Learning

“Jugaad” is a unique Indian way of entrepreneurial problem-solving and cost effective innovation. For centuries, Jugaad has been put into practice by Indian entrepreneurs, from small street vendors to multi-billion dollar global businesses. Even today, it is being increasingly adopted by global firms. At the 2017 EO Hyderabad University, get ready to learn about this unique proposition that transcends adversities, converting them into opportunities, inspiring a nation of innovators and entrepreneurs across business verticals. Learn about the various tips and tricks of Jugaad to set your business on the fast track, from an impressive array of global, regional and local speakers, entrepreneurs and thought leaders who have been there and done that.

Given below are details of some of the various learning sessions around Jugaad, India and you:

  • The Dynamics of Family Businesses
  • Digital India
  • The Future of Finance
  • Science and AI/Robotics
  • Energy and Biotech
  • Disruptive Technology of the Future
  • Social Entrepreneurship

Please check back as more speakers are announced!

Varun Agarwal

Varun Agarwal

Breakout Speaker

First-generation Indian Entrepreneur, Filmmaker and Author

Speaker Biography

Varun Agarwal is a first-generation Indian entrepreneur, filmmaker and author. Born on 6 December 1987 in Bangalore, India, he attended Bishop Cotton Boys’ School before going on to study engineering at the CMR Institute of Technology in Bangalore, Karnataka. He decided to drop out of college because he lacked interest in pursuing engineering and started making short films instead.

Shortly after this, he co-founded Last Minute Films. LMF is an indie film production company which focuses on producing music videos, corporate films and ad films. As a filmmaker, Varun has directed A. R. Rahman and Preity Zinta and also worked with Karan Johar which he considers to be one of the greatest experiences of his life. Varun’s video channel has over 1 million views.

At 22 he co-founded his second business venture, Alma Mater with his friend Rohn Malhotra. Alma Mater has successfully partnered with educational institutions across India in being able to make and supply customized sweatshirts to alumni. It is now India’s largest company for providing merchandise to students of schools and colleges. In addition to founding these two companies, he also co-founded Reticular. Varun has been featured on the cover of India Today and on CNBC’s Young Turks show.

After his success with Alma Mater, his debut book, the semi-autobiographical story How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company, chronicling his journey as an entrepreneur was published by Rupa Publishers and became a best-seller.

Speaker Session

How to Make the Most of What You Have

Session Abstract:

 

We as entrepreneurs have numerous decisions to make each day, however, we end up over-analyzing many of these decisions. Varun will be telling his story about how sometimes “Not Over Thinking,” under analyzing, and trusting your instincts helps you make stronger and faster decisions. Through the “Don’t Think” concept, he;ll be highlighting his journey to Bollywood and entrepreneurship, and will talk briefly about the Indian startup ecosystem.

“Don’t Think” as a concept also applies to sometimes using “Jugaad” to make the most of what you have. Varun ended up writing a book about how he created his company even before we had achieved any measurable success. The book put his company on the map and received a first round of funding because of that. To anyone else, writing a book about a company no one has even heard of would be a really “stupid idea” but using “Jugaad” actually helped his company in achieving their goals.

Varun will converse about similar instances of “Jugaad” where people have used content and video marketing to take their brands and startups to the next level. Brands like, Dollar Shave Club, SoFlo, and others. He’ll discuss how video marketing works and what it takes to make a viral video.

He’ll be ending with a brief talk about millennial customers; how one needs to treat them as friends rather than customers and how to connect with them and speak their language.

 

In this session, you’ll learn:
  • Why you shouldn’t think too much. Stop overanalyzing anything and everything. Sometimes it is best to take the leap and then think.
  • Why sometimes, being stupid really helps. Jugaad can turn challenges into fantastic opportunities
  • Why video and content marketing is the future, and it’s not very difficult to win this game.
  • Why you should start treating your customers as your friends. To do that you need to understand who they are and how to speak their language.

Dr. Simone Ahuja

Dr. Simone Ahuja

Keynote and Breakout Speaker

Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur

Speaker Biography

Dr. Simone Ahuja is an author, speaker and founder of Blood Orange, an innovation and strategy consultancy. Headquartered in Minneapolis with global teams, Blood Orange helps firms address disruption, and behave like startups by leveraging a fast and frugal innovation methodology for moving ideas to execution. Simone and her team provide consulting services, interactive innovation labs, and keynotes to organizations including 3M, Procter & Gamble, Target Corp, Medtronic, Stanley Black and Decker, and the World Economic Forum.

Simone is a Harvard Business Review (HBR.org) columnist and serves as an advisor to MIT’s Practical Impact Alliance. She is also co-author of the international bestseller, Jugaad Innovation: Think Frugal, Be Flexible, Generate Breakthrough Growth, called “the most comprehensive book yet on the subject” of frugal innovation by the Economist, and a forthcoming book on intrapreneurship, Disrupt-It-Yourself (Harper Collins, 2018).

Speaker Session

Keynote: Juggad Innovation - A Fast, Frugal and Flexible Approach for Sustainable Growth | Workshop: How to Do More with Less - An Interactive Mini-Lab

Session Abstract:

Achieving sustainable growth in a global economy characterized by volatility, complexity and resource scarcity creates multiple challenges for large and small firms alike. Such a challenging economic environment, coupled with consumers who are demanding more value at a lower cost for the products and services they buy, is creating an urgency to innovate better, faster and cheaper. Solutions to these challenges can be found through the practice of jugaad (or frugal) innovation, a low cost, agile and user-centered approach to innovation inspired by emerging markets, with high relevance for global companies. Jugaad innovation occurs at the intersection of business, design and social innovation, and results in the creation of affordable, sustainable and accessible solutions to problems across the value chain.

This experiential mini-lab will increase participants’ understanding of frugal innovation through a short lecture, video, and hands on, interactive group exercises. Jugaad innovation is driven by an ability to do more with less, use resource constraints as an advantage with an agile, and at times improvised approach to user-centric problems. As participants learn the principles employed by frugal innovators, they will also learn how these principles are actionable in their own work practices.

