Jim Whitehurst

Jim Whitehurst is president and chief executive officer of , the world’s leading provider of open source enterprise IT software solutions and services. Whitehurst is an avid advocate for open software as a catalyst for business innovation. With a background in business development, finance, and global operations, Whitehurst has proven expertise in helping companies flourish—even in the most challenging economic and business environments.

Whitehurst has grown Red Hat and its influence on a variety of industries, by reaching key milestones—the most notable in 2012 when Red Hat became the first $1 billion revenue open source software company. Since joining Red Hat, Whitehurst has grown revenue from more than $500 million at the end of February 2008, to almost $3 billion for the company's 2018 fiscal year. Under his leadership, Red Hat was named to Forbes’ list of “The World’s Most Innovative Companies” in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2012; named to Fortune’s list of the Most Admired Companies for 2018; added to Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500 stock index in 2009; named one of the best places to work by Glassdoor in 2016, 2014, and 2013; named to the first-ever Fortune Future 50 list in 2017; and added to to the Forbes’ Global 2000 list in 2017. In addition, in 2018 Whitehurst was named one of the World’s Best CEOs by Barron’s.

In June 2015, Whitehurst published a book with Harvard Business Review Press entitled "The Open Organization: Igniting Passion and Performance" showing how open principles of management—based on transparency, participation, and community—can help organizations navigate and succeed in a fast-paced connected era. To date, the book has sold more than 42,000 copies; been featured in more than 130 press articles including articles from Fortune, Forbes,and Fast Company; and named one of the top 10 creative leadership books of 2015 in Forbes. During his six-years at , Whitehurst drove significant international expansion and as Chief Operating Officer, oversaw all aspects of airline operations—from sales to strategy. At The Boston Consulting Group, where he began his career in 1989, he held several corporate development leadership roles, working in the , Hong Kong and Shanghai offices, and as a partner in the office with numerous clients across a wide range of industries.

Natalie Nixon

“Natalie Nixon, PhD is an innovation strategist and President of Figure 8 Thinking, LLC. She advises leaders on change management at publicly traded and privately held corporations as well as non-profits. She helps them design optimal ways to leverage creativity, sustain innovation and achieve priority business goals—resulting in happier customers and employees.

Natalie is a published author (Strategic Design Thinking and INConline magazine) and a global speaker represented by the BigSpeak speakers bureau.

Her public speaking invitations have included CUSP, Business Innovation Factory, 360 Possibles (Saint Malo, France), Creative Mornings, TEDx Philadelphia, The Copenhagen Institute for Interactive Design, The European Innovation Academy (Nice, France), SEB Bank (Tallinn, Estonia), FUSE and the Mayo Clinic’s Transform conference. She is a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania in social innovation and design thinking and a Senior Advisor at Econsult Solutions. She has a background in cultural anthropology, fashion, and service design. She is certified as a foresight practitioner by the Institute for the Future and in charrette facilitation by the National Charrette Institute at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Natalie received her PhD from the University of Westminster in design management, and her AB (cum laude) from Vassar College in anthropology and Africana Studies.

Jim Kouzes

Jim Kouzes is a bestselling author, an award-winning speaker and, according to the Wall Street Journal, one of the twelve best executive educators in the United States.

Jim Kouzes has been thinking about leadership ever since he was one of only a dozen Eagle Scouts to be selected to serve in John F. Kennedy’s honor guard when Kennedy was inaugurated President of the United States. Kennedy’s inaugural call to action —“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” — inspired Jim to join the Peace Corps, and he taught school in Turkey for two years. That experience made Jim realize that he wanted a career that offered two things: the chance to teach and the opportunity to serve. It was in his first job back in the U.S. where Jim trained community action agency managers that he found his calling. Jim has devoted his life to leadership development ever since.

Currently Jim is Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, at Santa Clara University, and also lectures on leadership around the world to corporations, governments, and nonprofits. In 2010, Jim received the Thought Leadership Award from the Instructional Systems Association, the most prestigious award given by the trade association of training and development industry providers. He was listed as one of HR Magazine’s Most Influential International Thinkers for 2010 and 2011, named one of the 2010 and 2011 Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior by Trust Across America, and ranked by Leadership Excellence magazine as number sixteen on its list of the Top 100 Thought Leaders. In 2006, Jim was presented with the Golden Gavel, the highest honor awarded by Toastmasters International.