MEET OUR SPEAKERS

Getting you from idea to impact - A global citizen, executive, intra/entrepreneur and advisor, Ms. Stewart’s career spans all 25 of the top industries, 20 countries, and 5 different C-level titles; currently COO for Planet Smart City’s Thinkubator and a certified advanced sustainability practitioner. Her strength is bringing breadth and depth of perspective to inspire transformation, create opportunity, and monetize value where strategy, innovation, community, and sustainability converge. With this approach Susannah has designed new markets, companies, brands, products, and services ranging from real estate to renewable energy, marine economy to med-tech, luxury yachts to logistics, FMCG to food, military defense manufacturing to men’s fashion, education to environment, consulting to city regeneration. Susannah doesn’t just prepare organizations for the future; she helps them to define and create a sustainable one. 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Sustainability Convergence: From idea to impact through co-innovation, community, and conscientious capital 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: Sustainability is not a trend, goal, or ever been a single, specific thing; instead, it’s a veritable and viable strategy, an applied methodology, an agile approach, and most importantly a set of integrated and ever-changing outcomes. With community as enabler, physical space as amplifier, digitalization as accelerator, and co-innovation as facilitator, multidimensional impact (profit+prosperity) is guaranteed, from strategizing what is possible to implementing what is profitable. Technology is the thread integrating these outcomes, where digital natives drive digital naturalization, accessibility and mobility move the masses, merchandise, and even minds, and the past finds its place in a future where intelligence, inspirational and artificial, enables a present of personalized yet predictive processes and collaborative models leverage shared purpose to get beyond ESG promise to monetizable products and projects.

Rika is a technology leader, angel investor, best-selling author, and frequent public speaker on technology-powered industry transformation. She is Global Vice President with NTT’s New Ventures & Innovation team where she is building Agile Co-innovation practices for emerging technologies like 5G, Edge Computing, AI, and IoT. In her additional role as Head of Sustainability for Americas at NTT, Rika is driving NTT's sustainability ambition in operations while also orchestrating the go-to-market for NTT's climate-positive solutions across their portfolio of digital infrastructure solutions. For 2 consecutive years in 2022 & 2023, Rika has been awarded “Power 70” and “Power 80” recognition for the Women of Channel awards with The Channel Co’s CRN network. 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Artificial Intelligence is Dangerous: But not for the reasons I bet you think 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: There is a risk that a singular focus on digital technologies in our lives has led us to overlook the tangible magic in organic systems and the intelligence that has sustained the life of organisms for millions of years longer than us mere humans. As leaders and innovators, it is our responsibility to nurture intelligent design in the very fabric of our organic ecosystem alongside digital systems, and tap into the power of "Organic Intelligence™" integrates with the intelligence that permeates the natural world - the inherent mathematical principles, patterns, and diversity found in animals, plants, DNA strands, and more. These lifeforms have demonstrated resilience over millions of years, embodying intelligence through their ability to plan, be creative, problem-solve, and more. This concept represents the convergence of the digital and physical realms, where we can drive meaningful and productive transformations in business, politics, and society.

With over 20-year experience working in the technology and creative sectors in both Asia and the UK, Viola currently working as a Senior Accelerator Programme Manager with Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) supporting startups and entrepreneurs to unleash innovation and maximising sustainable impact through Accelerator programmes. She is a finalist of the British Asian Women of Achievement in 2023, a founding member of Diverse Talents Network, Business Mentor and Advisor to several Accelerators and startups and a regular judge and speakers for sustainability innovation. Prior to joining CISL, she was part of the founding team establishing the London Fashion Fund, which supported start-ups and entrepreneurs to address innovation and sustainability in the fashion industry. 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: The role innovation plays in achieving a sustainable and just economy 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: Our world is facing sustainability challenges both environmentally and socially. Technology and innovation seem to the answer to these challenges, but what is the role innovation plays in the transition to a sustainable and just economy? In this session, we will explore the challenges ahead and how we might support accelerate this transition.