Speakers - 8th Growth & Resilience Dialogue

Meet the Speaker

Date April 11-12 2024

James is among the most prominent leaders of the NJ/NYC business, innovation and technology ecosystems. Over the past 25 years he has helped nurture the region’s entrepreneurial, innovation and technology communities. James currently leads Innovation+, a curated global community of engaged business leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators. He also serves as an advisor to early stage and growth companies, corporates and higher-educational institutions as well as Tech Council Ventures and JumpStart Angel Network. As CEO of the regional trade association TechUnited (NJ/NYC/Phila, formerly NJ Tech Council 2014-2019), he transformed a fatigued organization into a vibrant and dynamic force. It is now among the largest and most respected membership organizations of its kind nationwide. Prior to this, he led the top-ranked entrepreneurship and innovation center at Fairleigh Dickinson University for over 15 years (1997-2014) which, under his leadership the organization became one of the leading centers (and Family Business Institutes) in the nation and one of the University’s flagship programs. James is host of the popular podcast, A Few Things, author of the book, Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Global Insights from 24 Leaders and co ‑ author of Lessons from the Great Recession. He has written thought leadership articles for Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Grit Daily, Star-Ledger, ROI, NJBiz, Life Sciences Leader and other publications and has been widely quoted regionally and nationally. In addition, he has been interviewed on TV (ABC, MSNBC), many podcasts, and online. He holds an MBA from Texas A&M University and a BA in Economics from Rutgers.

Focus: AI in financial services delivery.

Creative Disruption and Innovation - Pathways for Transformative Change and Sustainable Growth