Speakers announced for Alberta’s largest innovation event

January 18, 2018

INVENTURE$ conference will bring the business, the backers and the next big things to Calgary June 2018

Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Technology innovators, industry leaders and experts from around the world will come together to attend INVENTURE$June 6 to 8, 2018 in Calgary. The inaugural innovation event takes place at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre and is an initiative of Alberta Innovates (AI) the province's largest research and innovation agency.

More than 150 speakers and industry leaders in big data, lean start-up and global research will contribute their expertise in research, innovation, commercialization, capital access, and entrepreneurship. Confirmed speakers to date include:

  • Dr. Alan Bernstein President & CEO of CIFAR and Officer of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame award, and recipient of the 2017 Henry Friesen International Prize in Health Research
  • Andrew Hyde founder of Startup Weekend which has reached half a million participants and 162 countries around the world
  • Adam Berk a faculty member with Lean Startup Co. and a lead mentor and external board member of Google Launchpad Accelerator
  • Cathy Han CEO & Co-founder of 42 Technologies, a Y Combinator-backed big data company
  • Laura Kilcrease CEO of Alberta Innovates and widely recognized as one of the key figures in changing Austin's economic landscape from one struggling with the economic ups and downs that come with oil dependence to a high-tech environment
  • Hubert Zajicek CEO & Co-founder of Health Wildcatters, a nationally ranked healthcare seed fund & accelerator
  • Jonathan Gottfried co-founder of Major League Hacking, the official student hackathon league
  • Sean Sheppard is the #2 ranked sales influencer as co-founder of Silicon Valley based Seed-Stage Venture Capital Fund and Market Development Accelerator GrowthX and GrowthX Academy
  • Greg Horowitt - Best-selling author, Director of Innovation at the University of California and Managing Partner at Kai Capital. 25+ years working in startups, venture capital, and is one of the pioneers in the field of innovation ecosystems
  • Dr. Robyn Metcalfe, Visiting Scholar and Lecturer in the College of Natural Science at The University of Texas at Austin is also the Director of Food+City, an innovative project that explores the future of our food system
  • Randy Thompson, Chairman and CEO of Valhalla Private Capital, active in the start-up venture space for 25 years as a builder of companies, angel investor, angel group leader and fund manager
  • Brian Lang and Energizing Health connect early stage health startups with large, established healthcare organizations
  • Charlie Key CEO of Losant who has helped some of the world's largest companies evolve their IoT strategies
  • Guenter Clar a consultant who has worked with academia, industry, government and international organisations in research and innovation, economic strategies, policies, and investments
  • Chris Shipley a technology industry journalist, analyst, event producer and startup mentor.

Backgrounder INVENTURE$ 2018

INVENTURE$ will bring research, innovation, capital access, commercialization, experiential learning and entrepreneurial communities together. The unique conference experience will attract venture capitalists, angel investors, early adopters, startups, business educators, service providers and more from Alberta and around the world. Themes for INVENTURE$ include: health, clean energy (emissions reductions, water), food and fiber (forestry, agriculture, biotech), sensor technologies, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), biomaterials in construction and green building, autonomous vehicles, gaming/software/ICT, nanotechnology and omics (genomics, etc.). The Main Stage component will feature high-profile keynotes, executive panel discussions and major announcements. Interactive Break-out Sessions will provide opportunities to connect one-on-one and collaborate with like-minded influencers. An Innovator Showcase will host live pitch events and a Youth Entrepreneurs Showcase will display the best in student innovation, technology and business success.

Media inquiries may be directed to:

Bruce Marpole
Communications and Marketing
Alberta Innovates
780-490-8907
bruce.marpole[at]albertainnovates.ca

Alberta Innovates

Alberta Innovates is a provincially-funded Corporation with a mandate to deliver 21st century solutions for the most compelling challenges facing Albertans. We do this by building on our province's research and technology development strengths in the core sectors of health, environment, energy, food and fibre and platforms such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and omics. We are working with our partners to diversify Alberta's economy, improve our environmental performance and enhance our well-being through research and innovation.