DeepTech Everywhere: Building Disruptive Micro-Organizations

Dr. Jim Spohrer is a member of the advisory board at the Post-Lean Institute. He is also the  Director of Cognitive Open Technologies at IBM, which include open source intelligence augmentation (IA), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL). Previously, he was Director of IBM Global University Programs and IBM’s Cognitive Systems Institute Group.

Jim co-founded IBM’s first Service Research group, ISSIP Service Science community. He was the founding CTO of IBM’s Venture Capital Relations Group in Silicon Valley. In the 1990’s, he was awarded Apple Computers’ Distinguished Engineer Scientist and Technology title for his work on next generation learning platforms.

Early in his career, Jim was a senior scientist at Verbex, an Exxon company, working on speech recognition and machine learning.

Jim’s current team and system building focus is T-shaped innovators working to rebuild rapidly from scratch digital cognitive systems for smarter/wiser service systems.

With over ninety publications and nine patents, Jim is also a PICMET Fellow and a winner of the Evert Gummesson Service Research award as well as the S-D Logic award. Jim is also the Chairperson of the Linux Foundation AI, Technical Advisory Council. He has a doctorate in Computer Science/Artificial Intelligence from Yale and a BS in Physics from MIT.

Dr. Manish Kothari is the President of SRI International. He jointly develops SRI strategy with the CEO and ensures that corporate resources and talent are aligned with supporting SRI’s research needs. In this role, Manish also directly oversees SRI Ventures, Global Partnerships, Marketing and Communications, and SRI’s International offices, including the Japan office.

Prior to joining SRI, Manish co-founded and was CEO of Mytrus (successfully acquired by Medidata), which utilized NLP and ML to offer cloud-based software as a service platform for the direct-to-participant clinical trials. He has also held a series of executive roles in a number of successfully exited startups, including Sales & Marketing as well as in R&D.

Manish received his M.S. degree and Ph.D. in biomechanical engineering from Cornell University, and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. His bachelor of technology degree in aerospace engineering (summa cum laude) is from the Indian Institute of Technology. He holds multiple patents and is the author or co-author of several peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.
Manish has served on the boards of a number of startups, spanning robotics (Seismic, Abundant), AI/ML (Oto), space (LeoLabs) and a number of others. In his spare time, he enjoys playing squash, hiking and creative writing.

Frode Odegard is the Founder and CEO of the Post-Lean Institute and the Founder of the Post-Industrial Forum. His major focus is on how corporates, investors and policymakers can best navigate humanity’s transition to a post-industrial civilization and economy.

A serial entrepreneur since his high school years, Frode’s multi-disciplinary background stretches from theoretical computer science to the boardroom. He has a deep background in organizational design and a passion for history, linguistics, disruptive technologies, and philosophy. When not at work on post-industrial management tools, he is in the dojo practicing traditional Iwama style Aikido.

About the Post-Industrial Forum

Brought to you by the Post-Lean Institute in collaboration with industry partners, the Post-Industrial Forum is a unique global community with the purpose of developing and promoting a better understanding of the post-industrial transition and how to navigate it. Members include corporate executives, board members, investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and experts in various fields.