My Sincere Thanks

I have learned from many over the years: my clients, my colleagues—those who invested in my companies and entrepreneurs that I believed in and invested in—my students, my mentors, and my teachers. I am grateful to all for helping me shape my thoughts.

 

In writing this book the following individuals were particularly generous with their time and thoughtfulness.

 

Donald Beall

Former CEO and Chairman of Rockwell International and former board member for Procter & Gamble, Amoco, and Time Warner. A true leader of complexity.

Austin Beutner

Co-founder of Evercore Partners (the investment banking group with over $1.2 billion revenues in 2015); former First Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles; and past publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union- Tribune. An expert in spotting opportunities and executing flawlessly.

Adam Coates

An MIT Technology Review recognized under-35 innovator, a Stanford University researcher, and the Director of Baidu's (Google of China) Artificial Intelligence Lab in Silicon Valley. An authentic visionary.

Patrick Conway

The Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) at U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), focusing on building the next generation of leaders in the U.S. Army. An authority on team performance and mission critical challenges.

Marty Cooper

A pioneer in the wireless communications industry; the visionary who conceived the first handheld mobile phone while heading up Motorola's communications systems; founder and investor in numerous technology companies.

Simply a genius.

Lynne Doughtie

The U.S. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KPMG—one of the world’s leading professional services firms and the fastest growing Big Four firm in the U.S., employing close to 174,000 people globally with over $24 billion in revenues. A compassionate and result oriented proven leader.

Mark Goodburn

Chairman of KPMG’s Global Advisory Executive Team with deep global experience in assisting Fortune 500 clients and serving on KPMG’s Americas region board of directors as well as Middle East and India oversight boards. An expert in global competitive dynamics.

J.P. Gownder

A Forrester Research principal analyst and VP; a thought leader in virtual and augmented reality, wearable computing, tablets, smart phones, and robotics. A thought leader around drivers of innovation.

Arlene Harris

Known as the "First Lady of Wireless,“ the first woman inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame; a serial entrepreneur, an inventor, and a successful investor. An original entrepreneur and practical innovator.

Steven Hill

Global Head of Innovation & Investments and a former Vice Chair at KPMG responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of investments driving the firm’s strategic growth initiatives. An expert in spotting trends and large scale mobilization of change.

Chris Hoehn-Saric

Co-founder of Sterling Partners, a private equity firm with over $5 billion in assets under management; former CEO of multiple companies and an active board member. A natural born company and market builder.

Anne Hubert

Formerly a Senior Vice President at Viacom, Anne led Scratch, a creative consultancy. She also served as the Special Advisor for Millennial Engagement at Hillary for America (Hillary Clinton for President, 2016). The expert on our next generation leaders, employees, and customers.

Hans Imhof

Founder of EPE, of one of the largest uninterruptible power supplies manufacturers in the world, since sold to Group Schneider; started over a dozen companies and invested in many more. A passionate and patient leader and investor.

 

Robert Kleist

Founder and CEO of Printronix—which went from his garage to public markets—an inventor, an entrepreneur, an early stage investor, and a seasoned board member. An expert in constantly mapping technology to unanticipated needs.

Bryan Neider

A progressively successful corporate executive at Electronic Arts as CFO and COO for EA.com, CFO of Worldwide Studios, and Senior Vice President of Global Operations. A veteran corporate leader in a hyper competitive market.

Safi Qureshey

The co-founder and CEO of AST Research, Inc., a publicly traded personal computer manufacturer acquired by Samsung Electronics; a professor, an active investor and board member. A skillful corporate and social entrepreneur.

Ashwin Rangan

Former CIO at Rockwell International, Walmart.com, and Edwards Lifesciences; current Chief Innovation and Information Officer for ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), maintaining and coordinating Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and the Domain Name System. A real strategist in the body of a technology leader.

Paul Slack

A Marine Corps brigadier general who was responsible for a $2.4 billion budget before he retired; an expert in large scale mission critical operations. An expert in realizing the value of intelligence while facing life and death decisions.

Mona Vernon

VP of Thomson Reuters Labs focusing on new data-driven innovations; a member of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Big Data Committee; and winner of Boston’s “50 on Fire”. An authority in use of analytics for innovation.

 

 

THANK YOU

from the bottom of my heart.

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