2014 marks the first time The Economist's innovation initiative has come to Asia in its 13-year history
Winners of The Economist's prestigious Innovation awards 2014 will speak at The Economist Events' Innovation Summit scheduled to take place at the JW Marriott Hong Kong on Friday, October 10th 2014. At the summit, the award winners will share their experiences and the lessons those hold for others. The awards, which recognises outstanding people who have made a proven innovation over the past decade, will be presented at a ceremony in Hong Kong the night before the summit. It will be the first time the ceremony has come to Asia. The award winners speaking at the summit include:
Nandan Nilekani, former head of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has won the Social & Economic Innovation Award for his leadership of the country's national identity scheme.
Jay Keasling, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and Senior Faculty Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for synthetic artemisinin used to treat malaria."I was fortunate to lead a team of very talented scientists and engineers who worked long and hard to complete this high risk, high reward project," said Dr Keasling. "Because of their efforts, the lives of many people will be saved and made better. Adoption of semisynthetic artemisinin is an important step forward in eradicating malaria."
Pixar Animation Studios has won the Corporate Award for its ground-breaking computer animation tools, technology and feature films. Marc Greenberg, Vice President, Finance and Strategy, Pixar Animation Studios will speak on behalf of Pixar Animation Studios at the summit. "Pixar is honored to receive The Economist's Corporate Innovation Award, which we accept on behalf of the studio's incredible employees," said Marc Greenberg. "Their creativity, commitment and drive are the source and foundation of all the company's accomplishments."
Renaud Laplanche, Founder and CEO of Lending Club, has won the Consumer Product Award for pioneering peer-to-peer consumer lending. "Our mission is to transform the banking system to make credit more affordable and investing more rewarding, and we're gratified that so many investors and borrowers continue to find value in that commitment," said Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche. "Having the impact of this disruption recognized and validated by the Economist Innovation Awards is a significant honor, and I'm excited to be recognized on behalf of all Lending Club team members."
As in The Economist newspaper, the Innovation Summit will explore innovation through the lens of what matters to senior executives in Asia, without the hype. In addition to hearing from award-winning innovators, chief executives will share corporate stories of success and failure -- with insight on how to learn from both. Entrepreneurs will share how to think like the competition in order to not be beaten by it. Participants will survey where disruption is heading in Asia and suggest how to avoid the shocks. The right role for government in spurring innovation will be examined and the latest breakthrough technologies will be revealed. Finally, The Economist will challenge the prevailing assumption that innovation is good and plentiful by debating the provocative notion that "We are not as innovative as we think".
Other featured speakers include:
Fanny Law, Member, HKSAR Executive Council, Chairperson, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation
Tom Standage, Online and Digital Editor, The Economist
Vijay V Vaitheeswaran, Author of Need, Speed, and Greed, China Business Editor and Shanghai Bureau Chief, The Economist Guo Ping, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Rotating Chief Executive Officer, Huawei Nisaba Godrej, Executive Director, Godrej Consumer Products
Kevin Goldmintz, Chief Executive Officer, Octopus
K. R. Sanjiv, Chief Technology Officer, Wipro Raj Thampuran, Managing Director, Agency for Science, Technology and Research
Scott Anthony, Managing Partner, Innosight
William Saito, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, InTecur K.K., Special Advisor, Cabinet Office for Government of Japan Toshiyuki Inoko, Founder, teamLab Andrew Chung, Managing Partner, Khosla Ventures Sirgoo Lee, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Daum Kakao
David Jensen, Global Innovation and Digital Strategy Leader, EY
Viren Shetty, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Planning, Narayana Hrudayalaya Tyler Cowen, Author, Professor of Economics, George Mason University
Parag Khanna, Managing Partner, Hybrid Reality, Senior Fellow, New America Foundation
First time in Asia
Innovation is an increasingly global activity. No city, country or region has a monopoly on "new ideas that create value", as The Economist likes to define it. The awards, the only awards presented by the newspaper, and the summit reflects that fact in its choice of location as well as its content.
"Unlike other awards ceremonies and conferences, our focus is not simply on promising innovations that might turn out to be important," says Tom Standage, Online and Digital Editor of The Economist. "Rather, our focus is on proven innovations that have demonstrated their value -- and the lessons that can be learned from them. In other words, we look backwards in order to look forwards."
The Economist Intelligence Unit will be releasing a white paper Under the radar: Innovation in Asia evolves at the summit.
www.economistinsights.com