In this session, you’ll learn:
  • How to develop a frugal innovation mindset.
  • A clear methodology leading to value for money solutions.
  • The value of experimentation, agility and rethinking whose job it is to innovate.

Ronit Baras

Ronit Baras

Breakout Speaker

Parenting Expert, Educator, Author

Speaker Biography

Ronit Baras is a parenting expert, educator, life coach, author, journalist and justice of the peace. She is an international speaker and presenter and has been writing, coaching, presenting and teaching emotional intelligence techniques around the world for over 32 years.

In the last 10 years, she has delivered workshops, training sessions and presentations to over 100,000 parents, teachers, students, and organizations. Ronit is an experienced and powerful presenter, delivering inspiring messages of love, respect, acceptance, motivation and determination to the people who attend her workshops.

Ronit is the author of four books: Be Special, Be Yourself for Teenagers, In the Outback with Jasmine Banks, Motivating Kids and Reflections. She has been writing for 35 years and her educational writing has appeared in educational magazines around the world. Her blog “Family Matters” is a great practical resource for readers already containing over 1,600 original articles on personal development, emotional intelligence, education, relationships, family life and parenting. With her writing, she has touched the lives of millions of readers from around the world.

Ronit is very involved in community work. For her community work, she was nominated twice for the Australian of the Year and for the International Women’s Peace Award by the Women’s Federation for World Peace. Ronit believes that “Parents are very important agents of their children’s identity. To support their kids’ development and set them up for success, they need to find, turn on and help their children use their creativity switch. When this switch is on, it opens their mind to endless possibilities.”

Speaker Session

Let There Be Light! Unlocking Creativity in Children with Emotional Intelligence

Topic: Parenting

Session Abstract:

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.” – Carl Jung

In this workshop, parents are given the tools to find the location of the creativity switch. The workshop covers strategies for providing children with the emotional tools to turn on creativity. We’ll cover ways to turn on the” light”, oil its functions and use it at will. We’ll explore traditionally successful and unsuccessful methods of searching for the switch and explore methods of emotional intelligence that allow consistent flow of creativity. Since creativity is like a “light” in the mind, the workshop will discuss what enhances the light and what blocks the light from shining. Participants will discover parenting and educational methods that turn off the light of creativity in the mind of a child, and how motivation can enhance our ability to be creative and innovative.

In this session, you’ll learn:
  • Understand how emotional intelligence affects the ability to absorb information and innovate, and the relationship between creativity, success and leadership.
  • Learn how to use knowledge of the subconscious mind to tap into children’s creative mind and “charge their motivation battery.”
  • Explore parenting and educational methods that block creativity, ways to avoid them and ways to enhance creativity and promote entrepreneurship in children.

Sriram Bharatam

Sriram Bharatam

EOTalk Speaker

CEO and Founder of iridium Interactive

Speaker Biography

Sriram Bharatam is a development visionary, technology innovator and a successful social and business entrepreneur having shared his impact on three continents. Sri brings an open ear, an engaging style, and a Socratic approach to solve big social challenges and makes a difference in innovative ways for business, government and civil society.

Rated as one of the top 100 IT innovators in India by NASSCOM, under Sri’s leadership, his company iridium Interactive has created the world’s first disease program management and monitoring solution for infectious diseases like Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Asthma for the Ministry of Health, Kenya. With over 500,000 unique patient profiles, this solution won the Google Innovation award in 2013 and has since been featured in the 2014 WHO Global Tuberculosis Report and The Economist.

Sri is currently spearheading the cause of capacity building of micro and small entrepreneurs across Africa and India through his social enterprise, Kuza.One. To date, Kuza has impacted over 4,000,000 youth and small business owners across Africa and has created 140,331 new jobs.

Sri founded the EO East Africa chapter and since serving as membership chair, EO’s growth in Africa has increased significantly; Sri played a major role in successfully launching four new EO chapters on the African continent and in 2015, he won the EO Global Citizen of the Year award.

As a leading columnist and industry influencer, Sri has met with former President of the United States Barack Obama and has advised four different Presidents of African nations as well as the current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

Speaker Session

Power of One - Jugaad in Action

Session Abstract:

Sriram will be narrating his own entrepreneurial story as a jugaad innovator of how he went about building a global community of 18 million people in less than 45 days to support the victims of a hurricane. He realized the power of communities in this process of creating his first frugal and instinct driven innovation, Cause an Effect Foundation. Over a period of the next ten years, he honed up his core principles of Jugaad Innovation and recreated the same magic by challenging the status quo with his nonlinear and out of box thinking. Sriram lovingly narrates his key learnings and insights from his personal journey in a true EO forum style.


Peter Burwash

Peter Burwash

Breakout Speaker

International Entrepreneur, Service Leader, World-Traveler and Best-Selling Author

Speaker Biography

Peter Burwash, founder and Chairman of Peter Burwash International, the world’s largest tennis management company, operating in 32 countries, has been an icon in the tennis industry for over 40 years as a world-renowned coach, author, TV analyst and motivational speaker. Recognized for its innovative Tennis for Life® instruction and exceptional customer service, PBI directs tennis programs for 55 exclusive properties in the United States, Mexico, Hawaii, Caribbean, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

For over 30 years, Peter Burwash has been a highly sought-after speaker for global and Fortune 500 companies, and has delivered over 100 speeches at various events across the world annually. An articulate and dynamic presenter, his unique mix of enthusiasm, wit and practical advice has enthralled conference attendees—he has consistently been rated one of the top three international speakers ever by Fortune 500 companies.  Whether he is speaking on tennis, leadership, health and fitness or service, Peter will captivate, entertain and educate the audience with his enthusiasm and commitment.

A former professional tennis player, Peter has coached and played in 134 countries, and was named “One of the One-Hundred Most Influential Forces in 20th Century Tennis.” He was also inducted into the Tennis Industry Hall of Fame and the Hawaii Tennis Hall of Fame in 2015.

