DNA Magazine 2013

Decide Now Act Summit

London - June 13th & 14th 2013

www.dnasummit.com DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 1

05/06/2013 14:05

Your personal, spacious haven onboard We understand that true luxury means having the freedom to stretch out and unwind in privacy. So relax and let our dedicated crew attend to your every request. For example, with our Turndown Service you can ask for your bed to be made up whenever you decide to sleep.

Discover more at ba.com/first

2

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 2

05/06/2013 08:45

DNA Summit Welcome to the second DNA Summit, an event which will bring together the most innovative thinkers from across the world. By connecting those people who are committed to social change, we hope the Summit will foster some extraordinary collaborations and drive a new wave of global innovation.

T

HE HISTORY of London is inextricably bound with enterprise.

Be it in business, finance, culture or politics, London has led the way for centuries as a global capital, and last year saw one of its most memorable as the eyes of the world were drawn upon it as it hosted the Olympics and Paralympics, not to mention the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

This provided London with a unique opportunity to showcase all that is has to offer, a stunning demonstration of what it can achieve and what is still to come.

The DNA Summit is building upon that theme, telling the story of London and pointing the way ahead.

And the way ahead is innovation. As the global economic recession continues to stutter on the path to recovery, there is a greater urgency than ever for new technologies, new ways of doing business and new ambitions.

London has a thriving entrepreneurial community and is already a world leader in innovation. Take the example of Tech City in the East End of London - its growth into one of the world’s most dynamic and entrepreneurial centres is a genuine phenomenon. According to one measure it is now home to more than 3,000 tech businesses, employing almost 50,000 people. And this is only the beginning. The Olympic Park, just a few miles away, is being transformed into a creative and digital hub, home to global giants as well as fledging companies operating in the tech space. Investors already include Cisco, Facebook, Google, Intel, and Vodafone with more set to come.

This places London at the heart of the global innovation economy, producing world-class technologies spearheaded by exceptional entrepreneurs. With an emphasis on collaboration and action, London is attracting talent and business from all over the world.

CONVERSATION + COLLABORATION = DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 3

Against this backdrop it is only fitting that the UK is taking over the presidency of the G8 this year, and London once again finds itself at the centre of attention. The need for political coordination on economic reform rightly remains at the top of the agenda, so there is no better place in the world to discuss how to encourage growth and foster innovation.

The DNA Summit has been timed to coincide with the G8. The Summit will draw on the dynamism of London, bring together some of the most innovative minds in the world to tackle head-on some of society’s most urgent issues.

One particular area which London is pioneering is social investment. Social ventures can play a key role in the revitalization and improvement of the economy, which in turn has a beneficial effect for wider society. They make an annual £24 billion contribution to the economy - 1.5% of GDP - employ over 800,000 people and are filling the demand for more ethical products.

Funds must be encouraged towards charities and social enterprises, those organisations that deliver some of the most outstanding public services. It is through this sort of innovation which ensures that London remains a global hub.

Looking more broadly, all aspects of the business sector must be evaluated on the impact they have on society. Each new company founded, every new employee hired has a catalytic effect on the rest of society, leading to greater and more widespread prosperity and tax revenue.

London is pioneering this approach to business and it is a model which can be exported around the world to make a real difference to how society operates.

One of the great things about the DNA Summit is how it provides an opportunity to hear from innovators from all reaches of the globe and how we can act in

CHANGE

tandem to affect real change. As the capital of the BRICs and the natural home for emerging market investors, London is perfectly placed to facilitate action on this scale.

That is what innovation really is – driving change. ‘Decide Now Act’ is both our name and the guiding principle by which we operate. The aims of DNA are of the utmost importance.

From education to disaster relief and infrastructure development, we are bringing together the best and the brightest from every field to create a global network of experts that can help in any eventuality.

Fostering innovation, backing entrepreneurs, building cutting edge companies and producing world-beating technologies – this is what is happening in London and it is what DNA wants to encourage throughout the world.

As Chairman of the Centre for Social Justice - a think-tank putting social justice at the heart of British politics, and as Special Adviser to the country’s Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, I am continually reminded of the need for business and society to work together.

Only with a more entrepreneurial economy can we foster a stronger society. As UK Prime Minister David Cameron stressed earlier this year, business is “the most powerful force for social progress the world has ever known”. It can help alleviate poverty, act as a driver of innovation and help raise the aspirations of many.

The DNA Summit will award us an unparalleled opportunity to discuss these opportunities and more. n

MARK FLORMAN

DNA Chairman

DNA Magazine 2013

3 05/06/2013 14:08

Contents REGULARS

03 A word from DNA’s Chairman Mark Florman

What does it take to win £100k of equity nvestment?

for the last 30 years?

Read on and see..

06 A Plan for the Future. Amir Dossal

074 A conversation about collaboration and mentorship.

Deborah Stambler spends time with Julie Wood Moss.

075 Power to the People The time to take to the streets has passed, take to the internet!

056 Made in Africa The struggle within Africa is well documented but there is still so much happening on the continent to be proud of. Here David Adjaye, Ozwald Boateng Chris Cleverly, Jamie Drummond and David A Rice talk their passion.

FEATURES

070 What makes a Racist…..

Nina Jablonski has a theory

08 Gadgets: A bike that glows in the dark, glasses that work your computer; we want them all.

010 6 Degrees of Innovation.

June Sarpong 017 New Apps Helpful nugget for your phone.

026 DNA Agenda The summit at a glance.

SPOTLIGHT

020 London the capital of the world?

Jim O’Neil explains 021 Things are looking up Penny Abeydewardena on gender integration 024 Le Boo.com.

Putting the glamour into tech.

043 Accelerating innovation It doesn’t take a lot to get more women into those tech roles 057 The United Nations and transformational partnerships 072 Profit with Purpose Prize

CONVERSATION + COLLABORATION =

014 Digital humanitarianism What humanitarians and Technologists Can Achieve Together

018 A life edited Live life with less.

023 Is this the saviour of the Music Industry Daniel Elk. 028 Dear Yahoo Aleks Krotoski talks social media.

034 Will Power Will I Am on the new tech revolution.

038 What will Our Children’s Work live be like?

David Rowan tells you.

044 Let’s be Frank Simon Franks explains why sitting on your laurels just won’t do.

088 The Innovators Meet BA’s Ungrounded innovators 092 The height of fashion A look back at the most glamorous uniform of any corporation.

096 Silicon Valley What started in a garage in Palo Alto now draw 40% of US venture capital 097 It’s all in the design May seem inconsequential but on a 10 hour flight, it makes all the difference. The thought, planning and innovation behind BA’s aircraft design.

102 Consumer engagement.

046 What have we been doing BA shows us how they move with the times…

CHANGE

CONTRIBUTORS EDITOR/ART DIRECTOR: Sofia Foster sofia@dansummit.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Grace Campbell Editorial@dnasummit.com

4

078 BA Ungrounded forward BA takes to the skies; this time its more than just getting their passengers from A to B

DESIGN: Imogen Smith- Edmunds i.smith-edmunds@sky.com PRINTED IN THE UK BY PRINTECH EUROPE LTD www.printecheurope.com

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 4

05/06/2013 14:10

Editor’s note

W

HEN I started to think about the task of compiling the launch issue DNA magazine two quotes stuck in my mind, one “If you understand it, it’s not innovation.” From Vadim Kotelnikov, resounded with me because really, coming from a lifestyle media background, where innovation is used to describe yet another pseudo anti-aging cream and an innovative thought comprises of “eat 20 blue-berries a day and keep the doctor away” I didn’t necessary feel up to the task.

I spoke to countless brainiacs in the know, seeking the fountain of innovative knowledge in the hope of lighting a spark that would take me from Rupert Sanderson to Young’s Modulus. Though, OK, blood will out, I hold my hands up; I did pump Graham Hill for shoe storage advise in the guise of living with less but in my defense when you see the beautiful LifeEdited apartment featured in this issue (page 18) you will understand my dilemma. David Rowan scared the life out of me with his vision of what would comprise as ‘work-life’ in the not too distant future (page 38) and Cindy Pandos’ call for ways to encourage more women to enter the technology space (page 43) resounded as loud as a bell; all innovative thinkers, all happy to share their thoughts. Which brings me to the second quote playing around in my head like an annoying Christmas jingle Tom Peters’ “Nearly 100% of innovation – from business to politics – is inspired not by “market analysis” but by people who are supremely pissed off by the way things are.” He’s right, the status quo is there for bucking, and it’s almost a provocation, the words ‘status quo’, annoying. In fact the mere suggestion of boundaries makes me think ‘push’.

It’s in our human blueprint, this desire to strive and better our lot in life. Early man’s expanding culinary expectations meant when he grew tired of steak tartar he started banging flints together. Rest assured then that within the pages of this

SOFIA FOSTER magazine you will encounter numerous ‘strivers’. Most have already succeeded in ‘over-achieving’ enough for one lifetime, but yet again raise their heads above the parapet, this time to better the life of the less fortunate. Simon Franks on the work being done by Thefff.org in Asia (page 44), Ozwald Boateng and Chris Cleverly making it in Africa (page 56). They share their frustrations, their disappointments,

expectations and their triumphs. And they also share a common stance, to do more than talk; the ‘act’ in Decide Now Act is being taken very, very seriously.

Lots of thought provoking, encouraging, engaging, sobering stuff and I hope you enjoy reading their contributions as much as I did. Now, off to download Le Boo. com on my iPad, you can take the girl out of fashion…. n

CONVERSATION + COLLABORATION = DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 5

CHANGE 05/06/2013 19:37

The Future We Want:

are we there yet?

The DNA Summit has the Answers

A

S THE United Nations gears up for the last mile of the Millennium Development Goals, there is now renewed commitment from the international community, captains of industry and leaders of society for collective action. If we are to make a real dent in addressing global challenges, we can no longer act alone – we must use the power of partnerships to make a lasting difference that can lead to real sustainability.

The DNA Summit provides a unique action-oriented platform for innovators and influencers to bring to bear out-ofthe-box solutions for addressing social problems. While the international community is very effective in highlighting social issues, it can only be successful through innovative collaboration with the private sector and civil society. The Summit brings together leaders from the public sector, including the UN family and the real thought leaders and change makers from

the private sector, for new thinking, with the principal aim of focusing on results – concrete actions! British Airways’ exciting new venture: UnGrounded Thinking, the brainchild of Simon TallingSmith, is exactly the kind of creative engagement needed to bring the best out of people, and we are delighted to welcome our friends from Silicon Valley to this unique summit. This year’s challenge to examine and suggest innovative solutions for the “global misalignment of talent” is a great way to get 100 of the best minds on one flight and to come up with answers (they have no other option!)

In June 2012, the Secretary General issued a path-breaking report “Realizing the Future We Want for All”, as a part of the Rio+20 process. The next month, he appointed a High-level Panel on the Post–2015 Development Agenda, co-chaired by three luminaries: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia; President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia; and Prime Minister

Amir Dossal, Chairman, Global Partnerships Forum

David Cameron of the United Kingdom, facilitated by a Secretariat headed by international diplomat Ms. Amina Mohamed from Nigeria. The Highlevel Panel had benefitted from a range of ideas and inputs (over 5,000 organizations from 121 countries have interacted with the Panel and their report, issued on 31 May 2013) and provides some concrete ways forward to

“The Summit brings together leaders from the public sector, including the UN family and the real thought leaders and change makers from the private sector, for new thinking” 6

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 6

05/06/2013 14:13

address the plight of the underprivileged.

Although the MDG targets still have 18 months to go, there is a general feeling that the new goals and targets for their successor arrangements - Sustainable Development Goals - provide a solid blueprint for action.

While this report will be discussed at a Special Session of the UN General Assembly in September 2013, we all have an opportunity to participate in the debate of the World We Want beyond 2015, and provide ideas for making a better world. Although the number of people living below the poverty rate of $1.25 a day has fallen to less than 50% of the 1990 level, over 1.4 billion people still live in extreme poverty. This is where the World We Want provides a very good megaphone for the public at large to voice its opinions and provide innovative solutions for changing the world.

It is clear that the current approach to development assistance has its limitations. Aid does not create sustainable solutions; rather it provides short-term fixes and fosters dependence instead of empowerment. Official Development Assistance (ODA) or “aid” as we know it, runs at around $130 billion a year, while Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounts to approximately US $1.4 trillion, over ten times greater. New forms of business engagement are thus critical in the international development agenda as we move forward in accelerating achievement of the MDGs/SDGs. It is worth stating the obvious: partnerships, good governance, transparency, and accountability are central to economic development and social progress.

There is increased appreciation that poverty alleviation and wealth creation are indeed two sides of the same coin.

And the stars are aligned with the UK’s Presidency of the G8. Prime Minister David Cameron’s priority during his G8 Presidency is to focus on powering up the global economy. We now need collective action by the G8, the G20, the G77 and others to focus on growth, creating jobs and building prosperity for

the long-term. The G8 events leading up to the 17-18 June Summit are all building blocks that come together at the DNA Summit. The Social Impact Investment Conference, Nutrition for Growth, the G8 Science Meeting, and others leading up to the DNA Summit can inform the process for Decide Now Act! The results-based agenda of the DNA Summit will focus on global humanitarian and technology issues, and will include participation of senior UN leaders. Dr. Hamadoun Touré, Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union and Vice Chair of the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development, will beam live from ITU headquarters in Geneva. UN Office for Partnerships, led

by Roland Rich, will discuss the impact of business and philanthropy. The Summit brings together visionaries and leading philanthropists from across the globe, and we are delighted to welcome venture philanthropist Paul Allen (Co-Founder of Microsoft and creator the Experience Music Project), Craig Newmark (Founder of Craigslist) and the very active social entrepreneur, Jack Hidary.

of sustainable development: economic prosperity, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability - transforming the lives of millions around the world.

The private sector clearly sees the merits of Investing in People for Social Change, and moving from traditional CSR to a culture of ‘Personal Social Responsibility’.

It seems that all stakeholders are beginning to realise the benefits of working together for common causes, to achieve the future we want.

We applaud the leadership role of Mark Florman and June Sarpong in bringing together game-changers and are delighted to support their noble mission. n

One of the threads of the summit will be the creative use of technology to address social challenges, and a key enabler is broadband access – a transformative technology that is taken for granted by many of us, but that has the potential to spark advances across all three pillars

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 7

7 05/06/2013 08:45

Innovative Gadgets GOOGLE GLASS GOOGLE HAS been revolutionary in what it has created for the Internet, but now it is not only the World Wide Web they are changing.

Google have created a new form of hands free computing in the form of a pair of glasses.

Better known as ‘Google Glass’, this electronic frame sits in the same place as a pair of glasses would. Their role is very different. When the user instructs them to do something, it obeys. ‘Glass, take a video’ the glasses will film whatever is seen from the installed camera placed in front of the eye. This new form of reactionary technology merges the iPhone’s Siri with a computing pair of glasses. Pairs are limited today, but who knows how many there will be in the future.

LEAP MOTION CONTROL

GLOW IN THE DARK PAINT

LEAP MOTION are an innovative company that focuses on developing gadgets which improve interaction between a human and their computer. This device is designed to sit on a desktop. Using its two cameras and three infrared LEDs the gadget senses motions which cross into its area, and follow the consumers’ signals on the computer screen. The company was inspired to create this gadget because of the increase of interactive programs available on a computer, and the lack of motion-sensor products available on the market.

Leap motion does for a computer what a Wii does for a television, bringing the technology closer to the user.

CREATED BY the American company Pure Fix Cycles, ‘Kiro’ is a bike assured to achieve ultimate visibility at night. The frame is green, this particular paint is special as it is solar activated.

This means it absorbs natural sunlight during the day, and uses its reserved light to glow at night, giving the bike frame a luminescent colour that is hard to miss in the dark. This is the safest option for cyclists who are often riding through the city at night.

8

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 8

05/06/2013 08:45

PRINCESS COMPACT 4-ALL THE PRINCESS compact 4-all breakfast box is four of the most important kitchen appliances rolled into one.

It includes a kettle, coffee machine, toaster, and juicer.

All four machines can either be placed together as one, or broken apart into their individual pieces. As one unit, the Princess compact ‘Breakfast Cube’ would increase space in the kitchen.

Each square is 20cm3, proving the proportions have been reduced to the necessary minimum.

The toaster has the capacity of two bread slices, the cordless kettle can boil up to 500ml of water, the coffee machine has a volume of 300ml, and the juicer contains two heads.

SUPER CRUISE CADILLAC ONE DAY far in the future cars will be able to drive themselves. Until then, Cadillac are working on the closest thing to it, a semi-autonomous vehicle. With the recently developed super cruise system, this vehicle is designed to give drivers a break in certain situations such as on long motorways, and during traffic jams. The system of this new age car uses radar, ultrasonic sensors, cameras, and GPS map data to ensure a safe semi-auto pilot mode for the driver.

Although Cadillac have stated that even in this mode the car will require the drivers attention, it will use its devices to navigate itself.

THROWABLE PANORAMIC BALL CAMERA THIS BALL is no ordinary one.

Unlike balls that are used to kick, this one can create a panoramic image, capturing things that were beyond the visions of the photographer. It is equipped with 36 fixed-focus 2-megapixel cameras, on all sides of the ball. When the user throws the ball up in the air, the balls installed accelerometer determines when it is at the highest point, and then each camera works at once to photograph all of its surroundings, leaving no blind spot behind.

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 9

9 05/06/2013 08:45

Six Degrees Of Innovation – Because the world is separate enough.

T

HE BRITISH novelist E M Forster famously said ‘only connect’. He was right. While misunderstanding and strife dominate our world and its politics, there is an urgent need for understanding and connection - on a human level, as one human race. That is the aim of DNA (Decide Now Act) to foster collaborations between some of the world’s most innovative thinkers as a means of helping them work together for social change and create a better connected world. DNA aims to “Act” as a forum for fellow world citizens to build a global community of truly connected individuals that use innovation to help move humanity forward. Sound like a utopian idea? Well that’s because it kind of is, which is why DNA is working closely with UNOP & the ITU both agencies within the UN, an organisation that also grew from a utopian idea. That if countries and nations had a forum to discuss their issues and if our leaders could work collectively,

10

then maybe we could avoid unnecessary human suffering.

Obviously we know in reality this is easier said than done-but we have to try. At DNA we share these same ideals but we can’t leave it up to only politicians and diplomats however, the work for positive change has to come from people and true change agents -when we as individuals are able to identify with each other and work across barriers for a better future, only then will we have sustainable change. Speaking of barriers, I’d like to share with you an experience I had which became the inspiration behind DNA. My background is television, for over 15 years I’ve been fortunate enough to interview a diverse range of people from all walks of life.

For the past 5 years I’ve been living and working in the US, one day a sound assistant appeared on set whom I noticed immediately because of his appearance and felt uneasy around him. He hadn’t behaved aggressively or looked at me

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 10

05/06/2013 08:45

“We need innovative solutions to address these issues but first we have to realise and truly embrace our shared humanity” in any particularly menacing way. He was covered head to toe in tattoos; I’m not talking David Beckham style tattoos but rather gang symbol’s including one on his face. I suspected he had possibly been incarcerated at some point, immediately I began to feel really intimidated. As a woman of color I’m aware of the problems that can be caused by stereotyping and prejudice and decided I, of people, should know better, get over my discomfort and just have a conversation with this man. As it happens as I suspected he had been in a gang, he had been in jail, however whilst there he had done a great deal of studying and self development and was now committed to making a difference for his community and society in general. Unfortunately this was a difficult aspiration for him as other people in society, like me, prejudged him based on misguided assumptions. Fortunately our lead sound technician had given him a break with an apprenticeship, which he was now thriving at. I actually had a very informative and enjoyable conversation with this young man and learnt so much about his tragic upbringing and all that he had survived and overcome, I was even more surprised when he started quoting Shakespeare. I realised that had I been unable to put aside my issues around his “packaging, that I would have missed out on this mind opening exchange. It is this distorted view of “The Other” that is the root cause of so many of the major issues facing humanity.

How many of us are denied enriching, enlightening and maybe magical moments every day due to our failure to put aside our issues with outer packaging and perceived difference? Whether national boundaries or language that creates the barriers between individuals, whether we are separated by a couple of countries or separated by a couple of streets, religion, race or economically. Separation seems to be the order of the day – so much so, that ironically we even describe the way we are connected as six degrees of separation! Now there’s an oxymoron if ever there was one.

We need innovative solutions to address these issues but first we have to realise and truly embrace our shared humanity even if at first it feels uncomfortable. It’s no coincidence that DNA is a collaboration between myself and Mark Florman with additional support from Amir Dossal. On the surface it would seem that a “young….ish” TV presenter of Ghanaian heritage, a finance industry leader born into the upper echelons of British and Swedish Society and a 25yr UN veteran originally from India would not have much in common.

However it is our diversity that binds us and encapsulates the very essence of DNA. DNA came about from a desire to move from six degrees of separation to six degrees of integration and beyond that to six degrees of innovation. Innovative tools of communication have an important role to play in improving human relationships; we believe technology needs to be at the forefront of this. From the telephone, to the airplane and more recently the Internet, technology has taken us from our own doorsteps to the most distant horizon. Thus allowing us to share. Share information.

Share imagination. Share vision. It’s for this reason that we are truly proud to partner with British Airways, a company that has been at the forefront of innovation and connecting the world for close to a century.

DNA Summit is not a talk shop; but rather a high-level workshop that connects the best minds in the world. DNA is designed to progress from talk to action, to achieve concrete results, which can be shared and replicated. A group of individuals who inspire, entertain, challenge and change our world. We are living in an ever inter-connected world and innovation is emerging in unlikely places. DNA convenes: vanguards, mavericks, creatives, pioneers, leaders and icons from across a variety of sectors and from all corners of the globe.

We hope you’ll join us in our quest for six degrees of integration or should I say “innovation” because the world is separate enough. n

CONVERSATION + COLLABORATION = DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 11

CHANGE 05/06/2013 08:45

Our hosts Host Partners:

Brand Partners:

Production Partners:

12

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 12

05/06/2013 08:45

The DNA Summit would not have been possible without our wonderful partners and supporters.

DNA would like to express a heartfelt thank you to the following people and organisations: ITU: Dr Hamadoun Toure Doreen Bogdan Paul Conneally Gary Fowlie UNOP: Roland Rich Annette Richardson

Abigail Comber Caroline Titmuss John McDonald GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS FORUM Tas Dossal

OCHA Baroness Valerie Amos Karen Smith

GDX Connect Gerry DeVeaux BVCA Cheryl Chickowski Anne Walsh

BRITISH AIRWAYS: Simon Talling-Smith

JJ EXPERIENCE Joanna Granville

Special Thanks to Chappell Productions Kim Chappell Farina Blotski

UKTI: Tim Luke Christine Loosecaat Clare Barnfather Lisa Haywood TATA Communications Julie Woods Moss Dawn Skelhorn David Eden The Bulgari Hotel Hani Farsi Vincent Chavence Nicolas Westin Valeria Rossini Spotify Daniel Ek

Alison Bonny Angela Watts Pi Capital David Giampolo Tech City Joanna Shields Ben Southworth Additional Thank You’s Heather Kerzner Deborah Anderson Omar Khan Grace Campbell Lucy Baynes Sarah Baynes Karen Cummings-Palmer Sue Walter

“I am delighted that British Airways is reaching out to the creative community to really think outside the box, in order to address global challenges.

We need to bring about Digital Inclusion for All. I am very glad that British Airways is looking to innovation as the avenue to finding lasting solutions and look forward to the outcome at the DNA Summit in June. I wish this dynamic group much success.” – Dr. Hamadoun Touré, SecretaryGeneral, International Telecommunication Union, United Nations DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 13

13 05/06/2013 14:32

Digital

Humanitarianism What Humanitarians and Technologists Can Achieve Together

P

ERHAPS the most important contribution that digital technology can make to humanitarian operations is to give a greater voice to those most affected by disasters and complex emergencies.

Our starting point needs to recognize that people affected by disasters are not ‘victims’ but a significant force of first responders. They are people with their own voice who need to be empowered and engaged as part of the overall aid effort. It is their recovery, their future, their lives and livelihoods at stake.

The ultimate technology challenge is to ensure that people affected by disasters are part of the team. n

PAUL CONNEALLY

Early Warning Early Action THE 8.7 EARTHQUAKE that struck off the coast of the Indonesian Island of Sumatra on 11 April 2012 brought a sense of foreboding that the region might see a repeat of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Fortunately a tsunami never materialized, but it was clear that this time, communities were better prepared.

At play were new advances in technology such as oceanoågraphic radar systems providing forewarning of tsunami activity relayed via satellite to meteorological centers in the Indian Ocean region. Increased awareness of the importance of standardization to ensure interoperability of new technologies across borders as well as

“We should not tolerate a world where the message from the data stays in the hands of experts.”

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 14

the harmonization of telecommunication policies and regulation are key and a clear area where cooperation between public and private sectors can be ramped up to ensure a more efficient use of existing emergency response technologies at the regional and international levels.

Added to this is the fact that the proliferation of mobile phones in the region is better optimized to transmit fast and clear life-saving data.

For me, this is an extremely important point, especially when talking to enthusiastic data geeks.

All the information in the world is useless if

05/06/2013 08:45

Broadband – the power to empower OVER THE past twenty years, the ‘mobile miracle’ has brought the benefits of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) within reach of nearly everyone and today there are well over six billion mobile cellular subscriptions worldwide.

But even though we now have some 2.7 billion Internet users online, that still leaves 60% of the world’s people with no access to the Internet. Our efforts must be joined to ensure that we live in a world where there is no digital exclusion.

It is not acceptable that almost two thirds of the world are without access to the internet and have no possibility to make use of the economic and social benefits that connectivity makes possible.

One crucial step to narrow the digital divide, currently championed by the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development, can be to replicate the

mobile miracle for broadband, and deliver broadband for all.

Broadband is not just about high-speed Internet connectivity and accessing more data, faster. Broadband is a set of transformative technologies, which are fundamentally changing the way we live. The Broadband Commission is one of the few bodies seriously advocating for this. It is a public-private partnership and provides an excellent example of how we can work together to achieve sustainable development in the digital age.

Silicon Valley and other technology hubs and centers of entrepreneurship, can profile the work of the Commission and similar entities and ensure that Broadband is on not just the technology agenda, but the development agenda also.

I visited Rwanda recently and was blown

away by the energy and ambition of its young generation. I met three young social entrepreneurs, all under thirty, all young women, and all working in the digital tech sector with a focus on digital inclusion, citizen empowerment and creation of local content. It was not a coincidence that my broadband connection in Kigali was nearly four times faster than it is in Geneva. And nor was it a coincidence that Rwanda has a Ministry dedicated to Youth and ICTs with a special focus on gender. I think this is a model that can and should be replicated successfully across the world.

Rwanda recognizes that Broadband is quiet simply the oxygen of an effective digital economy. The influential private sector can help to ensure good governance that creates an enabling environment for ICTs to create social value and sustainable development.

“Even though we now have some 2.7 billion Internet users online, that still leaves 60% of the world’s people with no access to the Internet”

it is not actionable’.

This conversion of scientific data to information that communities can use is not an easy process. A few dedicated organizations and academic institutions such as the International Research Institute at Colombia University and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre in The Hague work hard to find ways to convert specialized meteorological data into actionable and credible data that is

quickly transmitted to and understood by vulnerable communities.

Technologists and data experts can provide major impetus to this niche but critical area. We should not tolerate a world where the message from the data stays in the hands of experts. It needs to get to those who need it most so they can act on it and so lives can be saved before disaster strikes.

>> DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 15

15 05/06/2013 08:45

>>

Mobile an essential life-saving tool

MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES, particularly cellphones, are now considered as an essential tool for public health workers.

Cellphones are being used successfully to gather, collate and transmit data by frontline health workers. Patients are using apps to monitor their diabetes or heart conditions. Health Ministries are running effective awareness campaigns on issues such as the effects of alcohol, smoking and other lifestyle-related contributors to the growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases.

In places like Nigeria the Red Cross is providing real-time data that strengthens the national health system and greatly improves community engagement and the ability to prevent and treat illnesses.

According to the Red Cross this mobile

phone-based system, relying mainly on SMS technology to date, is ten times faster and cheaper than what went before. Furthermore, the data stays in the country massively benefiting future formulation of health policy.

The technology sector can work with humanitarian partners to help them scale up and apply lessons learned, based on evidence and best practice, to other parts of the world. Indeed this is the thrust of a new mHealth initiative recently launched by ITU and the WHO. The possibilities are limited only by our vision and ambition.

Mobile tech can optimize the fact that we are approaching near complete proliferation of devices around the world in the hand of every citizen and leverage

this to provide better adapted services across key sectors from governance to agriculture to trade and much more.

Much of the talent and creativity that is already tackling this in places like Rwanda is in place but they need support and their social companies need sustainable business models.

Mobile phones are also a tool that can feasibly achieve real gender empowerment. Women make up 40% of the global workforce yet only a fraction is working in the technology sector.

