US-Asia CEO/Owner Digital Transformation
and Innovation Forum Presented at Stanford University
Co-Hosts Silicon Valley Future Academy and US-ATMC at Stanford Announce First-Ever
US-Asia CEO/Owner Innovation Leadership Program (COIL): Leap Ahead of the Competition
Palo Alto, CA, February 07, 2020: Silicon Valley Future Academy (SVFA) and US-Asia Technology Management Center (US-ATMC) at Stanford today hosted the US-Asia CEO/Owner Digital Transformation and Innovation Forum at the Stanford University Faculty Center. The Forum featured three sessions with panels comprised of technology and innovation leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, scholars, and investors from around the world. Panelists shared their opinions, expertise, and experiences with more than sixty invited CEO/Owner guests. The panels delved into the key trends, drivers, opportunities, and pitfalls that are critical to successfully capturing emerging markets in Asia, including leveraging the expertise and methodologies that Silicon Valley and other leading innovation ecosystems around the world have employed to create and grow innovation-driven technology enterprises.
The Forum was developed by SVFA and US-ATMC to address the shift in the center of economic gravity from west to east that is changing global markets. This change is already evident, with the Financial Times recently writing that Asian economies will exceed that of the rest of the world combined in 2020, and a 2019 McKinsey study finding that Asia is on track to surpass fifty percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2040, driving forty percent of the world’s consumption. This presents a massive opportunity for companies in both the US and Asia.
Session one, moderated by Richard Dasher, Director of US-ATMC, focused on The Future of the US and Asia: Collaboration and Opportunity. Participants included David Haubert, Technology Consultant and Mayor of Dublin, California; Sean Randolph, Senior Director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute; David Sullivan, Managing Director of Alliance Development Group; and James Zhang, Partner at GRC Fund and Chief Strategy Officer for Centrillion Technologies.
The panel discussed the reasons companies need to be aware of the “decoupling” of the US and China as trade friction, nationalism, and security concerns increase, and how these changes are driving more companies to seek opportunities throughout Asia. The panelists also shared their experiences and perspectives regarding how both US and Asian enterprises can best take advantage of the opportunities presented in Asia during this time of significant change.
Session two, moderated by SVFA Co-Founding Partner Chenyang Xu, focused on Corporate Innovation and Corporate Venture. The panel featured Kevin Kuhn, Vice President and General Manager for Mitsubishi Corporation (America); Jean-Marc Frangos, former Senior Vice-President for External Innovation at British Telecom (BT); Nitin Narkhede, General Manager for Emerging Technologies and Innovation at Wipro Limited; and Austin Noronha, Managing Director, Sony Innovation Fund.
The panel looked at the factors that must be considered as both American and Asian business leaders seek to drive enhanced corporate innovation and successful corporate venture capital investing in Asia. Subjects included navigating and working with government entities, understanding local cultural and business practices, and strategies for capturing Asian corporate venture capital investment opportunities.
The final session, moderated by Danny Yu, Digital Energy and Industrial Entrepreneur and former CEO of Daintree, delved into the challenges and opportunities that Digital Transformation presents in both Asia and the US Panel members included David Chen, Co-Founding Partner of SVFA, Operating Partner of Sequoia CBC Digital Fund and Chairman of HYSTA, Olaf Groth, Chairman of Cambrian Futures and Professor at Hult and Haas Business Schools at UC Berkeley; Dongyan Wang, Vice President for AI Transformation at Landing AI; and Sanjay Srivastava, Chief Digital Officer, Genpact.
The panel discussed the reasons that digital transformation is now an imperative for incumbent global corporations if they are to evolve and successfully compete against disruptive startups. Subjects included corporate strategies for effectively both competing against and collaborating with startups that are typically more agile and more focused on the customer experience. Each session included a lively Q&A with audience members.
At the close of the Forum SVFA and US-ATMC announced the launch of their new, jointly-produced US-Asia CEO/Owner Innovation Leadership Program (COIL): Leap Ahead of the Competition. COIL was created for technology-driven entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors who are looking to capture the opportunities for technology innovation and business success in Asia. The 10-month program is comprised of three 8-day global modules that will be held in Silicon Valley/San Francisco and several countries throughout Asia. Over the course of the program participants will engage with global luminaries in technology, science, and business while experiencing deep-dive courses and unique field trips. Participants will also collaborate in a hands-on exercise that will create a real-world business that solves a real-world problem. SVFA and US-ATMC will release complete details regarding COIL in mid-February.
Contact: Marketing@svfacademy.com
Silicon Valley Future Academy (SVFA)
SVFA’s mission is to focus on the needs of business and individuals to innovate and disrupt, to promote innovation and progress in technology and business from a pro- fessional and global perspective, and to expand the possibilities of the future. Since its establishment, Silicon Valley Future Academy has collaborated with top-tier global executive programs and entrepreneurial communities, successfully organized more than 100 masterclasses for thousands of executives and founders. We are committed to building a Silicon Valley-Style core curriculum and services for business leaders.
US-Asia Technology Management Center，Stanford University (US-ATMC)
Established in 1992, the US-Asia Technology Management Center (US-ATMC) is an education and research center located at Stanford University. US-ATMC programs aim at integrating practical perspectives into international strategic technology management along with analysis of research trends in selected areas of leading-edge technologies. The goal of US-ATMC educational programs is to provide Stanford students in various technical fields, and the science and engineering research community at large, with knowledge and analytical capabilities in our areas of focus that will be important to success in the Twenty-First Century.
