Jenny Feterovich is an award-winning TV and film producer known for the hit TV show “START UP” and the award-winning feature- length documentary “The Russian Five” amongst the long list of notable projects. 

She’s a lifelong entrepreneur and small business advocate, focusing on empowering women and immigrants in business. Jenny also made a name in the music world as the globetrotting DJ Jenny LaFemme and co-creator of Girls Gone Vinyl, an organization that highlights and advances women in electronic music.

Jenny currently serves as EO Detroit’s President and holds several key leadership positions within EO.

Jenny arrived in the US with six suitcases and US$100. Her family fled their native Soviet Union, landed in Detroit in 1989, and immediately started a small business. Since then, she has created several corporations, worked with Fortune 500 companies (including American Express, General Motors, State Farm, Jaguar Land Rover, UPS, Microsoft, GoDaddy), and has traveled as a motivational speaker. Jenny is Global Speaker’s Academy Certified Speaker and has spoken at Google Talks, TEDx, EO Alchemy, One Canada, DIG South, SUP-X, and Detroit Startup Week. She also volunteers for nonprofits around the world, including Habitat for Humanity and Godmothers Detroit.

Learn more about Jenny here.

John Sanei is a globally renowned keynote speaker, futures strategist, and five-time bestselling author with a unique blend of neuroscience, psychology, quantum science, business strategy, and futurism. He equips future-minded leaders with the courage and determination needed to bring about lasting change. John’s expertise has earned him the trust and respect of top leaders, CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, governments, and even royal families worldwide. As a leading voice on the intersection of neuroscience and the future, John helps leaders prepare their brains for what lies ahead, promoting optimism and empowering individuals and organizations to navigate the unknown with confidence and energy. With a deep understanding of the brain and its capabilities, John is at the forefront of shaping the way we think about and approach the future.

Session Description:

Session 1 – Human 2.0: upgrading our internal systems for the digital age

Embark on a journey with John through the captivating realms of neuroplasticity, frequency, and quantum science as we explore the next stage of human evolution. Learn why hardware upgrades are essential and why software updates fall short of unlocking our true potential. With his trademark wit and wisdom, John will inspire you to evolve, elevate, and transcend towards a better future. Gain practical tips and strategies for personal and professional growth in this thought-provoking talk that will leave you feeling empowered to upgrade your potential.

Session 2 – Trans-for-motion: navigating today’s challenges to create a better tomorrow

This interactive keynote session will provide participants with strategies and insights to navigate the challenges of today and create a better tomorrow. Attendees will learn how to build organizational agility and resilience while keeping the lights on, and why it’s crucial to embrace lasting transformation. Through case studies, research insights, and interactive exercises, participants will gain a better understanding of how to overcome emotional blocks, biases, and assumptions that hinder success, and how to build successful teams for the future.

Learn more about John at johnsanei.com.

Salim is a sought-after business strategist who presents globally to the leaders of many of the world’s largest companies and Heads of State.

He is the Founder and Chairman of ExO Works and OpenExO, which help companies implement the lessons from Exponential Organizations by emulating the world’s fastest-growing companies. They inspire innovators to replace incremental innovation with 10X improvements, implement groundbreaking technologies and profitably achieve large-scale social impact. As a result, they have created billions of dollars of return on investment over the past four years for clients, including Procter & Gamble, HP, Visa, BHP, and Stanley Black & Decker.

Salim is a serial entrepreneur. Most recently, he founded OpenExO, Inc. He previously founded several technology companies, including New York Grant Company, Confabb, PubSub Concepts, Fastrack Institute, and Ångströ, which Google acquired in 2010. In addition, he led Brickhouse, Yahoo!’s internal incubator, was the Founding Executive Director of Singularity University, and is a Board member of XPRIZE Foundation. These associations give him extraordinary access to the most influential innovators of our time, plus technologies and business ideas while they are in stealth mode.

Salim’s quantum physics and philosophy education combined with his career experience gives him a uniquely macro vision of how the institutions that underpin our society and economy are broken and should be fixed. Moreover, his entertaining, irreverent, epiphany-inducing presentations are known for impressing even the most skeptical listeners.

He has been featured across many media outlets, including The New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, WIRED, Vogue, Fox Business, and the BBC. Part of Salim’s magnetism is that he speaks from experience in transforming companies.