Mobile education (mlearning) programs for tech skills designed for women can address the future labor gap in the tech sector as well as strike a blow for real equality and empowerment.

It’s not about charity, it’s about conversation TO PARAPHRASE Jimmy Wales, founder and CEO of Wikipedia, Digital technologies in the developing world are not a just a story of mobile money or emergency SMS, it is about the creation of content and the sharing of a common story as people do exactly what we have been doing online for generations – talking, writing, creating, sharing and telling our stories – a content centered community driven by enhanced connectivity. It’s about ‘normalization’.

Jimmy is spot on. And this realization can be applied to the world of aid and development. Get ready for communities with a greater voice than they have ever had before; communities that will lead, innovate, disrupt and replace the out-dated north-south aid model.

The technology sector can provide both support to and leadership for the humanitarian sector to adapt to and navigate the new, digital reality. In anticipation of this certainty aid agencies and their private sector partners need to work with communities and treat communication as a right to be exercised by people in need. We must drive and facilitate this. We must contribute to the coming normalization and create a new paradigm where we collaborate and innovate together with those who are in

16

need of humanitarian assistance.

We can do this practically by both providing the tools and championing people’s right to access critical communication infrastructure and support our shared right to communicate a la Article 19 of the UN Convention on Human Rights.

Article 19 enshrines the right to communicate across all frontiers using all media – to realize this right there is an opportunity for aid agencies to advocate for people’s right to access critical communication infrastructure.

For it always circles back to this – ensuring people can share their stories, their knowledge, their creativity – technology can help but with it comes a required shift in how aid agencies and their technology partners operate and prioritize.

I believe that the private sector relationship with aid organizations can also shift.

Aid agencies normally view private sector as donors, donating resources and sometimes know-how. The fact is that the private sector is often better placed to implement aid programs, especially in emergency situations such as weatherrelated disasters. There is real opportunity for the private sector to play a greater leading role in aid implementation. There are real practical reasons why this could

happen and businesses themselves will create important brand value for making a visible difference to the lives of people in need. This is not about replacing frontline aid agencies but rather reevaluating the relationship as to who is best placed to deliver and providing guidance in our Hyperconnected, digital world.

Stepping stones to effective digital humanitarianism The word aid as we use it today (meaning foreign aid) has been around since the 1950s. It means to help, to assist – originally in terms of live saving assistance. But the aid model is already being disrupted. It will normalize, much like Wikipedia is seeing normalization. Decisions and initiatives will take place in Kigali not in Geneva.

The role of international aid workers and their technology partners will be to follow and support the local effort, to facilitate or stimulate local innovation, to connect disparate communities who can learn from each other.

As a final word, let’s crystallize the message down to this. There is maybe nothing more powerful that technology can contribute or achieve than enabling people to tell their own stories, advocate in their own interests and design their own solutions.

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 16

05/06/2013 08:45

An

App

SNAP FASHION Snap Fashion is the cleverly created app that finds outfits seen on someone else, requiring nothing but an iPhone.

It doesn’t matter if it was online, on paper, or on the tube, this free app will help you locate the sought after item of clothing you have seen, and tell you where to buy it and how much for.

Snap fashion browses through over 170 retailers in the UK to help the search. If the item is found it can be purchased

a day

immediately via Snap Fashion, avoiding the inevitable stress of shopping.

Although relatively recent on the app store, Snap Fashion received 100,000 users in April. Its popularity proves that shoppers have been seeking something of this sort for a while. The commonly heard ‘Where can I buy that?’ question will lessen while this app continues to answer it.

It is the modern portal for everything

clothes. Both the app and its website cover the current trends and news in the fashion scene, keeping its fashionable users up to date and in style.

SNAP CHAT

RUNKEEPER

QUOTEBOOK

Snap Chat is exactly what it says it is, a chat of snaps.

This social app is unique as you can only send photos or short videos taken on the spot, from your phone.

The user can add a short message, and draw on the image, giving it a personal twist. This ‘snap’ can only be seen by the recipient for a matter of seconds, after which it is gone from the iPhone’s imagination forever. Snap Chat is the newest form of social networking, made unique by its snappy nature.

Running is made much easier and personal with this app. Using the iPhone’s GPS system RunKeeper tracks the users jogging and cycling routes. When the exercise is over, the app will analyse the average speed, overall distance, and calories burnt. It also compares this result with previous ones, meaning the user is up to date with their progress, or lack there of.

For those who collect interesting quotes, whether they’re from Shakespeare, Steve Jobs, or the milkman, Quotebook is the place to keep them.

At the beginning this app offers nothing but a fresh book for the user to fill in with their favourite quotes; accompanied by the author, source, and rating. It also makes it easy for the user to send these preferred phrases to friends via Email, iMessage, Twitter, Facebook and others.

CALM.COM

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Calm.com provides a momentary break from the day, offering a more idyllic destination instead.

Listen to the waves and the 7 steps towards relaxation whilst watching a beach sunset. Available online and an iPhone, calm offers free relaxation sessions that can last from 2 to 30 minutes.

Although this app is less commonly installed on a phone, it benefits could save lives. The survival guide contains the skills and techniques that could be used in dangerous, life-threatening situations. It has 19 chapters, each offering advice on different means of survival. From the psychology of survival to advice on using plants and animals as fuel, this app would be useful to have when you find yourself in danger, given that the iPhone has survived with you…

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 17

05/06/2013 08:45

LifeEdited

I

FOUNDED LifeEdited in 2010 believing that through smart design, architecture and smart use of technology, people can live happy, fulfilling lives using less space and stuff than they might have imagined. To prove my point, I bought a tiny New York City apartment that would demonstrate what I call the “luxury of less”--that with less space and fewer things, people could generate smaller carbon footprints, have more money in the bank and have less to think about and maintain, leaving more mental space and timefor things that truly make us happy.

I had big ambitions for the small spaces: I wanted dinner parties for 12, proper accommodations for 2 overnight guests, a home office, a home theater with digital projector and, as the founder of the popular environmental newssite Treehugger.com, it had to have very clean air and be built in an environmentally responsible manner. In order to make my ambitions a reality, I called on the crowd-sourcing platform

Jovoto <http://www.jovoto.com/ projects/life-edited/briefing> and marketing firm Mutopo <http://www. mutopo.com/> to launch a competition to design the first space. We rounded up celebrity judges like “4 Hour Work Week” author Tim Ferriss, eco-celeb David DeRothschild and designer Yves Behar, as well as a $70k prize purse.

The response was amazing. We received over 300 entries from around the world. The winning design came from two Romanian architecture students named Catalin Sandu and Adrian Iancu.

Their elegant, jewel-box design, entitled “One Size Fits All<http://www.jovoto.com/projects/ life-edited/ideas/10288>,” met all of my requirements and brought purpose and intention to every one of the apartment’s 420 square feet. The architect of record, David Bucovy, used the “One Size Fits All” design an input.

Brooklyn-based architectural and design firm Guerin Glass Architecture <http://gueringlass.com/>was

responsible for building out the gutted space, and the project incorporated transforming furniture from Resource Furniture<http://resourcefurniture. com/>and sustainably-sourced building materials from Green Depot <http://greendepot.com/>.

The apartment struck a resonant chord in the media with two features in the NY Times; they called it “The apartment of the future.” I was able to do a TED talk about the space that has received 1,700,000 + views. It was also featured in Dwell, Wired UK, Gizmodo, Daily Mail UK, the Today Show and many others.

In the end, my apartment, codenamed LifeEdited 1, garnered enough attention that I decided to start a business dubbed LifeEdited. We are bringing our “less, but better” vision to bigger buildings and developments.

In our short history, LifeEdited has been the recipient of the NY Architecture

“We are out to create a future where people can choose to live in smart, small homes, filled with beautifully designed products that are made to last and have tons of function”

18

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 18

05/06/2013 08:45

Institute of America (AIA) Honor Award and Architizer A+ Jury Award, both in the interiors category. As part of a team led by Jonathan Rose Companies, Grimshaw Architects and others, we were chosen as one of three finalists among 33 entries for the adAPT NYC competition, the Bloomberg administration's micro-apartment design competition.

The future looks really big for small. With the growing popularity of smart and small “micro-apartments,” LifeEdited is bringing its expertise to bear by working as specialty consultant with architects and developers to make multi-story, mixed use buildings that truly exploit the LifeEdited design principles.

These large buildings will feature things that could not be incorporated into my one-off apartment such as “product libraries” where residents can check out hard-to-store items like ladders and power tools, shared, bookable guest rooms and ample common spaces.

At LifeEdited, we are out to create a future where people can choose to live in smart, small homes, filled with beautifully designed products that are made to last and have tons of function while using little space. It’s a future that enables us to have everything we need while making more financial and environmental sense than many current offerings. It’s a future where homes and products serve us--not the other way around. It’s a future where we might be using less space and stuff, but living bigger lives. n

GRAHAM HILL

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 19

19 05/06/2013 08:45

Londoncapital of the bric and N11 world

B

Y NOVEMBER of this year, it will be 11 years since I dreamt up the BRIC acronym and about 8 since the N11 phrase followed. These 15 countries make up close to two thirds of the world’s population and so long as productivity continues to rise in these exciting nations, then their growth rates are going to continue to be the key driver of the world in the remainder of this decade and probably beyond.

While challenges closer to home in Europe along with our domestic challenges dominate the news, the broader picture and opportunities for us mustn’t be lost.

It rarely gets mentioned but the UN goal for reducing world poverty in half by 2015, set ambitiously back in 1990, was actually met in 2010, five years earlier than planned.

For London especially, I continue to think that it is the natural world capital of this dramatically changing world.

With our language being the chosen form of communication for global business and talk through the internet and sophisticated modern technology, the central timezone, our diversity and welcoming of many different kinds of people, London remains exceptionally well placed to benefit more and more as these countries advance, and their citizens want to engage in more and more benefits for themselves to enjoy their rising wealth.

This is also why London is the ideal location for the UN DNA Summit, a forum designed to convene and connect some of the most innovative thinkers in the world, it’s purpose is to encourage collaborations for social good.

As I have become fond of saying in

20

“For London especially, I continue to think that it is the natural world capital of this dramatically changing world” recent months, the scale of change is hard for most to recognize. The four BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, India and China, alone in 2011 saw their $ nominal GDP rise by around 2.2 trillion, close to the equivalent of creating a whole new Italy- the 8th largest economy in the world-in one year. China at the centre of the four, being as large as the other three put together, creates the economic impact of another Greece every 11 and 1/2 weeks, and last year saw its GDP increase by nearly the size of Spain. For the decade that we have entered, over these ten years, the 4 BRIC countries will see their real GDP contribute nearly twice that of the US and the Euro zone put together, and certainly along with the contribution of the largest of the N11 economies; Indonesia, Korea, Mexico and Turkey, they will contribute

more than twice. The N11 economies combined will add more than the US, with countries as diverse as Nigeria and the Philippines becoming more and more important.

For anyone involved in international trade, being able to provide what people from these countries want, is essentially the key for the future.

Whether this is the luxury goods on sale at the leading stores of Bond Street, the services of our top architectural or law firms, to be the provider of fund management or personal wealth advise, or simply being here to provide a fun dynamic urban centre for their wealthy tourists or as a location for their second homes, we kind of have it all. n

JIM O’NEILL

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 20

05/06/2013 08:45

women

To move forward, Recognize That Things are Looking Up

L

AST FALL in Time magazine, President Bill Clinton did something simple, but bold: He announced that he was optimistic. “Where there’s been creative cooperation coupled with a communitarian view of our future, we’re seeing real success,” he said, noting the strides society has made in areas ranging from sustainability to mobile technology. About the road to gender equality, he declared: “Women rule.”

Credits: Skoll Foundation, Forbes

President Clinton founded the Clinton Global Initiative in 2005. Our members – private sector, government, and civil society leaders – take a collaborative approach by partnering up to make Commitments to Action that address pressing global problems in areas ranging from poverty alleviation to the built environment. A few years ago, CGI began incorporating dedicated programming on girls and women’s issues. Rather than segregate gender inclusion as a standalone issue, CGI members work to integrate girls’ and women’s empowerment as central to solutions for all of the world’s challenges.

Based on the work of our members, it is clear that girls and women face inexcusable realities. But in an age of cynicism of, President Clinton’s case for optimism remains unshakeable. Thanks to the work of the global community, including members of CGI, there is compelling evidence everywhere we turn that things are getting better for girls and women around the world.

Despite the remaining chasms, The World Bank 2012 Gender Equality and Development report praises some historic disadvantages that have shrunk

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 21

and provide women with technical assistance.

over the past 50 years. Progress includes advances in educational enrollment, with gender gaps in primary education closing in almost all countries. Life expectancy is also on the rise: Since 1980, women are living longer not only in the West, but in all parts of the world.

And there have been promising strides in the workplace as well. Women’s increased participation in the labor force has had a quantifiable impact on the standards of living for their families and communities.

Through our member’s commitments, CGI has seen this first hand that private companies, NGOs, governments, and multilateral agencies are increasingly working together to empower women through programs that boost gender inclusion in the marketplace. Vital Voices and WEConnect International, for example, are developing a commitment with private companies to enable women-owned businesses along their supply chain. Over the last two years, organizations of different stripes have joined their effort to identify market-based approaches to enterprise development with the goal of increasing the number of women vendors active in the global economy. The partners on this commitment will build networks to organize women entrepreneurs, train women for supplier-readiness,

In addition, many CGI members have made commitments to invest in access to technology for girls and women – from creating products that open new markets, to providing high-tech training opportunities for small-business owners.

The members of the “Women Leading Women in Information Communications Technology (ICT)” commitment are taking a holistic approach to building a pipeline of women and girls entering ICT. In addition to empowering girls and women to get trained on technology in preparation for the jobs of the future, initiatives like this also help companies reach new levels of innovation with a more diverse labor force and promote growth of the global economy by filling unmet need for ICT-skilled workers.

While such projects offer reason to be positive, our members are grounded in the reality that much work still needs to be done. Through CGI’s platform, President Clinton encourages our members to continually ask themselves how their Commitment to Action can better serve girls and women and promote their empowerment around the world. There’s no doubt that maintaining the forward momentum of girls and women will take hard work. But if the “creative cooperation” among CGI members that fuels President Clinton’s optimism is any indication, the odds are looking good. n

PENNY ABEYWARDENA Associate Director, Commitments, Clinton Global Initiative

05/06/2013 08:45

Spotted, Music’s

Super-Hero.

Daniel Elk, a serial entrepreneur and technologist who started his first company in 1997 at the age of 14, and co-founded Spotify in 2006 together with Martin Lorentzon.

1) Time magazine considers you one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Did you ever dream of becoming so important? What importance do you give to this circumstance, your power?

It’s obviously really flattering to be in included in the list, but the main focus for me has always been to create the best music service possible and get to a place where artists can make significant money from the music they create.

2) Having been in business for 25 years, do you consider yourself a child prodigy? How has your family lived with your success?

It’s not really for me to say. I really believe that in order to do something well you need to have a huge passion for it. The two things I’ve always loved are music (I got my first guitar at four years’ old) and technology (my first computer followed shortly) – so for me it

22

was natural to combine the two.

3) If you could convince music pirates that what they do is wrong, that is a crime, what argument would you give them?

Spotify is all about offering something that is easier to use that piracy, giving you instant access to all of the world’s music. We have over 20 million songs, which is more music that you could listen to in an entire lifetime. I don’t think people want to steal music; they just want something that is fast, easy to use and has all the music they’d ever want.

The bonus for our users is that they’re also giving back something to the people that created the music.

4) What is the favourite band of all time? What’s your favourite song?

That’s a hard question, I haven’t even listened to half of the Spotify catalogue yet – ha!. One of my favourite bands is

Daft Punk. Their song “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” is something I sign of my staff emails with. It’s a bit of a mantra to me. And of course I’m loving their latest album Random Access Memories, and their single Get Lucky, both of which have had huge success on Spotify.

Kendrick Lamar is one of the most interesting rappers I’ve heard in quite a long time. I listen to a lot of Frank Ocean, Ella Fitzgerald, Jay Z, and I’m also enjoying Metallica a lot, who of course recently became available on Spotify.

5) Spotify has over 24 million active users worldwide, of which 6 million have opted for payment: satisfied with the figure?

Our aim is to make all of the world’s music available to everyone. We just launched in eight more markets, on three different continents, so the service

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 22

05/06/2013 08:45

is now available in 28 markets. That’s great, but our ultimate goal is to make it available to the entire world. Everyone loves music!

6) What is the biggest challenge in your job?

Well, all in all – down the line it’s all about the execution. I’ve always believed that only 5% is the idea, and the rest is the execution. We constantly need to find the right people to grow small ideas into beautiful things, and grand ideas into something game changing.

7) Of all the battles Spotify has to fight what was the most difficult to overcome?

When we started Spotify we had a lot of work to do to educate the music industry.

At first the notion of ‘giving away’ music for free was alien to them, especially having seen how Napster had affected the music industry. However, we worked hard to explain our vision, how the business model works, and convinced them of Spotify’s potential to grow the music business again. And now here we are a few short years later, with incredibly supportive relationships with the labels, and with the music industry seeing growth again for the first time in 13 years.

8) In October Spotify will become five years old with presence in Europe, Asia and North America.

Can you imagine a world that is 100% Spotify?

Absolutely! Regardless of where you are in the world, there’s a whole generation of people now who expect music and other media to be available for free at their fingertips – legal or not legal.

We’re trying to get that ‘lost’ generation to understand the true value of music again, and to consume music in a legal environment. What Napster created was amazing, but with one huge flaw –artists and musicians didn’t get paid for their work. Spotify is trying to take that approach and build on it – so that it is both fair to artists, and great for music fans too.

9) You make agreements with each

artist on a case by case basis. Which has been the most difficult deal to make, and what are the differences between countries?

Well actually, we don’t have direct contractual relationships with artists – we pay the record labels, who in turn compensate the artist, and collecting societies (who pay on to publishers and songwriters) every time a track is played.

Spotify is still a new business model, and it can take time for people to feel comfortable with new things. We spend a lot of time educating artists, manager and labels about the Spotify model, and, in almost every single case, when we explain it to them, they can see the great benefits – both financial and in other ways - that being on Spotify offers.

Metallica are an example of a very high profile band that was famously sceptical of streaming services, following their legal dispute with Napster. But they now understand Spotify and what we are trying to achieve, and I am very happy to say that they believe in us enough to have now put all of their music on Spotify, which is particularly awesome for me because I am a huge Metallica fan.

(We also have Adele and Coldplay’s music on Spotify, I should add.. ) 10) In the seven years since the release of Spotify, what is the thing that surprised you the most?

I am always extremely pleasantly surprised by people’s reactions when they try Spotify for the first time. They can never believe it can be so simple – just type in the name of an artist or track, and hit play, and listen instantly, and for free. It really is that simple, and there is always a great ‘wow’ moment as people realise how easy it is. I never get tired of it.

11) What do you think will be the evolution of Spotify? Do you see it becoming listed on the stock exchange like Facebook? Are you ready for a film like The Social Network to be made about you as the founder of Spotify?

Hahaha. A film would be fun. I’m not sure who would play me though! Our dream is to bring our music to everyone

in the world and we’re not going to stop until we’ve done that. We’re really excited about the future.

12) Sean Parker, the man who founded Napster, said that peerto-peer file sharing is the only way to convince people to start paying for music again. What do you think about?

I firmly believe that the best way to address piracy is to offer a truly free service. You need to give people a way to get music that is fast, simple and free, to lure them away from piracy.

There’s a whole generation of people now who expect music and other media to be available for free – righty or wrongly. We’re trying to get that ‘lost’ generation to understand the true value of music again, and to consume music in a legal and monetised environment.

What Napster created was amazing, but with one huge flaw – that artists and musicians did not get paid for their work.

Spotify is trying to take that approach and build on it – so that it is both fair to artists, and great for music fans too. .

13) Can Spotify become a platform for those who want to emerge in the music industry? In other words... can we think about Spotify, in this new digital streaming area, as a substitute for music labels? Or a platform where artists propose themselves without any label support?

Spotify is a great way for artists and labels to connect with their fans, reach new audiences, and market their music.

It’s not just a way to distribute music, it’s also a marketing tool, and we’re really happy to help artists do that within Spotify. There are a few bands who have been particularly innovative in this space, such as Cazzette, an amazing Swedish EDM band who have the same manager as Avicii. Cazette released their latest album exclusively on Spotify, as opposed to on any other platforms, and have seen huge success, breaking into the Billboard dance charts and seeing many millions of streams. I think it’s a really interesting approach, and I hope we see more interesting ways in which artists market themselves through Spotify. n

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 23

23 05/06/2013 08:45

Start Up Spotlight...

LeBoo.com T

Marpessa Hennink

ECHNOLOGY IS revolutionizing the fashion industry and blurring the lines between online and offline. Online fashion retailers like NetA-Porter are giving luxury department stores such as Barneys and Harrods a run for their money. Big fashion brands like Burberry and Chanel are redefining the shopping experience by bringing digital technology into the retail experience. LeBoo, the first virtual multiplayer luxury fashion world, is continuing this trend in reshaping the way consumers engage with fashion.

LeBoo is taking the essence of the dress up game and bringing high fashion into it, establishing a greater level of accessibility and immediacy to some of the best fashion houses. The brainchild of some of the most creative and respected minds in fashion and technology, LeBoo has a stellar advisory board including:

Lord Waheed Alli; chairman of Silvergate Media, former chairman of fashion e-commerce giant ASOS and cofounder of TV production company Planet 24.

David Maisel; former chairman of Marvel Studios, as a producer, Maisel’s films have grossed several billion dollars.

Mark Itkin; Head of Television and member of the Board of Directors of the William Morris Endeavor Agency.

Marpessa Hennink; top international model dubbed the ‘Catwalk Contessa’ and winner of the ‘Fashion

24

Oscar’ for best runway model, has worked with all of the major photographers, magazines and designers including Chanel, Alaia, Versace and Valentino. She is also the global brand ambassador for a multibillion-dollar luxury fashion house.

Kim Hersov; Creative Fashion Director and Fashion Editor.

Hersov works with major luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Net-a-porter.

Baroness McDonagh; a director of Standard Life and former general manager of Express newspapers.

The brands that are available on LeBoo are all officially endorsed and selected by the LeBoo style team, in conjunction with the fashion houses. There is an array of the latest runway collections for each season and there are also a number of classic and vintage capsule collections. Milan based hot designers of the moment Dsquared2 say, “We love the LeBoo aesthetic and the fact that our customers have another fun way of engaging with our brand through playing on LeBoo”.

Inspired by some of the most iconic international runway models, the LeBoo dolls have an instantly and distinctively recognizable silhouette. The dolls were designed through collaboration with some of the top fashion illustrators, who have worked with the most respected international fashion houses. The predefined features of the doll or the ‘archetype’ were developed over a period of 18 months. Game players can

choose an archetype and can then change the skin, eye colour, lips and hair until it is ready to be styled and walk the runway. LeBoo advisor style icon Marpessa Hennink says, “LeBoo believes that it is as much about the experience as it is about the product.

Style is social, mobile and global”.

LeBoo has a dedicated team with extensive knowledge of luxury fashion and access to collections that have never left the design studio. Fashion Editor Kim Hersov (Harpers Bazaar) and advisory board member says ‘LeBoo uses real-world expertise for online impact, bringing some of the best design and style professionals together.’

Users will be able to shop by brand, by product or by stylist. They will also have access to the LeBoo collection; seasonally inspired looks created with global inspiration. LeBoo launches with exclusive partnerships with some of the most cutting edge luxury fashion brands like Dsquared2 and Neil Barrett.

Advisory board member, Lord Waheed Alli, says “LeBoo provides the ultimate communication platform and tool to enable brands to reach Millennials in a social, interactive and innovative way. Through LeBoo, Millennials can experience high fashion, become advocates of those brands and purchasing customers.” n

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 24

05/06/2013 13:21

YouTube O

NE COULD easily argue that without the invention of a phenomenal YouTube, the world would be a very different placefor some. We would have never been exposed to the young voice of the world renowned Justin Bieber. The horrendously consumed dance video better known as the Gangnam Style, reaching over a billion views, would have never made it from its South Korean source. YouTube has come to define the prominent era of online video. It offers more than a television does, as a free and easy to use service. Most songs, films, news clippings, and educational videos have made their way onto this website, now being used by over 1 Billion unique users per month. YouTube is the service for everyone, used by everyone. It has

opened up the world to a new form of blogging, better known as vlogging. But what is the history behind the 2nd most popular website on the World Wide Web? YouTube was invented by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim out of a garage in Menlo Park. According to the three ex PayPal employees, the site was founded in February 2005, primarily as a destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through the web. It was unique at the time because it offers users the chance to share their own video clips online. By July 2006, the company estimated that 65,000 new videos were being added each day. In October of that year, Google announced that they had purchased the video service for $1.65 billon. Later on, in March 2012, Google predicted that the value of YouTube alone was $45.7 billion. In six years, the wealth of YouTube increased significantly. The question now is what has YouTube done for its users… n

YouTube’s success stories: l JUSTIN BIEBER

In 2012, Forbes magazine named Justin Bieber the third most powerful celebrity on earth. In the 12 months before this, the pop sensation earned an estimated $55 million. It was only 5 years before, in 2007, that Scooter Braun found Bieber’s home videos on YouTube. Braun, an Atlanta based music producer, was impressed by the at-the-time 13 year old’s voice, shown off in videos posted by him and his mother. Braun flew Bieber to Georgia, where he sang for the singer/songwriter, Usher. Now, Bieber is touring the world multiple times a year, expanding his fan base. Without YouTube, Scooter Braun wouldn’t have stumbled upon Bieber’s videos, and who knows who the millions of ‘Beliebers’ would be following.

l THE JANOSKIANS

The group of Melbourne based boys set up their YouTube channel in September 2011. Their channel was bio’d with the line, “just a group of hopeless kids with no future taking on the streets of Melbourne.” Evidently, they are no longer a group of hopeless kids. On YouTube, the Australian boys post videos of them doing pranks, stunts, jokes, and other unnatural dares. The group has received an amount of criticism for their show, as many have said they are just ‘being silly.’ However, this hasn’t stopped them. As of May 5th 2013, this group of pranksters had received an international acclaim proved by their 775,000 subscribers. They have recently announced their worldwide tour plans.

CELEBRITY YOUTUBE INNOVATORS: SARAH SILVERMAN

The acclaimed comedian launched the Jash network with Michael Cera, Tim & Eric, and Reggie Watts to entertain an audience with their outré comedic sensibilities. Jash, the YouTube channel is building a larger audience around these acknowledged comedians who have created individual series of amusing videos.

JAY-Z

The rapper’s Life + Times channel on YouTube features daily videos about the art, culture, fashion, music, and sports that the real Shawn Carter likes. This channel is an example of the use of YouTube’s power to widen a celebrity’s brand.

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS

Neil’s Puppet Dreams, on the Nerdist Channel gives the veteran sitcom star a complete unrestricted freedom to pursue a creative idea that would never fly on TV. Harris’s YouTube series is a show about himself, a character who sleeps a lot and then has strange dreams where puppet characters are in them.

l IJUSTINE

Justine Ezarik, known online as iJustine, is one among many YouTube lifecasters to have achieved fame from her personal, homemade videos which- in total- have been seen over 366 million times. iJustine’s most famous video entry, ‘300-page iPhone bill’ earned her a lot of attention, contributing to her 1.7 million Twitter following. Today, iJustine has earned an online reputation with her entertaining videos. Off line, iJustine has also featured in television programs, and as a television host, all of which wouldn’t have been done without her initial YouTube fame.

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 25

25 05/06/2013 08:45

DNA Decide Now Act Summit

www.dnasummit.com

London June 13th & 14th 2013 CONVERSATION + COLLABORATION =

CHANGE

DAY 1: THE BULGARI HOTEL 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM: Registration Opening Plenary 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM:

Setting the Agenda: Mr. Amir Dossal, Chairman, Global Partnerships Forum Keynote Speech

Opening Remarks: Mark Florman Chairman of DNA & Centre for Social Justice

ACT 1 Creating a Network of Humanitarians 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM: LECTURE: Lord John Reid – Humanitarianism and Resilience WORKING SESSION DETAILS: This session will discuss how to create a platform/network for developing global advocacy and outreach strategies for poverty relief. The session will look at how to create an alliance that provides strategic advice on the constructive engagement of corporations, civil society, high profile individuals, governments and foundations to facilitate innovative public- private partnerships, which assist with the alleviation of poverty in relation

26

to the G8.