Burwash is the author of eleven books on service, leadership, health and fitness and personal development. He has authored the following books: The Key to Great Leadership, Total Health, Improving the Landscape of Your Life, Dear Teenager, How to Navigate the Teenage Years, Tennis for Life, and Behind Every Lesson There is a Wonderful Journey.

A graduate of the Young Presidents’ Organization, as well as a member of the Urban Land Institute and Rotary Club, Peter currently resides in Carmel Valley, California, USA, with his wife and their two daughters, Kimberly and Skyler.

Speaker Session

The Key to Great Leadership

Session Abstract:

Peter Burwash spent six years traveling around the world studying leadership from an employee’s perspective. In most leadership books, the author/researcher only interviews leaders, yet leaders are often in a state of illusion. Peter outlined the qualities that employees want (or didn’t want) in a leader. This resulted in a book called The Key to Great Leadership.

At the 2017 EO Hyderabad University, Peter will share what he feels are the most essential leadership qualities as an entrepreneur. He will also share what advice he received from his personal time spent with Sir Richard Branson, Issy Sharp (founder of Four Seasons Hotels), President Jimmy Carter, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe and Bill Gates.

In this session, you’ll learn:
  • What employees want in a leader…NOT what leaders think employees want.
  • The best advice Peter received from successful leaders over the years.
  • The biggest challenges leaders will face in the next decade.

Tony Buzan

Tony Buzan

Keynote Speaker

Inventor of Mind Maps

Speaker Biography

Tony Buzan is the inventor of Mind Maps. Described as the “Swiss Army Knife of the Brain” it is used by over 250 million people worldwide.

Tony Buzan is one of the world’s leading thinkers, communicators and media brain stars. From very average academic beginnings, he worked on developing his own traditional IQ level, raising it to that of genius. He is the originator and creator of what has been described as the ultimate Creative Thinking Tool – the Radiant Thinking Mind Map®, and is renowned world-wide for his talks on memory, creativity, learning, self-improvement and the brain. He regularly lectures to audiences of all nationalities, ages and educational levels. Tony Buzan has written and co-authored more than 84 books on the brain and

Tony Buzan has written and co-authored more than 84 books on the brain and learning and is a member of Mensa, the high IQ society. He edited Mensa’s International Journal, Intelligence, for three years, and has founded a number of organizations, such as The Brain Trust, and has started the World Memory Championships. He has been appointed Director of National Educational Initiatives by the governments and governing bodies for education in Scotland, Singapore, Mexico and Australia. He has published 22 books including Use Your Head, Use Your Memory, Make the Most of Your Mind, Speed Reading, and Brain Training. His books have now been published in fifty countries and translated into twenty languages.

Use Your Head has surpassed worldwide sales of a million dollars and is a standard introductory text for staff training within IBM, General Motors, EDS, Fluor Daniel, Digital Equipment Corporation and for students of the Open University.

His most recent publication is Embracing Change: Essential Steps to Make Your Future Today, published by BBC Books. Tony Buzan is in demand throughout the world as a speaker on creativity, the power of the mind, change and learning.

Speaker Session

Unleash Your Infinite Creativity with Mind Mapping

Topic: Mind Mapping, Creative Thinking, Memory

Session Abstract:

Inventor of Mind Maps, globally recognized author and expert on memory, creativity and the workings of the brain, Professor Tony Buzan will introduce you to a range of techniques for harnessing the natural creativity of the human mind. Lauded by The Times of London as the ‘new Aristotle’ and described as amongst the top five most powerful public speakers in the modern world, Professor Tony Buzan’s decades of pre-eminence in the field of activating one’s personal mind potential, will provide delegates with tools to put to use immediately in expanding their own creativity at work, at play, and in all aspects of modern life.

  • The unlimited creative power of the human mind
  • Images and Colour: the language of your mind
  • The benefit of mobilizing both sides of your Brain
  • Mind Maps building and expanding your creative powers
  • Brain fitness and how to achieve it
In this session, you’ll learn:
  • How anyone can be a genius through harnessing their maximum brain power.
  • The universal language of the human brain to unlock the secrets of how yours functions.
  • How to Mind Map Your way to your unique path to infinite creativity and innovation with professor Tony Buzan, one of the top five speakers in the world according to Forbes magazine.

Shibani Dandekar

Shibani Dandekar

EMCEE

Anchor, Actress, Television and Event Host

Speaker Biography

Shibani virtually grew up on stage. Proficient in both Western and Indian styles of song and dance, this fiery performer learned the ropes of the industry whilst in the spotlight on Australia’s grandest stages, including the world-renowned Sydney Opera House. She introduced Bollywood’s biggest stars to American audiences and also hosted “An Evening with Shah Rukh Khan in Atlantic City.”

Shibani’s love for anchoring shows saw her as host for major events such as the Maxim Hot 100, Nike, Rolls Royce, Puma, Mercedes, Toyota, Horlicks, HSBC, Spice Mobile, JBL, MTV Coke Studio, Nivea and the Sony Launch of the tribute to Michael Jackson’s “This is It.” She appeared as the host on Z Café after hours for a short period and then anchored a lifestyle show for men titled Men 2.0 on AXN!

Her ability to connect with audiences and her talent in front of the camera was quickly noticed, thereby launching her as ‘Best TV anchor’ at the Indian Television Academy Awards. She subsequently hosted some of TV’s biggest shows – Vh1’s “Grammy Nominees Special 2011,” Zoom Television’s “Let’s Design 3,” “India’s Sexiest Bachelor” for Big CBS Prime, “JK Tyre National Racing Championship” on ESPN/STAR SPORTS, “The GG Awards Red Carpet” for Star World and the most popular sporting event of the year, “Extra Innings T20” for the Indian Premier League 2011.

Needless to say, Shibani has quickly established herself as a performer to reckon with!