Session description:

Salim has been building disruptive digital companies as a serial entrepreneur since the early 2000s. As a result of accelerating change, a new breed of businesses is scaling 10 times faster than established organizational structures. Salim Ismail calls these exponential organizations. This talk describes the characteristics and attributes of these organizations and finishes with how to implement these ideas into established companies. He looks at today’s fastest growing technologies and the social impact they will have on our organizational, political, legal, educational, and medical systems. From artificial intelligence to biotech, these disruptive technologies are changing the face of many disparate industries and creating new innovations and opportunities. Audiences walk away with a tailored action plan for moving forward that utilizes five internal and five external strategies to spur astounding growth – like partnering with an incubator and transforming their organization’s leadership team.

Learn more about Salim here

Over the past 19 years, Vusi Thembekwayo – popularly known as VT – has traveled the globe inspiring, educating and motivating leaders to achieve beyond their boundaries. As a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies and some of the most powerful business titans in both Wall Street and Main Street, VT is amongst the youngest entrepreneurs globally to grace the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine.

It’s not every day that Sir Bob Geldof calls someone “F$&*ing AMAZING,” but Bob is not alone in recognizing VT’s ability to distill complex and ground-breaking concepts into actionable soundbites. VT’s name has become synonymous with being a business maverick, inimitable and with a personal brand that is solidly grounded in accomplishments. As a source of business wisdom, VT has published two best-selling books that collectively have sold more than half-a-million copies worldwide.

His charismatic social media engagement often mirrors that of a rockstar, with over 1million of followers on Facebook. VT is among the top 10 most followed Africans on LinkedIn, with more than 720,000 followers and more than 500,000 followers on Twitter.

VT is the founder CEO of the MyGrowthFund Venture Partners, a growth capital technology investor with an acute focus on impact investment driving financial inclusion and access to healthcare and education using technology. VT is also the convener of Iconoclasts Knowledge Bureau, a Dubai-based strategy and market intelligence advisory helping investors, companies, governments and nonprofits to unlock partnerships and secure market-entry into the world’s fastest growing emerging economies. Leading by example, his team forces medium, large and listed businesses into much-needed, often painful, always lucrative new directions.

VT also co-owns VUKA Capital, is a general partner of middle east-based Watermark Afrika Capital and the chairman of Thembekwayo Legacy Group, a conglomerate with interests in real estate, hospitality, mining and commodity trading.

No surprise then that VT has received several awards for his entrepreneurial flair, including being crowned a Titan of Africa by the UAE-Africa Group in Dubai.

VT has been featured on Forbes, Bloomberg, CNBC and several other global media.

Session Description:

The Future of Hope

In this keynote, Vusi Thembekwayo discusses the importance of hope in the human and technology connection. While there are many challenges facing society today, technological advancements have the potential to address some of the most pressing issues, such as climate change and social inequality.

Hope is the arch of humanity that has shifted the trajectory of the world. Technology is the accelerant through which humanity has delivered that change. Instead of presenting a dystopian look at the future, this keynote aims to create human connections.

However, hope alone is not enough. It is crucial to take action and ensure that the benefits of technology are shared fairly across society and that it is used in responsible and sustainable ways. Vusi Thembekwayo uses this keynote to highlight the need to invest in education and training, promote ethical standards, and hold companies accountable when they fall short. It is important to have conversations about the impact of technology on society and the planet. The audience is encouraged to embrace the challenge of using technology in ways that uplift all people and protect the planet. By working together and taking action, we can build a brighter future for ourselves and future generations.

Learn more about Vusi here.

The Ndlovu Youth Choir was initiated in 2009 as part of a childcare programme of the Ndlovu Care Group (NGO), based in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The choir flourished so quickly, that in 2018 the decision was made to change it from a healing programme into a youth employment programme. This decision proved pivotal, as within a year the choir was catapulted onto the world stage after appearing on America’s Got Talent (AGT)!

A chance viewing of their rendition of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” brought them to the attention of legendary music producer and record executive Simon Cowell, and this prompted their meteoric rise to fame.

The Choir’s incredible run on America’s Got Talent made them the first choir in the history of America’s Got Talent and Britain’s Got Talent to reach the finale. Their soul-stirring performances over the course of the competition won hearts and minds around the world. After their final AGT performance, Simon Cowell labeled their performance, “The best finale I have ever seen in my life.” He went on to sign the Choir and together with SYCO and Sony Music they released their first album in November 2019, which debuted at number one on the Global iTunes Chart. 

