest being the Senior Controller of a multi million-dollar construction and manufacturing firm. Danielle grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. The desire to branch off and create her own business has always been an aspiring goal. Danielle graduated from Hofstra University in 2009 where she studied Business and Accounting. Danielle has owned various businesses in the past from fitness studios to professional businesses. She has always had a passion for inventing since her earliest memories.

R. Matthew Brach, PhD, PE is a Senior Managing Consultant with Engineering Systems Inc. of Aurora, Illinois specializing in automotive crash reconstruction. He earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He is the author of numerous technical papers covering topics that include nonlinear vibrations, automotive engine mount design and automotive accident reconstruction and is coauthor of the textbook Vehicle Accident Analysis and Reconstruction Methods, published by SAE.

Jamus Driscoll is CEO of Moltin, the provider of an API-first digital commerce platform that powers retail innovation. He is a seasoned software executive with a twenty-year track record of taking high-performing startup companies to market. Most recently, Jamus held a number of executive roles at Demandware, a commerce platform company that pioneered the use of the cloud for mission-critical, revenue generating business applications. Jamus’ tenure at Demandware spanned a decade from startup to Initial Public Offering and ultimately an acquisition by Salesforce.com in 2016.

Scott Chapps is Chief Creative Officer at Aura. His passion for product design and brand experience has led him to help launch upwards of 30+ start-ups such as Allbirds, Casper, and now Aura. Before joining Aura, Scott spent 20+ years collaborating with leading design firms in his native city of London, Sweden and the U.S., honing a truly global perspective on design. In 2006, Scott also co-founded ChappsMalina, a product design studio in New York City, and led multiple design initiatives for globally recognized brands across various industries, most notably, Samsung, Panasonic, Electrolux, PepsiCo, and Johnson & Johnson. Scott‘s contributions have won global design awards and he holds numerous U.S. listed design patents.

In 1986 my dad bought me my first XT DOS operated computer and I was very busy tearing it apart and reassembling it, till I discovered it had “Digger” installed, when I laid down the screwdrivers for a bit. Ever since I’ve been attached to the latest tech, with a strong affiliation to video, photography and sound as a filmmaker and content creator. A few years ago, I was lucky to cross path with temi at its very first stages and have been focused on giving birth to the world’s first personal robotic assistant that works and has value to its users.

Tom Connolly was appointed Vice President, Operations in March, 2018. Prior to this appointment Mr. Connolly was Operational Vice President, Business Analytics and Financial Planning since joining Brookstone in November, 2015. Prior to joining Brookstone, Mr. Connolly was Director, Business Planning & Analysis at Vestis Retail Group.. Before that, Mr. Connolly worked at Eastern Mountain Sports for many years, holding positions from Store Manager up to Director, Compensation & Benefits. Mr. Connolly holds a Bachelor of Arts from Haverford College, PA.

Leon Temiz is the founder and CEO of Electronics Expo a premiere consumer electronics and system integration retailer. Leon is a noted entrepreneur who has innovated in both physical retail and online sales. He is nationally recognized for his decades of work in the consumer technology industry.

Odyssey Toys is a family run company leading the industry in fun, exciting, and cutting edge toys and gaming experiences. We are investing a great deal of our creative juices in mixed reality in its limitless reaches.

Nick Cherukuri is the Founder and President of ThirdEye Gen, Inc. At ThirdEye, he leads the effort to bring the X1 AR Smart Glasses & AR platforms to the commercial and consumer worlds. Previously, he developed AR/VR applications that were successful in mobile App stores. He has lengthy experience with the software and hardware components of Augmented Reality and in creating powerful AR experiences for users as well as patents in the AR field. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where he was a founding member of the Penn AR/VR organization and also played Winger on the Men’s Rugby Team.

Chris Chuang is a California native turned North Carolina family man who is serious about finding solutions to tackle the challenge of screen addiction and children in today’s families. His personal motto is: Husband and Father first, CEO Next. For the past three years as CEO of Republic Wireless he has led teams working to develop a suite of products designed to help simplify family communications. Relay, the first product, is a WiFi 4G LTE screen free walkie talkie launching May 14, 2018. Thankfully, Relay is an opportunity that aligns all three roles in his life on a common mission to provide remarkably simple, affordable, and safe ways for families to stay in touch … starting with his wife and four young children, all of whom have growing needs to communicate as they explore the world around them. A graduate of Stanford, Chris has spent his entire 20+ year career in the technology sector, with a majority of his time focused on working with teams building innovative and disruptive solutions in the communications markets. He has been recognized for his leadership as a “40 under 40” winner, NC Tech Exec of the Year, and TechWire Top Startup Leader. Chris’ leadership abilities have been honed by his experiences across a variety of companies and roles. Before becoming CEO of Republic Wireless, Chris served as COO of Bandwidth, helping grow that business from a small private company generating tens of millions in annual
revenue to a profitable public company with hundreds of millions in annual revenue. Prior to Bandwidth, Chris was VP of Strategic Development at Motricity, where he led efforts to raise nearly $500M in venture capital and acquire three companies. Chris helped grow Motricity from $10M in annual revenue to over $100M, which later went public and reached a billion dollar market cap. Earlier in his career, Chris worked as an investor at Technology Crossover Ventures (a multibillion dollar VC fund) and as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, with both roles also focused on the communications markets.

Click here for more information on Marita McGinn.

Roddey is the Head of Partnerships @ b8ta, where he helps innovative brands, big and small, launch products into b8ta’s 80+ brick-and-mortar stores nationwide. And not just tech products. Roddey establishes partnerships with a wide assortment of brands who want consumers to experience their products first-hand in b8ta’s software-powered stores. When Roddey’s not talking about retail-as-a-service, he’s probably outside playing in the ocean or mountains.