Speaker Session

Shibani Dandekar - University Emcee

Session Abstract:

Shibani Dandekar will serve as the official 2017 EO Hyderabad University emcee!


Jamie and Katty Douraghy

Jamie and Katty Douraghy

Breakout Speaker

Executive Coach | President of Artisan Creative

Speaker Biography

Jamie Douraghy is a Los Angeles based executive coach and team facilitator. He helps ambitious people overcome their perceived limitations and develop a life of their choosing. His career draws from over 25+ years as an entrepreneur and competitive athlete. His facilitated workshops include group settings, core teams and one-on-one sessions. Jamie has had the good fortune to facilitate and coach in a range of countries within Africa, Asia, the EU and US.

Jamie has been an EO member leader since 2004 serving as two-time LA chapter president, as well as Area and Regional Director. He also served for three years as chair for EO’s Global Growth Team focusing on new chapter launches in Africa, China and South America. In May of 2015, Jamie was honored to receive the EO Volunteer of the Year award.

Jamie is a three-time USA over 40/50 National Fencing Champion and a six-time participant at the Veteran World Fencing Championships. He received a bachelor’s degree in French from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in International Relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Jamie has been married to his wife Katty for 23 years, lives in Los Angeles, California, and believes in the freedom that an integrated life brings.

_____

Katty is the President of Artisan Creative, a digital and creative recruitment agency with a focus on creative, marketing, and design talent. Katty loves the world of design and is grateful for the opportunity to impact lives every day by finding new opportunities for the talent she works with. Prior to Artisan Creative, she was involved in the fashion and retail industry where she led three divisions of Macy’s Department Stores for over 10 years and oversaw their transition and integration during Macy’s acquisition of Bullocks Department Stores in Los Angeles.

Noticing EO’s positive impact on her husband Jamie, Katty sought to have a similar EO experience and joined an LA spousal forum in 2008. She then chaired EO’s Global Spousal Forum Sub-Committee from 2013-2015 helping lead spousal programs and engagement. As a certified EO Forum trainer, she helps new members begin their EO journey and facilitates established Forums to strengthen and evolve.

In 2015, Katty was invited to speak at EO’s Global Leadership Conference and share her EO journey with 1,200+ EO member leaders in attendance. Katty joined EO San Francisco as a member in 2016.

She lives in Los Angeles, having been raised in San Francisco, England and Iran, and brings a multi-cultural perspective to her interactions. She earned a BA in English Literature from UC Santa Cruz and a Merchandising Degree from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in San Francisco.

Katty believes we all have a story to share and that our greatest journey is through self-discovery. She is currently writing a book detailing her journey through grief, hope and healing tentatively titled The Butterfly Years.

Speaker Session

The ABCs of Growing Together as a Couple

Session Abstract:

In this session, Katty and Jamie will share experiences and stories of communication, collaboration, and growth in their 23-year marriage of business partnership and will share tools to build a strong relationship as partners.

In this session, you’ll learn:
  • How to identify core values as a couple.
  • To discover and share aspirations.
  • How to identify ways to support one another to achieve those goals.

Kevin Eyres

Kevin Eyres

Keynote Speaker

Former Managing Director of LinkedIn Europe

Speaker Biography

Kevin Eyres is an experienced technology executive with extensive startup, hyper-growth, and international expansion experience.

In 2007, Eyres became Managing Director of LinkedIn Europe and the company’s first employee outside of the U.S. His primary job was to expand LinkedIn into Europe. For the next four years, he was one of the leaders who crafted and executed the hyper-growth strategy that helped LinkedIn expand into five countries, hire 200+ new team members in Europe, and sustain over 150% YOY growth. Although he had led high growth international strategy for SideStep (now Kayak) and AltaVista International, his time at LinkedIn provided tremendous insight into the new world of hyper-growth.

Eyres was also the founding mentor to the UK government’s Tech City UK initiative support UK digital entrepreneurship by lowering barriers to success and building a thriving ecosystem. He is active in youth education technology charities as a board member of Apps for Good, a social enterprise focused on changing the way young people are exposed to and learn about technology. Eyres is an advisor to high growth companies on conscious leadership for hyper-growth and international expansion as well as a board member to Essentia Analytics and active angel investor.

Eyres is an advisor to high growth companies on conscious leadership for hyper-growth and international expansion as well as a board member to Essentia Analytics and active angel investor.

Speaker Session

The Gift of Self-Doubt

Topic: Conscious Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Innovation, Hypergrowth

Session Abstract:

Kevin Eyres, former Managing Director of LinkedIn Europe, took the company from his spare bedroom to IPO in just under four years, and in the process, fundamentally changing the way people worked and presented themselves online. The business world recognizes this as a story of phenomenal success—and it is.

But there were other stories taking place just below the surface, inside the hearts and minds of the employees tasked with achieving this enormous undertaking. “I can’t do this.” “This can’t be done.” “What are they thinking?” “Am I the right one to lead this effort?”

Kevin chronicles his—and his team’s—battle with self-doubt as he took LinkedIn Europe through this dizzying hypergrowth. As Kevin has learned, self-doubt is not an emotion to be banished but one to be embraced. It is a gift that teaches us awareness, courage, vulnerability, connection, and conversation—all of which are essential ingredients for innovative business success. As Kevin’s story shows, embracing self-doubt is free and thus, a truly jugaad way to inspire a culture of innovation and growth.


Miles Hilton-Barber

Miles Hilton-Barber

Keynote Speaker

Blind Adventurer

Speaker Biography

Since the age of 50, Miles Hilton-Barber has set numerous world records undertaking extreme endurance events across all seven continents of the world. Just some of his astonishing achievements include: being the first blind pilot to undertake a 55-day, 21,000 kilometer microlight flight from London to Sydney, man-hauling a sledge over 250 miles across Antarctica and being the first blind pilot to undertake a sortie of extreme aerobatics in a fighter jet.