Learn more about the Ndlovu Choir here

Wildlife and literacy activist, Boyd Varty, author of the memoir Cathedral of the Wild, had an unconventional upbringing. Born to a family of conservationists, Boyd grew up on Londolozi Game Reserve in the South African wilderness, a place where man and nature strive for balance and where perils exist alongside wonders. Founded more than 90 years ago as a hunting ground, Londolozi was transformed into a nature reserve in 1973 by Varty’s father and uncle, both visionaries of the restoration movement. But it wasn’t just a sanctuary for the animals; it was also a place for ravaged land to flourish again and for the human spirit to be restored. When Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years of imprisonment, he went to the reserve to recover.

Since childhood, Boyd shared his home with lions, leopards, snakes and elephants, spending his life as an apprentice to the wisdom of nature. Boyd survived a harrowing black mamba encounter, a debilitating bout with malaria and a vicious crocodile attack, but his biggest challenge was a personal crisis of purpose. As a university student, he studied psychology and ecology, supplementing his education by learning martial arts in Thailand, hiking through the jungles of the Amazon and working alongside a renowned tracker from the Shangaan tribe, deepening his intimate knowledge of the natural world. Boyd grew up speaking the local language and learning the true meaning of coexistence between people and nature.

Boyd continues, like any tracker, to follow unconventional pathways. He spent the past decade refining the art of using the wilderness as a place for deep introspection and personal transformation. He has dedicated several years to working in ceremonial spaces as an apprentice to a Peruvian shaman, while generating his own system of coaching called “Track your Life.” His system draws on lessons from the ancient artistic form of tracking to help people find more meaning, purpose and motivation.

Having taught his philosophy of “Tracking your Life” to companies and individuals all over the world, he has earned global recognition and featured in the New York Times and NBC. Boyd has a psychology degree from the University of South Africa, he is a certified Master Life Coach, the author of two books and a TEDx speaker.

Session Description

Ubuntu

One of the ancient lessons from Africa is Ubuntu: I am because of you. A concept that is more relevant today than ever before. In his keynote session, Boyd will use the traditional medium of African storytelling to introduce his audience to a deeper understanding of the Ubuntu philosophy.

The talk will lead you in how discovering people–and the whole natural world–helps us to deepen our own humanity. Boyd’s talk shares stories of his time with Nelson Mandela, his experiences in the African bush with his friend and tracker Solly Mhlongo, as well as other encounters at the world renowned Londolozi Game Reserve.

Workshop Session

To learn more about Boyd’s GLC Workshop session, click here

Learn more about Boyd here

Candice Mama was named in the Top 20 African Women by the African Union and United Nations celebrating women who have contributed to building peace in Africa, presented by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

Chosen by the United Nations as #UN75years 75 people.

Candice’s story was heard by the Dalai Lama at the Mind Institute.

Her previous speaking engagements include:

• Bill Clinton’s Good Friday Agreement Ceremony
• Louis Vuitton Foundation
• Campus Party… to name a few

Her passion is in helping others through various mediums heal and live meaningful life.

Session Description

Forgiveness Redefined

Candice will share her own powerful story of growing up under apartheid in South Africa and the life-changing events that led her to pursue the path of forgiveness. She will share her message of “Forgiveness Redefined” and how recognizing our shared humanity and the courage to forgive can change everything.

Learn more about Candice here

Elatia Abate is an entrepreneur, futurist and educator who created the Future of Now to help humans and companies thrive in the face of inevitable disruption and prepare for the ever-changing future ahead. She has consulted and advised organizations like PricewaterhouseCoopers, UniGroup, Verizon, University of Arizona and University of Cincinnati.

Named a leading female futurist by Forbes and recognized as a Global Futurist Speaker by the Transdisciplinary Agora for Future Discussions, Elatia’s personal mission is to inspire others to shed despair and fear, replacing them with regenerative resilience when confronted with uncertainty. She has shared this mission with tens of thousands around the world, speaking at organizations like SEI, NY Life, VRBO, Deloitte, Belcorp and SHRM, as well as gracing the TEDx stage to discuss pioneering the future of work.

Before making the shift to entrepreneurship, Elatia had a successful international corporate career, serving as Global Director of Talent Acquisition with Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer. There, she led the design of the company’s global employer brand and was a co-founder of the company’s innovation lab in Palo Alto, CA. She also served as Vice President of Human Resources at Dow Jones & Company where she led global innovation initiatives.

When Elatia isn’t teaching or speaking around the world, she passes her knowledge on to others as an instructor in the Continuing Studies Departments of the University of Chicago and Stanford University. She received both her BA

and MBA from the University of Chicago.

Session Description

The first energetic revolution: your leadership in the Quantum Age

How we work and live is changing faster than any other time in history. In fact, the speed of change has accelerated from exponential to instantaneous.

