Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

The Buzz: "Tax complexity itself is a kind of tax" (Max Baucus). The confluence of global trade, new technologies and governments' increasing need for tax revenue is impacting the global commerce landscape, challenging you and your competitors. To stay afloat, you need to understand, prepare for and stay on top of changing tax and regulatory compliance rules, as well as new technologies and platforms – including blockchain, machine learning, and big data. Got your lifejacket ready? The experts speak. John Viglione, Vertex: Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose" (Bill Gates). Robert Kugel, Ventana: "The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing" (Jean-Baptiste Colbert). Camilla Dahlen, SAP: "Strength lies in differences, not in similarities" (Stephen Covey). Join us for Global Commerce, Tax and Technology: Navigating Rough Waters Ahead.

The Buzz: "Disruption is a process, not an event, and innovations can only be disruptive relative to something else" (Clay Christensen). Rapid change has forced today's visionary business leaders to replace conventional growth models with a Disruptive Solutions mindset. Say what? This creative thinking methodology enables leaders to anticipate and quickly react to industry disruptions, identify unplanned opportunities, and move past internally-directed core competency thinking to leverage open innovation. We'll tell you how. The experts speak. Bryan W. Mattimore, Growth Engine: "If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old" (Peter F. Drucker). Erica Dhawan, Cotential: "If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun" (Katharine Hepburn). Denise Fletcher, EZassi: "The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it" (Mark Weiser). Join us for Disruptive Solutions Mindset 101.

The Buzz: "Don't annoy science fiction writers…people who destroy entire planets before lunch. Think of what they'll do to you" (John Scalzi). Think a beach day with a sci-fi page-turner is an escape from reality? Not! Sci-fi could prepare us for the possibilities of tomorrow hurtling at us via tech advances like AI, robotics, IoT. Should it be mandatory reading for business leaders? The experts speak. Gray Scott, Futurist: "Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not" (Isaac Asimov). Brenda J. Cooper, Sci-Fi Author: "Change is the principal feature of our age and literature should explore how people deal with it. The best science fiction does that, head-on" (David Brin). Dan Wellers, SAP: "For me science fiction is a way of thinking, a way of logic that bypasses a lot of nonsense. It allows people to look directly at important subjects. (Gene Roddenberry). Join us for Sci-Fi, AI, Wi-Fi: What's the Story?

The buzz: "It's actually women who are creating and leading some of the most established and promising companies overall" (@DrewAHendricks). Female entrepreneurs' accusations of sexual harassment from male VCs and others, are symptoms of entrepreneur ecosystem gender bias. Female startup founders received $1.46B in VC funding (2016) vs $58.2B to males. Does Silicon Valley mirror global tech-intensive industries? How to access power and capital for all? The experts speak. Adam Quinton, Lucas Point Ventures: "[In politics] If you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman" (Margaret Thatcher). Sharon Vosmek, Astia: "Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible (Dr Maya Angelou). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP Successfactors: "There is no female mind. The brain is not an organ of sex. As well speak of a female liver" (Charlotte Perkins Gilman). Join us for Don't Start with Me: Funding Female-Founded Startups.

The buzz: "You always miss 100% of the shots you don't take" (Wayne Gretsky). Despite headlines about companies that make regulatory missteps and have lax internal controls, many are still playing catch-up to grasp pitfalls in the business environment. In contrast, risk-aware organizations frame risk as an enabler of business performance vs containing it, and embed risk management in day-to-day. If you're one of the former, can technology – cloud, analytics, robotics – help gain a competitive edge via effective risk management? The experts speak. Ben Zimmerman, EY: "The biggest risk is not taking any risk...in a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks" (Mark Zuckerberg). Brian Ocampo, EY: "Data is the sword of the 21st century, those who wield it well, the Samurai (Eric Schmidt). Kevin McCollom, SAP: "Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast" (Tom Peters). Join us for No Reward Without Risk: Your Company in the Digital Economy.