OUTCOME: Network of Global Humanitarians – Setting the G8 MODERATOR: Amir Dossal Panelists: Strive Masiyiwa – Founder & CEO Econet Jeremy Gilley – Founder of Peace One Day Jamie Drummond – CEO of One Panel will end with a 20min audience Q&A. CORPORATE PLEDGES Keynote: Jim O’Neill Speech – Innovation & The Next 11

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 26

05/06/2013 17:31

ACT 2 – CHAIRED BY UNOP (UN Office for Partnerships) Impact Building: Philanthropy, Business & Investment 2:00 PM – 5:30 PM: SPOTLIGHT SESSION – Profit with Purpose: June Sarpong in conversation with Ben Rattray (founder of Change.org), Richard Reed (Co-Founder of Innocent Smoothies), Van Jones (Founder of Rebuilding the Dream), Graham Hill (Founder of Treehugger. com), Jo Fairley (Founder of Green and Blacks) and Michele Giddens (Co-Founder of Bridges Ventures), David de Rothschild (Founder Impact.It) The DNA Profit with Purpose Prize will be awarded to a new innovative Start-Up. 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM DNA PROFIT WITH PURPOSE PRIZE – Pitch Competition The final 3 companies will pitch to the judges and audience.

UNOP WORKING SESSION SESSION LEADER: Roland Rich and Mark Florman SESSION DETAILS: This session will focus on the impact that new entrepreneurs from emerging and frontier markets can

have on investments. Participants will share their experiences and expertise, and discuss innovative solutions that utilize the public-private partnerships model to support socially impactful investments and how business can profit financially by investing society. This interactive dialogue will provide ideas and incentives for increasing the possibilities that new entrepreneurs from emerging markets have on investments not only in their own countries but globally.

OUTCOMES: The Global Impact Fund PANEL DISCUSSION: Panel Chair: Matthew Bishop Panelists: Patrice Mostsepe, Roland Rich, Nick O’Donahue , Mark Florman, Tony Elumelu, Magnus Magnussun (TBC) Jochen Zeitz (TBC) Corporate Pledges The DNA Profit with Purpose Prize will be awarded.

5:30 PM – 6:00 PM DNA SUMMIT – CLOSING SPEECH Dr Nina Jablonski – Beyond Skin

DAY 2: THE CRYSTAL - ROYAL DOCKS ACT 3 – CHAIRED BY THE UN ITU (International Telecommunications Union) Harnessing the Power of Innovation to Better Connect the World 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM PANEL – Business As Unusual Women – Technology & Innovation Women Leading The Way Moderator - June Sarpong Joanna Shields, Kaye Koplevitz, Ester Dyson, Megan Smith, Julie Woods Moss, Celestine Johnson, Cindy Padnos ITU & British session Leader – Jack Hidary & Paul Conneally (ITU) and Simon Talling Smith (British Airways) SESSION DETAILS IN ASSOCIATION WITH BRITISH AIRWAYS: Session Details in association with British Airways: 100 of the best minds from Silicon valley will use an 11-hour flight to design a platform to inspire and connect the next generation of innovators from the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to accelerate innovation in developed and developing communities. The results will be shared upon landing with the ITU. OUTCOME: The creation of an online portal that maps STEM opportunities for young people around the world.

PANEL DISCUSSION: Panel Chair: Jack Hidary Panelists:– Gina Bianchini (Co-Founder of Ning and Lean In),

Megan Smith (Google X)and Craig Newmark (Founder of Craigslist), Duncan Logan (Founder of Rocket Space) Simon Talling-Smith Satellite Link Up with Dr Hamadoun Toure – Secretary General of the ITU Panel will report outcome of ITU working session and BA innovation flight to delegates, panel will end with a 20min audience Q&A. CORPORATE PLEDGES KEYNOTE: Paul Allen SPOTLIGHT 1 – Power of Social Media – Will-I-AM (TBC) SPOTLIGHT 2 – Future of Digital News – Nick D’Allosio SPOTLIGHT 3 - Rise: The Journey from the Unknown to the Inevitable Sarah Lewis in conversation with Professor Andre Geim and Ben Saunders PANEL – LEGISLATING INNOVATION: Panelists: Lt Governor Gavin Newsom – Deputy Governor of California and former Mayor of San Francisco Iain Gray – CEO Technology Strategy Board Closing Spotlight: (TBC)

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 27

27 05/06/2013 17:31

Dear Yahoo

I

UNDERSTAND you've bought Tumblr for rather a lot of money.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

I trust it will be a loving, long-term relationship.

In fact, that's exactly what I'm writing to you about: trust. Because you've not just bought an online blogging service, you've bought an identity playground one of the few places in the mainstream web where people can go and, without fear of being watched or asked for their real identity, or check for their real identities by people in their social networks - can express themselves fully and anonymously, and trust that whatever they put online won't come back to bite them. Unless they specifically ask.

I know, I know, it seems ridiculous that a place where anonymous millions who post thoughts, photos, videos, quotes and audio, who reblog other anonymous people's thoughts, photos, videos, quotes and audio, and who like other anonymous people's thoughts, photos, videos, quotes and audio could be so important, but I want to put it in the context of the the online ecosystem as it stands now.

The web is currently dominated by online places where we have to say exactly who we are. In return, we get incredible services, personalised services, services that give us exactly what we want and need because they know us sometimes better than ourselves.

They do this magical feat with smoke and mirrors fed by a single thing: a

single identity. Most mainstream social networks, search engines, online shopping arcades want to know exactly who we are offline, and that's been an important part of the growth of the web: web services that validate who we are and who we're talking to have lowered the barrier to entry so much so that people who never would have gone online before these services made the web “safe” are now perfectly happy to publish information about themselves and their friends so much so that now countless headlines decry the demise of privacy. Almost imperceptibly, though, our potential to express ourselves anonymously on a mass market, mainstream level was whittled away.

And then Tumblr came along. And Tumblr gave us our anonymity back, for the first time in a long time. And the kids - the ones the headlines are most worried about - flocked there. They boldly decorated their virtual tumblr-walls with unhindered expressions of self-identity.

It felt like LiveJournal had risen like the phoenix from the flames again.

was an important place for people to express different aspects of themselves things that might otherwise be difficult to talk about with friends or family offline because they might be too out of the ordinary. Some of the people playing in the online world felt buds of identity wings that could take them in new directions, but their offline context wasn’t the place to do it, just like work isn’t the place to wear a rubber chicken suit or the classroom isn’t a place to stand unprompted and sing the Hoochie Coochie.

These urges of the self could appear to the outsider to be totally innocuous, but to the person who couldn't talk to friends or family about them, they were really important for their psychological feeling of self-worth and self-esteem. And sometimes they were really important

Why is this important, Yahoo? Because it's nice to be able to express oneself freely and openly and not feel like it's going to come back to bite you.

Allow me to reminisce for a moment in a rosy glow about the way things were. Back in the first decade of the web, when social scientists like Sherry Turkle, Jonn Bargh and Katelyn McKenna were writing about what people were doing online, there was a lot of buzz about how the communication medium

“The web is currently dominated by online places where we have to say exactly who we are” 28

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 28

05/06/2013 08:45

for the individual, like if someone was questioning his or her sexuality, or was living with another identity that’s stigmatised offline.

Then, the online world was celebrated as an "identity laboratory", a place where you could try on a self like a new pair of trousers and see what happened - did it fit? was it uncomfortable? did the people in the online community laugh? or did they think it suited you? And based on that reaction, so the theory goes, you slowly introduced the new aspect of the self into the offline world.

And you became a more self-actualised person, for much cheaper than therapy.

So this was kinda the problem with the web: people thought it was populated by the wounded or the incomplete.

It's where people with issues went.

Remember? it was where the socially inept disappeared to, because it was the only place they could find their people.

It's not like that anymore, thanks to web services like Facebook which, essentially, is an identity authentication service dolled up in social network clothing.

Again, it’s thanks to Facebook that so many new people felt comfortable enough to come online.

But also thanks to systems like this that link our online self with the offline one - and to those that have virtual pachydermal minds - our ability to try on new aspects of self for the purposes of large or small reinvention has slowly eroded.

Why is this important? Well, psychologically speaking reinvention is essential for people across the life spectrum, but mostly for kids who are going through all kinds of chaotic social and personal growths and need to feel that they can press CTL+ALT+DEL on something they've put out there in case it doesn't fit. After all, discarding identities is just as important as putting them on.

Now it's timely that you, Yahoo!, have announced your relationship with Tumblr, because I've only just become aware of Tumblr's role in all of this psychosocial development stuff. I personally have many tumblogs -

some to do with my book projects, others to do with independent projects, and some to do with things that have no relation to who I am in either of those worlds. I naturally gravitated to Tumblr's simple service and didn't really think about how it allowed me to shard myself across the web in ways that aren't associated with an existing online account or a regular email address or anything trackable by a search engine. I'm not hiding anything - far from it - but I trust the system will allow me to play with these little bits of me without consequence, and without selling me to the highest bidder.

I didn't realise just how important that's become until I got an email from a high school student from Auckland, NZ. She said she is working on a student documentary about anonymity on the web - particularly how it's used on websites like Tumblr.

Previously, I'd assumed the last bastions of anonymity online were places like 4Chan, where no one needs to know your name and all contributions are totally ephemeral and unarchived.

But you know what? The kids, observed by parents, teachers, and the online arbiters of “authentic” identity have found another place to go, once again asserting the freedom of expression we oldies had in the early days of the web.

And now, Yahoo!, you've plonked down a pretty penny for it.

And so, I implore you: please let it be.

And please, please, really let it be. Don't track us, trace us, or try to document us. Don't shut us down.

We are psychologically unbaked. It's the human condition. We need to be able to operate elsewhere, and the selfexpression - and documentation that the web allows is unprecedented.

We trust the system to lets be who we are. And now, we must trust you to keep that identity playground alive. n

ALEKS KROTOSKI

SOCIAL MEDIA INNOVATORS LADY GAGA As one of the most popular celebrities across Facebook, Twitter, and the like, Gaga launched her own site. Named after her fans, LittleMonsters is an online community for Gaga’s fans, art, and acceptance.

SNOOP LION

The rap icon started his social media success on Instagram, where he really worked the app to earn himself a passionate group of more than 1.6 million followers. Snoop Lion has now exceeded expectations with his own photographic application. Rather than offering the same vintage filters as Instagram, Snoopify offers a range of ‘doggy-style’ themes, allowing the user to add a Snoop touch to their own photo.

STEVE MARTIN

Martin began applying his absurdist writing talents to Twitter, and has now published a book of his tweets named, ‘The Ten, Make That Nine, Habits of Very Organized People - Make That Ten: The Tweets of Steve Martin.’

MADONNA

As a proog of Facebook’s and Twitter’s growing power on the publicity circuit for the stars, the only press Madonna did for her last album, MDNA, were live chats on these globally used social podiums.

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 29

29 05/06/2013 08:45

BUSINESS AS UNUSUAL WOMEN MODERATED BY: Joanna Shields Chief Executive Tech City UK and Business Ambassador for Digital Industries.

S

June Sarpong

HIELDS WAS most recently Vice President and Managing Director of Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Facebook, the global social network with over a billion users. In her role she built EMEA into the company’s largest region, focusing on making Facebook the world’s most valuable marketing, communications and customer services platform and the Facebook platform an engine of growth for some of Europe’s hottest startups. For over a decade, Shields has been a driving force in Europe’s Internet landscape. Since moving to the UK in 2000 to run RealNetworks International, the company that invented streaming audio and video, she has held key positions at leading companies such as Google, where she served as Managing Director EMEA and built the Syndication and Partnerships network, and Bebo, where she served as President and then Chief Executive.

During her career Shields has also served as Chief Executive Officer of Veon (acquired by Philips Electronics), VP and managing director International for Decru, (acquired by Network Appliance) and VP of Production Systems for Electronics for Imaging (Nasdaq:EFII). n

Esther Dyson

Celestine Johnson

Esther Dyson is chairman of EDventure Holdings.

Celestine is the Creative Director of Innovation Endeavors, an innovation driven investment firm.

H

ER CURRENT focus is HICCup (Health Intervention Coordinating Council), an initiative spurring upfront investment in health, with the cost savings going back to the investor, while the community reaps the rest of the benefits (health, employee productivity, etc.) In addition, she is an active board member for a variety of companies, including 23andMe, Eventful, IBS Group (advisory board), Meetup, NewspaperDirect, Voxiva (the company behind text4baby. org in the US and Russia), WPP Group, XCOR Aerospace and Yandex (Russia - YNDX). Her current investments include AdKeeper, Amicus, AnchorFree, ChallengePost, Ostrovok, TerraLink and Zingaya in Russia; Applied Proteomics, Crohnology, Genomera, HealthEngage, Health Loop, HealthRally, HealthTap, Keas, Medico, Medivo, Omada Health, Organized Wisdom, PatientsLikeMe, PatientsKnowBest (UK), Resilient, Tocagen, Valkee (Finland) and Vita Portal in health; and Icon Aircraft (light sport aircraft), Nanoracks and Space Adventures (which organizes programs such as hers for space tourists) in aerospace. n

30

S

HE IS the creator of Super Happy Block Party, a hackathon that is soon becoming National Hack Day in 2013 in partnership with The White House, and collaborated with NASA on the International Space Apps Challenge.

Before Innovation Endeavors, Celestine worked at Apple in Corporate Social Responsibility to develop and scale the environmental and human rights program. Prior to Apple, Celestine worked with various organizations focused on social entrepreneurship. Celestine has walked from France across Spain and is forming ideas around an entrepreneurship program for people with special needs. She graduated from American University with a BS in Business Administration and International Studies. n

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 30

05/06/2013 08:45

Cindy Padnos Cindy Padnos is the founder and managing partner of Illuminate Ventures

T

HE FIRM has a history of startup investment success in the enterprise software sector with an emphasis on software that leverages Big Data, mobile solutions that improve business results and consumer technologies that are being applied to the enterprise. Current investments and board roles include BrightEdge, CalmSea, Influitive, Hoopla, Xactly Corporation and Yozio. Cindy has deployed over $100 million in venture funding to help dozens of startups reach successful outcomes, including recent portfolio companies Red Aril (acquired by Hearst Corporation) and WildPockets (acquired by Autodesk). Cindy has been named one of the Top 12 B2B investors by VentureBeat, Most Influential Women in Technology by Fast Company, designated a Power Player in Cloud Computing by AlwaysOn and was recently named to The New York Times list of the Most Influential Women in Silicon Valley.

Her career includes prior work as a management consultant and notable high tech startup successes as VP of Marketing for Scopus Technology (SCOP/ORCL), CEO of Acumen and founder and CEO of Vivant (EVLV/ORCL). Cindy serves on the Board of Advisors for Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business where she received her MBA/MSIA and on the Steering Committee of the Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SPRIE). n

Kay Koplovitz

Julie Woods-Moss

Founder of USA Network and The Sci-Fi Channel and Chairman and CEO of Koplovitz & Co. LLC

Chief Marketing Officer at Tata Communications

K

AY KOPLOVITZ created the business model for cable networks by introducing the concept of two revenue streams – licensing and advertising.

Ms. Koplovitz served as Chairperson & CEO until the company was sold for $4.5 Billion in 1998. Ms. Koplovitz served as Chairman of the Board of Fifth & Pacific (Formerly Liz Claiborne Inc.) from January 2007 until May, 2013. She is also Chairman and Co-Founder of Springboard Enterprises the premier platform where entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts meet to build great women led businesses. Springboard educates, sources, coaches, showcases and supports high growth companies seeking equity capital for expansion, Since its inception in 2000, Springboard Companies have raised over $5.5 Billion and created over 10,000 jobs. Kay counts among her accomplishments the Presidential appointment as Chair of the National Women’s Business Council (19982001). n

S

HE IS also CEO of Nextgen business at Tata Communications, with P&L responsibility for business with the “silicon valley’s” around the globe. Julie is a founder of Tata Communications Women of Work group, established to improve policies and programs to enable the development of women at Tata. She started her career as an encryptor and is a qualified telecommunications engineer (BEng).

She has more than 20 years’ experience in senior executive roles with leading international corporations including IBM, UPC and BT. At IBM she was Director of Global Sales and Distribution for Mobile Solutions, Global Director of Marketing for SME’s, and Chief Operating Officer for IBM’s Emerging Markets. Returning to Europe in 2000, she joined UPC, Europe’s largest cable company as Vice President Marketing responsible for the Broadband business and tripled the European subscriber base in three years. Julie is a member of the Marketing 50 and was recognised in 2012 by Women of Enterprise and Inspiration as a member of the global Power 50. n

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 31

31 05/06/2013 08:45

WOMEN OF WORK

TATA Communications supports women in innovation

Wi ca Co va tec ch We inn

M

th bo

The use ma squ tau pas

Julie Woods Moss CEO Nextgen Business & Chief Marketing OďŹ&#x192;cer Tata Communications

T

th ci

Tab ap it o circ inv

Bab sev

Julie is leading a Global Ethernet Evolution, empowered by Tata Communications to deliver itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Next-Generation Services.

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 32

05/06/2013 08:45

N

K

s n n

s

g s

WOMEN

With one of the most advanced subsea cable networks in the world, Tata Communications is a company which values innovation. Through advances in technology, women innovators have changed the way we do things forever.

We’d like to pay homage to two great innovators, whose impact is still felt today.

Margaret Knight the inventor of the square bottomed paper bag

& INNOVATION

1

The first paper bags were more like envelopes, which limited their usefulness for carrying things. While working in a paper bag making company, Margaret Knight realised that paper bags with a square bottom would be able to carry more things. Using her selftaught engineering skills, Knight invented a device to cut, fold and paste bag bottoms, giving us the paper bags that we still use today.

Tabitha Babbitt the inventor of the circular saw

2

However, there’s more to this story. In 1870, while working on the metal version of the invention required for a patent, her design was stolen by a man named Charles Annan who had seen her wooden prototype a few months earlier. She filed a patent interference suit against Annan, who claimed that there was no way that a woman could have developed such a complex machine. Knight used her no notes and sketches to prove otherwise, and she was rightly granted the patent for the device in 1871.

Knight’s first invention (at the age of 12) was a stop-motion device that would automatically bring industrial machines to a halt if something was caught on them. This prevented many injuries and saved lives. A prolific innovator, Margaret Knight was awarded more than 20 patents over her lifetime, from machinery for cutting shoe soles to improvements to the internal combustion engines. A true innovator.

Tabitha Babbitt lived in a religious Shaker commune in the late 18th century. A weaver by trade, one day she observed men cutting wood with a pit saw, which is a two-handled saw that requires two people to pull it back and forth. She noticed that although the saw is pulled both ways, it only cuts wood when it's pulled forward. To Babbitt, that was a waste of energy. Using her knowledge of the weaving machine, she created a circular saw blade and mounted it on a spinning axel. Spinning the axel at a high rate of speed cut the wood with ease, and the circular saw was invented. It was adopted by lumbar mills everywhere, greatly increasing the efficiency and productivity of the lumber industry.

Babbitt didn’t stop there, she is also accredited with inventing machine-cut nails, and many believe she assisted in the creation or refining of several tools commonly used today.

Tata Communications is a leading global communications and enterprise IT service provider that owns and operates the world’s most advanced subsea cable network, delivering first class infrastructure, enterprise solutions and partnerships to carriers and businesses worldwide. Tata Communications’ network is truly global, extending from developed markets to the world’s fastest growing emerging economics. The $2.56 billion company is the flagship telecoms arm of the $100.09 billion Tata Companies.

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 33

05/06/2013 08:45

The kids need

Will power

Will.I.Am reveals his blueprint for Britain’s new tech revolution.

P

RESIDENT OBAMA’S right-hand man, David Axelrod, Bill Clinton adviser turned senior strategist for Obama’s election campaigns, calls Will.i.am “the drum major for youth”.

It’s a heady title for the man the UK is more likely to call “endearingly oddball Black Eyed Peas dude forever doing impressions of authority figures into his collar on The Voice”, but Axelrod understands his reach. Will, 38, has sold millions of albums, his wealth is estimated at $75m (£49m) and Black Eyed Peas’ collaboration with dance titan David Guetta, I Gotta Feeling, is the most downloaded song in iTunes history.

The Big Issue. Interview by Sylvia Patterson

He could, if he liked, unplug himself from reality; instead, he uses his pop star’s privilege for philanthropic zeal, through the 15-year-old Black Eyed Peas’ Peapod Foundation, aiding disadvantaged kids worldwide, and his i.am.angel Foundation, with various subsidiaries – financing students through college, offering teaching programmes for technology skills, promoting financial literacy and giving grants to families scuppered in the financial crash.

In 2012 Will donated his £500,000 personal fee for The Voice to The Prince’s Trust, to its Enterprise Programme, a sort of Dragons’ Den opportunity pot, with the specific aim of encouraging and funding disadvantaged UK kids looking to start up businesses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Will is a lifelong tech-head evangelist.

He couldn’t keep the money anyway because it’s our money, not his…

34

“The Voice is the BBC, it’s the people’s money, so it didn’t feel right,” he explains, perched on a sofa in the Soho Hotel in central London, looking, as ever, like an alien built by robots – crystal shoes, jacket festooned with gold metallic squares.

On the sofa opposite sit two fledgling entrepreneurs: Nicole Summers, 18, from West Yorkshire, and Mohamed Ibrahim, 23, from London, two early school leavers stymied through lack of qualifications, lack of college funds, unemployment and, in Mohamed’s case, rolling “with the wrong crowd”; two tech-obsessed individuals motivated enough to teach their unemployed selves, via the internet, the advanced skills they needed.

Approaching The Prince’s Trust with a business plan, both received the Enterprise Programme’s £750 start-up sum plus access to a business mentor – and today Nicole heads computer games business Niff Noff Games (now in talks with three major companies, including LEGO); Mohamed has founded web design, programming and repair business Enigma PC Technologies.

Where well-off kids access the Bank of Mum and Dad, these young people have tapped into the Bank of Will.i.am.

“So, what type of things are you excited about?” beams the permanently excited Will.i.am, with the two young whizzes coyly bamboozled by his glittering showbiz presence. Nicole explains she writes her games codes herself, much to Will’s astonishment. “You do it all yourself?” he marvels.

Mohamed, meanwhile, was “no good at business”, so the mentor aspect “was the best thing for me”.

For the next half-hour, Will dispenses animated advice, announcing he too is taking a course in science engineering this autumn, with a view to building apps, “because I know what’s coming!”

So whatever field it is, jump on building apps.

His most strident advice for tech heads today is three-fold: one, get into apps.

“We’re transitioning away from the web to apps,” he declares. “So whatever field it is, jump on building apps. Not necessarily apps for sale, apps for free, because aggregating eyeballs is where it’s at. Then, figure out the way to monetise it using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google. Just stay at the table, live a pretty cool life – you don’t need crazy blingery. Apps. Apps-apps-appsapps-apps-apps-apps – that’s where it’s at, dude!”

Two: compete. “Jack Dorsey from Twitter,” he muses of the Twitter creator,

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 34

05/06/2013 08:45

now worth $1bn, “that guy is a competitor. He’s disruptive. He’s alive.

Same thing applies to Larry [Page] and Sergey [Brin] from Google. It’s about energy, tenacity. Surrounding yourself with people who can bring ideas to life.”

Three: be infectious. “When I go out, the first thing on my mind is making connections,” he notes. “It’s, ‘Hey, whaddya do?’ On my phone I have everything based on what everyone does – coders, directors, developers – so if I have an idea I type in ‘code writer’ and, oh shucks, there’s people!

“The thirst to network is the difference between the successful you and the you that kicks yourself in the butt, ‘Damn, why didn’t I do that?’ All the big guys are infectious. Take Simon Cowell. His talent is his ability to connect and be infectious.

And he’s a nice guy. You wouldn’t be able to do that if you were a freakin’ asshole. And if you’re shy – hey, Michael Jackson was shy! – you need someone to do that for you.”

The definitely shy Mohamed blinks at Will and tucks the information away.

In the future, notes Will.i.am, walls will be screens, rooms will be smart-rooms, embedded with microchips talking to other microchips, throughout the average home. We’ll need people like Nicole and Mohamed to build this enticing future.

“Creating jobs, that’s what needs to happen,” he tells them. “Twenty years from now, there’ll be nine billion people on the planet. How do you feed them, provide opportunities? Create jobs! You guys are young and have your best foot forward to be the ones creating the jobs, for the nine billion people, when you’re 38. My age.”

He talks about his childhood neighbourhood, the ghettos of east LA, where young lives are ruined, still, by drugs, gangs and jail. “So people in tough areas need to create a movement,” he instructs. “Gangs are sexy, coding geeks ain’t sexy – yet.

Your generation needs to make it cool.

So people wanna be like you guys.

Everyone can win in this world.

“Departments of defence needs engineers, scientists, technicians. Boeing, freakin’ Nasa – everyone. I’m excited

and that’s why I’m going back to school. ’Cos people like you guys inspire me. So thanks for coming and hanging out. We should exchange emails and shit…”

He takes the mobile phones of The Kids and inputs his direct email address, then takes theirs, amid a volley of jubilant high-fives. The meeting, he declares, has been “fresh!”

Why, really, does Will.i.am do the things he does? If he didn’t, could he just not sleep at night? “Oh, I could

“We’re transitioning away from the web to apps” sleep,” he chirps, now glimmering alone on the sofa.

It’s because of his upbringing, he notes: one of four siblings raised by a single mother on welfare in the LA projects.

Her first job, when Will was 18, was at the local community centre “keeping kids outta gangs”.

His uncle did the same, his aunt worked at a homeless shelter, his grandma at the City of Hope Medical Center. “And they all do, to this day,” adds Will (clearly, they don’t have to, either). “My family, that’s what they do, they go out and help.” His mum, meanwhile, adopted two sets of two siblings, principally to keep them together when the state moved to split them up (one mum was sent to jail).

As soon as The Black Eyes Peas sold 100,000 albums, Will set up the Peapod Foundation, soon outfitting inner city kids’ clubs with media gear, studios, cameras and editing bays. For years

Will’s been paid “crazy amounts of money” for his DJ work – “for an hour, it’s just not right in my mind” – and siphons it off for i.am.angel projects, once he’s checked with his mum first.

“I’ll call up my mom, ‘Does anybody in the family need anything, ’cos I just got paid a lot of money’,” he cackles, followed by a high-pitched impersonation of his mum. “‘No, we all right!’ Well then, I’m gonna help!”

He muses on why governments can’t – or won’t – fix our earthly woes and decides it’s not governments, in fact, “who pull the strings – the people do, by consumption. The things you buy shape the world, so your voice is your purchase”.

He ponders what our technological advances, ultimately, are for (when so much of it is distraction and entertainment). Here, his mind explodes into a kaleidoscopic spiral of scientific possibility, metaphor and tangents, taking in the wonders of “a transparent world”, the Large Hadron Collider creating “freakin’ anti-matter!”, how the internet can teach us “all the ologies: psychology, sociology, geology, biology” and how the worldwide web is no longer about “catching fish”, it’s about “learning about the ‘mesh’, the environment the fish came from”. By now, his legs are drumming on the floor with his own excess, infectious energy.

In June, he will publish his first “screenplay comic”, Wizards and Robots – an IDW Publishing and ComicCon production. “The only thing that’s science fiction now is wizards and Harry Potter,” he explodes. “This robotic shit is sci-fact. Terminator, Robocop? Science fact!” He simmers back down again.

“Education is the most important thing,” he serenades. “And making the youth realise how powerful they are. Especially if they can bring ideas to life. It’s the first time in a very, very long time the power is in the youth.

“The people that run these giant companies… Twitter, Facebook… Mark Zuckerberg is still in his twenties! I’m just super-duper-duper-duper curious to see where it can all go. With technology, we can either end humanity or fix it.

Y’know?” n

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 35

35 05/06/2013 08:45

The virtual world where everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fashion dreams come true.

www.leboo.com info@leboo.com DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 36

05/06/2013 08:46

DSQUARED2

The virtual world where everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fashion dreams come true.

The online game endorsed by the best international designers with the latest runway looks from Milan, Paris, New York and London. The first virtual multiplayer luxury fashion world brought to you from the best in style and technology. www.leboo.com info@leboo.com DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 37

05/06/2013 08:46

Your children’s

work life

I

T USED to be so simple giving career advice to the next generation. In the classic 1967 Dustin Hoffman movie The Graduate, it came down to Mr McGuire telling an apprehensive young Hoffman’s Benjamin: “I just want to say one word to you. Just one word… Plastics.” If only Benjamin had appreciated how beautifully uncluttered such advice would look from our extraordinarily complicated vantage point in 2013.

The challenge in today’s constantly disrupted economy lies in guiding your children towards a satisfying, financially rewarding career that probably hasn’t yet even been invented. Fast-growth technologies and an ever-shifting menu of risks and opportunities will transform not only how your children make a living, but also what they will understand by the very meaning of “work”. So how can you give them a head start as you prepare them for the inescapable new realities of tomorrow’s economy?

I’ve come to the world’s most ambitious future-trends workshop to find out. I’m writing this from the campus of Singularity

University, a four-year-old Silicon Valley educational institution built near the Googleplex among rocketship hangars at the Nasa Ames Research Centre.