The World Economic Forum says we have stepped into the 4th Industrial Revolution, the so called “Age of Convergence.” Thanks to technologies that make the ubiquitous connectivity of the Internet of Things possible, combined with a growing understanding of quantum physics, mechanics and computing, what we have actually entered is the first energetic revolution.

What does this mean in general, and crucially, what does this mean for our leadership? How can we develop our capacity to lead successfully in an emergent world?

The intersection of the futures of work, strategy and leadership have never been more dynamic, and this conversation will explore how rigid data-driven strategies limit rather than expand the potential for businesses to thrive. We will examine the logic and applicability of quantum dynamics for your organization, why working in community is more important than ever and provide practical tools to help you turn uncertainty into tangible results.

Learn more about Elatia here

Hanson Robotics’ most advanced human-like robot, Sophia, personifies our dreams for the future of AI. As a unique combination of science, engineering, and artistry, Sophia is simultaneously a human-crafted science fiction character depicting the future of AI and robotics, and a platform for advanced robotics and AI research.

The character of Sophia has captured the imagination of global audiences. She has become the world’s first robot citizen and the first robot Innovation Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme. Sophia is quickly becoming a household name, with appearances on the Tonight Show and Good Morning Britain, in addition to speaking at hundreds of conferences around the world.

Session Description

Hear from Hanson Robotics’ latest human-like robot, created by combining innovations in science, engineering and artistry. She is a personification of their dreams for the future of AI, as well as a framework for advanced AI and robotics research, and an agent for exploring human-robot experience in service and entertainment applications. In this session, she will share where AI and robotics are heading and open our minds to what might be possible in the future.

Learn more about Sophia here

Zamaswazi (Swati) Dlamini-Mandela is the granddaughter of Nelson and Winnie Mandela. She is the daughter of Prince Thumbuzani and Princess Zenani Mandela, currently the Ambassador to South Korea. She has a background in public relations and holds a degree in PR and Marketing. After a lengthy career in PR, Swati moved to the fashion and retail industry, heading up the press office for House of Busby and managing the business strategy and direction of international brands such as Mango and Claire’s.

In 2017, Swati debuted a luxury fashion collection, a collaboration with bespoke suit maker Roi Kaskar. Swati co-authored the autobiography 491 Days with the Nelson Mandela Foundation about her grandmother and co-produced a documentary about the life of Winnie Mandela. She recently participated in the publishing of The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela. She has also been providing management consulting services to numerous companies in the transport and infrastructure sector.

In addition, Swati is a co-founder of the Long Walk to Freedom Brand and founding partner of Qunu Workforce, South Africa’s leading consultancy creating equality in the workforce for those living with disabilities. She has been a spokesperson for the 21 Icons project, a visual celebration of South Africa’s most iconic people capturing human achievement through photography, film and narratives. She is a humanitarian and international speaker whom is passionate about her fundraising endeavors and sharing thoughts on women driving transformation and unlocking economic and social development in Africa.

Session Description

In this interview, we will hear HRH Princess Dlamini-Mandela’s first-hand account of growing up as one of the granddaughters of Nelson and Winnie Mandela and how she and others are honoring their legacy.

Learn more about the Nelson Mandela Foundation here

Bear Grylls is notably one of the most recognizable adventurers on the planet.

He is a former 21 SAS soldier, who went on to become one of the youngest-ever climbers of Mount Everest, despite breaking his back in a free-fall accident only months earlier.

From Everest, he has gone on to host more extreme adventure TV shows across more global networks than anyone else in history. Bear’s shows include the legendary Discovery channel show MAN Vs WILD and the hit show RUNNING WILD with Bear Grylls, now in its seventh season on National Geographic Channel. His Running Wild guests have included President Obama, Roger Federer, Julia Roberts, Prime Minister Modi of India and many other stars.

Off screen, he is a family man and a number one bestselling author who has sold over 20 million books to date. Grylls is the Honorary Colonel to the British Royal Marine Commandos, and the first-ever Chief Ambassador to the World Scout Organization representing 55 million young Scouts worldwide.

Session Description

Hear from world-renowned adventurer Bear Grylls on his life of curiosity and exploration. In this session, he will speak about choosing a path of courage when faced with the worst of Mother Nature, time and time again.

Learn more about Bear here

Dave Will has been a member of the Boston EO chapter for 12 years and is host of the global EO 360 podcast. After getting fired from his job in 2001, he started a software company and successfully sold it in 2015. Not too long after the sale of his company, he started his next software company, PropFuel, a B2B engagement platform for member-based organizations. He’s an adventurer, a family man, an entrepreneur and a lover.

