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Connect. Collaborate. Contribute.™
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Ganesh Padmanabhan
Molecula Corp Randi Ludwig Dell Technologies Matt Sanchez CognitiveScale Usman Shuja SparkCognition Central Library 710 W. Cesar Chavez Downtown Austin 5:45pm Doors Open 6:15pm Presentation, Q&A 7:30pm Reception 
Thanks to Austin Public Library for their partnership.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now pervasive in all aspects of our lives as citizens, employees, consumers, and social beings. This new class of software technology has the potential to completely rewrite the world economic order. Its impact can already be seen in homes, businesses and political processes, and it promises to transform everything from healthcare and transportation, from education to entertainment, from manufacturing to military applications, and more. When combined with robotics, AI will soon be driving cars, stocking warehouses, making complex products, repairing physical infrastructure, and caring for the young and elderly. It holds the promise of solving some of the most pressing issues facing our society, but also presents challenges such as unethical uses of personal data, inscrutable “black box” algorithms, potential job displacement, and numerous national and international security concerns.
In this Austin Forum session on AI, you will hear from experts on what's driving this, why is it a big deal, and how are individuals, organizations and governments poised to take advantage. You will gain perspectives on how you should shape your involvement and activities to prepare yourself for this new industrial revolution, but also gain practical insights on what you should do to thrive during its evolution into a global force. Check out this related Austin Forum event and this article. We welcome your participation! Please email us with your questions, answers and prognostications in advance.
Admission to the Austin Forum is always free. The Austin Forum accepts donations of used smart phones and tablets at all our events. All devices will have a factory reset and be set up as new by the team at Austin Pathways’ nationally-recognized “Unlocking the Connection” initiative, which will connect every public housing resident with a digital device, digital literacy, and a free or very low-cost internet connection. Your donated phone can change lives and help close Austin’s digital divide, thanks to Austin Pathways. |
speakerS
Ganesh Padmanabhan
Molecula Corp |
Ganesh Padmanabhan is Molecula’s CRO, leading all revenue activities. Rooted in his engineering background, he is passionate about bringing disruptive technologies to market and has established a track record of driving growth through corporate strategy, product and business development as well as marketing and sales for startups and Fortune 500 companies. Before Molecula, Ganesh was the Head of Global Business Development and Marketing at CognitiveScale, a leading Enterprise AI company. Prior to that, he spent a decade at Dell, later Dell EMC, where he held several leadership roles in corporate strategy, business development, sales, product management and marketing. In his last role, he served as Dell EMC’s General Manager of Worldwide Converged Solutions where he drove the 5x growth in a global business in 3 years. Prior to Dell EMC, Ganesh held several engineering leadership roles at Intel and Adaptec, in North America and Asia.
Ganesh is a frequent keynote speaker, an evangelist for human machine partnership and an advocate for opportunity. He was recently honored by the Enterprise Management 360 as one of the the top 10 tech experts revolutionizing AI. In addition to his role at CognitiveScale, Ganesh is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Capital Factory in Austin, as well as an advisor to several startups in Austin, Texas. He holds a Masters in Business Administration from McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin as well as a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calicut in India. |
Randi Ludwig
Dell Technologies |
Randi R. Ludwig is a Data Scientist at Dell Technologies within Support and Deployment Services. She brings data science solutions to business problems involving tech support, warranties, and repairs on Dell products. She also focuses on raising visibility for data science at the executive level and connecting global Dell data scientists into a networked community that can collaborate and learn from one another. Additionally, she is a co-organizer of Women in Data Science ATX and promotes diversity and fostering a welcoming space for newcomers to the field. Before venturing into industry, Randi completed a PhD in Astrophysics at UT Austin, including research on both active galactic nuclei and how students learn astronomy, which gave her experience with varied statistical data-mining techniques and many kinds of data sets.
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Matt Sanchez
CognitiveScale |
Matt Sanchez is the Founder and CTO, leading the development of CognitiveScale’s core products and infrastructure. He serves as the principal architect and product visionary for the company’s cloud-based cognitive applications across various industries. Recently, Matt was the leader of IBM Watson Labs and was the first to apply IBM Watson to the financial services and healthcare industries. Before joining IBM, Matt was Chief Architect and employee number three at Webify, which was acquired by IBM in 2007. Matt earned his BS degree in Computer Science from The University of Texas at Austin in 2000, has been granted six US patents, and is the author of more than a dozen more.
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Usman Shuja
SparkCognition |
Usman Shuja is the Chief Commercial Officer at SparkCognition and is responsible for commercial strategy and development. Usman joined SparkCognition in early 2013 as the founding executive and Vice President of Market Development to lead the revenue organization. In this role, he led sales, marketing, partnerships, and customer success teams from the pre-revenue stage, focusing on enterprise clients across energy, aerospace, and manufacturing. Prior to SparkCognition, he worked as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and in software development and sales roles at IBM. He serves on the US advisory board for the International Cricket Council (ICC), cricket’s world governing body; Dover Energy IIoT; and HotelKey, a hotel management software company.
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