Here the world’s smartest artificialintelligence experts, nanotech specialists, neuroscientists, biotech leaders, medical innovators, future forecasters, space scientists, roboticists, 3D-printing innovators and energy researchers gather to explore the “exponentially advancing technologies” that are challenging every assumption my generation ever had about how to succeed in a modern economy. So let me share with you some lessons that will help clarify what your children can expect in their working lives.

First, you need to explain to them that, unlike our generation, theirs will be determined more by exponential than by linear technological change. That sounds complicated, but it’s really just an extension of Moore’s Law: the observation by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965 that the number of transistors you can fit on a computer chip doubles roughly every two years or 18 months. In a linear world, the output of a machine rises steadily over time; but

“Fast-growth technologies and an ever-shifting menu of risks and opportunities will transform not only how your children make a living, but also what they will understand by the very meaning of “work” 38

when we’re talking about exponentials, the constant doubling leads to some almighty big numbers pretty quickly.

You don’t need to be a maths genius to understand that doubling 1 soon gets you to 2, then 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, 65536, 131072, 262144, 524288, 1048576, and so on. Within a relatively short time you’re left with numbers you could barely conceive of a few years earlier. And that explains why today’s iPhone has more computer-processing power than the rockets that Nasa sent to the Moon.

And what’s been happening to computers is also happening to DNA sequencing (so that we are gaining ever more precise understanding of our personal genomics); to robotics (so that more and more physical tasks can be effectively carried out by machines); to manufacturing (so that any of us will soon easily and cheaply be able to print out furniture or cutlery that we’ve helped design). The internet, meanwhile, is allowing all of us to access ever more yottabytes of data and connecting people together to use such a resource in powerful and industry-destroying new ways.

What that means for the job market is a certainty that such exponential change will continue to find new ways to make the human redundant in any but the most physically or emotionally defined roles. It’s hard to replace you if you’re a Shakespearean stage actor or a professional footballer, but just think how technology will automate incredibly wide sectors of the work market.

Already Google’s self-driving cars have

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 38

05/06/2013 08:46

is no longer valid. Small teams can now impact a billion people through the internet. The rate and origins of innovation are growing fast, and linear companies will be replaced by exponential ones.” Because – never forget – the physical output of your children’s human labour can only grow in a linear way.

“The rate and origins of innovation are growing fast, and linear companies will be replaced by exponential ones” used sensor- and laser-navigation to drive 300,000 miles safely on US highways; when such vehicles hit the market in maybe five years, why will we need the less safe, more unreliable human roles such as taxi driving or chauffeuring? If nanobots and medical tracking technologies can automate the maintenance of your personal health, why will you need to visit the oldfashioned doctor as much as you might today? And if algorithms can be trained to write ever more convincing news stories, what value will there be in hiring those flawed, inefficient creatures we now know as journalists?

I’m being a tad provocative: there’s clearly value in the human touch, whether the doctor’s reassurance or the masseur’s skills, that will not be supplanted quite so easily. But in general you have to understand how many more sectors of the economy are going to go the way of last century’s travel agencies and encyclopedia sellers.

“Every industry is potentially disruptible,” says Peter Diamandis, the engineer and physician who co-founded Singularity University and who runs the X Prize

Foundation. “If you are not disrupting yourself, someone else will be. If you’re not excited or scared by the changes ahead, depending on your position, you must be asleep at the wheel.”

Some industries will transform more slowly than others – the legal profession, you can be sure, will be among the slowest to change, and so far (he said carefully) the magazine-reading public tends to prefer the output of humans over artificial-intelligence bots. But your children need to know that pretty much every industry, from manufacturing to retail, is going to look very different in 20 years – so they should above all learn to think entrepreneurially about emerging opportunities, and become adaptable and resilient in preparing for a world in ever more flux.

“The rate of disruption is increasing,” Diamandis explains, after showing me how startlingly different an exponentially rising graph curve is to one that is linear.

“Many key technologies are growing exponentially. That means bigger is no longer better. [In business now,] nimble is critical. Twentieth-century thinking

If this worries you, there’s plenty of scope for optimism. As more of our needs are provided for by automation, we may well come to see “work” as a less central part of our identity, with more time to pursue personal passions. As technologies such as 3D printing, and shared workspaces including Techshop, democratise the process of manufacture, just as crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter are democratising how new ventures can raise cash, there will be fewer barriers to your children creating all sorts of businesses. And as education projects such as Coursera and Udacity put the world’s best lectures online for free, anyone with an internet connection will have access to a world-class education when they want.

How, then, do you prepare your children for the new realities? Teach them to be adaptable and to learn to read and respond fast to the ever-changing trend lines. Teach them simple software coding using online resources such as Codecademy, so that they at least understand the force defining their world.

Teach them that their education must not end at university, but that they need constantly to remain aware of the hybrid disciplines, from nanotech to additive manufacturing, that can transform business opportunities.

Because, in the new era, wealth and personal fulfilment will accrue to those who can add value to the commodity internet and to the unstoppable, exponential technologies that are cutting through every industry. And that means “work” need not be synonymous with making a living. n

DAVID ROWAN

Editor of WIRED magazine DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 39

39 05/06/2013 08:46

PROFIT PURPOSE PANEL Moderator - June Sarpong MBE

J

UNE HAS enjoyed a 15-year career which has already seen her become one of the most recognizable faces of British television, as well as being one of the UK’s most intelligent and dynamic young hosts. June is a media phenomenon and is the only host of her generation that is equally comfortable interviewing politicians, celebrities and members of the public.

June has also taken on the world’s most challenging live audiences, hosting 2005’s major Make Poverty History event in London’s Trafalgar Square and presenting at the UK leg of Live Earth in 2007. In 2008 alongside Will Smith she also hosted Nelson Mandela’s 90th Birthday celebrations in front of 30,000 people in London’s Hyde Park.

June has worked extensively with HRH Prince Charles for ten years as an ambassador for his charity the Prince’s Trust, she also campaigns for The One and Product (RED). June was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) on the Queens 2007 new years honours list for her services to broadcasting and charity, making her along with Princess Anne’s daughter Zarah Phillips one of the youngest people to receive an MBE. June is the Co-Founder of the WIE Network (Women:Inspiration & Enterprise). WIE first launched in NYC in 2010 and is in it’s second year in the UK. This acclaimed conference has featured leading speakers from a gamut of industries, previous speakers include: Sarahn

Graham Hill Graham Hill is founder, CEO and all-around mastermind at LifeEdited.

H

E HAS a B. Architecture and studied product design.

In 1995, he founded early Internet consultancy SiteWerks with his cousin, built it to 60 people landing clients such as Microsoft and sold it in 1998. In 2003 he founded TreeHugger.com and wearehappytoserveyou.com, makers of ceramic cups that resemble NYC’s iconic paper coffee cups.

TreeHugger was sold to Discovery in 2007 and remains one of the most trafficked green sites reaching more than 5M unique visitors per month. Other past venture areas include fashion, viral email and plant-based air filters. Graham speaks English, French, German and Spanish and loves kitesurfing, surfing, climbing, squash and snowboarding. From New York and Maui, he schemes daily about how he can help humanity avoid rapid extinction. n

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 40

Brown, Melinda Gates, Arianna Huffington, Donna Karan, Queen Rania, Nancy Pelosi, Iman and many more.

June’s latest endeavour Row6.com is a multiplatform anthropological project that aims to get the world talking through story telling. Inspired by the late great Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, June and her team including acclaimed Photographer Robert Astley Sparke traveled for three months collecting stories and images from all over the world.

June is currently based in NYC but is soon moving back home to London. n

Ben Rattray Ben Rattray is the founder and CEO of Change. org, the world’s largest petition platform.

S

INCE ITS founding in 2007, Change.org has achieved international prominence, attracting 35 million users from every country, hundreds of thousands of user-generated petitions, and coverage in every major media outlet, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. Time Magazine writes: “Rattray’s site has quietly enabled tens of thousands of people, many with little exposure to social activism, to launch homegrown crusades on issues ranging from corporate malpractice to immigration reform without ever gathering in a park or square. By marrying one of the world’s oldest organizing tools, the petition, to one of its newest, the social-media loop, Change.org is putting companies and governments under tremendous pressure to change their policies, sometimes in a matter of a few weeks or less, and it has invited everyone around the globe to participate.” n

05/06/2013 08:46

Michele Giddens Michele Giddens is Co-Founder and Partner of Bridges Ventures.

M

ICHELE HAS over 15 years of international development and social finance experience. She was an Investment Officer with International Finance Corporation, the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group in Eastern Europe in the early 1990’s, then spent 8 years with Shorebank Corporation, which was one of the leading community development banks in the USA. There she ran small business lending programmes in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, advised on microfinance in Bangladesh, the Middle East and Mongolia and did research in the US community development finance sector. Michele has a BA Honours in Politics, Philosophy & Economics from Oxford University and an MBA from Georgetown University, Washington, DC. She is a Trustee of the Young Foundation and was an adviser to the Social Investment Task Force and Chair of the Community Development Finance Association (cdfa) 2003-2005. n

Van Jones President and co-founder of Rebuild the Dream

A

YALE-EDUCATED attorney, Van has written two New York Times Best Sellers: The Green Collar Economy, the definitive book on green jobs, and Rebuild the Dream, a roadmap for progressives in 2012 and beyond. Van is currently a CNN Contributor.

In 2009, Van worked as the green jobs advisor to the Obama White House. There, he helped run the inter-agency process that oversaw $80 billion in green energy recovery spending.

Van is the founder of Green For All, a national organization working to get green jobs to disadvantaged communities. He was the main advocate for the Green Jobs Act; signed into law by George W. Bush in 2007, the Act was the first piece of federal legislation to codify the term “green jobs.” Under the Obama administration, it has resulted in $500 million for green job training nationally. While best known as a pioneer in the environmental movement, Van has also been hard at work in social justice for nearly two decades, fashioning solutions to some of urban America’s toughest problems.

He is the co-founder of two social justice organizations: the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change.

In addition, Van is on the board of several organizations and non-profits, including: National Resource Defense Council (NRDC), Presidio, Center for America’s Future and Demos. n

Jo Fairley Multi-tasks for Britain.

I

N 1991, Jo Fairley co-founded the pioneering organic chocolate company Green & Black’s (with her husband Craig Sams): the world’s first organic chocolate, and the UK’s first Fairtrade-marked product.

In 2005, the brand was sold to Cadbury’s, but Jo remains in an ambassadorial role, travelling the world as the brand grows internationally in countries including the US and Australia. In 2008 Jo and her husband Craig Sams collaborated on Sweet Dreams: The Story of Green & Black’s (Random House).

Jo now runs Judges Bakery - an organic one-stop shop - and The Wellington Centre, an 11-room ‘boutique’ wellbeing centre, in her hometown of Hastings.

She continues to juggle this with her writing, speaking and brand consulting career.

For eight years Jo chaired the Soil Association’s Health Products Standards Committee, helping to set the standards for organic and natural bodycare in the UK. She is a ‘matron’ of the Women’s Environmental Network, runs makeover workshops for young women at Centrepoint and sits on the Human Rights Watch Film Festival committee. n

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 41

05/06/2013 08:46

Richard Reed CO-FOUNDER OF INNOCENT, THE NO.1 SMOOTHIE BRAND IN EUROPE

T

HE BUSINESS was started in May 1999 by Richard and two friends and has grown in just over 13 years to a turnover of £200 million. Innocent now has over 75% market share in the UK and sells in 15 different countries across Europe, with its products available in every major chain, from Sainsbury’s to Boots to Starbucks.

Launched in 1999, innocent has taken on the biggest food and drinks companies in Europe to become the fastest growing food and drinks company in the UK and the number one smoothie brand in the EU, selling over two million pure fruit smoothies each week through over 15,000 outlets. As well as co-leading Innocent, Richard sits on the Development Board of Oxfam, is a patron for Peace One Day and is a director of the human rights charity Videre.

Richard is also a government advisor on entrepreneurship and has sat on the Small Business Council and on the board of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Richard and Innocent’s awards include winning E&Y’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Britain’s Greatest Business at ITV’s Great Britons Awards; Most Admired Business Leader by Marketing magazine. n

David de Rothschild AN ADVENTURER, ENVIRONMENTALIST AND THE FOUNDER OF IMPACT.IT

D

AVID’S PASSION and commitment to action has seen him ski, dogsled and kite to both the North and South poles as well as visiting some of the world’s most remote and fragile regions in order to bring widespread media attention and, moreover, solutions to urgent global environmental issues.

From March to July 2010, David and a crew of five undertook the latest expedition, the Plastiki, sailing across the Pacific Ocean on a catamaran made buoyant by 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles to beat waste. (www.theplastiki.com). David is recognized as a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, Clean up the World Ambassador, UNEP Climate Hero and a Young Global Leader respectively. n

Accelerating Innovation -

Women in Tech

Few women have gained the kind of experience that enables their careers to explode like those of Marissa Mayer, Meg Whitman or Sheryl Sandberg’s. Here are specific recommendations to stimulate innovation by fast forwarding the role of women in high-tech. By Jack Hidary* and Cindy Padnos*

H

ISTORICALLY, FEW women joined or founded startups to gain the kind of experience that has enabled individuals like Marissa Mayer (Yahoo!), Meg Whitman (HP) and Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook) to rise to their positions of responsibility. Similarly, less than 10% of all partner-level investor positions in venture capital are held by women. Yet, the positive signs are increasing.

Across the globe we are seeing more and

42

more tech startups co-founded or run by women. Companies like One King’s Lane, Get Satisfaction and AllVoices are a few of the US examples. And they are gaining great outcomes – like SlideShare, founded

by Rashmi Sinha, being acquired for $119M by LinkedIn after raising just $3M in venture financing.

While it is good to see this rise in the number of women entrepreneurs, it is off a small base: though women hold over

one-third of high tech jobs, only 7% of venture-backed companies have even a single women co-founder.

A variety of factors are creating a perfect storm for the emergence of women as tech leaders. Women are gaining more of the right educational degrees, the necessary work experience and increasingly they have the desire and drive to be entrepreneurial. In addition, the environment for first-time entrepreneurs

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 42

05/06/2013 16:04

Jack Hidary is a startup investor and co-founder and former CEO of Dice.com (DHX). Cindy Padnos is the founder & managing partner of Illuminate Ventures. She was the founder & CEO of Vivant (ORCL), CEO of Acumen, VP Marketing at Scopus (SCOP), and authored the white paper “High-performance Entrepreneurs: Women in High Tech”

has never been more favorable. Broad access to cloud computing lowers initial capital requirements, making sectors such as digital media, business software, mobile apps and online commerce solutions natural points of entry for first-time entrepreneurs. A wide of range of new entrepreneurs, including women, can bring their ideas and dynamism to the table in this environment. That being said – building large scale success still requires significant capital, which continues to be harder to access for women than men.

Here are specific recommendations that we can implement to accelerate the pace of growth for women in high-tech both as entrepreneurs and investors: Hire more women into venture capital firms and encourage women angel investors: Women entrepreneurs seek investment environments where they can succeed.

Research shows that venture capital firms with even one female partner are 70% more likely to invest in a woman cofounded business than one with none.

Similarly, angel investment groups with a significant number of women members are shown to have 30% more women-led companies approaching them – resulting in many more investments in this category.

Two thirds of active US venture firms in the tech sector do not have a single female partner, yet VCs who recruit one are likely

to see a wider range of deals. With the growing number of women entrepreneurs having successful outcomes, venture firms and angel groups now have the opportunity to recruit these leaders into their ranks. With women representing only 6-7% of VC partners and 15% of angel investors, we have plenty of opportunity for improvement.

Spotlight high growth businesses cofounded or run by women: The impact of role models cannot be overestimated. If women don’t “see it” as an attractive role, they won’t want to “be it”. Expose women to the opportunity, and more will make the decision to become entrepreneurs.

The thriving communities of women founders in NY, Silicon Valley and other regions can serve as a source of stories for tech and business journalists, offering encouragement on a global basis.

Attract women with diverse backgrounds: Tech companies can recruit great talent by widening their search beyond individuals with traditional backgrounds. While the number of women studying for technical degrees is on the rise, tech companies can also find great talent among graduates from other fields such as MBA, fine arts and marketing programs that are critical in today’s tech world.

Encourage Startup incubators to attract women entrepreneurs: Startups are

all-engrossing. Women with families, in particular, need an environment where they can have flexibility as they meet the unpredictable challenges of entrepreneurship. Incubators can differentiate by developing formats that encourage all types of people to be entrepreneurs, not just unattached men.

Dispel the myths: There are long-held beliefs that simply aren’t true: that you must have a STEM degree to be a tech entrepreneur; that investing in women-led companies is higher risk; that you can’t have a family and be a high-growth entrepreneur at the same time; that women are only suited to consumer-oriented companies. We have the data that proves each of these wrong – let’s share it widely.

Bringing more women into the entrepreneurial sector will bring a more diverse range of ideas and innovative offerings to our economy. With so few venture-backed startups now co-founded by women and women representing such small numbers in the investing community, we can readily increase the impact of this critical economic engine. This will have positive effects not just for women, but for all of us who will benefit from the jobs they create and the products they bring to market. It’s time to widen the entrance to the tent for all to participate in leading the tech revolution. n

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 43

43 05/06/2013 08:46

A Frank W

opinion

HO WOULD have thought that DNA could be bigger than it was last year - but it is. And once again, Mark, June and the DNA team are bringing great innovators and great thinkers together to swap ideas, inspire, debate, and push boundaries.

DNA is all about encouraging innovation. Innovation can bring a cure to an illness that previously meant certain death; can make fertile lands out of arid desert; can increase crop yields so they can sustain the people who depend upon them; can bring eyesight back to the blind; and can find ways of getting water to villages, where prior there was none.

Likewise, in the service of profit and commerce, innovation has led to some wonderful products and services that make our daily lives better, more efficient, more fun.

But whilst celebrating our success, it is important that we also acknowledge our failures. Perhaps there is no bigger area where we are failing to innovate than in changing the way we run and govern our world. How is it that we as an adaptive, intelligent species allow 7.5 million children to die each year because of poverty? Why do we accept that 45 million people in the United States, the richest country on earth, need to live on food stamps and that 1.3 million children are homeless. In Europe we accept that

3 million are homeless and 1 in 5 15 year olds are illiterate.

The Foundation I established (thefff.org) has been focused on being innovative in the way we help the communities we serve. We have tried to do things differently, to be more collaborative, more efficient, and to think out of the box. We are proud of our work. But, like many other NGO’s, we cannot avoid the frustration that our endeavours only address the symptoms of poverty as opposed to the causes. Innovations focused on symptom relief are important, but those that focus on changing root causes are what is needed most.

What I hope for events like DNA is that we can encourage each other to brainstorm how to improve our world through meaningful change in the way we run it. For it is the way we run our world that causes and maintains the poverty we see today.

There are many questions to be answered. How do we create momentum for change among the wider population and a sense of belief that they can meaningfully impact the way we are governed? How does new technology change things? The way we vote? Accountability among our elected

“It is the way we run our world that causes and maintains the poverty we see today.”

44 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 44

representatives? How can technology lead our opaque political system to a transparent future?

I believe that new technology gives us the tools to fundamentally change how we govern our world. New technologies have made it possible for campaigns to generate hundreds of thousands of supporters in just a few days. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. I am convinced the Internet is a game changer that gives ordinary people power and a sense of their own agency. We as an organisation are now working on innovations with this in mind.

But why aren’t we collectively doing

DNA Magazine 2013 05/06/2013 08:46

more?

Perhaps it is because we feel as powerless and alienated from the process of government as does the average citizen. Perhaps we too have lost faith in our democracies and our political institutions.

But as innovators and entrepreneurs in no other realm do we accept the status quo. In no other realm do we accept “no” for an answer. We refuse to accept the ‘impossible’ in science, business and philanthropy, but when it comes to changing the way we run our world, we see nothing but impossibilities.

But even from a purely self-interested

perspective we have to see that the current system is on a perilous path.

Things have to change. If not for the sake of altruism then for the sake of the long-term health of our economy.

A few weeks ago there were riots in Spain that made the front page of the New York Times. There was a picture of a pitched battle between the police and firefighters who were demonstrating against the austerity measures the financial crisis had brought upon them.

When you see firemen and policemen fighting in the streets then you know that the very fabric of society is being undermined.

We have to lead, and we have to act

now. We, more than most, understand how the Internet and mobile technology can change everything. How it gives people a voice. How it is a platform that provides all of us the means to be involved in the political process, to organize, share views, and to coalesce in ways we never could before.

Let’s ensure that DNA will inspire us as proponents and executors of innovation to put our minds and hearts to the arena where innovation is needed most: saving our world. n

SIMON FRANKS DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 45

45 05/06/2013 08:46

30years of Innovation

I

NNOVATION IS a

opens a door to a new

sticky subject and, I

way of thinking” Well,

found when trying

the list that follows

to do research for this

is a good mixture

article, that it is also

and if nothing else

very subjective. No

they are interesting

two people agreed on

strategies even if they

what makes something

do use technologies

‘innovative’. “It needs

that already existed.

to revolutionise lives,

But, more importantly

not just for a few,

sometimes it’s good to

but for everybody.”

just sit and take stock

“The use of new

… and have fodder for

technologies”,

“...

a good debate.

1984 Apple launches the Mac The Macintosh 128k was announced to the press in October 1983, followed by an 18-page brochure included with various magazines in December. Its debut, however, was announced by a single national broadcast of the now famous US$1.5 million television commercial, “1984”. It was directed by Ridley Scott, aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984 and is now considered a “watershed event” and a “masterpiece.” 1984 used an unnamed heroine to represent the coming of the Macintosh (indicated by her white tank top with a Picassostyle picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer on it) as a means of saving humanity from “conformity” (Big Brother). These images were an allusion to George Orwell’s noted novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which described a dystopian future ruled by a televised “Big Brother.”

46

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 46

05/06/2013 08:46

1988 Sun World International Seedless Watermelon I love the idea of this but to be honest I’m kind of weird because I rather like the seeds, yeah as I said ‘weird’ Actually, watermelons without seeds were developed about 50 years ago. But Sun World International of Indio, California, the company that brought you Red Flame seedless grapes, has developed a variety of seedless watermelon that it claims has greatly improved texture and taste.”

1990 Digital Photography/ Kodak’s Digital Camera System Delco Moraine ABS V1 OK this innovation might not mean as much to you if you’ve spend most of your mobile life on a motorbike (though, saying that…)

Antilock brakes are at the heart of any traction-control system, and in 1990 Delco Moraine released an ABS system that was affordable enough for manufacturers to install in any car. GM was the first car maker to use the system, which attached easily to existing brakes. Modern ABS and traction-control systems all work on a model similar to the ABS V1: a central controller monitors the rotation of the car’s wheels; when the system senses a differential in the RPMs, it signals pressure valves to either slow down or speed up the offending wheels

Built around the body of a Nikon F3, the Kodak’s digital camera system was the first to put the “D” in front of “SLR.” Kodak engineers replaced the back of the Nikon shooter with a digital panel that contained a 1.3 megapixel color or monochrome image sensor. Pictures were piped from the camera directly to an attached hard drive with a preview screen. Though modern cameras are substantially more compact and selfcontained, at the core, they all function much like the original Kodak system

1991

Sylvania 18-watt Compact Fluorescent

Incandescent bulbs were on their way out long before the Energy Independence and Security Act levied their death sentence. Before LEDs, compact fluorescent bulbs were the greener go-to, but until 1991 many of them were too big to fit into most light fixtures. Sylvania’s 2-inch-wide 18-watt CFL was the first to buck that trend. The $20 bulb produced a soft white light, equivalent to a 75-watt incandescent.

>> DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 47

05/06/2013 08:46

>>

The World Wide Web Free For Everyone

1993

While the World Wide Web was invented by physicist Tim BernersLee in 1989, the technology was not available for royalty-free usage at the time. While other technologies such as Gopher and WAIS were available for retrieving data at the time, the release of the web’s technology for royalty free usage in 1993 led to “its rapid adoption and development” said CERN. In 1993, the web “accounted for 1 percent of Internet traffic,” said CERN, with the rest of the Internet consisting of email, file transfers and remote access. In comparison to 1993, according to CERN, “Twenty years on there are an estimated 630 million websites online.”

1994

NewsPAD’

Not taking anything away for the generally beloved iPad, the very first complete TouchScreen Tablet can be defined when in 1994 the European Union initiated the ‘OMI-NewsPAD’ project (EP9252), requiring a consumer devise be developed for the receipt and consumption of electronically delivered news / newspapers and associated multi-media. The NewsPad name and project goals were borrowed from and inspired by Arthur C. Clarke’s 1965 screenplay and Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film: 2001: A Space Odyssey. Acorn Computers developed and delivered an ARM based touchscreen tablet computer for this program.

Mosaic XS web browser Before Mosaic, Web surfing really wasn’t a thing. The browser was the first one to display image in-line with text (instead of in a

48

separate window), thus making the Web easier—and more pleasant— to read and navigate. Mosaic’s designers also made the browser compatible with Windows, helping it amass a reported 53 percent market share.

Though Mosaic was soon overtaken

by Netscape Navigator and eventually died out, much of its design is still mirrored in the most-popular modern browsers, including Firefox and Chrome.

Channel Tunnel Every time someone comes on the news to debate the pro and cons of the HS2 rail link (and debate it heated they do) I sit back and think “getting old is rather boring, will I now and forever be living life on repeat?” After six years of construction (and almost as much time spend arguing about it), the Chunnel opened in 1994. The 31-mile passage connects England to France across the floor of the English Channel. About 23.5 miles of the tunnel are underground, the longest such section ever built. The tunnel consists of three tubes, one each for freight and passenger trains with a smaller service tunnel between them. The Eurostar passenger line now transports as many as 17 million travelers through the tunnel every year, and Eurotunnel ships upwards of 17 million tons of freight.

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 48

05/06/2013 08:46

Photography by kind permission of Avert

1996 Protease Inhibitors One of the biggest steps in treating HIV was the development of a drug that would prevent the virus from multiplying. Protease inhibitors jam up the enzyme that allows the cells to replicate. When we first awarded the drugs in 1996, the FDA has just approved the first formulations from Merck and Abbot Labs. Since then, several others have reached market, and doctors continue to prescribe the drugs as part of HIV/AIDSmanagement therapies.

>> DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 49

49 05/06/2013 08:46

>>

1997

Fujitsu QFTV Gas Plasma Display TV

For years, Hollywood had tantalized us with images of the future: high-tech homes with TVs so slim and light you could hang them on the wall. In 1997, Fujitsu was the first TV maker to make good on that dream.

The four-inch-thick 42-inch QFTV produced an image when current passed through gas plasma sandwiched between two panes of glass. Although LCD TVs currently dominate the HDTV market, plasma sets like the QFTV are what first moved the thin-sharp-and-light goalpost for the entire marketplace.

1998

Toyota Prius The Prius has won three Best of What’s New awards in the 15 years since Toyota debuted its hybrid-drive system in Japan in 1997. By the time the Prius made it to the U.S. market in the 2004 model year, it was clocking 55 mpg on average, and the 2010 model added at least 5 more miles on top of that.

Regenerative braking systems, which transfer kinetic braking energy to the battery, are now common in hybrids. Yet the Prius remains king: To date, Toyota has sold more than 1 million Prius models worldwide, and the category-defining hybrid accounts for nearly half of all electric/gas cars on the road in the U.S.

Diamond Rio PMP300 We won’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of the Diamond Rio PMP300, but you’re surely familiar with the portablemusic revolution that followed it. The Rio was the first successful portable audio device that allowed users to download MP3 files—or rip them from their CDs— and load them onto a pocketable player.

The $200 player held an hour of music.

The Rio was so successful that it caught the attention of the RIAA, who filed an injunction against the company. The injunction was denied, but three years later something else came along to push the Rio out of the limelight: the first iPod.

HeartStream ForeRunner Portable Defibrillator For every minute a patient’s heart isn’t revived after a sudden cardiac arrest, his chances of survival drop by 10 percent. The ForeRunner, which is now marketed by Philips, was the first portable defibrillator that anyone can use. The $4,000 device prompts the operator on how to use the paddles, while an onboard computer electrocardiogram determines the correct voltage. Earlier this fall, Philips produced its one millionth device, which the company donated to a helicopter rescue team in Washington State.

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 50

05/06/2013 08:46

1999

Osiris Therapeutics stem cell research Make no mistake the Human Genome Project (completed in 2003) is the ‘innovation’ here. The ability to induce a stem cell, the cells from which everything in the human body grows, to grow into a new body part could change how we think about transplants entirely.

But scientists at Osiris Therapeutics in 1999 had one of the first successful experiments, in which they induced bone-marrow cells to grow into specific types of connective tissue. The experiment proved that many cell lineages could be associated with a single cell type, not several.