Learn more about Dave here

Franziska is a maverick entrepreneur, leading marketing and brand strategist, mad adventurer, author and the founder of Basic Bananas, Oceanlovers, and Moments of Humanity.

In 2013, Franziska was awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award recognizing her innovation, creativity and philanthropic involvement. As an EO member and past Board member, she launched an EO impact initiative called EOcean to inspire entrepreneurs to protect our ocean.

Franziska is also the author of four bestselling books – Bananas About Marketing, Perception, The Courage Map (foreword by Sir Richard Branson) and Social Media for Small Business.

A Swiss born Australian (or Swaussie) with a sharp-witted humour and the ability to speak five languages, she is known to make up words, which keeps everyone amused.

The key to Franziska’s success is her down-to-earth attitude, infectious energy, integrity and courage to take the lead. She is an idea generation machine, loves solving complex challenges and her brain often seems to work on double-speed. Franziska is a big believer in social business and is heavily involved in various ocean conservation and sustainability projects.

In her spare time Franziska loves spending time with her family and friends, going on motorbike adventures, wave surfing, playing music, reading, and learning new things.

Session Description

As entrepreneurs we are often called to take the road less travelled in order to become better leaders and make a bigger difference in the world. It takes courage to do so. In this workshop, Franziska Iseli shares experiences and lessons gained from her motorcycle journey along the Silk Road, riding 12,000km from Switzerland to Kazakhstan with a stop at the Iranian border, where she was denied entry due to an unexpected mishap.

Join this session to explore more about:

• Courage – Are we born courageous or is it a skill that can be learned?
• Perspective – How to gain fresh perspectives from the most unexpected places.
• Zen mind – How to stay calm in the face of adversity and let challenges fuel our journey.
• Travel tunes – The seven most important ‘mantras’ to support us in taking the roads less travelled.
• Pit stops – Insightful questions to ponder to keep practicing courage.

Get ready for some fascinating tales from the road that inspire, captivate and motivate. You’ll walk away energized and with your very own courage map mapped out. (Note: this session is inspired by Franziska’s third book The Courage Map, forwarded by Sir Richard Branson).

Learn more about Franziska here.

Kaila Colbin is the founder and CEO of Boma, an organization building a world of intentional, intelligent, courageous leaders. An award-winning leader renowned for impact, Kaila developed TEDxChristchurch into New Zealand’s flagship TEDx event, brought Singularity University to New Zealand and Australia and founded the non-profit Ministry of Awesome. Her work to champion Aotearoa, New Zealand, on a global stage saw her awarded the 2022 Kea World Class New Zealand “Friend of New Zealand” award. Her purpose in life is to be an uplifting presence.

Session Description

Courage in action: where to from here

After three days of extraordinary inspiration and insight, we now face a call to action: how do we take what we’ve learned and apply it once we leave here? Join Kaila Colbin, futurist and courage expert, for a powerful look at what it takes to turn inspiration into action — leaving us ready to move forward with courage and compassion.

Learn more about Kaila here.

In 2011, Stephen McGown, a tourist on a motorcycle, was abducted by Al Qaeda up in North Africa, Mali. He was taken beyond his will far into the Saharan desert for the following six years to be either negotiated out of captivity or executed. Hidden from the local Malian and Western military forces, he was forced to change camps regularly. He faced food shortages, water shortages, the severity of living outdoors in the Saharan climate and the overwhelming anxieties and insecurities of whether he would survive to ever see his family again. With no contact with his family nor the outside world, he had to take control of himself, step up and adapt mentally and physically.

Six years later he was released to return home.

As a normal guy whose life thrown into disarray, he has become a much sought-after speaker with his self-taught methods of adjusting, being resilient, and making the most of what life throws at us.

Session Description

Freedom is an attitude

With courage and a determination to survive, Stephen emerged from captivity with a newfound strength and commitment to optimism and gratitude. In this session, he will share his remarkable story of mental fortitude, physical endurance, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Learn more about Stephen here.

Drum Cafe has been delivering interactive events for 25 years.  Over the past quarter century, they became masters in interactive music, having delivered 85,000 events in 65 countries. They have evolved to fit the changing times. In the nineties, the focus was motivation and entertainment, but now that the world has changed, their focus shifted to connection and being in the moment.

Every musician working for Drum Cafe is passionate about drumming and this can be felt at every performance. Drum Cafe gives everyone, even non-musicians, a taste of the magic of creating music as a group.

Learn more about Drum Cafe here.