The buzz: "Human resources professionals have long worked to earn a voice in the C-suite and boardroom; yet the Chief Human Resources Officer role remains elusive…many companies still lag in their perception of HR's value" (Boyden). The unique human capital in your workforce is your only true competitive differentiator. But as the power of the employee takes center stage, does your board have CHRO expertise to guide policies and strategies? The experts speak. Chris Johnson, Mercer: "Society only exists as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals" (Oscar Wilde). Fabiana Lacerca-Allen, Ethiprax: "Acknowledge and watch your habits, for they shall become your values. Understand and embrace your values…they become your destiny" (Gandhi). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: "Digital is the main reason just over half of the companies on the Fortune 500 have disappeared since the year 2000" (Pierre Nanterme). Join us for CHRO: New Roadmap to the Boardroom? – Part 2.

The buzz: "While efficiency…is important…[the HR] function has to think of itself as talent consultants not service deliverers."" (Josh Bersin, Forbes.com) HR evolved in Europe during the Industrial Revolution from an idea by Robert Owen and Charles Babbage to structure, organize, pay and develop the people who lead and execute on business strategy. Fast-forward. The advent of technology and the need to scale have management evaluating HR with a focus on efficiencies, more than people. Now the workforce is demanding HR put the 'human' back into Human Resources. The experts speak. Tim Aldrich, EY: "If I went to work in a factory, the first thing I would do is to join a union" (F.D. Roosevelt). James Sinclair, EnterpriseJungle: Success is 1% inspiration, 98% perspiration and 2% attention to detail (Phil Dunphy). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: "if it doesn't make the world a better place, don't do it" (Kid President). Join us for Humanizing HR: Is Technology the Answer?

The buzz: "We don't even know If a salesperson replying to us in real-time in the year 2020 would be a human or a robot…AI has already penetrated into our lives with or without our consent" (Mehreen Siddiqua). AI is changing business in ways not seen since the Industrial Revolution, says Accenture. But when we apply AI technologies to human interactions, particularly in B2B Social Selling, will it add value for modern B2B salespeople? The experts speak. Bernie Borges, Vengreso: "The secret to success is good leadership…making the lives of your team members or workers better" (Tony Dungy). Tim Hughes, Digital Leadership Associates: Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine (Alan Turing). Kirsten Boileau, SAP: "As more and more artificial intelligence is entering into the world, more and more emotional intelligence must enter into leadership" (Amit Ray). Join us for Social Selling and AI: New Frontier or Pricey Gimmick? Part 2.

The buzz: "49% of employees feel that a future in which people will 'work from anywhere in the world' is now" (ADP "The Evolution of Work" 2016). Reality check: Your company can't be global without being local. What is your CHRO's role in this? HR needs to understand and comply with local and global cultures, practices and regulations – recruiting, interviewing, hiring and compensation – while supporting a globalized business with a local feel. Say what? The experts speak. Nicole Sahin, Globalization Partners: "For the first time in human evolution … the individual mind is now a constituent player in the global transformation of human culture" (William Irwin Thompson). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: "Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark … there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves" (Carl Sagan). Join us for HR, Globalization, and Localization: More than Meets the Eye – Part 2.

The buzz: "You already have zero privacy – get over it" (Scott McNealy). We as individuals have welcomed Internet-connected, mobile devices to help us make daily decisions. But when we share data with companies, and they share it with their business partners, are their built-in and bolted-on data security capabilities enough to protect our personal information? The experts speak. Brian Kilcourse, RRS Research: "If you spend more on coffee than on IT security, you will be hacked. What's more, you deserve to be hacked" (Richard Clarke). Frank Diana, TCS: "You could go crazy thinking of how unprivate our lives really are–the omnipresent security cameras, the tracking data on our very smart phones… (Susan Orlean). Larry Stolle, SAP: "I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive…" (Stephen Hawking). Join us for You Don't Own Me: What About My Data? – Part 2.