TiVo

I have to admit; I haven’t watched a TV commercial in about 5 years, (thank you Sky+). More than anything that came before it, TiVo signaled a shift in the way people watch TV. So-called appointment television became a thing of the past; watching what you want, when you want—and skipping commercials—was about to become the new norm. Over the next few years, cable and satellite providers began using their own recording tuner boxes, eventually releasing models with two tuners, so that viewers could watch one thing while recording another. The shift was so marked, in fact, that Nielsen began measuring digital recordings in 2005; their research has found that “TiVo’d” or “DVR’d” program watching has increased more than four fold in the last seven years.

2003 IEEE 802.11g Wi-Fi Before 2003, no single wireless transmission standard had either the range or the speed to handle our growing appetite for connectivity. 802.11g had a range of 150 feet and a max speed of 54 Mbps (a five-fold bump). Wireless routers could be fast and wide-reaching enough to cover the demands of an entire house, coffee shop, or small office from a single access point.

>> DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 51

51 05/06/2013 08:46

>>

2003 Microsoft Xbox Live

As common as Internet-connected set-top boxes are now, only nine years ago doing anything with the Internet on your TV was something of a foreign idea. Xbox Live, which owners could purchase as a $70 upgrade for their consoles, introduced the first Internet-connected gaming hub. At launch the service was a conduit for downloading additional game content, such as new levels and weapons, but it quickly expanded to include streaming and video-chat services, including Netflix and Skype, as platform “apps.” Now not being able to access Netflix from a console, Blu-ray player, or set-top box is what feels foreign.

2005 454 Life Sciences Genome Sequencer 20 System

Google Maps Standalone GPS devices are one of the most-profound—dare we say welcome—casualties of the smartphone revolution.

Google Maps, more so than any other mapping software, is what made that possible. Rather than wasting time and bandwidth loading an entire map at once, the software loads it tile-by-tile; as you scroll, it sends a signal to the server to send down new tiles, which come with instructions on stitching them all together. Today, the 150 million Maps users plot about 12 billion miles of routes each year.

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 52

Eight years ago, Dr. Jonathan Rothberg took the first step towards achieving an important goal: make human genome sequencing so affordable and fast that doctors could rely on it as a regular diagnostic tool.

The Genome Sequencer 20 system, which needed only a month and $300,000 per person sequenced, was based

around a fiber-optic chip that could hold hundreds of thousands of DNA fragments (the previous methodology could only accommodate 384 at a time). In 2007, Rothberg went on to found Ion Torrent, a company that this year released the Ion Proton system, which sequences an entire genome in a day for $1,000.

05/06/2013 08:46

2007 & 2008 Apple iPhone and App Store It was hard to not be impressed by the iPhone when Apple first debuted it five years ago. A sleek, touchscreen phone that puts the internet in your pocket? Everyone was sold. Many devices had inched towards this moment (the Nokia 900 Communicator, for example, was well ahead of its time in 1997), but never had the user experience been quite so smooth. Something was missing, though; we still had to rely on ingenuitive hackers to code games and apps. Not for long: the very next year, Apple launched the App Store and changed everything all over again. The pairing set up the framework that all other mobile computing systems— Android Windows Phone—now follow. But the Cupertino company didn’t stop there; iPods, iPads, and Mac desktops and laptops now all run on a hardware-plus-app-store model. People in the mobile ecosystem alone download an estimated 46 million apps every day.

Large Hadron Collider

2008

The 14-year effort to complete the Large Hardon Collider was only half the battle.

Once the thousands-strong team of physicists and engineers had stabilized the LHC’s 1,200 35-ton magnets, the work of finding the Higgs boson, an integral particle for explaining how the universe can exist, could begin. This July two experiments produced what could very well be the illusive particle; both papers were published in September.

>> DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 53

53 05/06/2013 08:46

>>

2009

Canon EOS 5D Mark II The 5D Mark II signaled a key moment in photography: the moment that any still photographer had the equipment necessary to become a high-def videographer. The 5D Mark II was the first D-SLR to shoot high-def video—others from Nikon and other competitors followed quickly after, of course. Canon engineers developed a D-SLR processor powerful enough to encode 30 frames of high-def video from the camera’s 21-megapixel sensor into video every second. And, because the 5D works with dozens of pre-existing D-SLR lenses, many already had the wares necessary for full-blown movie shoots. Only three years later, cinematographers have used the 5D in countless TV shows, commercials, and films, including scenes from The Avengers, the Oscar-nominated documentary Hell and Back Again, and the stop-motion film Paranorman. Not bad for a still camera.

2011 & 2012 Mars Curiosity and Sky Crane The Mars Curiosity is was third rover and five times the weight of prior rovers, which meant it could carry a generator good for 700 earth days and enough instruments to collect samples, vaporize rocks, and carry onboard samples for further testing. But, mind you, Curiosity couldn’t pull off any of that until it landed safely, a task carried out by the sky crane. Because of Curiosity’s weight, it couldn’t land on airbags as prior rovers had, so engineers started from scratch and came back with a thruster-controlled platform that would safely lower the rover to the surface. And on August 6 2012 it did just that.

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 54

05/06/2013 08:46

2012 Burj Khalifa At 2,716 feet, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the world’s tallest building by more than 1,000 feet. To make such a structure, engineers had to throw out the traditional skyscraper playbook, which would have required the building’s base to spread incredibly wide, out the window. The team at Skidmore Owings & Merrill built the Burj to stand much like a tripod, the main post of which supports the building’s hexagonal core.

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 55

05/06/2013 08:46

The Journey from the unknown

S

CHOLAR, WRITER, and curator Sarah Lewis’s recently completed book, The Rise: Creativity, Mastery, and the Gift of Failure (Simon & Schuster, U.S. / HarperCollins, U.K. 2014) is a layered, story-driven investigation of how innovation, discovery, and the creative progress are all spurred on by advantages gleaned from the improbable, the unlikely, even the moments of possible failure. In the book, we meet figures both eminent and little-known outside of their respective fields: Frederick Douglass, Samuel Morse, and Diane Arbus feature alongside choreographer

Paul Taylor, Nobel Prize winning physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, and Arctic explorer Ben Saunders. If we all have the capacity to convert the excruciating into an advantage, it is not because of the importance of failure, The Rise argues, but because of how crucial the creative process it unearths within us all actually is.

Selected for Oprah’s 2010 “Power List,” Dell’s inaugural #Inspire 100 list, a group of “world changers” who use technology to empower social change, Sarah Lewis is a member of President Barack Obama’s Arts Policy Committee.

S

IR ANDRE GEIM is the Regius, Langworthy and Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Manchester. He has received numerous international awards and distinctions, including medals from the US National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society. Most notably, he was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking work on graphene, a one-atom-thick material made of carbon.

Andre Geim was born in Russia to German parents and holds dual Dutch and British citizenship.

He started his academic career in Moscow, spent several years as a postdoctoral researcher at the universities of Nottingham, Bath and Copenhagen and then moved to the Netherlands as a tenured professor, before coming to Manchester in 2001.

Thomson-Reuters repeatedly named him among the world’s most active scientists and attributed to him three new research fronts – diamagnetic levitation, gecko tape and graphene. He was also awarded the IgNobel prize in 2000 for his work on levitating frogs, becoming the first and only recipient of both Nobel and IgNobel Prizes. He has also received both Dutch and British knighthoods. n

56

Her writing has been published widely, and she is also active curator, having held positions at both the Tate Modern and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. She also sits on the boards including the Harvard University Alumni Association, The Andy Warhol for the Visual Arts, The Brearley School, and the Art Advisory committee of Madison Square Park.

She received her B.A. from Harvard University, an M.Phil from Oxford University, and will receive her PhD from Yale University this year. She is on faculty at Yale University, School of Art in the MFA program.n

B

EN SAUNDERS is a polar explorer and a record-breaking long-distance skier, with five North Pole expeditions under his belt. He is the youngest to ski solo to the North Pole and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton.

Since 2001, Ben has skied more than 3,000km (1,860 miles) in the high Arctic, which he recently worked out equates to two percent of his entire life living in a tent.

Ben is currently preparing for one of the most ambitious polar expeditions in a century, The Scott Expedition. An 1800 mile, four month unsupported return journey from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole on foot, retracing the exact route taken by Captain Scott on his illfated Terra Nova expedition more than a century ago. It will be the longest unsupported journey in polar history and the first time that Scott’s journey is completed.

When he’s not pulling a sledge, Ben divides his time between planning and training for his next expedition, and earning a crust as one of the UK’s leading motivational speakers. He is an Ambassador for The Prince’s Trust, a Patron of the British Exploring Society, an honorary member of the Cordon Rouge Club, a Global Ambassador for Land Rover, a Fellow of the British American Project, and supports the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the Orchid Cancer Appeal. n

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 56

05/06/2013 08:46

The United Nations and Transformational Partnerships

I

N 1998, Ted Turner made the remarkable announcement that he would give the UN one billion dollars thus adding to his invention of 24 hour news and multi-channel cable TV the concept of large scale partnership by non-state actors with the UN. Incidentally, since that pledge was made, the vehicle Mr. Turner created to convey his contribution, the UN Foundation, has channeled more than $1.2 billion to the UN. The concept of partnership with non-state actors has now become an established practice at the UN. In the United Nations Millennium Declaration, Member States resolved “to give greater opportunities to the private sector, non-governmental organizations and civil society, in general, to contribute to the realization of the Organization’s goals and programmes” and to “develop strong partnerships with the private sector and with civil society organizations in pursuit of development and poverty eradication”. Accordingly, partnership is a much broader form of cooperation for achieving the United Nations goals and mandates across the wide spectrum of United Nations activities than merely mobilization of financial resources to the United Nations. The eighth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is to develop a global partnership for development.

Likewise, the importance of partnership for the implementation of sustainable development was acknowledged and financing through existing and new partnerships, including public-private partnerships, was encouraged in the outcome documents from the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (2002), the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development in Doha (2008), the Fourth Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Istanbul (2011), the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio (2012), as well as in resolutions from the General Assembly on themes varying from science, technology and agriculture to financing for development and global partnerships.

The Secretary-General has redoubled his efforts to build transformational multi-stakeholder initiatives such as Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) and Sustainable Energy for All (SEFA). EWEC has delivered approximately 10 billion dollars as of September 2012 and, at its launch during the Rio+20 Conference, SEFA saw pledges of more than 50 billion dollars, primarily from non-Official Development Assistance (ODA) sources, thus demonstrating the capacity to increase the flow of resources through partnership.

These multi-stakeholder transformative initiatives are innovative partnership mechanisms that include stakeholders from all relevant sectors and utilize the core competences of each to catalyze wide scale changes in behavior, achieving greater scale and impact because the benefits accrue broadly. They aim to create a lasting impact on crucial systemic issues and can create broader economic impact in terms of sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and job creation which Member States have defined as a vital role for partnership.

The task at hand is to move beyond consideration of financial flows only and adopt a vision which encompasses a range of contributions such as innovation, technology, research, and human capacity. Traditional development assistance, combined with multistakeholder partnerships that bring in a variety of such resources, catalyze and leverage financial and other resource flows to meet both the demand to achieve the MDGs in the coming years and serve as a model for how to achieve the post-2015 development framework.

The United Nations brings unique value to the partnership equation. The Organization enjoys universal legitimacy by a broad spectrum of partners, who are willing to focus actions and cooperation in support of the United Nations goals, targets, values and principles, including achieving internationally agreed development goals. The United Nations and the Secretary-General have global convening power. Interest among external actors to engage with the United Nations in achieving these goals, targets, values and principles is wide spread and the United Nations has an extensive country-based network and presence on the ground that enables outreach to and interaction with partners on a global scale. The United Nations system also has access to and can draw upon an unparalleled range of technical expertise. Finally, the United Nations has global brand recognition.

The United Nations faces a major challenge in addressing growing demand and reaching all whom the Organization serves in the most accountable, effective and efficient way possible. Traditional single-stakeholder project-based transactional partnerships between a single United Nations entity and a single external partner meet important needs, but only for a limited number of beneficiaries. As a vehicle to meet the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed goals, the potential of partnership is far from being fully realized.

Multi-stakeholder or transformational partnerships with many United Nations entities and many external partners provide the Organization with a way to demonstrate leadership to scale up services, mobilize resources to meet demand, and offer the highest value impact.

The UN Office for Partnerships is one of the entry points for non-state actors to interact with the UN system and many of the Funds and Programmes have their own entry points. In recognition of the critical importance of partnerships, the Secretary-General is requesting the General Assembly to grow this part of the UN architecture to be able to accommodate many more groups wishing to work with the UN. This will not only transform the way the international community tackles issues such as poverty, health and education but it will also transform the UN. UNOP is proud to be partnering with DNA and looks forward to a fruitful discussion on transformational partnerships. n

ROLAND RICH UN Office for Partnerships DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 57

57 05/06/2013 08:46

Daring to Imagine a

New Africa Ozwald Boateng and Chris Cleverly of Made In Africa Foundation.

T

HIS YEAR marks the 50th Anniversary of African independence. In 1963 both the African Union (AU) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) were born. And last month, our agent for change, Made In Africa Foundation (MiAF), co-hosted an event with the AfDB in Marrakech bringing together the creative minds of Africa and the Diaspora (Youssou N’Dour, John Legend, Mos Def, Akon and Isaiah Washington) performing and inspiring the emerging financial might of Africa’s financial institutions, billionaires and banks.

Together they marked the moment when the continent passed its tipping point and permanent, sustainable growth emerged.

58

The African Union and the African Development Bank were created to promote the unity and solidarity of African States and act as a collective voice for the continent. But unity was not a concept that could be developed by political will alone.

It is not the meeting of states and leaders but the movement, social and economic, of its peoples. Unity has no meaning unless it is the ability of the coal miner in Botswana to power a plant in Angola or the farmer in Uganda to export fruit to those short of food in Northern Kenya.

It is often said that Africa is blessed with 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land but this will only be a blessing once

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 58

05/06/2013 08:46

the land has actually been cultivated and the produce from that land transported to its markets. It matters not that Lake Kivu in Rwanda is host to a gas supply that could double the amount of electricity in the region or the Congo’s Inga hydroelectric project could power Southern Africa, if the distribution infrastructure is not available.

It was railways that opened up the prairies of North America and the Steppes along the Trans Siberian Railway, uniting the States and federating the Russians and bringing grain to feed their conurbations and coal to power their industrial growth. It is this that inspired China, the latest superpower, to implement a $250bn domestic rail investment. And Africa will follow their example.

In 2010 China ranked first in exports to the world market with merchandise export sales of more than $1.5 trillion and a world market share of 10.4%. In 1998, China had less than 2% of the world market. Africa has presently 3% but with 15% of the world’s population, 60% of world’s uncultivated arable land and a fast growing proportion of the world’s discovered valuable natural resources. Africa’s potential for growth over the next 10 years is greater than China’s over the same period.

Over the past decade the simple unweighted average of global country growth rates was virtually identical in Africa and Asia. Over the next five years Africa is likely to take the lead. In other words, the average African economy will outpace its Asian counterpart. Charles Robertson, Global Chief Economist of Renaissance Capital estimates that Africa’s GDP will increase from $2 trillion to $29 trillion in today’s money by 2050. Africa will produce more GDP than the combined economies of the US and Eurozone do today.

Presently, however, lack of adequate transportation can add as much as 60% to the ex-farm-gate cost of African agricultural products. In practical terms this means the farm-gate price of palm oil in Sierra Leone is more than double the world market price. Intra-African trade remains highly external in its orientation. This lamentable feature of Africa’s trade means that trade between African states stands at only 10% of al trade, compared to 60% in Europe.

Of course it is not only lack of infrastructure that has created this state of affairs, restrictive customs procedures, administrative and technical barriers and lack of trade finance have played their part. But on a continent where 13 counties

still lack a functioning railway system, lack of adequate infrastructure – let alone state-of-the art stock and track such as China is laying down – is a huge impediment. And so Made In Africa made infrastructure their tenet for advocacy.

There were three proposed corridors for growth. North-South Corridor which would link eight countries in eastern and southern Africa, which further interlinked to other corridors including the Trans-Kalahari, Beira, Lobito, Dar Es Salem and Nacala corridors. The Beira corridor which is essentially a 100km wide channel for enterprise development and movement of goods from the interior of the Southern Africa region to the port of Beira on the Indian Ocean. And finally, the Northern Corridor comprising of the transport facilities and infrastructure linking land-locked countries of East and Central Africa: Burundi, DRC, Rwanda and Uganda to port of Mombasa in Kenya. That corridor also serves Northern Tanzania, Southern Sudan and Ethiopia.

In particular, we proposed (in what we had called the Tipping Point Initiative in our 2009 paper requested by the then Foreign Minister for the UK, David Miliband) the opening up of a fourth Growth Corridor, the Western Corridor (also known as the Trans Saharan Railway). This would geographically balance the other proposed developments out which were predominantly Eastward and South. It would also unlock the agricultural potential of the Sahel and the vast mineral deposits of Northern Nigeria and Niger. The route would go from the rapidly expanding oil port of Ghana, to Kumasi, Sokode in Togo to Benin, on to Abuja and Kano in Nigeria, Ndjamena in Niger then across the Sahara to Libya and onto Misrata on the Mediterranean coast. Of course, with the conflicts around the Arab Spring and the subsequent turmoil throughout the region, this plan has been put on hold.

Which is a pity because long-term peace can only come with long-term solutions. Africa’s history is characterised by the deployment of defence budgets and charitable aid. Neither of which has worked; at best it has been a bandage on an endemic trauma. Regional integration through coherent infrastructure strategy is the key to peace. As Western Europe discovered after the Second World War. Once countries and people share interests and assets in common, it is much harder for them to go to war with each other. They have a mutual desire for the other’s survival as their economic wellbeing becomes balanced with the others’.

The peoples and continents of the world are not

>>

“The peoples and continents of the world are not separate, they are part of the same social and economic system: a system that must return to balance and harmony.”

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 59

59 05/06/2013 08:46

>>

separate, they are part of the same social and economic system: a system that must return to balance and harmony. Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa are like four horses pulling a carriage. Starving one horse may mean that the others are fuller but the carriage won’t get anywhere fast. By letting the horse feed, heaven knows what horizons we might cross together.

If the world economy is to get beyond boom and bust, it requires African creators, farmers, workers, industrialists and leaders to be given the tools and the opportunities to play their part for the good of all. It requires an efficient use of the world’s resources where processing plants and factories are sited near the raw materials and energy sources. It requires the positive growth of a strong African middle class of consumers of global goods and access to a life worthwhile for all.

Consequently, this wellbeing and economic gain extends across the globe, as peace enables the industrialised nations to invest in Africa’s growth rather than only in extractive resource activity, the sale of arms or in the Aid charade of consultants and quick fixes. Virtuous behaviour creates more virtuous behaviour; it’s not rocket science. But although the principle is simple, the work required at every level is substantial. It requires that we, as Africans, must all work to change how we see Africa, in order for it to fulfil its potential.

60

We formed the Made In Africa Foundation last year with a donation from an African business, Atlantic Energy and an African entrepreneur, Kola Aluko to develop master-plans that would develop the Africa that Africans deserve. We have now agreed to work with our friends the African Development Bank and the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation to ensure that Africa’s coming infrastructure boom benefits Africa’s fast growing youth, Africa’s SME’s and to develop our own regional champions of industry and commerce.

We are beginning with a grant for New Kampala, a 160 acre site in the centre of Uganda’s capital city. The process, a public private partnership, with government has been long but ultimately rewarding and the masterplan will design a city based on our highest expectations with consideration for energy, clean water, sewage and transportation. We are now going through planning permission for 1700 affordable homes on the site.

A decade ago no one believed, The Economist called it “The Hopeless Continent”. It damned Sierra Leone as an exemplar for the continent’s fortunes: “Sierra Leone manifests all the continent’s worst characteristics.

It is an extreme, but not untypical, example of a state with all the epiphenomena and none of the institutions of government.

It has poverty and disease in abundance, and riches too:

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 60

05/06/2013 08:46

its diamonds sustain the rebels who terrorise the place. It is unusual only in its brutality: rape, cannibalism and amputation have been common, with children often among the victims…

In itself, Sierra Leone is of no great importance. If it makes any demands on the world’s attention, beyond the simple one of sympathy for its people, it is as a symbol for Africa. “ By 2012, it’s peace enshrined, the IMF had estimated that with GDP growth of 35%, Sierra Leone had the fastest growing economy in the world. And now an analysis by The Economist reveals that over the ten years to 2010, six out of the world’s fastest-growing economies were in Sub Sahara Africa.

Reality is a combination of what is there, what we think is there and what could be there. It is almost impossible for humans to describe what is actually there: there is too much information for them to digest, too much opportunity for omissions, to great a reliance on perception. It requires the impossibility of perfect knowledge. It is also insufficient for us to make – except in emergencies and perhaps for day-to-day interaction - decisions based only on what we think is there. What we think is an exegetic analysis. It is still too laden with prejudice, too inward looking to be useful in creating anything much more than inertia.

It is wiser to concentrate our vision of Africa, instead on what could be there. To change the continent, we must overlay our

perception of it with its potentials and possibilities. To create an Africa of clean water, homes worthy of the name and lights that never grow dim, we must choose amongst those alternative futures of Africa, the most positive. This is leadership – to strive for the best.

To choose, without fear or compromise, from those Africas which could exist, those that would be best for all of its people, for its environment and for the globe. Back in 2007 when we first conceived, with Prince Hassan Kimbugwe, of Made In Africa, co-hosting the state banquet for the African Union in Ghana before 53 African presidents, our vision seemed an impossible dream.

All revolutionary dreams whether political or economic, right or left require us to make bold steps and throw caution to the wind. As African revolutionary, Thomas Sankara said: “I would like to leave behind me the conviction that if we maintain a certain amount of caution and organisation we deserve victory. You can not carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. In this case, it comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invest the future.

It took the madmen of yesterday for us to act with extreme clarity today. We must dare to invent the future” n

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 61

61 05/06/2013 08:46

The entrepreneurs who are redefining Africa’s “big man” image

David Rice is a professor at New York University and the University of Nairobi, and the Africa Advisor to the Milken Institute in California.

E

VEN AS some of Africa’s most ruthless dictators – Amin, Taylor, Gaddafi – have fallen, the prevailing image of Africa’s leaders in much of the world continues to be dominated by the traditional “big man” persona. Certainly, and unfortunately, the big man culture prevails in certain corners of the continent, but as these outof-touch men age and the world changes around them, their days are indeed numbered. The Africans who will rise to take their place will not wield power through fear and intimidation, but rather

62

through hope and opportunity. And they won’t all be men.

Hollywood has helped perpetuate the image of the larger-than-life, boisterous, arrogant, and ruthless leader surrounded by terrified sycophants pledging blind loyalty for the sake of self-preservation, carrying out the boss’ orders to terrorize their impoverished fellow citizens into submission, while the leader drowns in garish opulence. Blood Diamond. Lord of War. Machine Gun Preacher. The Last King of Scotland. These films are

entertaining and, in some cases, based on elements of truth, but the real Africa is no longer dominated by the caricatures so commonly portrayed on the big screen. Today’s rising stars in Africa are the entrepreneurs. The business leaders.

The risk-takers. The innovators. The job-creators.

Although the widely heralded “African Renaissance” is real, it is far from a certainty. The continent is still home to the largest concentration of the world’s poorest people as well as war, disease,

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 62

05/06/2013 08:46

following a long and arduous court battle against the Mugabe government, which had denied him the right to start a private telephone company. One of Africa’s quintessential “big men” was defeated by a tenacious and ingenious businessman who has gone on to create a US$3 billion company operating in more than 17 countries around the world.

hunger, and widening inequality. But the biggest threat to Africa’s future is the explosion of working-age youth whose prospects for gainful, upwardly mobile employment remain bleak. By 2025, two-thirds of Africa’s population will be under 25 years of age. Today, 54 percent of Africa’s youth are unemployed and nearly three-quarters live on less than two dollars a day. And the big men who remain, despite all of their wealth and power, cannot solve this looming economic and political crisis.

The African leaders who will shape the continent’s future will not be found in the halls of government or the backrooms of state-owned enterprises, but in the board rooms of public companies and the in open marketplaces across the continent

and around the world.

Little Man makes it Big. Strive Masiyawa’s parents fled Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, so that their son could grow up in a country where he had access to opportunities not afforded to him in his white-controlled homeland. As a young man growing up in England, Strive longed to return home and join the armed struggle against the ruling white minority. But with the war nearly won, he was encouraged to stay and graduate from the University of Edinburgh because what the new country would need more than anything else was educated people who could help rebuild the economy. Strive’s investment in his education paid off when he founded Econet Wireless in Zimbabwe

Tony the Turn Around Tiger. Tony Elumelu first earned his reputation as a fearless risk-taker when he assumed the helm of Standard Trust Bank, a small and struggling commercial bank before he took over. At the core of his turn-around strategy was a focus on financial inclusion by bringing the bank to every corner of Nigeria. The bank developed innovative new products and targeted markets that other banks ignored, quickly making STB one of the country’s most accessible and welcomed banks recognized for serving everyone, regardless of social class. In 1997, Tony leveraged STB’s strong financial position and acquired United Bank of Africa – a Lagos-based bank in the midst of a death spiral. Again, despite the odds, he transformed the bank into a successful Pan-African financial services giant with a presence in 19 countries on three continents and a market capitalization of US$2 billion. Having successfully turned two banks around from collapse and making them into market leaders, Tony stepped down as CEO of UBA in 2010 in order to launch Heirs Holdings, an African-focused investment holding company, which in three short years is once again proving to be a leading innovator in Africa’s burgeoning financial sector.

The King of African Coffee. More than 10 years ago, Ugandan entrepreneur Andrew Rugasira had a vision to start a coffee company in Uganda’s Rwenzori mountains, a region struggling in the shadow of ongoing violence just across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From the outset, Andrew knew he was a pioneer in his quest to become the first African to grow, collect, roast and sell premium quality coffee directly to British supermarkets.

He also knew that this venture

>>

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 63

63 05/06/2013 08:46

>>

would be proof-positive that Africa’s future was not based on the amount of aid it received from foreigners, but how effectively Africans created trading relationships with the rest of the world. As such, Andrew named his venture “Good African Coffee”, capturing the values of his company and the incredibly positive, and empowering, impact it would have on the lives of the 14,000 subsistence farmers in the mountain villages from which he would source his coffee beans. Now, a variety of Good African brands can be found on the shelves of stores throughout the United Kingdom and America, and the company has launched a line of teas which are surely soon to follow suit.

A Girl Gro-ing Places.

Gro Ventures founder and CEO Sara Menker is a selfproclaimed “nerd” with a big idea about how big data can help transform Africa’s economic landscape. As the world wakes up to the endless opportunities on the continent, every investor and entrepreneur – both foreign and domestic – have a common challenge: access to timely, reliable data. So urgent is the problem that the African Development Bank launched a multi-million dollar initiative only a nerd would love – a program designed to “strengthen the statistical capacity for reliable and timely data to support… the results agenda for development effectiveness.” But Sara, building off of her experience as a Vice President in Morgan Stanley’s Commodities Group, decided she could do it better, so she chose to focus on innovative ways to gather data on commodities in order to unlock the vast untapped economic value and new financial tools for investment and development of capital markets. One innovation is using cell phones to gather

64

Pictured above clockwise - Sarah Menker, Andrew Rugasira, Strive Masiyawa and Tony Elumelu

data on, for example, agriculture production yields from individual farmers in real time. She recently launched in additional business unit – Gro Energy – in order to tackle another of Africa’s fundamental challenges in need of good numbers as well as advice on how to build the policy, business, financial, and physical infrastructure to fuel Africa’s economic engine.

The African Entrepreneurial Ethos These examples of entrepreneurial leadership in telecommunications, banking, agriculture and big data, from Zimbabwe, to Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia and beyond are small representations of big ideas that will transform the continent. The commonality among them goes beyond a shared willingness to take risks, slay sacred

cows, trust in innovation, and count on the inherent ingenuity of their fellow Africans. Perhaps most importantly, these big men and women believe in spreading the empowerment they embody to others as the only true answer to Africa’s development.

Machiavelli famously said that it is better to be feared than loved. The Massai of the Rift Valley advise: “If on the path you come to face a lion, he will attack if only if you show fear. Rather than run, stand your ground and he will back down.” Africa’s rule through fear is coming to an end. Democracy has sunk its teeth into the continent’s ethos, and although a few dictatorships cling to traditional “big man” rule, their days are ultimately numbered.

Strive, Tony, Andrew and Sara – the homegrown entrepreneurs who will inspire emulation rather than perpetuate repression through intimidation, personify the heroes rising along with the prospects of an African Renaissance.

Through their success, hope will triumph over despair. Respect over fear.

Empowerment rather than dependence.

The future belongs to them and the future is bright. n

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 64

05/06/2013 08:46

David Adjaye OBE is Principal Architect of Adjaye Associates in London and Berlin. His practice has won numerous prestigious global commissions, including in Russia, USA and Africa. Having spent some of his childhood around Africa – starting in Tanzania – he returned as an Architect and spent

ZeitgeistAfrica

10 years travelling and photographing African cities, profiling their urban areas in a global context.

