Location: AppNexus Razzle Dazzle Space, 28 W 23rd St, 4th floor, New York, NY 10010
Tickets: $20 early bird/ $45 general admission
Speaker Bios:
Nihal Mehta
Nihal Mehta is a Founding General Partner at Eniac Ventures. With over 15 years experience in marketing technologies through founding five startups and investing in 100+ since 1999, Nihal Mehta is a noted expert in the emerging adoption of mobile technologies for media properties and consumer brands.
Nihal founded M1 “Mobile-First” Summit in 2014, bringing together thousands of mobile innovators with two events/year in NYC and San Francisco. Prior to Eniac, Nihal co-founded LocalResponse, Inc. (now Qualia Media), which makes ads more relevant from social signals, which he pivoted from buzzd, the first mobile real-time city guide.[5][6] As the founding CEO, Nihal grew LocalResponse's revenues 2153% over a three year period, which placed the company to #204 (#14 in NYC) to the 2014 Inc. 5000's Fastest Growing Companies and #67 to the 2013 Forbes list of America's Most Promising Companies. Prior to LocalResponse, Nihal founded ipsh!, one of the first full-service mobile marketing agencies in 2001, which was acquired by Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) in 2005. Nihal's investment portfolio includes Admob (sold to Google), Airbnb, HotelTonight, InVenture, Saavn, Swiftkey, Tapad & Uber.
In 2014, Nihal was named to AlleyWatch’s “100 NYC Tech Influencers You Need to Know,” in 2013, a semi-finalist for "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Ernst & Young, in 2012 a top 100 "Coolest People in NY Tech," by Business Insider, a "NYC tech influencer" by VentureBeat, one of the "25 People Every New Founder Should Meet in New York Tech" a top "25 Up-And-Coming Startup CEO in New York" by Business Insider, and a 2012 AlwaysOn "Power Player NYC." Mehta was named a top 10 New York City "Game Changer" in the 2010 New York Enterprise Report, one of twenty RCR Wireless News "Mobile Movers and Shakers" in 2008, a BusinessWeek "M-Commerce Baron" in 2006 and named one of Ad Age's "Top 20 Marketers in Their 20s" in 2005. Nihal frequently guest lectures at business schools around the country on entrepreneurship and mobile marketing, and is published in over 15 books and white papers on the subject.
Nihal graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Philosophy and a BSE in Computer Science, where he was also a member of the Philomathean Society and the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity.
Reshma Saujani
Reshma Saujani is the Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, a national non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in technology. Through its Summer Immersion Programs and Clubs, Girls Who Code is leading the movement to inspire, educate, and equip young women with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities.
Started in 2012, the organization has grown to reach 10,000 girls in more than 40 states. In 2016, Girls Who Code will run more than 80 Summer Immersion Programs and 500 Clubs. The results speak for themselves: 90 percent of alumnae have declared or intend to declare a major or minor in computer science.
Reshma began her career as an attorney and activist. In 2010, she surged onto the political scene as the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress. During the race, Reshma visited local schools and saw the gender gap in computing classes firsthand, which led her to start Girls Who Code. Reshma has also served as Deputy Public Advocate for New York City and ran a spirited campaign for Public Advocate in 2013.
Reshma is the author of the groundbreaking new book, Women Who Don’t Wait In Line, in which she advocates for a new model of female leadership focused on embracing risk and failure, promoting mentorship and sponsorship, and boldly charting your own course — personally and professionally. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and Yale Law School. She’s been named one of Fortune’s 40 under 40, a WSJ Magazine Innovator of the Year, one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in New York by the New York Daily News, CNBC’s Next List, Forbes’s Most Powerful Women Changing the World, Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People, Crain’s New York 40 Under 40, Ad Age’s Creativity 50, Business Insider’s 50 Women Who Are Changing the World, City & State’s Rising Stars, and an AOL/PBS Next MAKER.
Reshma lives in New York City with her husband, Nihal, their son, Shaan, and their bulldog Stanley.
