Rob Barlow is a professor of sustainable business and innovation at the San Francisc campus of Hult International Business School. He publishes research on the future of sustainable business, the soci and business impacts of AI and other emerging technologies, and best practices for business innovation. He is currently interviewing 100 Chief Sustainability Officers from around the world to learn about the best practices for achieving sustainability within and across industries and how the role is evolving as it becomes a normal part of business organizations around the world.
Matt Johnson
Neuroscience, Serendipity, and Marketing: Leveraging Surprise in a Personalized World
Matt Johnson, PhD is a speaker, writer, and researcher, specializing in the application of psychology and neuroscience to branding. He is the author of the top-selling book, Blindsight: The (mostly) hidden ways marketing reshapes our brains (BenBella, 2020), and most recently, Branding That Means Business , (Economist Books, Fall 2022). In 2023 he was inducted into Thinkers50 Radar as one of 30 business thinkers with ideas most likely to shape the future. As a columnist for Psychology Today, and a contributor to Forbes, Business Insider and BBC, he regularly provides expert opinion related to better understanding, serving, and interacting with their consumers. Matt is currently a Professor of Psychology and Marketing at Hult International Business School.
Speaker Bios
Ted Ladd
AI: Artificial Inferiority?
Ted Ladd is a Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Hult and an Instructor of Platform Entrepreneurship at Harvard. His research focuses on innovation in general and multi-sided platforms in specific, appearing in a range of academic and practitionerfocused channels. His most recent book, Innovating With Impact, was published by the Economist. He was a member of seven different software startups in Silicon Valley, the most recent of which was acquired by Google. He holds a PhD from Case, MBA from Wharton, MA from Johns Hopkins, and a BA from Cornell. He, his wife Laura, and his dog Scarlett live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Ilze LandsellZandvoort
All Aboard! Stories That Move You
Ilze is a full-time Professor of Leadership and Management at Hult EF Corporate Education. Her work within the Corporate, Public and Not-for-Profit sectors focusses on the interface of leadership, change, strategy implementation and organisational development and is informed by her Doctoral research in employee experience of change, particularly M&A. Some clients include ASSA ABLOY, Aramex, Capita, Croda, UK CIvil Services, Lufthansa, LHIND, LRQA, UCL, and Wordline. She graduated with a Masters in Chiropractic in South Africa and Masters in Business Administration from Ashridge Business School. In 2019, Ilze completed her Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from the University of Liverpool, focusing on the lessons leaders can learn from those living through transformation.
Speaker Bios
Guy Lubitsh
You Can’t Lead Solo
Guy is a Chartered Organisational Psychologist working in management, organisational change, and leadership development. He is a Client Director and Professor of Leadership & Psychology at Ashridge Executive Education/Hult International Business School and has extensive experience working with Executives at the highest levels of international companies in Europe and Middle East. His work spans sectors including; Novo Nordisk, BskyB, WHO, Diabetes UK and British National Health Service. Guy is a visiting Professor at the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzlia. His book ‘Connect – resolve conflict, improve communication, strengthen relationships’ has been published recently by FT/Pearson and shortlisted for management book of the year CMI.
Patrick Lynch
How AI Immersive Learning Reshapes Education and Work
Dr. Lynch is AI Faculty Lead and Professor of Marketing and Leadership for Hult International Business School, helping prepare innovative leaders. He specializes in strategies to find, service, and keep customers through immersive experiences, instructing AI and the Future of Work; Big Data Analytics for Sustainable Development; and Design Thinking for Marketing Strategy. As an Accenture Research Fellow, he pioneered measuring global shopper attitudes and channel conflicts. At Wolters Kluwer Health, he directed new product development and quality improvements. An accomplished endurance athlete, Dr. Lynch has completed Ironman triathlons, the Boston Marathon, and Leadville Trail.
Speaker Bios
Belisa Marochi
Whose Voice Is It Anyway?
Dr. Belisa Marochi is a Professor at Hult International Business School Dubai where she teaches leadership and sustainability courses. As a Political Scientist and ethnographer, she has held academic positions in Denmark, Sweden, the US and the UK. Her research focuses on sustainability, stakeholder engagement and collaborative performance. Dr. Marochi has experience in consulting and developing training programs for governments and businesses across the Middle East, Europe, and the US. She holds a PhD from Roskilde University, as well as degrees from Brown University, IE, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Caryn Pang
Cultivating Your Personal Brand with the VLR Framework
Dr. Caryn Pang is an esteemed faculty member at Hult International Business School in Boston and Parsons School of Design in NYC. She has over 15 years of experience as a retail business executive and has consulted for several companies such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, TJX Corporation, and Macy's. Dr. Pang's research focuses on cross-cultural consumer consumption and business strategies at the intersection of hospitality and retail. She earned her Ph.D from Iowa State University. She is a 2024 recipient of the ExW ExtraOrdinary Women Award from the Mayor of Boston’s Office of Women’s Advancement.
Speaker Bios
Priyanka Shrivastava
Breathe to Lead
Priyanka is a seasoned professional with transformative experience in consulting and teaching core marketing subjects, research, and data analytics. As a passionate educator, she has been recognized with awards for excellence in experiential teaching. Priyanka has published empirical papers in leading international journals, focusing on the modeling and analysis of primary data. Her expertise to developing strategies and consulting companies on customer relationship management, brand positioning, and market entry strategies. Priyanka's current research interests encompass the integrated world of social media and the digital environment, co-creation, and customer relationship management. Beyond her professional pursuits, Priyanka is a dedicated Yoga enthusiast.
Lori van Dam
Why Nonprofits Are Not the Solution
Lori serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Hult Prize, an annual global student social entrepreneurship competition with a $1M prize. Prior to joining the organization, Lori spent six years as an executive leader for Susan G. Komen, the largest private funder of breast cancer research in the U.S. She also served as executive director of The One Fund Boston, which was created by the Mayor of Boston and Governor of Massachusetts to provide support for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing victims. Lori also worked for 20 years for EF Education First, the global education company founded by the Hult Prize’s namesake and benefactor. Lori speaks five languages, and has lived in many countries around the world.
Speaker Bios
Anusha Vissagragada
AI + HI: Partners in Innovation
Currently a faculty member at Hult International Business School, Anusha specializes in Computer Science and Business Analytics. Since starting her role in January 2023, she has significantly influenced the development of the Business Analytics curriculum.
Anusha holds a bachelor’s in data science and a master’s degree in business analytics from the University of Connecticut. Her extensive experience includes roles such as Data Scientist and IT Developer in the banking and healthcare industries. Anusha works with the case study method and develops new pedagogical strategies, bringing a rich blend of industry knowledge and academic expertise to the table.
Johan Roos
Master of Ceremonies
Johan Roos is Professor and Chief Academic Officer at Hult. Johan has a long career in the international business school industry, having led several schools and served as professor at even more. He is an expert in strategy processes and co-invented the LEGO Serious Play method.
Special Thanks
A very special thank you to all the speakers, our special guests, and alumni. This event would not have been possible without Johan Roos, Sibley Slinkard, Erin Brown, Erika Lucas, Nadine Page, Hult Research Team, Michael Lynch, the Boston Campus Operations Team, Caitlin Corcoran, Kristina Shimkus, the Boston Campus Student Services Team, Tess Henderson, Colin Hickey, Bharathi Kosaraju, Johanna Raastock, Bespoke Communications and Charles River Media. Thank you!
