Bryan Alexander, Ph.D.
How might colleges and universities change? In this presentation, award-winning futurist Bryan Alexander will examine the powerful forces reshaping higher education. Beginning with macro trends outside of campuses, including demographics, macroeconomics, and geopolitics, he will then examine forces within academia, from enrollment to finance. Alexander will move on to explore technologies and their impact, including virtual reality and artificial intelligence, before discussing the many ways the climate crisis can influence our sector. The session will conclude by connecting these trends to glimpse emerging factors that will impact colleges and universities for the next generation. In addition to being an acclaimed author, speaker, and consultant in the U.S. and abroad, Alexander is a senior research scholar at Georgetown University and teaches graduate seminars in Learning, Design, and Technology. Alexander has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Pew Research Center, among other publications. He has published four books, including Academia Next: The Futures of Higher Education , which won an Association of Professional Futurists award.
Kathryn Fenner
With more than 25 years of experience in noncommercial and commercial foodservice, vending, convenience and drug channels, Kathryn Fenner will present "Technology 2030," highlighting new and emerging foodservice technology trends. Fenner is a principal at Technomic, a management consulting company that supports thousands of foodservice professionals worldwide through original industry research covering every facet of the industry. Fenner leads Technomic's noncommercial practice, having previously spent more than a decade working on leading brands, innovation, strategic planning, and marketing at Kellog's. She heads up several studies, including research into alternative proteins and other emerging dietary trends. Fenner has dedicated her career to research, insights, sales and marketing and has extensive experience as a presenter at dozens of large industry events and conferences.
Gaurav Gupta
With expertise in change leadership and strategy execution, Gaurav Gupta has 20 years of experience helping organizations and individuals unleash potential and maximize business outcomes across industries as diverse as finance, food and beverage, oil and energy, and healthcare. Gaurav draws on extensive global experience in collaborating with leaders to develop and implement new ways of working in their organizations. Gaurav, managing director of Kotter, collaborates with Dr. John Kotter, world-renowned expert on change and leadership, to research and develop the most successful approaches to large scale change implementation. Gaurav is co-author of the book Change: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results in Uncertain and Volatile Times and cofounder of Ka Partners, a firm established to help growing startups. Gaurav has published numerous articles including in HBR, MIT Sloan Review, and Forbes; and has been quoted in publications like The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and USA Today. He holds a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University and a bachelors in physics from Middlebury College, where he graduated summa cum laude.
Greg Lindsay
Greg Lindsay is a generalist, urbanist, futurist, and speaker who will offer a glimpse into the future of work. He is a 2022-2023 urban tech fellow at Cornell Tech’s Jacobs Institute, where he leads The Metaverse Metropolis, exploring augmented reality at urban scale. He is also a senior fellow of MIT’s Future Urban Collectives Lab, a senior advisor to Climate Alpha, and a non-resident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Strategy Initiative. He’s been cited as an expert on the future of cities, technology, and mobility by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, USA Today, CNN, NPR, and the BBC. He’s a partner at the advisory firm FutureMap, and has advised Intel, Samsung, IKEA, Starbucks, and many others.
Mark McCrindle
Mark McCrindle, the social researcher and futurist credited with coining the term 'Generation Alpha,' will provide information leaders need to serve and employ the most switched-on, globally connected generation yet. McCrindle, an internationally recognized leader in tracking emerging issues and researching social trends, will offer the latest insights about the generation born between 2010 and 2024. McCrindle is a National Statistics Excellence Award winner, best-selling author, influential thought leader, TEDx speaker, and principal of McCrindle Research. His advisory, communications, and research company, McCrindle, counts among its clients more than 100 of Australia's largest companies and leading international brands.