Here, Adjaye gives us his thoughts on the ‘Future of African Urbanism’

“T

HE CURRENT explosion of growth across Africa’s cities presents a transformational moment for African architecture. A vision for the future of urbanism on the continent requires a clear understanding of the historical references – from the empires and kingdoms through to the enforced European encounter and latterly the enthusiastic embrace of modernity that established the image of independence for so many nations. In parallel, a manifesto for urban development demands a contextual language that is distinct from the language of politics. The culture of the African city is hybridized and the African

citizen sees himself – reads himself – through his local condition, his ethnic group, which is his history, and through his colonial experience, which is his modernity. People do not operate within a single or a double consciousness, but within a quadruple consciousness. The key is to align this metaphysical fact with the physical fabric of the city. To this end, it is useful to look beyond national borders and instead to seek a more elemental reading of the continent.

"I believe there is now an opportunity (for Africa) to create extraordinary architecture that is both the agent and

David Adjaye OBE

image of positive social change for the continent."My ten-year study of the capital cities of Africa was based on categorizing them according to their position in one of six geographic regions: the Maghreb, Desert, the Sahel, Savanna and Grassland, Forest, and Mountain and Highveld.

As suggested by their names, each region has a different

>>

“I believe there is now an opportunity (for Africa) to create extraordinary architecture”

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 65

05/06/2013 08:46

>>

climate and vegetation, as well as its own history and culture.

The thesis of my study is that the unique conditions in each region have had a decisive effect on the architecture and urbanism there. This is especially clear in the capital cities of the countries concerned.

Due to its Mediterranean coastline, the Maghreb is quite different from the other geographic regions. Its cities’ historic role as centres of trade, mean that they appear to offer a sense of protection, like citadels, and this seems to have been their overriding inspiration. Desert cities tend to evolve near water. Cairo and Khartoum, for example are located on rivers, with lush river architecture dominating. There is trade everywhere and the compactness of the urban

fabric gives shade. In the cities of the Sahel, there is a very clear layering of the relationship with the countryside, and of how the city engages with its hinterland. Because the landscape is on the threshold between vegetation and desert, the domestic architecture is generally horizontal – a cellular, atria-like architecture – while the civic buildings often take the form of emphatic vertical symbols.

an architecture of fertility. The roof architecture of Freetown is a good example of the language of form that is necessary to deal with the heavy rains.

The Mountain and Highveld region is distinguished by its high elevation and precipitation, and lush vegetation with an often bucolic landscape. This is reflected in the picturesque, suburb-like quality that you find in many of these cities.

The architecture of the Savanna and Grassland has to come to terms with the strength of the light and the need for shade. This explains the brise-soleil architecture, the vernacular roofs or deeply recessed arcades. The Forest is where the wetlands are, where the tropical rains dominate and there is

Moving forward, I believe it is crucial to deconstruct the idea of the nation state and instead, to discuss the development of urbanism in Africa with reference to regional specificity. It is widely recognised that the diversity of nature and climate has directly informed African art and artefacts for centuries.

So too should architecture and the future development of Africa’s cities be understood as a response to climate, culture and geography. An architecture that derives inspiration from ‘place’ will articulate a compelling sense of place and have a stronger social relevance.

I believe there is now an opportunity to create extraordinary architecture that is both the agent and image of positive social change for the continent.” n

“The architecture of the Savanna and Grassland has to come to terms with the strength of the light and the need for shade”

66

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 66

05/06/2013 08:46

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 67

67 05/06/2013 08:47

The road to zero

B

ONOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MUCH-tweeted TED talk launched the concept of 'factivism' and spotlighted Ghana, a West African country usually regarded as one of the continent's better managed and more successful "lions". The facts about Ghana's journey towards ending extreme poverty - and zeroing out aid - has much to teach all African citizens and their development friends overseas, especially as the Group of 8 leaders consider the complex interrelation of transparency tax and trade in mid June, and African policy makers consider their positions ahead of the Millennium Development Goals being rewritten after the 2015 deadline.

How will Ghana spread growth uniformly to its citizens, while avoiding entrenched inequalities? How to reinvest natural resource revenues into transformational physical and human infrastructure, and not pervert into maldevelopment as too often in the past? What are the lessons in all this for the rest of Africa?

In 2007, Ghana took a turn for what statisticians call 'low middle-income status', meaning that average annual income started to quietly creep over $1,200 per capita. The number living in extreme poverty (defined as under $1.25 a day) has dropped from over 50% to under 27% in 20 years - and at that rate should plummet to zero by 2025. Extreme poverty data are often unreliable, but this positive trend is corroborated by other data on reductions in hunger, trends in family sizes, child

mortality and so on. This trend is real. Ghana can take the extreme poverty rate to zero in ten years. Zero - that is a number to remember. And rejoice over.

But it's too soon to hoot with joy. Ghana, like most African countries, still has to grapple with entrenched inequality and extreme poverty in some parts. Take northern Ghana and the savannah region for instance.There, nearly 60% of the people fall within the unfortunate extreme poverty bracket.

What is interesting is that Ghana now is in a position to develop an 'internal Aid' program. A new Savannah Accelerated Development Authority covers the poorer North and though it could do with more transparency and better management, at least it's a start. The program is uncannily similar to Aid from a rich country to a poor one, even using some of the same methodologies, but the Ghanaians are the ones in charge.

So how is Ghana making its money? Over the last decade and a half GDP has grown nine-fold. The domestic tax base has expanded dramatically in absolute terms: the current tax revenue amount of about $6.5 billion represents a fourfold increase in tax revenue over the decade, with oil revenues expected to further boost sums available.

Clearly, much depends on how effectively the government accounts for the use of these financial resources. All too often the focus is on corruption-prevention, and justifiably so. But it is also becoming clear that 'performance-accountability' is just as important. Officials who turn out to be square pegs in round holes may not steal the funds, but they can waste it on poorly thought-through or executed schemes and the results would be no different.

The good news is that there is an avalanche of innovations which are helping fight such corruption and inefficiency. For example the World Bank's Service Delivery Indicators help

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Officials who turn out to be square pegs in round holes may not steal the funds, but they can waste it on poorly thought-through or executed schemesâ&#x20AC;?

68

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 68

05/06/2013 08:47

policy-makers and citizens precisely track resources into real results and should be more widely adopted and adapted throughout the continent. The Open Budget Index shows which budgets are open to citizens, and the Mo Ibrahim Governance Index allows citizens to see how their government fares against its peers. Such initiatives as Revenue Watch, Publish What You Pay, Ghana Integrity Initiative, the Public Interest Accountability Committee, are all empowering people and well intentioned policymakers.

These programs resonate with Africa-wide trends such as the African Peer Review Mechanism, and Africa 2.0 (www.africa2point0.org<http://www.africa2point0.org>).

Indeed ONE's DATA Report, released today, a publication associated with berating the G8 for not keeping aid promises, this year turns its forensic eye on African leaders promises to the poor. It finds that $243bn dollars more will be available for health and agriculture and education between 2013-2015 if African leaders keep their promises. It's a great fact for factivists: by far the main source of money promised for African development is African.

Often Ghana is leading the pack in providing empowering facts to the 'informed masses' (whom Bono dubs "factivists") as well as the technocratic elite. These innovations promise actual cultural change. That means going beyond formal educational systems and encouraging a 'climate of ideas' with vibrant debate in the media and between Ghanaian think tanks. Ultimately these innovations help strengthen what we can call a country's "ultrastructure". These are the underlying systems

that ensure that resources (whether its aid, credit, or commodity revenues) can be turned into results - (roads, rail, ports, dams, energy production, shopping malls, schools, clinics) - which are accessible, equitable and ultimately transformational for all citizens and not just the urban elite.

As all this happens we won't just be helping people eke out a life at a mere $1.26 a day. Once out of extreme poverty people don't stop there - they push forth to seek out more economic opportunity. As a result African factivists describing this future must teach their friends around the world the language not just of "poverty elimination" but of "opportunity maximisation".

Through the G8 we will hear calls for a Transparency Revolution. Based on Ghana's experience, such calls can only be made meaningful through political and financial investment into transparency, accountability, good ol' high quality data, and those organs of government, civil society and the media which share these statistics with citizens. Bono's factivism isn't some nerdy subculture. Factivists are taking the important debates of our time from margins to mainstream, and thereby unleashing the ultrastructure that will ultimately help Ghanaian and other African citizens drive towards the end of extreme poverty in Africa - and the arrival of an age of extreme opportunity for all. n

Jamie Drummond

Bono.

THE KNIGHT.

BORN 10 May 1960 RESIDENCE Ireland, New York.

NATIONALITY Irish OCCUPATION Musician, singer-songwriter, activist, philanthropist KNOWN FOR Main vocalist and lyricist of the Dublin-based rock band U2 BONO IS also widely known for his activism concerning Africa, for which he co-founded DATA, EDUN, the ONE Campaign and Product Red. Bono has been praised and criticised for his activism and involvement with U2. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and, with Bill and Melinda Gates, was named Time Person of the Year in 2005, among other awards and nominations.

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 69

69 05/06/2013 08:47

Why racism doesn’t go away

D

IFFERENTIAL TREATMENT of people by race and colour persists, despite the fact that racism is illegal in most of the world.

Racism is most persistence in countries with long histories of legalized segregation and discrimination like the United States and South Africa. When the roots of this problem are explored closely, we see a pattern of treatment that is based on the mistaken belief that groups differ in their intellectual capacities and potential, their moral resolve, and behavioral predilections, and that these qualities are related to skin colour and race. The persistence of hidden and strong racism is rooted to deep-seated beliefs in biogenetic determinism, and the conviction that different groups of people are born with different inherent capacities, and that these determine a natural social order. That such ideas continue in the 21st century is viewed with disbelief by academics and scientists, who are quick to cite evidence that biological races don’t exist and that races are “only” social constructs. Despite ever more genetic evidence confirming the nonexistence of races, beliefs in the inherent superiority and inferiority of people remain part of the modern world.

Many of these are based on a belief in a natural hierarchy of skin colour, and the conviction that human worth grades from white to black.

We notice skin colour because it is our most visible trait and because we are highly visually oriented animals. This doesn’t mean that we are genetically “programmed” to be biased, rather that we form our impressions of others and the world around us primarily through what we see. We observe people around us keenly, and we imitate. As

70

small children, we pick up on the subtle visual and verbal cues of our parents and caregivers. The transmission of bias starts slowly and subtly. Our minds appear to be organized in a way that makes it easy to classify people into distinct groups and then to favor our own group, the “in-group.” But our reactions toward members of out-groups are not automatically negative and they are not all or nothing. Stereotypes are created by repeated reinforcement of positive or negative associations with different people. Verbal labels that we affix to

Nina G. Jablonski, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, U.S.A.

stereotypes can have a potent and longlasting effect on our future attitudes.

The philosopher Immanuel Kant (17241804) was the first person to classify people into fixed races according to skin colour. To him and his followers, skin colour was equated with character.

People of darker-coloured races were inferior and destined to serve those of lighter-coloured races. Kant’s ideas about colour, race, and character achieved wide and lasting acceptance because

his writings were widely circulated, his reputation good, and his audience naïve.

The “colour meme” was born.

The linking of blackness with otherness and inferiority was one of the most powerful and destructive intellectual constructs of all time. Views on the inherent superiority and inferiority of races were readily embraced by the intelligentsia of western Europe and eventually by the general populace because they supported existing stereotypes. Negative associations of dark skin and human worth became profitable with the development and expansion of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Industrial-scale enslavement of Africans was made socially tolerable when those being enslaved where considered low and fit only for servitude.

Belief in the inferiority of the dark-skinned peoples of Africa became ever more pronounced with intensification of the slave trade.

By the early 19th century, darkly pigmented skin signified inferiority and the prospect of profit through slavery, while the possession of lightly pigmented or “white” skin became the norm from which others deviated. The domination of white Europeans over the darker races was deviously justified because of the unshakeable yet erroneous belief that skin colour was inextricably linked to morality, economy, aesthetics, and language. The rise of Social Darwinism in the late 19th century further reinforced the notion that the

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 70

05/06/2013 08:47

This map is copyright George Chaplin 2011.

The map is based on the map of predicted skin colors I supplied to you via an earlier email. Like the original map, it is a prediction of skin pigmentation based on environmental variables, primarily ultraviolet radiation (UVR). The current map does not reflect the reality of skin pigmentation as much as the original map, however, because it shows pigmentation existing in discrete zones. Such zones don’t exist in reality because skin pigmentation changes gradually as you move south to north or vice versa. Because of this, the current map is more of a simulation than a prediction.

It was also re-worked with Adobe Photoshop to remove small “islands” of color to smooth edge effects. superiority of the white race was part of the natural order because certain “stocks” were more highly evolved and culturally superior because of their “fitness” and “adaptations.” The meme took on scientific trappings! In the United States and South Africa, the two countries in which subjugation and exploitation of dark-skinned labour was the cornerstone of economic growth, hierarchies of colour were maintained by legal institutions and rhetorical traditions of superiority and inferiority.

Over many generations, ideologies of colour-based race became rigid as they were collectively reinforced by stereotypes and multiple cultural traditions. Races persisted along with the implicit hierarchies they imposed.

Race labels that are associated with negative depictions and narratives can have powerful effects on members

of out-groups and can also have remarkable effects on in-groups by planting in people’s minds the idea that their own group is superior, inferior, smarter, stupider, stronger, or weaker than another. The race label itself thus becomes determinative of personality and individual experience, and itself a destination.

Erroneous and deep-seated notions about race persist because we are scared to discuss misconceptions about colour and race in our classrooms and boardrooms. Paranoia about race born of political correctness had led to the perpetuation of misconceptions about colour and race, the cloaking of discriminatory behaviour and language, and the persistent of racism. Racism is probably humanity’s single biggest impediment to human achievement, the

realization of world peace, and our ability to face the challenges of global climatic change. Far from intractable, the problem of racism can gradually be eradicated by education of the world’s youth. The colour meme need not direct our destiny. Human attitudes are constantly subject to revision through experience and, more importantly, conscious choice.

Biases can be modified and eradicated on the basis of experience and motivation, and stereotypes can be changed when people are motivated to think about someone, in any way, as a member of their own group. We are all one people. n

Nina G.Jablonski DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 71

71 05/06/2013 08:47

Profit with purpose

T

HE LAST decade has seen the beginning of a sea-change in perspectives on how business, finance and investment relate to wider social and environmental issues.

Concerns ranging from the widening gap between rich and poor, to the challenges of climate change, or the volatility of our financial system and its impact on society, are pushing social and environmental impact to the centre of investors’ agenda.

Since it was founded in 2002, specialist fund manager Bridges Ventures has played an important role in this fastchanging investment environment, having

successfully backed businesses that combine strong commercial returns with positive social impacts. In the process, the team is showing that entrepreneurship and hands-on investment can be powerful tools to address some of the challenges facing society today.

As some of the world’s most innovative and entrepreneurial minds gather in London for the DNA Summit, Bridges decided to partner with DNA to run the ‘Profit with Purpose Prize’ - a unique opportunity for a charismatic entrepreneur with a passion to make a difference to secure a £100k equity investment and hands-on support from

Michele Giddens

Bridges and a group of angel investors who have agreed not only to fund the prize, but also to dedicate time to take part in the selection process and provide on-going support to the winner.

The search started in March with a call for applications from UK-based entrepreneurs who were already running a scalable business with the potential to deliver strong commercial results and high social impact. A charismatic and passionate individual, the ideal candidate would also be able to inspire others by showing it is possible to build a sustainable, profitable business that can really make a positive contribution

The three finalists for the “DNA Profit with Purpose Prize” are: REVISION APP – JERMAINE HAGAN

COMPARE AND SHARE – BENITA MATOFSKA

FOUNDED BY Jermaine Hagan with the aim to improve access to educational content, Revision App was developed to make mobile learning simple. Whether it is fractions or Spanish verbs, Revision App uses professionally-developed educational content, a unique algorithm and an easy to use graphical interface to provide users with an effective and affordable mobile learning solution. The current suite of 8 apps delivers a revision session every 30 seconds to a user-base of 500,000 students through a combination of flashcards and audio & video clips available on their smartphones. The business operates a freemium revenue model, with users offered a basic level of content for free and a more comprehensive package at a cost. Revision App has proven hugely popular amongst students, ranking #1 in Apple’s App Store Education chart for 21 days and featured as their “Top Education App” in both 2012 & 2013.

COMPARE AND Share is the world’s first comparison marketplace for the Sharing Economy - a one-stop online aggregator where people can find and compare products and services which aim to save money and reduce waste through the sharing of resources. Compare and Share has initially focussed on aggregating car sharing services - the fastest growing segment of the Sharing Economy and plans to expand into the comparison of travel, property, peer2peer rental, skills, employment and finance services. The business operates a lead-generation revenue model, which relies on payments from service providers for driving consumer traffic to their sites.

Founded by Benita Matofska, their goal is to become the first “global consumer-facing social-impact brand connecting people with each other and with the goods, services and experiences they want”.

72

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 72

05/06/2013 14:25

to society.

The competition attracted more than 75 entries, and 13 candidates were invited to pitch in front of the Bridges team and the angel investors. Businesses ranged from sustainable food sourcing to waste management solutions, to education and training apps, to charitable fundraising platforms. What all the candidates had in common was a passion to grow a business that could generate strong profits and contribute to make the world a better place.

The high quality of applications made it very difficult to narrow down the search to the three finalists who will now face a panel of judges composed of successful entrepreneurs and investment

professionals including Richard Reed (Innocent Drinks), Graham Hill (Treehugger.com), Mark Florman (DNA), Joe Fairley (Green & Black) and Michele Giddens (Bridges Ventures), among others.

Bridges Ventures and the angel investors would like to take this opportunity to thank all the talented, inspiring entrepreneurs who entered the “DNA Profit with Purpose Prize” and congratulate the three finalists for having advanced to the final stage of the competition.

The winner of the “DNA Profit with Purpose Prize” will be announced at the DNA Summit on June 13. n

“The high quality of applications made it very difficult to narrow down the search to the three finalists” TIMTO – NATHAN & LUKE CORNISH TIMTO HAS developed a unique gifting platform, “Uplifting Gifting”, which aims to reduce the wastage of unwanted gifts and make donating to charity an integral part of any gifting occasion. The platform allows a user to invite a group of friends to chip-in to a gift fund, which can then be used to purchase a desired item, whilst donating to charity at the same time. Unlike other businesses in the space, Timto’s revenue model does not rely on a cut from the funds ear-marked for donation or the purchase of a desired gift, but from the commissions earned through the platform’s retail partners. As such, Uplifting Giving is free to both charities and users, and also welcomed by retailers who value the incremental business – a powerful economic and high impact model. Brothers Nathan and Luke have seen their young start-up receive very promising traction from both major charities and retailers, who are keen to promote the service to their donors and customers, respectively.

ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATORS LOUIS C.K Everyone in Hollywood wants to replicate the comic’s direct online relationship with fans, which has translated to C.K being able to sell comedy specials and concert tickets through his personal website.

JESSICA ALBA

The world’s most famous ‘mompreneur’ has built her eco-friendly baby-products e-commerce business. Alba’s hot new startup, The Honest Company, has succeeded to impress.

Not only does it offer organic baby products, it also adds prenatal health & wellness products to its selection, aimed at green living parents.

ASHTON KUTCHER

Kutcher is as much an angelic investor as an actor these days. He now has stakes in Fab, Fancy Dwolla, and Zaarly- and has inspired a wave of celebrities to follow his lead in funding tech companies.

It may have inspired Bieber’s investment into the successful Spotify.

JENNIFER ANNISTON

Her locks are as famous as she is, and Anniston negotiated an equity stake and a role in the promising hair-care startup living proof in exchange for her first U.S. hair-care endorsement.

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 73

73 05/06/2013 08:47

In anticipation of the DNA Summit, Julie Woods-Moss gave us some time and shared her thoughts on women and business, her personal mentors and team building. Woods-Moss joined Tata Communications in September 2012 as Chief Marketing Officer. Prior to that she had been focused on Woods-Moss Holdings, worked for IBM, BT and others. A campaign for Formula 1 brought Woods-Moss together with Tata and her re-entry to corporate.

“I

WAS helping Formula 1 on a project and ultimately, Tata decided to partner with Formula 1. When the deal was done, the CEO asked me if I would help them set things up on various projects and one thing led to another…and ultimately, the CEO asked me to join on full-time basis which I did in September. I started off not wanting to rejoin corporate for a number of reasons, but I ended up falling in love with these mad Tata people. It’s a very different culture from the other companies I’ve worked for. It’s a little bit strange to describe, but there’s a feeling that you’re part of a family. Obviously, there’s an expectation on performance, but it’s not just about performance. You can’t perform and not be a team player.

You can’t perform and not support your colleagues. You can’t perform and behave badly. Behaving well is as important as performing well. This is not always the case [with other companies].

Tata demands a lot of you, but it’s a more forgiving culture and it’s also a culture that demands a very high standard of behavior.”

Woods-Moss is participating in the DNA Summit for the second year. This year she’ll sit on the panel: Business As Unusual – Technology & Innovation, Women Leading The Way. In the spirit of collaboration and innovation, we talked about mentors and what she’s learned from the people she’s worked for. Her list of mentors is impressive, but not more so than the lessons she’s taken away and her striving to apply what she’s learned in every day business situations.

“My formative years I was very fortunate to work at IBM and I had a decade at IBM. One of the people who gave me my first career break was a guy called Robert Youngjohns and he went on to run Microsoft in the Americas. [Most

74

recently] he’s CEO at Autonomy. He actually was a big champion of women in business. He was one of the few people in IBM who had 50% women and 50% men on his team. He was a great delegator and he taught me that the best attribute in business is to have the ability to build world-class teams and let them shine. I remember that I hadn’t been in my role for very long and the chairman of IBM visited, at that time it was Lou Gerstner and Robert carved up the day.

He gave me 90 minutes, gave another lady time and he had almost no time with the chairman personally. Reflecting on that at the end of the day, he said that he wanted to show the depths of the talent that he’s able to attract and inspire.

That lesson at 26 was a very important lesson because it gave me the gene of generosity. Sometimes it’s better to be the coach on the sidelines, watching protégé show their talent than necessarily always having to be the one that’s center stage.

It’s a business and leadership philosophy that’s served me extremely well.”

Support in decision-making and taking calculated risks also came from her time at IBM when Woods-Moss worked with Edmund Hug, who was chairman of IBM Germany. Francois Barrault at BT was inspiring for other reasons.

“He had such ambitions for BT. He used to say that when everyone else is looking at their finger, you keep looking at the moon. Don’t be constrained. Never stop creating ideas. He was also a very charismatic speaker and networker.

He helped me understand that life isn’t always linear. Sometimes you have to go right and left to then leap forward. He was extremely supportive of women.”

In her current work with Tata CEO, Vinod Kumar, Woods-Moss talked about Kumar’s ability and warmth with people.

She’s learned from his straightforward

Julie Woods-Moss

A Conversation about Collaboration & Mentorship

style and appreciation of his team’s resourcefulness. She credits his leadership style as one of the reasons she returned to the corporate world.

The DNA Summit brings together innovative thinkers whose experience and perspective has translated into real world success and collaboration. Along with her varied business background, WoodsMoss brings a practical, flexible attitude toward work and schedules and the time pressures both men and women face.

“When I have women work for me, I tell them that there’s nothing you can ask of me that I won’t have done myself. I had a baby and didn’t take any time off, before or after. I had a second baby and took two years off. I’ve worked part-time.

I’ve worked in corporate. I’ve worked non-corporate. I’ve had women who worked for me who’ve done job shares, literally 2.5 days each a week. I’ve done the 3-day week where I’ve personally paid for my insurance. I don’t think there’s any bad way of working. I always say to women, particularly as they’re looking to make certain changes in their life— getting married, having children of their own, having to be primary caregiver for a relative who needs support—I always say to men and women, particularly women because they tend to be less confident about what they’re able to contribute, just tell me the truth of what you’re able to do with nothing held back and we will then try to see if we can make that work.”

Innovation takes place in large-scale leaps on projects that amaze with new technology, mechanisms or perspective.

Equally needed are the innovations in thought that shape our work environments, attitudes toward co-workers and means to achieving our goals. Julie Woods-Moss is a leader for both men and women in this arena. n

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 74

05/06/2013 08:47

A

LONG WITH the invention of the Internet’s social media, came a slight shift in traditional media power. Slowly but undeniably, the people, meaning us, became less dependent on printed newspapers and television news and more interested in the Twitter’s ‘trending’ topics. We, as a collection of individuals, realized that the Internet gives us what the media never has, our own voice.

Twitter is a portal for just that. It offers its 500 million users a profile to share their own views with. In addition it gathers a collection of expressions, news, promotions, and advertisements from all over the

Power to the people world, easily accessible. A Twitter user needs rarely to tune in for the 6 O’clock news, when they can access all of that from other outlets online, 24 hours a day.

Although Twitter and Facebook are the most popular Internet phenomenons, the world’s voice is being strengthened by many websites.

Guardian Development Network The Guardian development network is a section of the newspapers website dedicated to informing Guardian readers of developments taking place elsewhere. It is a place keeping alive those countries that aren’t being profiled by other media outlets in the western world.

Change.org Current CEO Ben Rattray launched Change.org on February 7, 2007. The website is the place to go to when change needs to be made. For no price, change.org makes starting a petition easy to do and possible to expand.

Asking people to sign a petition can often be difficult and tedious. What’s more is people often doubt their own power in succeeding in their cause. With change. org people are given a chance to make an effort in their movement, with the hope of success.

Issues in aiding gender equality are being accomplished through Change.org, their homepage is a clear example of the success stories they are piling up. The Japanese women’s soccer team’s rights were improved through a petition with over 20,000 names. The idea for a petition was triggered when the female soccer team was flown in economy while their male teammates were placed in business class. The female players felt they needed to fight these subtle inequalities, which they did through Change. org. Stories such as these are only encouraging more and more people to feel empowered.

Demotix.com

It is estimated that 60% of the earth is uncovered by news correspondents. This means that when a newsworthy event takes place somewhere in this surplus half of the world, our broadcasters will find it more difficult to retrieve photographic evidence. The people living these stories, whether good or bad, have been given an opportunity to share.

Demotix is a website that is said to give the man and (often more importantly) woman on the street a voice. Whether they’re in Azerbaijan or Zanzibar. A space where they can tell their stories, build communities, and get their news out to the world.

Images from attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, the Arab Spring and the 2011 UK riots have been shared and bought through demotix. Demotix’s clients, who purchase the images, giving half the profit to the photographer. These have included newspapers such as The New York Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, and Le Monde. The website has received a great amount of recognition for building a link between amateur photographers and the media.

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 75

75 05/06/2013 13:21

Paul Allan GRAND MASTER

BORN 21 JANUARY 1953 RESIDENCE Settle, Washington. United States NATIONALITY American OCCUPATION Inventor, Investor and Philanthropist.

KNOWN FOR Co-founder Microsoft As of March 2013, Paul Allen was estimated to be the 53rd-richest person in the world, with an estimated wealth of $15 billion. He is the founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc., which manages his various business and philanthropic efforts. Allen also has a multi-billion dollar investment portfolio including technology companies, real estate holdings, and stakes in other technology, media, and content companies.

Allen also owns two professional sports teams, the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), and the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also part-owner of the Seattle Sounders FC, which joined Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2009. Allen’s memoir Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft was released on April 19, 2011. The paperback version of Idea Man, which included a new epilogue, came out on October 30, 2012.

Nick D’Aloisio THE INITIATE

BORN 1 November 1995 RESIDENCE London, England NATIONALITY British- Australian OCCUPATION Computer Programmer, Enrepreneur KNOWN FOR Designing multi-national news aggregation program Summly.

Nick D’Aloisio has been recognised as the youngest person to receive a round of venture capital in technology at just 15 years of age.

D’Aloisio’s business partners include Li Ka-Shing, Rupert Murdoch, Ashton Kutcher, Stephen Fry, Yoko Ono and Mark Pincus, among others. As of March, 2013 Summly was sold to Yahoo for a reported $30 million US dollars making him one of the youngest self made millionaires ever.

76

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 76

05/06/2013 17:40

GDX CONNECT

UNLOCKING BRAND VALUE THROUGH PRICELESS PARTNERSHIPS

ENGAGE. UNLOCK. EXPERIENCE. GDX CONNECT

A BOUNDLESS NETWORK OF CREATIVE POTENTIAL

www.gdxconnect.com (password: connect)

info@gdxconnect.com

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 77

77 05/06/2013 08:47

UnGrounded

foreword

P

IONEERING SPIRIT is at the heart of British Airways. This has led us to claim many ‘firsts’ when it comes to product and service innovation, with the first commercial scheduled service, the first commercial jet service, the first commercial supersonic service, and the first fully flat-bed. However, we don’t look back, we look ahead. Our ‘futures’ program tests new ideas, explores where we can go next, and who can come on the journey with us.