He was also the first blind person to do the solo kamikaze skeleton run down the 5G Olympic bob-sleigh track in Lillehammer, Norway; the first blind person to pilot a power boat in ocean time trials; the first blind aviator to break the sound barrier during a vertical climb to 50,000 feet in just 90 seconds in a fighter jet; and the first blind person to participate in a drag-racing event. He relies on his friend and sighted guide, Jonathan Cook, to help him achieve his goals.

Although Hilton-Barber has been blind since his early twenties, he has not let that prevent him from pushing boundaries. He has also completed the Marathon des Sables “The Toughest Foot-race on Earth” – 150 miles across the Sahara Desert, climbed the Himalayas, Mt. Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest mountain and Mt. Blanc – Europe’s highest mountain. He has participated in various marathons all over the world, including the 11-day Ultra-Marathon race across China from the Gobi Desert to the Great Wall, the Siberian Ice Marathon’s “Coldest Marathon on Earth” and competed in the hottest ultra-marathon on earth across Death Valley California.

He has been voted as BBC Radio 5 Live’s Alternative Sports personality of the Year, featured in the latest edition of Debrett’s People of Today, and presented with an Honorary Master of the University award by Derby University, in recognition of his remarkable achievements in endurance events and his major contribution to charity.

Speaker Session

Overcoming Obstacles and Living Limitless

Session Abstract:

Blind adventurer Miles Hilton-Barber has, since the age of 50, set numerous world records undertaking extreme events across all seven continents of our world in the fields of mountaineering, desert and polar ultra-marathons, power-boat racing, scuba diving, motor racing and long distance, aerobatic and supersonic flying amongst other achievements.

He has had the privilege of speaking at over 1,200 corporate events in 72 countries around the world to date.

He is here to remind us that we too can live our dreams, because: “The only limits in our lives are those we accept ourselves.”

In this session, you’ll learn:
  • That the quality of life, fulfillment and success is not dependent on our circumstances, but how we respond to those circumstances.
  • That “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone, so give it a go or you will never know!”
  • Why the only limits in your life are those you accept yourself.

Gerard Houllier

Gerard Houllier

Keynote Speaker

Former Football Manager of France, Liverpool and Paris Saint Germain (PSG)

Speaker Biography

Gerard Houllier is one of the most knowledgeable individuals in the world of football. He has managed leading clubs in France and the UK.

Since July 2012, Houllier has served as the Head of Global Football for Red Bull. He is responsible for the Austrian side FC Red Bull Salzburg, Germany’s RB Leipzig and the New York Red Bulls from the United States as well as the Red Bull Brasil and Red Bull Ghana academies. He has most recently been Technical Director at the French Football Federation.

Houllier is well known to British fans due to his successes at Liverpool FC. His relationship with the Reds stems from his time in the city in the ‘60’s working as a language assistant at a local school. His career then took him back to France, where, as a 26-year-old, became player-coach at Le Touquet. Houllier became the youth coach at Arras before becoming head coach at Noeux Les Mines, a team he guided into the French Second Division courtesy of two consecutive promotions. His success continued when he took over at Lens. He helped the club to promotion as well as earning them qualification for the UEFA Cup. He secured the French title for Paris St. Germain in 1986 before entering the realms of international management.

He became technical director of the French team as well as assistant to national team coach Michel Platini. Houllier was then promoted to national team manager only for his reign to come to a premature end when France failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. He continued as technical director and masterminded France’s European under- 18’s championship success in 1996 before playing a key role in France’s 1998 World Cup victory. In 1998 Houllier returned to Liverpool, where on occasion he had stood in the stands reveling in the atmosphere and passion of the fans. In 2001 Houllier’s Liverpool won the unique treble, still considered the finest moment in the club’s illustrious history. In October 2001 Gerard fell ill during a match and was rushed to the hospital for an emergency heart operation. The resilient Gerard returned five months later remaining at the club through to 2004 when Rafa Benitez took over.

Speaker Session

The Ingredients of a Winning Team

Topic: Performance, Strategy, Teamwork, Decision Making

Session Abstract:

Often asked if there is a recipe for success, Gerard Houllier will reveal in his session, “The ingredients of a Winning Team,” the main components to build a fruitful team, which led him to an amazing career, winning many national and European football awards.


Nick Leighton

Nick Leighton

Breakout Speaker

Entrepreneur, Business Coach, Author and Speaker

Speaker Biography

It’s the dream of all business owners: to grow their company into an exceptional success story; one that brings them wealth and fulfillment while also providing great value to their customers.

In practice, however, many business owners find that they have lost the passion that fueled their dream in the first place. Their work feels like a chore, their personal lives are suffering, and their business growth is stalled. Nick Leighton has spent the past 20 years working with business owners, to not only to take their business to the next level but to have FUN while doing so. He believes anyone can achieve the dream. It’s just a matter of channeling their motivation in the right directions, setting goals and putting in place the necessary strategies, systems/processes, etc., to stay accountable – and grow their business the smart way not the hard way.

In his personal and professional life, Nick has always been driven by a spirit of adventure, a certain joie de vivre that he inherited from his parents. Born on a small Greek island, he started his first business at the age of 13. Now, as a serial entrepreneur who has worked all over the globe, he continues to live by a code that emphasizes happiness and fulfillment over constant sweat and struggle.

“Life is for living,” says Nick, and running a business doesn’t have to be at odds with that. Tapping into your unique passions and pleasures – what makes business owners tick – is precisely what attendees of his breakout sessions will experience, so your dreams can take flight and you can get to “exactly where YOU want to be” in life and business. Nick is an EO Elumni having been a member in Dubai and Orange County, CA between 1999 and 2012.

Speaker Session

What’s The Point of It All?

Session Abstract:

When Nick works with business owners, the first thing he asks is, “Why are you in business?” Often, much to their own surprise, they don’t have a good answer.

He’s found that most people get into business for one of two reasons:

  • They decided to
  • They were forced to

You may know why you got started, but you can certainly set a new vision for your future. To identify your purpose, we’ll cover the who, the what, and the why of successful business ownership. By understanding yourself, your business, and your reason for being, you establish a mindset and a vision that will carry over into everything you do, from big-picture strategies to day-to-day routines.

