On behalf of the board of Central Houston, thank you to all our table sponsors and indivduals in attendance at our Annual Meeting Luncheon on October 24th. Your support played a large role in the event's success. As demonstrated by this year’s outstanding attendance of over 800 guests, the luncheon continues to be an important event for our Downtown stakeholders.
We have received very positive feedback on this year’s panel discussion on innovation. Moderated by Abby Taubner, Partner at Gener8tor, the speakers William Hurley “Whurley”, Mater Inventor; Tige Savage, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Revolution; and Kate Wittels, Partner, of HR&A Advisors, discussed the timely topic of advancing the region’s and the central city’s innovation and technology economies.
William “whurley” Hurley, Master Inventor
Hurley has been making innovations for over 20 years. A holder of 14 patents, a certified "Master Inventor" by IBM, and with a history in research and development with Apple, whurley is a leader in pushing software and hardware to the limit. He is an entrepreneur and the founder of Chaotic Moon Studios, Honest Dollar, and Equals: The Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age. He is an open source advocate and systems theorist and is regularly interviewed by the press on technology and related topics. Today, whurley is helping the world's top brands and companies think about their products decades ahead, envision not the next iteration, but the needs, functions, and lifecycle of the next generation. You can find him speaking around the world, certainly on the topic of innovation, and about Open Source Software, hardware/software integration, and mobile technology.
Kate Wittels, Partner with HR&A Advisors
Wittels advises governments, developers, and businesses on leveraging technology and forging connections to create districts, workforces, and economies that are ready for the future. From New York to Sydney, she has structured strategic plans, public-private partnerships, policies, and programs to help her clients grow tech and innovation ecosystems in cities around the world. Kate focuses on how to best shape places, train people, and deliver infrastructure to prepare today’s cities for tomorrow’s opportunities.
Tige Savage, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Revolution
Savage co-founded Revolution and co-leads Revolution Ventures, Revolution’s institutionally-backed early stage fund investing in companies around the country that are attacking large, multi-billion dollar categories. Savage has nearly three decades of industry experience and has been named Washington, D.C.’s “Financier of the Year” and one of the area’s “Tech Titans.” Prior to Revolution, Savage led a team at Time Warner Ventures investing in technology and next-generation media companies for AOL, HBO, Time, Inc., Time Warner Cable, Turner, and Warner Bros.
Abby Taubner, Moderator
Taubner is a Partner at gener8tor, starting at the organization as the first full-time employee and helping grow it into the 30 team members that currently work across eight states and Canada. Taubner started her career at gener8tor, initially as an intern working directly with gener8tor’s startups. She now focuses on overseeing and expanding gener8tor's 17 gBETA programs, as well as gener8tor's art and music programming.