Our futures program recognizes a very important truth - innovation is changing. New technologies, the explosion of data, and open platforms make partnerships and collaboration easier than ever before. It also changes the way we can connect with people and customize our services. We have converted complex big data into simple customer experiences that allow us to deliver truly personalized service where it matters most.

This digital era is characterized by new levels of transparency and co-operation and at British Airways we are embracing this across our business. We are opening up our API’s in a move to build meaningful relationships with developers all over the world, to further improve the

travel experience. We are testing new ways to book tickets, board aircraft, inspire travel, reward frequent travelers and equally importantly, new ways to fuel planes through bio waste, to reduce environmental impact.

It is the concept of partnership that is the essence of the ‘UnGrounded’ innovation flight and our business. We bring people together from all over the world, every day, to build relationships and progress ideas. We believe this flight can do the same to help accelerate global innovation.

UnGrounded brings a group of 100 passionate, inspiring individuals to work on a global technology challenge, developed with the United Nations ITU. The group, selected by experts and advisers in Silicon Valley, is made up of a variety of leaders, technologists, academics entrepreneurs and founders.

The flight time signifies a countdown to present ideas in our home city, London. We’re lucky to be working with the DNA (Decide Now Act) Summit, which is designed in the same spirit as UnGrounded, to bring the brightest minds together to tackle pressing global issues and transform decisions into action.

Abigail Comber, Head of Brands, Marketing and Digital Innovation

I believe this program can demonstrate the power that collaborative innovation can have in affecting real change and I am honored to join this talented group and thrilled to be able to contribute to the outcome. n

About the challenge

n The challenge that we will be addressing on the flight and at the DNA summit is a significant one and at its core, a simple one. What can we do to ensure that people with STEM skills (science, technology, engineering, math) find opportunities to utilize their talent and drive global innovation? n The research that has been brought together on this topic shows that there are many dimensions to the problem, and it is our goal to provide both fresh thinking and actionable recommendations on what can be done to address them all.

78

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 78

05/06/2013 08:47

CHALLENGE 1

Fostering Women in STEM n Women are smart and innovative and awesome. So why aren’t there more women in STEM? Women make up over half of college graduates, but represent only 35% of the tech workforce. At the same time, the annual revenues of women-run companies are 12% higher than their male counterparts, and they achieve 35% more return on equity. Good numbers. So what’s the deal?

How might we enable women to become greater influencers in STEM?

CHALLENGE 3

Expanding STEM n STEM’s relevancy is in the midst of a meteoric rise. It’s no longer just the domain of laboratories or research institutes. Instead STEM has found it’s way into all kinds of industries and realms; it’s inspired the approach of open source, mainstreamed the idea of the hack, and made app-making an entire industry. n But while STEM has been infiltrating and integrating into our everyday, traditional education hasn’t caught up. STEM is still siloed, still singular, still stereotyped as a pathway for geeky geniuses alone. And as such, only 8% of college freshmen graduate with a STEM degree—yet every industry needs STEM.

How might we blend STEM with other disciplines to draw more people into the talent pool?

CHALLENGE 2 Growing STEM in emerging economies n Despite the fact that tech hubs are growing around the world, employment opportunities are still outpaced by the sheer number of people in search of tech jobs. So while places like Bangalore, Santiago, Accra, and Nairobi are producing unprecedented numbers of innovative organizations and talented people, stronger entrepreneurial ecosystems are needed - both to create jobs locally as well as start collaborations globally.

How might we foster more local STEM entrepreneurship in emerging economies?

CHALLENGE 4

Meeting US Demand for Talent Globally n We’ve got a big problem brewing in the U.S.: the economy is expected to generate 120,000 new computer science-related jobs every year for the next seven years—but the U.S. produces just 40,000 STEM graduates per year. That means by 2020, the U.S. will need to look beyond its borders to find over a half-million people to fill these highly skilled jobs. Finding the right talent is always tough, but throw in a couple time zones and different educational certification and things get really difficult. Even if immigration reform passes, there are major hurdles to connecting supply to demand.

How might we better connect global STEM talent to the needs of U.S. employers?

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 79

79 05/06/2013 08:47

Industry pioneers to join British Airways aboard

‘UnGrounded’ Innovation Lab at 30,000 feet

B

RITISH AIRWAYS has gathered together a dynamic group of industry leaders and change agents to join an exciting journey from San Francisco to London. UnGrounded, the airline’s first innovation lab in the sky, is designed to connect industry experts and creative minds with the purpose of

tackling global challenges that affect the next generation of innovators.

The challenge focuses on how global citizens with STEM skills (science, technology, engineering and math) can find opportunities to utilize their talent. The challenge was developed

in partnership with the United Nations ITU with the goal of accelerating global innovation. The teams onboard will address four core issues at the heart of the challenge: 1) Fostering Women in STEM 2) Growing STEM in Emerging Economies

“Our understanding is that the talent crunch is a real issue for companies and organizations in major tech hubs around the world,” AMIR A. DOSSAL 80

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 80

05/06/2013 08:47

Key Facts: The UnGrounded Flight

“Face-to-face connection ignites the exchange of ideas” 3) Expanding STEM into New Industries 4) Meeting US STEM Demand for Talent Globally The ideas and solutions created on the flight are being shared on arrival, at the Decide Now Act (DNA) Summit in London.

The private UnGrounded flight filled up quickly after individuals were hand-selected to participate. Primarily recruited by the British Airways Silicon Valley Advisory Board and a small group of industry partners, the participants were chosen for their experience and energy in driving the acceleration of innovation within developed and emerging communities across the world.

They are being joined by a small group of like-minded pioneers from the UK as well as innovators representing emerging entrepreneurial communities in India and a selection of African nations.

“We’re excited to see visionaries and leaders from Silicon Valley bring their distinct perspectives and skills together to tackle the critical global challenge around the STEM skills gap,” said Simon Talling-Smith, EVP of the Americas for British Airways. “Face-to-face connection ignites the exchange of ideas, and by bringing these bright minds together, British Airways and our partners, the United Nation and DNA Summit, look to spark and accelerate innovation to affect global change.”

This program is part of a larger initiative

by British Airways to open the door to collaboration with the start-up community in Silicon Valley. The airline recently joined RocketSpace, an open innovation campus in the heart of San Francisco, and will be actively engaging with the start-up community through the RocketSpace Corporate Innovation Program. n

>>

l The inaugural UnGrounded flight will travel from San Francisco to London on June 12, 2013.

British Airways has chosen to launch the UnGrounded flight from Silicon Valley, the global hub for technologyParticipants on the UnGrounded flight will include some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent thinkers – from budding entrepreneurs to seasoned business leaders, VCs and scholars. l UnGrounded brings together talent from diverse backgrounds to disrupt and co-create to affect change within the global innovation community l The UnGrounded flight experience has been designed by innovation consultancy, IDEO. For more information visit www. ungroundedthinking.com or follow us @BritishAirways and join the #BAInnovate conversation.

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 81

81 05/06/2013 08:47

>>

Leor Stern BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AT IFTTT

1) WHAT DOES INNOVATION (AS IT RELATES TO TRAVEL OR IN GENERAL) MEAN TO YOU? To me, innovation is about creating or unlocking value through new ideas, approaches or framework. BA has several examples of innovative behavior in its history, ranging from its pioneering work with Concord to introducing the first lie-flat seat onboard.

2) WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO ACCOMPLISH THROUGH THE UNGROUNDED PROGRAM?

I’m extremely excited to see how we can impact the disparity in the availability of opportunities in different geographies. I can’t wait to see what a group of smart people can come up with in the right set of circumstances.

3) DO YOU HAVE A PERSONAL TIE TO THE ISSUE OF TALENT MISALIGNMENT? IF SO, HOW HAS IT IMPACTED YOU OR YOUR COMPANY? I built teams focused on emerging markets at Google, and got to experience first hand the kind of talent that exists all over the world. What I hope we can start to tackle by combining technology with the creativity of UnGrounded participants is the overconcentration of opportunities in a handful of specific geographies.

4) PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT ABOUT WHO YOU ARE -- YOUR INTERESTS/ PASSIONS AND HOW THEY ARE REFLECTED IN YOUR WORK.

I’m enthusiastic about the technological transition we’re experiencing as I write this; moving from a world where computing is limited to expensive hardware and specific devices to one where computing happens everywhere, all the time by combining the power of the cloud with the capability and sensors of mobile devices and the promise of complete ubiquity represented by affordable computers such as the $25 Raspberry Pie. My belief in this vision of the future played a key role in my recent decision to join a startup called IFTTT, a platform that empowers anyone make the internet work better for them by connecting different services and even physical devices to one other by setting simple “If this happens, do that” rules.

82

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 82

05/06/2013 08:47

“This inaugural UnGrounded flight is an exciting, new approach to innovation and something we believe the Silicon Valley community will embrace. British Airways is pushing the boundaries in finding solutions to global challenges and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.” – Gerald Brady, Managing Director of the Venture Capital Group, Silicon Valley Bank

Mark Florman ‘CO-FOUNDER OF THE DNA SUMMIT

Simon Talling-Smith EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF AMERICAS FOR BA

“Magic happens when Silicon Valley’s brightest technologists and most spirited creatives share in the festival of ideas.

UnGrounded is an ultimate innovation environment.

It has the color and structure for interesting people, to solve interesting problems. This is the creative kind of initiative that we celebrate.” – Celestine Johnson, Creative Director at Innovation Endeavors >> DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 83

83 05/06/2013 08:47

>>

Todd Lutwak

PARTNER AT ANDREESSEN HOROWITZ

Amir A.Dossal

FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF THE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS FORUM

“As a longtime British Airways advisor, I have seen firsthand that as a company they are committed to innovation, entrepreneurship and the Bay Area community. UnGrounded is strong proof of that commitment.”

– Rhonda Abrams, nationallysyndicated columnist, best-selling author, successful entrepreneur and founder of PlanningShop

“Innovation is a contact sport. With 100 innovators from Silicon Valley together at 30,000 feet, anything is possible. Our research shows that building talent networks is at the heart of creating high value and high velocity innovation. I’m delighted to be part of this ambitious initiative that has the potential to impact the next generation of innovators around the globe.” – Marguerite Gong Hancock, Associate Director of SPRIE, Stanford Graduate School of Business 84

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 84

05/06/2013 08:47

Duncan Logan CEO, ROCKETSPACE

1) WHAT DOES INNOVATION (AS IT RELATES TO TRAVEL OR IN GENERAL) MEAN TO YOU? Innovation covers a wide spectrum from the “Why has no one done that before” to the “it’s impossible isn’t it?”

As a species I feel we are fascinated with innovation but reluctant to change. We dream of the big changes but are continually thankful for small ones. Travel is no different, I would love a flying car but I am thankful to a flight tracking app.

2) WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO ACCOMPLISH THROUGH THE UNGROUNDED PROGRAM? History has shown that great innovation occurs when great innovators come together. Innovation is a clustered dynamic, locking 100 inovators in a room at 30,000ft for 11 hours should be amazing.

3) DO YOU HAVE A PERSONAL TIE TO THE ISSUE OF TALENT MISALIGNMENT? IF SO, HOW HAS IT IMPACTED YOU OR YOUR COMPANY? There is no greater day to day challenge for companies in RocketSpace than the shortage of technical talent. It feels ridiculous with great sections of society struggling to find work and so many companies struggling to find talent.

4) PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT ABOUT WHO YOU ARE -- YOUR INTERESTS/ PASSIONS AND HOW THEY ARE REFLECTED IN YOUR WORK. IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS FURTHER, PLEASE LET US KNOW. I am a Scottish farmer who ended up in tech via investment banking. I love business, I love creating things, which involve people and reward people for the challenges they take on and the risks that come along with that.

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 85

85 05/06/2013 08:47

PAGE HEADER

BRITISH AIRWAYS PANEL DISCUSSION

Jack Hidary Jack D. Hidary built his career as an entrepreneur in the finance and technology sectors and is a leading expert on innovation across several industries.

Simon Talling-Smith Executive Vice President of Americas for British Airways

Gina Bianchini Gina Bianchini is an expert in and in the real world. She is the founder and CEO of Mightybell

B

I

N ADDITION, he leads the transatlantic joint venture across three carriers: American Airlines, British Airways, and Iberia.

Simon’s position, based at the carrier’s Americas head office in New York, came after holding a number of executive roles at British Airways. Previously he had been in charge of the airline’s 14,000 cabin crew and catering services, based in London.

Prior to his heading the cabin crew, he had managed British Airways’ brand & products portfolio. He also has managed a series of customer service improvement programs, particularly focusing on development of the airline’s award-winning website, ba.com Simon joined British Airways in 1991 as a graduate trainee from Oxford University where he graduated with an M.A. degree in Engineering, Economics and Management. He is a member of the Board of Directors of British-American Business.

Simon is married with two sons and a daughter, and lives in New York City. n

86

efore Mightybell, Bianchini and Marc Andreessen cofounded Ning, the largest social platform for communities of interests and passions online. She served as CEO of Ning from its inception in 2004 to March of 2010, at which time Ning had 90 million monthly unique visitors, 46 million registered users, and 300,000 monthly active communities across entertainment, politics, education, and interests. In December 2011, Glam Media purchased Ning for $150M. Bianchini serves on the board of directors of Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), which owns HGTV, The Food Network, The Travel Channel, The Cooking Channel, The DIY Network, and Great American Country. Gina has been featured as one of NPR’s “5 Nerds to Watch in 2013,” Fortune Magazine’s “40 under 40,” Huffington Post’s 10 technology “Ultimate Game Changers,” and 7x7 magazine’s “Hot 20” list. Gina and Mightybell have been featured in Fast Company, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She has also appeared on Charlie Rose, CNBC, and CNN. n

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 86

05/06/2013 16:25

Craig Newmark Craig Newmark is a self-described nerd, pioneer of the Web, speaker, philanthropist, and a strong advocate of the use of technology for the public good. He is the founder of craigslist, which he started in 1995 and is now one of the world’s most-visited websites. He continues to work with craigslist as a “CSR” or Customer Service Representative.

T

ODAY, CRAIG’s primary focus is craigconnects, which he launched in 2011. The mission of craigconnects in the short term is to promote, expedite and enhance the use of technology and social media to the benefit of philanthropy and public service. He uses the craigconnects platform to support the efforts of those “getting stuff done” in areas such as veterans and military families, open government, public diplomacy, back-to-basics journalism and fact-checking, consumer protection, election protection and voter registration, and technology for the

public good.

Craig’s long term mission for craigconnects is to ultimately extend the reach of technology worldwide, to “give a voice to the voiceless and real power to the powerless.”

Craig currently serves on the board of directors of the Center for Public Integrity, Sunlight Foundation, Consumers Union/Consumer Reports, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He also serves as an advisor on the use of technology to more than a dozen other non-profit organizations and government agencies.

Megan Smith Vice President, Google[x]

M

EGAN IS AN entrepreneur, tech evangelist, engineer, and connector. At Google[x], Megan works on a range of projects including co-creating/host SolveForX. For nine years prior she led Google’s New Business Development team managing early-stage partnerships, pilot explorations, and technology licensing for Google’s global engineering and product teams. She led the acquisitions of Keyhole (Google Earth), Where2Tech (Google Maps), and Picasa, and also led the Google.org team transition to add more engineering with Google Crisis Response, GoogleforNonprofits, Earth Outreach/Engine and increased employee engagement. Prior to joining Google,

Born in Morristown, New Jersey in 1952, Craig has lived in San Francisco for more than 20 years. He enjoys birdwatching, squirrel-watching, and science fiction.

Craig communicates regularly through his own blog on craigconnects.org the Huffington Post, Facebook and Twitter.

He also travels the country speaking about issues, appearing on behalf of organizations he supports and delivering his craigconnects message to audiences nationwide. n

Megan was CEO and, earlier, COO of PlanetOut, the leading LGBT online community, where the team broke through many barriers and partnered closely with AOL, Yahoo!, MSN and other major web players, and was early at General Magic and Apple Japan.

Over the years, Megan has contributed to a wide range of engineering projects, including an award-winning bicycle lock, space station construction program, solar cookstoves and was a member of the MIT student team who designed, built and raced a solar car 2000 miles across the Australian outback. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, where she now serves on the board. She completed her master’s thesis work at the MIT Media Lab. n

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 87

87 05/06/2013 08:47

Meet the

Abigail Walsh

Alexis Ringwald

Stephanie Canciello, unali artists

UnGrounded Innovators

Chris Redlitz

Priya Guha

Craig Newmark

Anthony Goldbloom

Baldwin Cunningham

Eoin McMillan

Erica Kochi

Gerald Brady

Cindy Padnos

Dan Walmsley

Ian Brady

Jamis MacNiven

Jason Oshiokpekhai

Jennifer Padgett

Johanna Schlereth

l Shuli Galili l Roy Sosa l Tom Girley l David Burgess DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 88

l Raymond Nasr l Kyle Killion l Lesley Manford l Bettina Warburg-Johnson

l Andrew Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Souza l Lior Shimon Romno l David Litwak l Jamie Wong

l Ramy Adeeb l Christopher Supko l Greg Piesco-Putnam l Tom Duterme 05/06/2013 08:47

Beau Bergeron

Brian Doll

Celestine Johnson

Todd Lutwak

Christopher Preimesberger

Rhonda Abrams

Debbie Landa

Denzyl Feigelson

Deyan Vitanov

Duncan Logan

Eze Vidra

Gina Bianchini

Hugh Molotsi

Sejal Hathi

Megan Smith

Johnny Hwin

Jonathan Meiri

Julian Green

Kanyi Maqubela

Kay Koplovitz

l Juan-Jose Juan-Dura l Barbara Means l Natalie Azhdam l Peter Theo Hinssen

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 89

l Claudia Fan Munce l Brian Wong l Damien Patton l Nicholas Skytland

l Christina Farr l Sarah Seegal l Josh Constine l Cassidy Williams

l Yanjia Yao l Zoe Fox l Adam Gries l Jason Putorti

>> 05/06/2013 08:47

>>

Keren Douek

Kimberlie Cerrone

Ben Rattray

Kofi Frimpong

Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom

Mark Campos

Mark Kamau

Mat Ellis

Mathew Paisner

Michael Smolens

Paul Gu

Peter Ragone

Peter Sheehan

Ramana Jonnala

Randy Lubin

Tim Hulse

Tom Friel

Tom Serres

Sheel Tyle

Van Jones

l Alexi Suvacioglu l Martin Mignot l Ellen McGirt l Rahul Sood

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 90

l Michael Copeland l Jaclyn Mason l Michael Zuckerman l Michael Katz

l Winston Wang l Jessica Alter l Jon Swartz l Oliver Guinness

l Kimberly Bryant l Katherine Stohr l Julia Hoey l Chris Pirillo

05/06/2013 08:47

Laura Pincus-Hartman

Lauren Hasson

Leif Abraham

Leor Stern

Marguerite Gong Hancock

Michal Levin

Nadeem Kassam

Nanxi Liu

Nellie Morris

Nick Punt

Richard Irving

Rob Schilling

Shaun Fitzgerald

Sue Black

Tiffany Shlain

Vinny Lingham

Wesley Chan

Will Hughs

Will Young

William Senyo

l Casey Unterman l Raul Gasteazoro l Kristen Christian l Lisa Anderson

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 91

l Charles Seely l Penny Abeywardena l Phil Easter l Derek Shanahan

l Henry Timms l James Newton l Guy Schory l Tom Leep

l Jonathan Gosier l Simon Franks l Kit Vanderwater

05/06/2013 08:47

Daisy Lowe photographed by Rankin. Make-up by Andrew Gallimore at CLM. Hair by Nick Irwin. Nails by Zarra Celik at CLM. Styled by Anna Hughes-Chamberlain.

92

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 92

05/06/2013 13:25

New heights of

haute couture From NORMAN HARTNELL’s a-Line skirts to Julien Macdonald’s relaxed suiting, British Airways uniforms have always been created by the finest designers. Harriet Walker STRUTS the cabin-crew catwalk

A

CURIOUS mythology surrounds the smiles in the sky of the cabin crew profession, much more so than any more grounded career path. And – let’s not be coy – plenty of that comes from the uniforms. The sheer professionalism that those spiffy skirt suits denote, the capability and the courtesy, where corporate identity meets customer service, has yet to be emulated in any other sector.

‘There’s such a feeling of glamour that surrounds air hostesses,’ says model Daisy Lowe, who was photographed here in British Airways’ vintage 1973 uniform. ‘It’s difficult to think of another profession that has such a clear-cut image.’

And that image has been key to the role, right from the very beginning of BA’s story, when being an air hostess was one of the first, and few, career options for a fledgling generation of working women. Before the popularisation of air travel that came with increased holidays and a burgeoning middle class, women’s jobs had been, quite literally, earthbound, with little scope for broadening horizons or exotic escapism.

The glamour was bound up in the trappings of the job, with uniforms that developed, in the early days of passenger travel, from post-war military and utilitarian styles into New Lookinspired waspy-waists and A-line skirt suits designed by none other than the Queen’s own dressmaker, Norman Hartnell.

And the in-flight dress code followed the trends of the times, with paper shift dresses in the 60s designed by Don Harrison to be worn on flights between New York and the Caribbean, followed by a Space Age trouser suit by Clive Evans, which referenced the pace-setting tunic-and-trousers style of Parisian designer André Courrèges.

>>

“It’s difficult to think of another profession that has such a clear-cut image.”

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 93

05/06/2013 08:47

“Women entering the workplace were encouraged to do so with one eye on dressing as equals.”

Society tailor and royal outfitter Hardy Amies created the first of the recognisable navy skirt suits, inspired by Wallis Simpson, who later became the Duchess of Windsor.

Daringly short and made from modern technofabrics such as Terylene and synthetic worsted, these were durable as well as directional. His addition of a pillar box red coat set the colour code for the BA brand.

‘Even the early designs seem familiar,’ adds Lowe, seen on the previous page wearing the 1973 navy blazer trimmed with a wide-set collar and red contrast stitching. ‘They’re smart but feminine, and formal without being too stuffy.’

>>

The uniforms of the 70s mirrored what was going on not only in womenswear more generally but also in the daily lives of women in the UK and beyond. The women’s liberation movement, just then breaking into its political stride, had freed up women from their roles in the home and created opportunities for them in the world of work. Air hostesses (now

94

cabin crew) were among the most forward-thinking women of their generation. They became It-girls and icons of a new type of independence.

The reaction in fashion to this new feeling of equality was literal, to say the least. Women entering the workplace were encouraged to do so with one eye on dressing as equals. The girlish street style of the 60s – and the languid 30s-inspired lines encapsulated so perfectly in the printed maxi dresses created by Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell – no longer seemed appropriate for the new breed of career women, now in direct competition with men. Men who were, more often than not, a bit miffed at their presence on the job market.Consequently, women’s workwear of the time was rigid and boxy, inspired by men’s tailoring – often cartoonishly so. Clothes were strict and sexless but strong and imposing.

The BA uniforms of the time took this directive but softened it a little. Baccarat Weatherall’s 1977 kit used pinstripes and

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 94

05/06/2013 08:47

menswear motifs in shirtdresses, kick-pleated pencil skirts and slacks, but added patch pockets to long-line, structured jackets and skinny belts, which felt – and even now still look – that bit more modish. By his own admission, Weatherall’s intent was to create something ‘elegant enough to appear in Vogue’.

He wasn’t far from the mark. By this time, several designers whose names are now almost as familiar as our own were working in a similar vein – developing the tics and traits of the traditional male wardrobe into something that could be as practical and pragmatic for women.

Giorgio Armani was one such designer, deconstructing the traditionally boxy men’s blazer by removing the lining, altering the position of buttons and the slope of the shoulder and using lightweight fabrics that hung better on the feminine physique. Jil Sander too, who would be heralded in the 90s as the Queen of Clean, was also just setting up shop in the 70s, with simple and basic pieces for women that were out of step with the

more opulent trends of the time, and deliberately so.

Since then, the BA uniform has undergone several makeovers, each at the hands of designers then at the top of their game.

In the 80s, Roland Klein (who had trained with Christian Dior and Karl Lagerfeld) remodelled the rather straight 70s look with flowing pleated skirts more in keeping with 80s tastes, albeit still in rather corporate grey and City-stripe shirting. And Paul Costelloe reinvented things for the 90s, with the now-famous wide-brimmed hats, graphic and geometric prints which made more use of the company red insignia and gold-buttoned blazers.

The most recent incarnation was the relaxed navy suiting created by Julien Macdonald in 2001, while still creative director at the prestigious French house of Givenchy. If that doesn’t convince you of the cabin crew fashion credentials, nothing will. n

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 95

95 05/06/2013 08:47

The Birth Of

Silicon Valley Stretching along the peninsula southwest of San Francisco Bay, Silicon Valley is a breeding ground for high-tech startups. But in its early years, the area was nurtured by something relatively new: venture capital. A look at the innovators and key moments that shaped Silicon Valley.

1938

1942

Stanford University graduates William Hewlett and David Packard begin working together in a garage in Palo Alto, with $500 in cash and a used drill press valued at $38.

Their first successful product is a precision audio oscillator.

Hewlett-Packard becomes a company on Jan 1, 1939after a coin toss to determine the order of their names.

And so Hewlett- Packard was born in this Palo Alto garage. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Pisces.

During World War II, Stanford professor Fred Terman visits Harvard to lead a secret government lab developing radar countermeasures.

He returns to Stanford after the war and helps attract federal funding for electronics research. Area companies will also engage in defense-related work during the cold war.

96

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 96

05/06/2013 08:47

1953

1959

In 1956, Lockheed opened a facility on 22 acres in the Stanford Industrial Park (pictured). By the late 50s, Lockheed was the area’s largest employer, with nearly 5,000 workers at the park and in nearby Sunnyvale.

Retired WWII Gen William Draper Jnr (pictured) formed the venture capital firm DG&A along with Gen Frederick Anderson and H. Rowan Gather, a former Ford Foundation president, in 1959.

The new Standford Industrial Park gets one of its first tenants: Varian Associates, founded by brothers Russell and Sigurd Varian, who invented a key component used in radar and other microwave technology. Other early tenants include HewlettPackard, General Electric and Lockheed.

Draper, Gaither & Anderson, considered the first West Coast venture capital firm, opens in Palo Alto with plans to invest in small technology companies. The firm attains only modest financial success, but it establishes key principles that define the modern venture capital industry.

February 1956 1961 William Shockley founds a semiconductor lab in Mountain View, Calif, to work on improving silicon-based transistors.

Shockley’s reputation- he would win the Nobel Prize for physics for co-inventing the transistor- attracts some of America’s best young engineers and scientists.

September 1957 Eight of William Shockley’s recruits leave Shockley’s lab after his behavior becomes erratic. With the help of Arthur Rock, a young New York investment banker, the men- later branded the ‘Traitorous Eight’- form their own company, Fairchild Semiconductor, with funding from Fairchild Camera and Instrument in New York.

November 1956: William Shockley (head of table) celebrates winning a share of the Nobel Prize.

Gordon Moore (seated far left), Sheldon Roberts (next to Moore), Robert Noyce (middle standing), and Jay Last (far right) are half of the ‘Traitorous Eight.’

1959

Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments files a patent for the first generalpurpose integrated circuit. Fairchild Semiconductor’s Robert Noyce and Kean Hoerni file patents that will result in the first commercially successful integrated circuit. It is made of silicon and becomes the industry standard.

Fairchild’s first microchip combined four transistors, sic resistors and their interconnecting wires onto a single silver of silicon, in 1960. Today’s microprocessors can employ more than 1 billion transistors.

Arthur Rock, who helped the ‘Traitorous Eight’ establish Fairchild Semiconductor, moves west to launch the venture capital firm Davis and Rock, with Tommy Davis. Within seven years, the fund will hold investments worth nearly $100 million, thanks in part to stakes in Teledyne and Scientific Data Systems. Rock is often credited with polularizing the term ‘venture capital.’

In 1968 he helped Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce found intel the only company he invested in that he was certain would succeed, he says. Rock was later a founding investor in Apple Computer.

1968 Two Fairchild Semiconductors founders, Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, launch their own startup: Intel. The company will create the world’s first commercially available microprocessor- a programmable computer on a chip- and become the leading semiconductor chipmaker.

1971 A series of articles titled ‘Silicon Valley, USA’ is published in Electronic News by Don Hoefler – believed to be the first time the term is used in print.

In 2011, companies in Silicon Valley (including the San Francisco Bay Area) drew 40 percent of all U. S. venture capital. New England is a distant second, with less than 12 percent.

One of Don Hoefler’s first articles on the groundbreaking, Silicon Valley developments.

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 97

97 05/06/2013 08:47

20

98

INDEPTH

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 98

05/06/2013 08:47

Meet the expert NHHSLQJ WKH úHHW spick and span page 37

21

SPACE: THE FIRST FRONTIER

How does BA fill the empty shell of a new plane to ensure customer satisfaction and healthy revenues? By Phil Heard

T

hose customers who will be lucky enough to board the inaugural flights of BA’s gleaming new Airbus A380s and Boeing 787s, will be forgiven for thinking as they settle down in their seats, that they are the first of the first.

