Our Guest Hosts

Alex Pall

MantisVC & The Chainsmokers

Alex is the Founder of The Chainsmokers & Mantis Venture Capital.

Keith Ferrazzi

Author & Founder of Ferrazzi Greenlight

#1 NYT Bestselling Author of "Never Eat Alone | Keynote Speaker | Executive Team Coach | Founder, Chairman, & CEO, Ferrazzi Greenlight.

Cynthia Frelund

NFL Network On-Air Personality & Predictive Analytics Expert

Cynthia is an On-Air Predictive Analytics Expert at National Football League (NFL).

Asheem Chandna

Partner, Greylock Venture Partners

Asheem is a Partner for one of the Top Venture Capital firms in the world.  He seeks a partnerships with founders who have identified a problem in enterprise, cybersecurity or infrastructure software and are eager to apply rigorous thinking to build a path-breaking solution – even if the value proposition has yet to fully emerge.

Jedidiah Yueh

Founder of Avamar, Delphix, Software.com, SustainableIT.org

Jed is the bestselling author of Disrupt or Die, a book on innovation. He’s put his frameworks to the test at his own software companies, where he has shipped two products, Avamar and Delphix, that have both generated over a billion in revenues. 

Erik Barnes

PGA Pro Golfer

Erik is a 2x winning Profressional PGA Golfer.  Erik turned Pro in 2011.

Dave Sanderson

Leadership Speaker & Inspirational Survivor

Dave is a speaker and inspirational survivor of "The Miracle on the Hudson" - as the last passenger off of Flight 1549 which landed in the Hudson Bay on January 15, 2009.

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​Dave speaks internationally about "Defining Moments" and how to take that first step to find opportunities out of their own uncertainty.

Peter High

President of Metis Strategy, Host of Technovation podcast, columnist at Forbes, author, and keynote speaker.

Peter High is a strategist, lecturer, columnist, and author of "Getting to Nimble", "Implementing World Class IT Strategy" and "World Class IT: Why Businesses Succeed When IT Triumphs".  Additionally, Peter moderates the "Technovation with Peter High" podcast, in which he interviews CEOs, CIOs, other executives, and academics who are shaping the technology landscape.
Specialties: Business Strategy

Gamiel Gran

Chief Commercial Officer, Mayfield | Empowering Entrepreneurs to Scale Successful Ventures

Gamiel has a unique passion for helping drive corporate innovation and grow Mayfield’s early-stage portfolio. He runs the business development function for Mayfield and focuses specifically on accelerating product-market fit and early customer adoption for Mayfield’s investments.

He and his team have built a global network of CXOs, called the Mayfield Innovation Network, made up of CIOs, CTOs, CISOs and business leaders from across all industries, who need access to new ideas to compete in their own markets. This is a highly engaged global network whose members join CXO Insight forums, CXO of the Future Podcasts, and provide CXO Priorities in formal reports.

Dan Curran

Dan Curran is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Chapters.io, an innovative, AI-driven publishing ‘voice to text’ platform

Dan's entrepreneurial journey includes multiple successful exits, notably from Manifest.com, a leading content publishing company. Dan has also held prominent leadership roles with the American Advertising Federation and Entrepreneurs’ Organization.

Beyond his business achievements, Dan directed and produced the acclaimed documentary Saving St. Louis. He is also the author of the forthcoming book Chaos is a Ladder, which explores chaos not as an adversary but as a ladder—a transformative force that turns setbacks into opportunities, disruption into progress and uncertainty into a competitive edge.

Val Wright

Val is an Internationally acclaimed innovation and growth expert and was named as one of the top 50 resources for Chief Operating Officers by ClickSoftware.

Val has advised global clients including Amazon, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Starbucks, Lenovo, and the LA Lakers. She brings experience from high-growth roles at Amazon, BMW, Microsoft, Harrods, and Xbox. Her book Thoughtfully Ruthless: The Key to Exponential Growth (Wiley, 2016) earned multiple awards and was a UK Amazon bestseller. She has trademarked her unique leadership approach as Thoughtfully Ruthless®.

Chris Laping

Author & Founder of People Before Things

Best-Selling Author of People Before Things | Keynote Speaker | Executive Advisor | Founder of the Executive Business Studio | 4x CIO & Transformation Leader

Chris Smith

Partner, McKinsey & Company

Chris Smith is a Partner at McKinsey & Company based in Southern California. He leads Leap by McKinsey’s generative AI platform, focusing on building and scaling ventures that integrate AI and technology into core business strategies. His background includes leadership roles such as Chief Digital Officer at the AA (a UK roadside assistance company), multiple CTO positions, and founding a startup called Discussion Point. He also led the venture investment team at KPMG. Chris began his career as a software engineer in San Francisco and has experience across various industries, including media, mobility, entertainment, banking, health and wellness, and retail.

Mike Overly

Foley & Lardner LLP

Michael Overly, a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, specializes in IT, outsourcing, and privacy law. He holds multiple top industry certifications, including CISA, CISSP, and CIPP. Known for his expertise in drafting technology contracts and addressing workplace tech issues, he frequently speaks, publishes, and is cited in major media. He has testified before Congress on internet legal matters and authored several books, including Big Data: A Business and Legal Guide and A Guide to IT Contracting. His work bridges legal, technical, and business concerns in today’s digital landscape.

Gunil Chung

Author of Super Connector Manifesto; VP Enterprise Strategy at Box.

Gunil Chung is currently the VP Enterprise Strategy at Box, where he builds and runs executive communities for the company's most important customers.  He recently published the book, "Super Connector Manifesto" where he explores the 11 archetypes of super connectors and what they do to help bring people and communities together to help make the world better.  He identifies as a Community Builder, Catalyst, and Seer, and has been making meaningful connections and building communities for decades, including at Salesforce.com and an IT think tank called the Research Board.  He is a proud father to 3 daughters, and he strives to make the world more "inclusive, habitable, and loving" for his daughters, and by extension, all children.

Susan Lindner

Founder, Innovation Storytellers | Global Keynote Speaker | Host, "The Innovation Storytellers Show"

Susan Lindner is the Founder and CEO of Innovation Storytellers, a leading innovation storytelling consulting firm. She is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, workshop leader, messaging strategist, storytelling coach, and the world’s leading expert on innovation storytelling.

Anil Cheriyan

Founder/CEO of Phase IV Ventures; Former CTO Cognizant

Anil Cheriyan is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Phase IV Ventures (founded April 2018), where he leverages decades of leadership in enterprise technology, transformation, and consulting to advise venture- and growth-stage companies, private-equity firms, and boards.

Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Cognizant Technology Solutions (until mid-2023) and prior to that as EVP and CIO at Truist Financial (formerly SunTrust).

In addition to his operational roles, Anil sits on the boards of companies including Patra Corporation, Sparq and Tricentis, applying his deep experience in technology, business strategy, governance and innovation.