Roel Van Rijsewijk
Self-proclaimed ‘New Age Digital Anarchist’. Associate Partner of Deloitte with more than 15 years of experience working for technology enabled businesses in the field of risk management. Senior Fellow of Deloitte’s Centre for the Edge, our research facility that helps senior executives make sense of and profit from emerging opportunities on the edge of business and technology. Lives in Amsterdam, father of three girls. Roel was leading the Cyber Risk team in Amsterdam. A team of 150 professionals ranging from advisory and implementation experts to ethical hackers with deep technical expertise. After 2 years of leading and growing the Cyber team, Roel decided to give up the status and career that comes with a partnership at Deloitte, to only do what he does best. Roel gave his equity share in the firm back to become a senior fellow of Deloitte’s Center for the Edge.
There he takes deep dives in content to bring back what he finds with vision and inspiration. Cyber Space promises a kind of society that real space would never allow—freedom without anarchy, control without government and consensus without power. Control is born out of fear. To let go you need trust. Empowered by the brand and global network of Deloitte Roel purpose is to provide trust in an open cyber space.
Andrew Willis
Andrew Willis was born in Hong Kong went to school in Great Britain and has not stopped travelling ever since. Following time in the British Army, where he reached the rank of Captain, he has spent his life practicing in- tegrated marketing communications and marketing, mostly for global brands.
Andrew has worked in senior leadership positions for McCann Erickson, Ogilvy & Mather, IBM and Publicis and has been responsible for accounts that include IBM, American Express, HP, Citi and the Royal National In- stitute for the Blind.
He has been recognised with both creative and marketing effectiveness awards and has been a frequent speaker at conferences.
A survivor of both child sexual abuse and domestic violence, Andrew has dedicated the second half of his life to ending abuse and alleviating the suffering of those involved.
Diane Passage
Diane Passage is a life coach in New York City whose passion is empowering and inspiring women to face fears, find courage and authentically embrace their individuality. It is through her own uniquely trying experiences, both personally and professionally, that she is able to offer unparalleled perspectives and resources. Today, Diane helps people who are at their own crossroads realize they can restructure and enhance their lives to feel happier, more successful and fulfilled. Certified from New York University’s Coaching Program, Diane’s coaching work has been featured in the New York Post, Bill Cunningham Show, and on several news shows across the New York metro region. Diane’s background at University of Michigan and the Fashion Institute of Technology, as well as professional experience in entertainment, marketing, and entrepreneurship has given her a well-rounded viewpoint and objectivity in which to offer clients. Previously a single mother, Diane supports related charities and proudly served on the board of New York's Single Parent Resource Center. Diane is also a member of Mensa.
Alexandre Mars
Alexandre Mars is a serial entrepreneur and engaged philanthropist. Over the past 15 years, he launched and sold several companies in Europe and the United States in the business and technology sectors. Alexandre’s passion for entrepreneurship blossomed early; he started his first venture at 17. His last two startups, Phonevalley (a mobile marketing agency) and ScrOOn (a social media management system), were sold to Publicis Groupe and Blackberry.
Alexandre is passionate about fighting inequalities. In 2014, he founded Epic Foundation to bridge the gap between a new generation of individual and corporate donors and organizations supporting children and youth globally. Epic is developing new tools focused on enhancing how donors select, monitor and experience their impact. His vision is to disrupt the philanthropic industry by combining passion and expertise with game-changing technology and partnerships.
Alexandre is regularly quoted by the Financial Times, Le Monde, Forbes andBloomberg. He has been invited to share his mobile/digital and philanthropic vision at a variety of events including the Global Philanthropy Forum, One Young World Summit, Columbia University, Advertising Week, Mobile World Congress and NEXUS Youth Summit. He is a regular guest speaker on BFMTV, France’s most watched news network. He is an active member of the Global Philanthropists Circle at Synergos, Young Presidents’ Organization and Nexus.
In 2015, Alexandre was named one of New York City’s top 20 philanthropists under 40 by the New York Observer.
A longstanding member of the technology community, Alexandre continues to invest in high-growth technology companies through his family office Blisce/, including Spotify, Pinterest and Blablacar.
Alexandre lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three children, whom he adores traveling with.
A devoted practitioner of mixed martial arts, Alexandre loves sports; he ran both the Paris and New York City Marathons.