This guided journey will allow you to build your own personal and business visions. The templates that will be provided are re-usable and once you realize the power of vision, you’ll want to help your team identify their vision too, allowing you to better lead/manage the right team that will propel your business.

Set your course for success and empower yourself to make future decisions quicker and more purposefully. This is Jugaad for you and your business!

In this session, you’ll learn:
  • How to find your passion
  • How to build your personal vision
  • How to set ambitious business goals that you can achieve

Zev Siegl

Zev Siegl

Keynote Speaker

Co-Founder of Starbucks

Speaker Biography

Zev Siegl was the co-founder of Starbuck’s Coffee Company that has now become one one of the world’s most recognized brands. In 1971

In 1971, Siegl, fellow teacher Jerry Baldwin, and writer Gordon Bowker realized their passion for coffee and established Starbucks Coffee Company. The name, inspired by the novel Moby Dick, evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders. Their mission was simple, from their first storefront in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market, they were going to offer some of the world’s finest, fresh-roasted, whole bean coffees. It was going to celebrate the rich tradition of coffee and to create a feeling of connection in the coffee shop.

Their mission was simple; from their first storefront in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market, they were going to offer some of the world’s finest, fresh-roasted, whole bean coffees. It was going to celebrate the rich tradition of coffee and to create a feeling of connection in the coffee shop. Siegl, a former history teacher, was the only paid employee in the early days of Starbucks Coffee Company. In 1980, after ten years as Vice President, Siegl exited Starbucks, which by then had expanded to six Seattle-area stores and a substantial wholesale business.

Following his departure from Starbucks, Siegl became a serial entrepreneur, founding Quartermaine Coffee Roasters in Washington D.C., Peerless Pie in Seattle, and more recently, BuckleUp. He also started his own consulting company that serves owners of small business enterprises and aspiring entrepreneurs with advice regarding funding new companies’ growth needs, financial forecasting, planning, private equity offerings, and applying for bank loans.

From 2004-2012, Siegl served as the Lead Advisor of the Small Business Development Center [SBDC] for Southwest King County (Seattle). During those eight years, he advised more than 500 entrepreneurs and owners of small business enterprises. Siegl is passionate about his mission to inspire and develop young entrepreneurs. He brings practical insights regarding how to start-up a successful business as he shares stories about his own experiences as co-founder of Starbucks and his numerous other start-up experiences.

From setting a vision, identifying mentors and partners, securing funding, setting up operations, product development and launch, Siegl helps entrepreneurs navigate their way to becoming successful business owners.

”One key to inspiring, is energetically promoting the company’s social initiatives. Starbucks utilizes sophisticated public relations, social media, in-store signage and conventional advertising to make sure that the world knows it is active in social causes. Promotion of social involvement is intrinsic to effective inspiring.” – Zev Siegl on Inspirational Leadership

Speaker Session

The Starbucks Journey

Topic: Entrepreneurship, Perseverance, Motivation

Session Abstract:

Starbucks is now a giant with 24,000 locations in 70 countries, but it began as a local start-up in Seattle. The three original entrepreneurs and their highly skilled successors have made good decisions that created a totally new paradigm in an old established trade.

No single leader of a new venture has all the capabilities needed to enable a new SME to survive. It takes a team. Starbucks early-stage team included three equal founding partners, but also included first-rate managers, employees, a high-impact mentor, an assortment of local professionals and several owners of other early stage businesses.

In this session, Zev will discuss the hurdles new ventures may face and how they should deal with it.

In this session, you’ll learn:
  • Why Starbucks was RIGHT from the START.
  • How to conquer hurdles that block progress.
  • Why leaders need a team to win the race.

Julie Subotky

Julie Subotky

Breakout Speaker

Founder and CEO of Consider It Done

Speaker Biography

Julie Subotky is an entrepreneur, public speaker, certified integral coach, and the best-selling author of Consider It Done, Accomplish 228 of Life’s Trickiest Tasks. Julie is passionate about helping people live with purpose. Early in her career, she recognized the opportunity to help others live more fully by both giving them back their time and by helping them to maximize the impact of special moments. To accomplish this, she founded her business, Consider It Done. With this personal assistance/concierge business, she and her amazing teams of taskmasters find ways to make things happen and provide people with the valuable gift of gaining back their time. Her clients include heads of state, top government officials, celebrities, CEOs, founders of Fortune 500 companies and anyone in need of more time. Julie has an ongoing commitment to innovating the service industry and recently launched her newest venture, Consider It Moved, a moving logistics and organizational company with a focus on moving life hacks, transitions and supporting people as life changes. She is committed to leading with empathy and inspiring her teams to exceed norms and leave lasting impressions in all aspects of her business.

Julie has been a member of EO for 10 years, and is past president of EO New York. Julie enjoys skiing, biking, yoga and discovering new adventures. Julie and her amazing sons Elias and Julian live in New York City, and spend summers in Aspen, Colorado.

Speaker Session

Facilitated Peer-to-Peer Learning

Session Abstract:

When we share what we have learned, our understandings often deepens. This breakout session is an opportunity to engage in a collaborative dialogue about conversations that matter.
Connect and learn with peers as we dive deep into conversations inspired by the keynote and breakout sessions of this EO University. This interactive session is an opportunity to exchange ideas and leverage your learnings. You will both contribute and be exposed to a variety of global perspectives on relevant and meaningful topics. We will reflect on key takeaways, connect with peers on deeper levels and hear various perspectives relating to sessions you may or may not have attended. You will discover new ways to explore your learnings and be inspired with possibilities for action and how to implement your learnings into your business, community and your personal life.

Please bring: Inspiration and the desire to make a difference.

In this session, you’ll learn:
  • To gain a new level of shared understanding around key issues.
  • About action choices you didn’t know existed.
  • To connect diverse perspectives.
  • To identify new relationships with others who are interested in the same things that you are.

