Futurist to keynote Economic Forum 2016 | Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle

Futurist to keynote Economic Forum 2016

 

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Jewish Federation could see another sell-out crowd at its Economic Forum 2016 on Thursday, Oct. 27, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., at The Pfister Hotel, 424 E. Wisconsin Ave.

This year features keynote speaker Vivek Wadhwa, a futurist who is recognized as a provocative Silicon Valley voice for his ideas on technology trends, globalization and U.S. competitiveness.

Vivek Wadhwa

Vivek Wadhwa

From tech entrepreneur and business owner to accomplished academic and widely published writer, Wadhwa is an innovation agent who leads research at Singularity University. The California-based benefit corporation seeks to provide educational programs, innovative partnerships and a startup accelerator to help individuals, businesses, institutions, investors and governments understand cutting-edge technologies.

He also teaches on the impact of these technologies at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering and Stanford Law School.

Following the keynote speech will be a panel discussion with Milwaukee business leaders, including Tina Chang, CEO of SysLogic, Inc., and Mike Gousha, Distinguished Fellow in Law and Public Policy at Marquette University Law School.

Tina Chang

Tina Chang

“The Milwaukee Jewish Federation organizes the Economic Forum to hold a community conversation about the economy,” said Hannah Rosenthal, CEO and president of the Federation. “Having renowned futurist Vivek Wadhwa deliver the keynote speech is an excellent opportunity for this conversation. And our local panel of business leaders brings it all home.”

The lead sponsors of Economic Forum 2016 are BMO Harris Bank, PNC and Milwaukee Business Journal, along with nearly 50 additional sponsors. Limited sponsorships are still available; go to MilwaukeeJewish.org/EconomicForum or call Rosenthal at (414) 390-5707 to learn more. Check the website after Oct. 7 for any available individual tickets.

Event co-chairs are: Allan “Bud” Selig, commissioner emeritus of Major League Baseball; David Lubar, president of Lubar & Company; Greg Marcus, president and CEO of The Marcus Corporation; and Linda Gorens-Levey, partner of General Capital Group.

Economic Forum 2016 follows last year’s sell-out crowd of over 650, which featured Paul H. O’Neill, former secretary of the U.S. Treasury, along with a panel of prominent local business leaders.