2020 Speakers

Texas Smart Cities Summit Speakers

Featured Keynote Speakers

Gordon Feller
Executive Advisor on smart-cities to corporates, local governments

For four decades Gordon Feller has been a leader on smart-cities, working to ensure that all of the key urban stakeholders -- public agencies, non-profits, private companies -- fully utilize emerging technologies. In the 1990s Gordon founded the non-profit Meeting of the Minds. It’s recognized as one of the world’s most effective global leadership network and knowledge-sharing platform focused on urban innovation. As a veteran tech-industry executive he’s served for many years in executive roles at IBM, Apple, Cisco. Today he serves on the Boards of several successful non-profits which aim to improve the availability and reduce the costs of innovative technologies and services.He serves as a consultant to executives who run some of the world’s leading organizations: national and city governments; non-profits; start-ups; grown-ups.

LinkedIn
@MeetoftheMinds
@GordonFeller

Dr. David S. Ricketts
Harvard University

Dr. David S. Ricketts is an award-winning innovator and global thought leader in the theory and practice of innovation. He has helped boost creative thinking and bring cutting edge ideas to reality in top companies such as Mastercard, Disney, and General Motors. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, where he is an Innovation Fellow researching how organizations transform ideas into innovation. His breakthrough research and innovations have been featured in worldwide news outlets such as Popular Science, Smithsonian, NBC, CBS, and Fox News. His teaching and insights leverage his over 20 years of corporate R&D and academic research. Dr. Ricketts helps organizations drive success through innovation with his dynamic keynotes, executive consulting, and innovation masterclasses.

@drdavidricketts
linkedin.com/in/drdavidricketts

Ruthbea Yesner
IDC

Ruthbea Yesner is the Vice President of Government Insights at IDC. In this practice, Ms. Yesner manages the US Federal Government, Education, and the Worldwide Smart Cities and Communities Global practices. Ms. Yesner's research discusses the strategies and execution of relevant technologies and best practice areas, such as governance, innovation, partnerships and business models, essential for government and education transformation. Ms. Yesner's research includes analytics, artificial intelligence, Open data and data exchanges, digital twins, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and mobile solutions in the areas of economic development and civic engagement, urban planning and administration, smart campus, transportation, and energy and infrastructure.