Swami Sukhabodhananda

Swami Sukhabodhananda

Breakout Speaker

Founder Chairman of Prasanna Trust | Corporate Guru

Speaker Biography

Swami Sukhabodhananda is the founder and chairman of Prasanna Trust. Swamiji is not only one of the most respected spiritual leaders in India, but is also nicknamed the “Corporate Guru.” His expertise lies in synthesizing ancient wisdoms of the east and modern visions of west, appealing to both the young and old from wide spectrums of society.

Swamiji is the author of many best-selling books that have sold over a million copies in more than 112 titles in various languages. His books have empowered many to discover a new way of living life. He helps one realize that if one door closes, another door opens. Life always provides an opening.

His spirituality based transformative education programs have been rated as excellent and have benefited many in the corporate sectors within the banking and finance industries, armed forces, law enforcement, and prestigious business schools including the Indian School of Business, etc.

Leading industrial houses invite him to conduct in-house workshops for their executives.  Swamji has served as a sport psychology coach for the Delhi Dare Devils cricket team and the Times of India cited Swamiji as “best speaker.”

Through his talks and workshops, Swamiji is influencing some of the world’s greatest decision makers on inclusive growth, developing skills to bring forth attitudinal change, and fostering multi-dimensional growth in teams. He is setting forth a vision to transform the country’s march towards creating a new India.

Swamiji’s English books Oh, Mind Relax Please! and Oh, Life Relax Please! are the top best-sellers in India, and has set a new benchmark in the lives of many. From the Kargil hero Gen. V. P. Malik who gives much credit to the inspiring content of Swamiji’s books to the New York city Mayor who acknowledges his book’s usefulness to diminish pressure in the workplace and dealing with New York City press!

Swamiji’s book Manase Relax Please has set an all-time sales record in the history of Tamil, Kannada and Telugu books, and has been included as required reading in curriculums of various schools and colleges. Leading personalities have declared that he has revolutionized Tamil literature through his books.

Swamiji was invited as a dignitary on five different panels at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and was a special invitee to the United Nation World Millennium Summit of Spiritual Leaders. Swamiji is the second Indian to be honored at the prestigious Lotus Millionaires’ Intellectual Club in Manhattan, New York. Swamiji was also invited as a “Corporate Guru” to deliver a keynote address on “Leadership and Change Management” at Gyan Sangam as a star guest at the Finance Ministry’s retreat. The event was attended by the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, the RBI Governor, Senior North Block officials, chairmen and directors of various nationalized banks and financial institutions to bring about banking reforms. It was termed as a great success and he was invited again as a keynote speaker in Gyan Sangam 2 for Bank CEOs.

Swamiji’s works in audio and video have been transforming the lives of many through Sa Re Ga Ma and Times Music. His message on the Aastha, Sanskar and many other channels is reaching a wide spectrum of people both in India and abroad.

Under his inspiration and guidance, Prasanna Trust runs an orphanage for girls, provides artificial limbs and calipers to people from impoverished backgrounds, provides medical aid, offers free eye screening camps and corrections through free cataract surgeries, free cardiac care including heart procedures for the poorest of the poor, conducts blood donation camps and camps to feed the poor. Prasanna Trust also provides scholarship for students from economically weaker sections of society.

Swamiji was awarded “Karnataka’s Best Social Service Award” by Essel Group and Zee Network. In recognition of his service to humanity at large, Swamiji was also awarded “Rotary Seva Ratna.” Reva University, Bangalore presented Swamiji with their “Corporate Excellence Award” for incorporating spirituality as a game changer in the corporate world.

Speaker Session

Spirituality in Turbulent Times

Topic: Spirituality

Session Abstract:

According to Swamiji, there are three types of impacts

  • Environmental
  • Experiential
  • Educational

It is vital to incorporate special education to facilitate meaningful transformation. Bringing forth the dimensions of anthology, physiology, psychology and phenomena is key for such transformation to happen. It involves sagacity in our way of thinking which uplifts the quality of one’s life. To add life to years is growing up, and to add years to life is growing old. It is said, “We don’t live in the world we live in our minds.”

Rambles for Reflection:
A leader should help people think in a “novel way.” While “Thihis is my house…,” “This is my position…,” “These are my properties…,” appear to be right the the surface, on a deeper level, it denotes sleep. What is “mine” is a form of sleep. Any sense of ownership is a sign of sleep.

Pleasure, however, has become the most important thing for many people. There is nothing wrong with pleasure, but what leads to the absence of peace is seeking pleasure. The process of seeking pleasure assumes that it is “out there somewhere,” and it needs to be obtained. It assumes that it is not already “here and now.” When we seek pleasure “out there,” we miss the source. That is the problem.

The only thing always worth reflecting on, over and over again, is peace in the discovery of silence. It is vital to create pockets of silence in a day, or whenever you are free. A person who has experienced silence is rich inwardly. That is true wealth. In this session, you will learn to teach yourself to experience peace by relaxing the body, the mind, the emotion and learn to see the gaps between thoughts. While mental peace is important, peace beyond thoughts provides something even deeper.

What we think we are, is not what we are. There are many different aspects of ourselves. There is this body, which is the acting self; there is an emotional self, a thinking self, a functional self and also a fundamental self. Therefore, one has to observe one’s self. When one has the discipline to observe, then an observing self-emerges.


Dr. Prasanta Tripathy

Dr. Prasanta Tripathy

EOTalk Speaker

Co-Founder of Ekjut

Speaker Biography

Dr. Prasanta Tripathy is a co-founder of Ekjut. Ekjut, meaning togetherness, in multiple Indian Languages, is a credible development organization in India. Dr. Tripathy is also an honorary senior research associate with the Institute for Global Health, University College London.

Ekjut was a recipient of the WHO Public Health Champion Award in 2015 and earned the Trial of the Year award from the Society for Clinical Trial at their 2011 annual meeting in Vancouver.

