Executive Conclave Keynote Speaker Bios
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 | Daniel Burrus Best-selling author, business strategist, and technology futurist Daniel Burrus is considered one of the world’s leading futurists on global trends and innovation. The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker. He has delivered over 3,000 keynote speeches worldwide and is a strategic advisor to executives from Fortune 500 companies, helping them to develop game-changing strategies based on his proven methodologies for capitalizing on technology innovations and their future impact. His client list includes Lockheed Martin, Verizon, Microsoft, VISA, Deloitte, Google, Procter & Gamble, KPMG, Honda, FedEx and the U.S. Department of Defense. He is the author of seven books, including The New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller Flash Foresight, as well as the international best-seller Technotrends. His latest book, The Anticipatory Organization: Turn Disruption and Change Into Opportunity and Advantage, is an Amazon #1 bestseller. Burrus is an innovative entrepreneur who has founded six businesses, four of which were U.S. national leaders in the first year. He is the CEO of Burrus Research, a research and consulting firm that monitors global advancements in technology-driven trends to help clients profit from technological, social and business forces that are converging to create enormous, untapped opportunities. He is the creator of the Hard Trend Methodology and the Anticipatory Organization® Business Model now being used by leading organizations worldwide. His accurate predictions date back to the early 1980s where he became the first and only futurist to accurately identify the 20 exponential technologies that would become the driving force of business and economic growth for decades to come. Since then, he has continued to establish a worldwide reputation for his exceptional record of predicting the future of technology-driven change and its direct impact on the business world. |
 | DUNCAN WARDLE 25-YEAR SENIOR EXECUTIVE VETERAN OF THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, AND DESIGN THINKING & INNOVATION CONSULTAN As Head of Innovation and Creativity at Disney, Duncan and his team helped Imagineering, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and Disney Parks to innovate, creating magical new storylines and experiences for consumers around the globe. As founder of iD8 & innov8 he now brings his extensive Disney experience to audiences around the world using a very unique approach to Design Thinking, that not only places the end user at the core of the creative thinking process, but also looks in new and usual places to uncover insights for innovation, helping people capture unlikely connections, leading to fresh thinking and disruptive ideas Delivering a series of keynotes, workshops and ideation forums, his unique Design Thinking process helps companies embed a culture of innovation into everyone’s DNA. Duncan is a multiple Ted X speaker and contributor to Fast Company Magazine. He teaches Master Classes at Yale, the University of North Carolina, Duke University and the University of Florida. In 2008 he received the American Citizen of Choice Award at the White House. In 2014 he was awarded a Hons. Doctorate from Edinburgh University in Scotland. He also holds the Duke of Edinburgh Award presented by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. |
 | Dr. Bill McCleave, PE Dr. Bill McCleave, PE is an internationally known presenter and distribution channel strategist. Bill received his undergraduate from Clemson University in Mechanical Engineering and his Masters and Doctorate in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M. Bill has not only a wide background in Industrial Distribution but restores and tours in 100+ year old American cars. As a side line, Bill has a farm and operates tractors, Bobcats, trenchers etc. |
 | Martin Brown Martin Brown currently serves as Senior Vice President/Director of Commercial Finance and CEO of BOK Financial Equipment Finance. Brown has been in banking for 40+ years and has spent the bulk of career in commercial lending functions. His current role oversees BOK Financial’s wholesale lending activity with Industrial Equipment Distribution businesses across the nation in addition to providing guidance on BOK’s retail leasing activities in the eight footprint states. He has been a member of AED for 11 years, and has been integral with the Banks’s sponsorship efforts. He holds a Finance degree from Texas Tech University and has served with service boards of NACM, March of Dimes, and SMU’s Cox Business School Affiliate Board. |
 | Wade Hinton Wade Hinton is an award-winning attorney and business leader. Recently, DiversityFirst named Mr. Hinton one of its 2021 Top 100 Diversity Officers. Mr. Hinton served as Unum Group’s first Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer and helped implement a global enterprise strategy. During Mr. Hinton’s tenure with the Unum, the Fortune 250 company received a number of awards, and made its first appearance on Forbes Magazine’s list of Best Employers for Diversity and for 2021 is listed in the top 100. Wade previously served as City Attorney for the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Deputy General Counsel for Volkswagen Chattanooga. He was named one of the nation’s forty best advocates and business leaders under the age of 40 by both the National Bar Association and the Network Journal. He was also a member of Harvard’s 2015 Young American Leaders program, a 2017 Presidential Leadership Scholar, a 2018 Diversity Community Champion for Justice, and a 2019 Tennessee Bar Foundation Fellow. Raised by a single mom in the city’s Westside, Wade grew up in a community that taught him the importance of standing up for what’s right and the importance of serving others. Wade attended public schools in Chattanooga, went to college at Emory University, and received his law degree from The University of Memphis. When Wade returned to Chattanooga, he dedicated himself to making sure that the talent residing in all corners of his community would have the opportunity to thrive -- a dedication that continues through his work at Hinton and Company. |