There will be no hint from the sparkling surroundings to suggest that their aircraft has circumnavigated the globe before, their seats already indented by virtual passengers. Years before the first two components of their plane meet on the assembly line, it will have flown every route on the BA network repeatedly in a gruelling but conceptual odyssey, fuelled by mathematical models to decide the most effective and profitable cabin layout.

How the floor space in each new aircraft is used is the result of years of research, an ongoing laboratory where commercial consideration meets customer comfort, and each square foot has to generate set revenues without compromising quality or the brand.

“I think about aircraft floor space like shelf space at Tesco,” says long-haul fleet planning manager Sean Farnan. “We only have so much space to play with to maximise our revenues.”

Unsurprisingly, creating a finished cabin interior from a blank canvas is a complex process spanning teams across the airline. The scope for disagreement is huge, but the opportunity for compromise and concord greater. “I don’t think we’ve ever made a compromise that we haven’t been comfortable with,” says one of the team members, to nodding and mumbled assent around the table.

Much of the complexity is because

this is not a linear process, but one that evolves constantly up until the delivery of a new plane. Even so, there has to be a starting point.

“The process starts with fleet planning, the team that determines which planes should be added to the fleet,” says corporate programme manager Paul Beadsmoore. “The products on the plane, the Lopa [layout of passenger accommodation], will be driven by what network planning sees as future requirements for capacity in each cabin across every route.”

But, there is also strong representation for the customer. After all, the success of an airline is not due to the financial efficacy of its seating provision, but its brand and in-flight customer experience. It’s an area that touches two strands of the business plan – selective investment in product and to win through outstanding service.

“New aircraft, fitted with our latest onboard products and cabin interiors, enable our cabin crew to enhance the customer experience on board,” says managing director, brands and customer experience Frank van der Post. “Practical design is vital, especially in the galley, as this supports the crew to be able to deliver excellence in all areas of their service.”

The practical design is handled across three working groups primarily – customer experience (with invaluable input from cabin crew), which defines the in-flight customer proposition, such as seats, IFE and galleys; the new aircraft and Lopa design group, which signs off the definition of cabin standards, balancing the needs of the customer and commercial pressures;

99

get the latest news every week in Up to Date

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 99

05/06/2013 08:47

22

INDEPTH

and the new aircraft configuration and delivery group, largely drawn from Engineering to implement the Lopa, and to manage and develop the buyer furnished products, such as seats and galley equipment. All keep a very close eye on the scales because weight is, of course, an enemy of aviation.

From a customer perspective, the most significant fitting in a cabin is the seat. BA does not take an ‘off the shelf’ approach but works with suppliers to customise products to varying degrees, or in the case of First and Club World, designing seats from scratch.

“Recaro supplies the World Traveller and World Traveller Plus seats,” says programme manager (Boeing) Colin Luffman. “These are customised but on an existing base frame, so the arms and body panel widths can be altered while the legs remain in the same

100 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 100

position. The decision was influenced by the B787 as lead aircraft, but the production delays meant that the new seats went into the B777-300ER first.”

How many seats to fit across the plane in economy again pits the needs of the bottom line against customer comfort. “There is always a trade-off between customer experience and revenue requirements in terms of whether we go nine or ten abreast,” says aircraft interiors manager Kathryn Slack. “With the B777, there’s a strong revenue case for ten abreast. We carry out benchmarking – Emirates are ten abreast, for example – and we get input from our customers. But, we have found that there would be a tipping point at which squeezing too many seats on would start to lose us sales.”

As it happens, Boeing recommends the 3-3-3 configuration, and not just for

customer comfort, but because of the ‘middle seat’ factor. While airlines might not like it, customers appreciate having an unoccupied middle seat if the plane isn’t full. For example, with a 3-3-3 layout you need a higher load factor than with a 2-5-2 layout to be in with a chance of sitting next to a stranger.

But it is the seats in the premium cabins, which are hugely important to BA in revenue terms, where the airline really stamps its unique brand identity, working with supplier BE Aerospace.

“The new First was a completely new starting point,” says Slack. “A lot will be driven by the brand strategy, and customer privacy, space and comfort were the objectives here. We then go to an external designer, and say here are the constraints of how many seats we can have in this cabin, and here’s the vision. They then start

6W\OLQJ WKH úHHW (clockwise from above) Part of the interior arrangement diagram for BA’s 777-300ER; early designs for the First class cabin

DNA Magazine 2013 05/06/2013 08:47

23

FoRPEoPlE

t

working with our internal design agency, and there’s an Engineering spec to work to as well.”

“You start with what looks good, all the features and functions for the passenger,” says programme team manager (Airbus) Colin Lakin. “Then you have to consider how to produce it, maintain it, and get it certified, and this may lead to some compromises.”

Team manager technical cabin design Clive Simmons adds: “The other thing is that we patent some of our features – such as the ying/yang layout in Club World – so no airline can copy it.”

The other principal fillip for the customer on long-haul is IFE (in-flight entertainment), where the whole industry is undergoing a seismic shift brought on by systems like the iPad. “It’s so pervasive that we’ve seen customers vainly pinching their IFE

screens to resize the moving map,” says IFE and technology manager Richard D’Cruze. But the technology is moving so quickly that even at this late stage, it is not clear what the devices are that customers will have at their disposal on the new planes in two years’ time.

“We have a pretty good idea of what the inside of the B787 and A380 will look like, but we still have to make some big decisions on IFE for the later aircraft deliveries,” adds D’Cruze.

The advantages of the iPad – as proven by the recent trial on the B777-200 fleet – are several-fold. For one thing, the existing IFE technology is heavy. Ridding planes of a slice of that weight will bring huge benefits, to the extent that D’Cruze can visualise airlines recouping the investment in retrofitting a new IFE solution through fuel savings.

Whatever is finally decided, the criteria for IFE will join the other detailed list of requirements, collated by the new aircraft Lopa design group.

This document outlines in painstaking detail, items such as the seat pitch, the minimum width of the aisles, and the amount of stowage per customer. Then there are more intractable problems, such as limiting the size of the galleys.

“We have to be very strict about not overdoing galley footprints. The number of seats defines how many galley carts we need. If you build in two more galley carts, then you could lose two or three World Traveller seats – that could cost £1m a year over the fleet,” says Farnan.

“We produced layouts for the B787 and the A380, with different combinations of First and Club seats,” he adds. “We use a network model to work out a profit figure on every route for each layout, tell the programme how big the fleet is and it then tells us how many planes in each configuration we should get.”

Inevitably, the system might suggest we get planes in a number of different configurations. “But it’s just not practical because it would be impossible to schedule them, so ultimately, we strive to have as few seating configurations as we can.”

Whatever happens, those first customers making an inaugural flight on one of the new aircraft in the fleet will be enjoying the best technology, brand values and service that BA has to offer. Watch this space.

CASE STUDY: THE A318

The A318s that operate the london City to JFK route needed a new approach when it came to designing the much lauded cabin.

This was in part due to the fact that BA’s existing Club World seats GLGQ¶W ùW WKH OD\RXW LQ D VDWLVIDFWRU\ way to create a spacious business class-only cabin for the 32 customers.

But time was also a factor.

“Some of the thinking on the cabin design was driven by aggressive deadlines,” says corporate programme manager Paul Beadsmoore. Usually, colleagues would have up to three years to test layouts and work through different designs, but they had to turn it around in just one. “our main driver was to seize the opportunity to increase customer choice and capacity beyond that DYDLODEOH DW +HDWKURZ %HLQJ ùUVW WR market was critical to success, hence the tight timescale. “once the concept was proven, there was strong interest from our key clients and a healthy business case,” says Beadsmoore.

With colleagues unable to make existing products work with the A318’s smaller fuselage and without the time to customise existing products, BA opted for a business class seat by BE Aerospace. So instead of the ying/yang of Club World, customers sit in twin seats in a more conventional 2-2 layout.

The break with the usual seating also enabled a new IFE system, one that is handed out by cabin crew and plugged into the armrest. But even this leap into the technological future is to be trumped in favour of iPads beginning in September.

It’s just one more way that, despite the off-the-shelf seats, BA uses customisation and superb service to differentiate itself from the crowd.

Read the full version of this feature at Up to Speed online

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 101

101 05/06/2013 08:47

26

indepth

102 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 102

DNA Magazine 2013 05/06/2013 08:47

Win a two-night stay in London page 42

stay in London page 42

27

getting to know getting to know youryour customers customers

Former online travel editor of The Sunday Times and expert on digital travel trends Steve Keenan looksFormer at how social media reshaping businesses alland sectors online travelis editor of The Sundayacross Times expert on digital trave

Steve Keenan looks at how social media is reshaping businesses across all

t

Engagement with ❝ customers can be

clothes are instantly available to buy his summer, more than 120 online or via mobile devices. music and travel bloggers have clothes are instantly availa his summer, more than 120 “You have to create a social been invited to Belgium to music and travel bloggers have enterprise today,” Ahrendts says. “You online or via mobile devic attend a festival. Tourism “You have to create a so been invited to Belgium to have to be totally connected with Flanders-Brussels is inviting these everyone who touches your brand. digital ‘storytellers’ it believes are enterprise today,” Ahrend attend a festival. Tourism If you don’t do that, I don’t know what have to be totally connect passionate enough about their Flanders-Brussels interest is inviting these your business model will be in five to go behind the curtain and unearth everyone who touches yo digital ‘storytellers’ it believes are firms increasingly years time.” great stories for their blogs.

If you don’t do that, I don passionate process, enough with about their interest able to track and analyse where bookings or The company is one of many using “We’re not inviting them to come and your business model will to go behind the curtain and unearth sales come from – and to see whether Instagram, a photography app that see Coldplay – they can do that in their process, with firms increasingly able to years time.” great stories for their blogs. social media was part of the process. uses filters to create a retro look. own countries,” says Frank Cuypers, track and analyse where bookings or The company is one of “We’re not It inviting to as come anda deal can bethem as basic putting Tiffany and Nike have also used the Flanders’ strategic marketing advisor. sales come from – and to see whether Instagram, a photography see Coldplay they thatlast in minute their sales out– in justcan onedo place: tool for recent campaigns.

“But if we provide the appropriately was part suit of the process. says Frank Cuypers,like hotelsocial media of perishable commodities Strong visuals social media well, uses filters to create a retr targeted people with the right own countries,” It canwhich be ashas basic asthe putting a dealof Tiffany and Nike have als Flanders’ strategic marketing rooms are commonadvisor. on Twitter or seen emergence experiences, then they will discuss Foursquare, Facebook has been Pinterest, a site which allowssales members tool for recent campaigns. them – experiences become stories out in just one place: last minute “But if we provide the while appropriately embraced keen to build to post commodities images and to like sharehotel photos which are shared as a result. And of perishable Strong visuals suit socia targeted people with by thecompanies right relationships with customers by they like.

The photos can also people start to refer to your destination.” rooms are common on Twitter or contain which has seen the emerg experiences, then they will discuss offering deals, offers and loyalty cards. a link while and price tag, which made Pinterest, a site which allo It marks the birth of an entirely new– experiences Foursquare, Facebook hashas been them become stories All customers need to do is ‘like’ the the site a very commercial as well as way of marketing the region. And embraced by companies keen to build to post images and to sha which are shared as a result. And page with one click. leisure interest site. social media is the medium which relationships with customers by they like. The photos can people start to refer to your destination.”

As a result, Pinterest now refers more presents an unprecedented opportunity offering deals, offers and loyalty cards.

It marks the birth of an entirely new traffic to retailers than Twitter, to the a link and price tag, whic for tourist boards and companies to customer engagement need to do is ‘like’ the site a very commercia the region. delight of fashion houses andthe other talk directly to customers – andway to of marketing Social media saves aAnd fortune on All customers one click. is the medium which companies that have discovered that leisure interest site. collect meaningful feedback. social media traditional advertising, broadens thepage with As a result, Pinterest no presents unprecedented opportunity browsers are quite happy to help Everyone now has the opportunity to anreach and creates new sales channels. promote strong images and clever be a mini-publisher: it’s just a question And proper with traffic to retailers than Tw for tourist boards and engagement companies to customer engagement picturesaves stories. of finding the right language, and can then be to deepened by delight of fashion houses talk directlycustomers to customers – and Social media a fortune on Innovative usesbroadens of social media having the right story to tell. And, for a well thought out strategy. collect meaningful feedback. traditional advertising, the are companies that have disco to be found everywhere. When Hugo browsers are quite happy some brands, it’s a question of working Burberry chiefopportunity executive Angela Everyone now has the to reach and creates new sales channels.

Boss launched its winter collection in out how to use it to increase sales. As Ahrendts decided last year that she promote strong images an be a mini-publisher: it’s just a question And proper engagement with Beijing in May via live streaming video, Peter Shanks, president of Cunard says: wanted all her customers to experience picture stories. of finding the right language, and customers can then be deepened by it added another dimension – the video “Social media is fabulous. The only her brand consistently across every Innovative uses of socia having the right story to tell.

And, for a well thought out strategy. was in 3D. The firm then sent out 3D challenge is we haven’t found a way touch point, from mobiles and tablets to be found everywhere. W some brands, it’s a question of working Burberry chief executive Angela glasses to those fashion fans who had to make money out of it.” to the shop floor, so she turned to Boss launched its winter c out how use it to increase Ahrendts decided last year that she liked its Facebook page.

It’s a common refrain, particularly in to digital.

Now fashionsales. showsAs are Beijing in May via live stre Peter Shanks, president Cunard her customers experience Airlines may have to a more prosaic a climate where return on investment is streamed and of tweeted live:says: bloggerswanted all product to sell butacross that hasn’t to the forefront, because social “Social media media sit on the front row it added another dimensio is fabulous.

Thealong onlywith the her brand consistently every stopped some imaginative marketing was in 3D. The firm then does takes time and money. But it is media.

Photographers post challenge istraditional we haven’t found a way touch point, from mobiles and tablets campaigns.

In September now an integral part of the decision straight to of all it.” digital platforms and the glasses to those fashion fa to make money out to the shop floor, so she turned2011, to BA

t

Engagement with ❝ customers can be

deepened with an effective strategy deepened with an

❞

effective strategy

❞

It’s a common refrain, digital.atNow fashion shows are Takeparticularly a look at BA’sin Flickr activity www.flickr.com/flybritishairways a climate where return on investment is streamed and tweeted live: bloggers to the forefront, because social media sit on the front row along with the does takes time and money. But it is traditional media.DNA Photographers post Magazine 2013 now an integral part of the decision straight to all digital platforms and the DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 103

liked its Facebook page.

Airlines may have a mo product to sell but that ha stopped 103 some imaginative campaigns. In September

05/06/2013 08:47 Take a look at BA’s Flickr activity at www.flickr.com/flybritish

28

indepth 1

2

4

5

3

A snapshot of some of BA’s social media presence…

1. Pinterest 2. Twitter 3. YouTube 4. Facebook timeline 5. Facebook homepage

richard Bowden, Ba’s digital marketing innovation manager, lifts the lid on Ba’s social media strategy Social media is really just another way for us to engage and build relationships with people.

How do you do that? By attracting the right type of people and then engaging with them frequently, in the right way, at the right time and with the right things.

And that’s exactly what we’re doing.

In the latest independent study carried out by social media agency Yomego, BA were ranked third (behind South West Airlines and KLM) based on the level of engagement people have with us, and our growth (number of fans, followers etc) on social platforms. Given that 18 months ago BA didn’t have a social media presence to talk about, we’ve made a very big gain in a relatively short amount of time.

The reason behind our success is simple. Two years ago people were chasing Facebook ‘likes’ and followers.

Now people are recognising that what you need to strive for online is not just a sizeable audience, it also needs to be engaged. Because the more people talk about you online, the more they will consider using your services. What

104 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 104

we’re striving for is a greater share of the social media voice, or ‘buzz’.

So we have a three-year plan.

For the first two years we aim to reach and maintain a top-three position versus our tracked competitors. In the final year, we will be concentrating on how we can further extend and convert that share of voice to drive consideration and purchase in our must-win destinations.

Chosen ChAnnels While on our Twitter handle people predominantly share flight experiences or service issues, users currently prefer to learn about new products and services and exclusive brand updates on Facebook. That’s why we used it to launch Aviators, the first airline ad to be launched on Facebook.

We knew people were on our site because they were interested in what was happening with the brand, and as brand advocates we decided to reward them by showing them the ad first. And being on a social platform meant that people shared it, which is why it created the buzz that it did. It’s a formula which

we repeated with ‘The Race’ and will do again with the latest ad. Our competitors are clearly impressed.

Easyjet has already copied the idea.

We have been innovative in other ways, too. We were one of the first airlines to use timeline on Facebook.

We populated it with every key moment in the airline’s history from 1919 to the present day, and it drove a huge increase in ‘likes’ for the brand.

We unveiled the ‘Dove’ (one of the winning designs in the Great Britons campaign) on Facebook and have a profile on Instagram, Pinterest and Google+. It’s all about lifting the lid on the business for those people who want to know.

Later in the year, we will be launching an Executive Club service across a social media channel that will allow members who we know frequently engage across social media, to pull up their details and plan and collaborate with who they want to see. And we’ll be increasing the use of our social films, like the recent ‘Conductor’. It’ll all happen on social first because that’s where people will want to talk about it.

DNA Magazine 2013 05/06/2013 08:47

29 became the first big brand to launch a major ad campaign on social media.

KLM used Facebook and Twitter to keep customers abreast of news amid the volcanic ash disruption in 2008.

Its Facebook site also allows customers to choose who they want to sit next to on a KLM flight. Over at Air Baltic, passengers can signify one of three “flight moods’’ on Facebook according to whether they want to work, make new business contacts or be quiet.

The airline will seat them accordingly.

Air New Zealand has also made the dreary fun, and now its on-board safety videos are taking on legendary status. More than 6,000 subscribe to its YouTube channel, and the videos have had more than 10 million views.

British Airways

BA’s social media statistics as of June 2012

humour is no joke Humour is a winner within social media, be it to get across a serious message, to sell or just to make people feel good about the company. Some of the best on Twitter have numbers of followers way beyond their brand expectations simply because of the way the message is delivered.

The common theme is where the author is allowed to inject their own personality into the brand or organisation – and seemingly not subjected to company approval.

One such is Stewart Bain, or @OrkneyLibrary, which is as it sounds Orkney Library, established 1683 and winner of two Golden Twits at the 2011 International Social Media Awards. “At this moment, we have 5,911 followers,” he says. Stewart also blogs on the Scottish Book Trust and is followed by at least three national newspaper editors of my acquaintance.

Says Sarah Turner of The Sunday Mirror: “Stewart does a brilliant blend of social media information and entertainment blend to my mind... (and makes me want to visit it).”

Others are simply funny – which is why people remember their brand. If I ever need to buy flowers, I may well go to @ArenaFlowers (9,313 followers), sample tweet: “Oh god, the rains. This morning, whole sections of the internet are underwater. Mumsnet had been totally washed away.”

It’s not difficult to understand why such an approach to social media will

The number of hours it took for dining tickets to Flight BA2012, BA’s exclusive airline themed pop-up venue, to be sold out on Facebook. The only place where they were available to buy.

In September 2011, British Airways made history by becoming the first airline to launch an ad on Facebook. The ad and social films for ‘Aviators’ have had more than 2.5m views.

❝

Pinterest now refers more traffic to retailers than Twitter

❞

work and engage people.

A quarterly report from Neilsen shows that social networks and blogs account for 23 per cent of the total time that Americans spend online – and they want to be entertained.

According to a recent report, air transport information provider SITA is looking into whether airlines and airports should use social media sites as the place to interact with passengers.

Director Alisdair Wright told Reuters: “Social media is here to stay, and airlines and airports are embracing this way of communicating. But as we move forward we need to ask the question, ‘Do airline customers want to have a direct relationship with each and every airline they fly with?’”

It’s a good point – there can be overload. Too many platforms, too much time wasted. But as a business, that is to risk doing nothing – and finding traditional retailing and markets disappearing in the near future.

Remember Kodak? It was the company that actually developed the first digital camera but eventually found that it couldn’t bring itself to change and adapt enough. It went into administration earlier this year.

William Bakker of Think! Social Media is helping Flanders implement its new marketing strategy and has seen inertia across the travel industry for years. “Flanders is the perfect client for us because they went all in with social media. They understand that social media is not a feature – it’s a new way of doing business.

“This means it’s a disruptor to most business models – and taking it seriously will most likely require some risks to existing business models that most executives aren’t willing to take at this point.”

Watch BA’s latest social film the ‘Conductor’ on YouTube

DNA Magazine 2013

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 105

105

05/06/2013 08:47

A social-media

Roman holiday

34

people

A social-media Roman holiday

our BA’s Perfect Day initiative was given a Twitter twist for its first live foray big ide a

BA’s Perfect Day initiative was given a Twitter twist for its first live foray

W

hen in Rome, according to the old adage, do what the Romans do.

Well not anymore. British Airways has brought this idea into the digital age by suggesting that one select group of visitors to the ancient city do exactly what people on Twitter tell them.

The occasion was the first live incarnation of BA’s Perfect Day. This is the Facebook initiative that enables BA’s followers to create recommendations for activities and sights to see in one action-packed day at the destinations that BA flies to, either from the comfort of their own home, or live on the ground using their mobile. This time, though, the recommendations would be sourced from the social media crowd.

To maximise coverage across the social media realm, BA recruited travel blogger Paul Steele, otherwise known as the ‘Bald Hiker’ to lead the expedition.

His gallant group of four in the Italian capital also included a photographer, group digital editor Jo Hunter from BA’s content agency Cedar and BA digital community relationship lead Nick Jones.

Jones says: “We wanted to bring Perfect Day to life and engage our social media followers by getting them to share their expertise. The Bald Hiker has a Twitter following of around 400,000, so by retweeting each other we were talking to a wider audience.”

The activity on the day reached a potential Twitter audience of 1.7 million.

Paul Steele was a good fit for the endeavour because his blog reflects the

road-less-travelled, so the aim was not to get a list of the obvious tourist sites and attractions, but to discover experiences on Rome’s less beaten tracks.

Over the course of the day, Twitter followers using the #PDRome tag tweeted recommendations, monitored by a team at Cedar, who then relayed instructions to Rome. Affirming BA’s support of innovative British companies, two of the team were wearing Autographer cameras, which take a continual stream of shots via a fish-eye lens. The results will form a part of the image galleries on BA’s Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram pages.

The day proved to be a great success, with just shy of 1,000 people tweeting

Making things right Paul Steele, aka the Bald Hiker, (above, middle row, far left) was given his marching orders by BA’s Twitter followers for his day in the Italian capital

suggestions, guiding the team on the ground to 13 destinations across the city, from churches layered with heritage to bars dripping with cool.

Jones says: “The day was a mix of positive PR to demonstrate BA’s travel expertise, along with a revenue element because we posted links to ba.com showing our latest offers.”

Paul Steele adds: “ It was my first time in Rome and it was more special to be guided ‘live’ by Twitter followers. I saw and experienced things that the everyday tourist would never imagine they could accomplish in a day, and we found some gems that are not always on the tourist trail. It was thrilling to gain insight to a city from those in the know.”

Initiatives such as Perfect Day Live will help the airline reach its target of netting four million social media followers by the end of the year, up from the current 2.9 million. “This sort of activity helps spread our message beyond those who follow us and builds engagement with those who do,” adds Jones.

Digital marketing innovation manager Richard Bowden adds: “It’s an exciting way to bring our short-haul destinations to life for our followers, encouraging them to choose us as a way of discovering these cities.”

Now that the logistics have been tested, there are plans for more Perfect Day Live events, but in the interim, the Perfect Day in Rome is available on Facebook and a video of the day can be seen on the BA YouTube site (scan the QR code, left).

my inspiration

M

106

DNA

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 106 Karen Harrison,

commercial

y inspiration is drawn from wonderful destinations in the world and Magazine 2013 experiencing the exciting flavours they provide. In short, my inspiration is the

city and having the opportunity to taste the different cuisines of the world.

A few of my favourite places to visit are Seville, Cochin and Cuzco as

to coconut spice.

I am intrigued by the mix of flavours in fusion cooking with the blend of cultures being displayed in fascinating dishes.

British Airways

connect people and countries.

When I hear of a new destination being added to the network it motivates and inspires me to sell with a passion, 05/06/2013 because British

08:47

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.

Spotify is proud to support the DNA Summit 2013.

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 107

107 05/06/2013 08:47

Gavin Newsom’s

Citizenville and Next Generation Government

Innovategov.org

M

ANY ADVOCATES in both government and private enterprise seek to bring about a transformation to the relationship between government and citizenry.

Recently, one of the highest profile figures in state government has led a charge to create the next generation of government-public interaction through technology.

Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor of California and former San Francisco mayor, released the book Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government earlier this year. The main points of Citizenville can be broken down as follows: Governments must embrace open data with standardized data formats and civic Application Program Interfaces (APIs) that allow easy integration and access for citizens and third parties.

108 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 108

Governments should actively lay out a roadmap for the future and give “innovation” an internal set of initiatives, much the same way the private sector has embraced innovation. This can even include a “Chief Innovation Officer” position.

Social media, citizen engagement apps, and even community town hall events are instrumental in keeping an ongoing dialogue between citizens and elected officials.

The cities of Austin, Fresno, Oakland, Philadelphia, and San Francisco have accepted the “Citizenville Challenge,” which is an initiative to actively adopt these recommendations.

It is not a coincidence that Newsom’s proximity to Silicon Valley as former mayor of San Francisco influences much of this model. Newsom is a business owner as well as a collaborator with the

tech sector, who has even unveiled a plan for a “California government app store” at an event hosted by the Silicon Valley Leadership group. Newsom has pointed to Steve Jobs and the case of iPhone applications as a model of success: create an effective and robust platform (such as the Apple App Store) and count on the efforts and creativity of countless collaborators to drive innovation.

Newsom has also pointed to a seemingly innocuous but massively popular website as a model for the future of government success – Yelp. Though it may seem like a stretch to tie restaurant reviews to invigorated democracy, it is worth pointing out that Yelp was disruptive: it moved an entire industry away from the realm of elites and experts and opened it to the transparent influence of the citizen critic. n

DNA Magazine 2013 05/06/2013 17:26

Rt Hon Lord Reid of Cardowan

J

OHN REID is the most experienced Cabinet minister of modern times, having held more ministerial posts at Cabinet level than any other politician in recent history.

In range of portfolios, and in breadth and intensity of change management across departments, his experience is unparalleled.

In particular he has served in leadership across a range of security-related portfolios in the UK Government including Home Secretary, Defence Secretary, Northern

Ireland Secretary, Minister for Transport and Armed Forces Minister. Following almost quarter of a century as a Member of Parliament, he is now a Member of the House of Lords, the Upper Chamber of the UK Parliament.

He is a Principal of The Chertoff Group; an Hon. Professor and Chair of the Institute for Security and Resilience Studies at University College London; Vice-Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Homeland Security; Director of John Reid Advisory

In range of portfolios and in breadth and intensity of change management across departments, his experience is unparalleled.

and a Senior Advisor to the Private sector on Security related matters.

His many awards include an Hon. Doctorate from Stirling University for his outstanding contribution to Public Affairs (2009): Politician of the Year (Spectator, 2006); Minister to Watch (2005); Peace Person of the Year, Northern Ireland (2002) and Best Scot at Westminster (2001).

CAREER

Reid was an elected MP for 23 years, almost half of which he served as a Government minister. His portfolio of posts includes Minister of Defence (1997/98); Minister for Transport (1998/99); Secretary of State for Scotland (1999/2001); Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (2001/02): Party Chair and Minister without Portfolio (2002/03); Leader of House of Commons (2003); Secretary of State for Health (2003/05); Secretary of State for Defence (2005/06); Home Secretary (2006/07). He now serves in Parliament as a Member of the House of Lords

Co-authored with Dr. Jamie MacIntosh and Len Tyler OBE (June 2011).

Publication: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cyber Doctrine: Towards a framework for learning resilienceâ&#x20AC;?

ACHIEVEMENTS

At the centre of the major political developments of the 97-07 Government, his expertise in the field of security issues in particular is unparalleled. As Defence Secretary and Minister he presided over the Strategic Defence Review which reconfigured the British Armed Forces for the post-Cold War period. As Northern Ireland Secretary he played a major role in the Peace Process, negotiating arms de-commissioning with the IRA. As Home Secretary he led on counterterrorism, radically reforming and re-focussing the Home Office towards the contemporary challenges of International Crime, Immigration and Counter-Terrorism. The Ministry of Justice was established as a result of these reforms. n

DNA Magazine 2013 DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 109

109 05/06/2013 17:26

INNOVATION IN THE SKY

DNA Magazine.ISE2.indd 110

05/06/2013 17:43