A medical doctor by training (MBBS, MSc (Mother and Child Health) Institute of Child Health, London), Dr. Tripathy works with indigenous people of Jharkhand and Odisha. Ekjut partners with local communities for evidence-based work on saving maternal and newborn lives, combating malnutrition, addressing health inequities, publishing findings in high impact medical journals, supporting replications of Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) approaches and influencing public health discourse. Dr. Tripathy is a LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development) Fellow and an ASHOKA Fellow for social entrepreneurship. He is a member of the Mission Steering Group of India’s flagship National Health Mission program initiative.

Speaker Session

Jugaad in Action

Session Abstract:

At a time when Prasanta was fighting against a gradually deteriorating eye condition, two stories emerged.

First story: Finding it more and more difficult to cope with his situation, he decided to quit his job of five years in a city to relocate to his hometown in Jharkhand. In his talk, he will describe how becoming a member of a patient group helped him to improve his problem-solving skills through peer learning and risk reduction. It was this experience that led him to focus on Ekjut matters.

Second story: Coinciding with the relocation, Prasanta started Ekjut (meaning “togetherness” in multiple Indian languages) in 2002. There were multiple issues to be tackled in these remote and underserved pockets of India. A unique process was developed of empowering women through various problem-solving approaches; these advances allowed him to understand and solve serious issues concerning newborn and maternal deaths, malnutrition among mothers and children, adolescent health and well-being and gender-based violence. These advancements have been quantified and published in high-impact medical journals. Ekjut received the WHO Public Health Champion award in 2015 for impactful work and touching the lives of mothers and children in close to 100,000 villages in India. In this session, Dr. Prasanta will share his stories, his impact and lessons learned.


Daniel Weiss

Daniel Weiss

Breakout Speaker

Managing Partner McCann Global Investigations

Speaker Biography

Daniel Weiss is the General Partner of McCann Global Investigations and his work is focused on global cyber risk and digital forensics. Weiss has been interviewed on NBC, CBS and is the author of Handling Bad: Inside A Cyber Era Private Investigative Firm. Weiss has been an EO member for over 20 Years out of the Houston chapter.

Speaker Session

Coming From the Darkness: Bitcoin and the Darknet

Session Abstract:

In Daniel’s session, prepare to examine in detail the story of the Silk Road and how it went from zero to a billion dollars in less than two years with no outside capital, no inventory, no cash and one employee.

In this session, you’ll learn:
  • Understand what a bitcoin is and why it matters for your business.
  • Learn what the darknet is and what goods, services and information are bought and sold on the darknet.
  • Understand how radical technology goes from military to criminals to normalized business.

Dr. Adair White-Johnson

Dr. Adair White-Johnson

Breakout Speaker

Author, Publisher, Motivational Speaker

Speaker Biography

Dr. Adair F. White-Johnson (affectionately known as “Dr. Adair”) is a leading authority on motivating, inspiring and empowering individuals to move towards positive change, become resilient and to bounce back after hitting rock bottom. She specializes in helping others with personal development, build confidence levels to become equipped and empowered to pursue their passion, to persevere in their purpose and to “Get Over It!

Dr. Adair decided to leave her six-figure income job as a professional counselor after 26 years so she could “follow her next dream.” She then created The Empowerment House where she coaches others through life changes. She teaches them how to operate and thrive in spite of their circumstances and shares techniques that help them empower themselves to “push through the pain” in their lives and become successful individuals.

She imparts strategies that focus on leadership skills, creating a healthy balance in their lives, fulfilling dreams and reaching destiny points. She introduces six stages of self-empowerment that includes rejuvenating natural resiliency. Also, Dr. Adair created The Johnson Tribe Publishing House (JTP), a full-service publishing boutique that empowers, engages, inspires, motivates, promotes and teaches others the skills of writing and publishing their books.

A State University of New York at Buffalo graduate who earned a Ph.D., a Certificate of Advanced Studies and a Master’s degree in Counseling, Dr. Adair has provided motivational, creative and unique services for over thirty years. She also created an empowerment and resiliency curriculum for teens. She has collaborated with the Still Standing Foundation to create a comprehensive and informative program: “Teen Dating Violence, Unhealthy Relationships, and Academic Achievement: The Power of Connection.”

As a Professional School Counselor of the Year and Writer of the Year recipient, Dr. Adair has also been featured in Black Enterprise, Rolling Out, POSE, Glambitious, and BOLD magazines, several national and international radio shows, podcasts and is the recipient of several academic and civic awards.

As the international bestselling author of 21 Ways to Get Over It! What You Should Know, 21 Ways to Get Over It! What You Should Know for Teens, How to Get Over It! in 30 Days Parts I, II, and III, Teen Dating Violence and Academic Achievement: The Power of Connection, White Girl Speaks! Powerful Words of Inspiration for Leadership and Success in your Life, Get Over It! How to Bounce Back After Hitting Rock Bottom, and Get Over It! How to Bounce Back After Hitting Rock Bottom for Teens, Dr. Adair focuses on teaching others how to become empowered, resilient and become change agents in their lives so that they may fulfill their dreams.

Dr. Adair has been married for twenty-seven years and is the proud mother of five children. Her life mantra is “I am. I can. I will. I do.” She seeks to share this positive outlook with every person she meets.

Speaker Session

Integrating Key Leadership with Personal Development

Session Abstract:

Based on the theoretical leadership model posited by Kouzes & Posner (1987), this session will teach participants how to integrate the key principles of leadership with tenets of personal development to ensure success within their organizations.

Dr. Adair will focus on the five practices of Exemplary Leadership, Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Enable Others to Act, Challenge the Process and Encourage the Heart as it pertains to her framework of resiliency. Using her model of personal development, “G.O. H.A.R.D.,” she will share the process of how to maximize your personal potential to become an effective leader.

This session will transform abstract concepts of personal and leadership development into effective, realistic and reasonable approaches that will help entrepreneurs in their quests for success.