JA Celebrates Centennial with Executive Forum at MIT
May 3, 2019
JA Celebrates Centennial with an Executive Forum at MIT
Held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in partnership with JA of Northern New England, the JA Centennial Executive Forum on May 2 gathered global thought leaders to discuss innovation and the future of work. After introductions from Radhames Nova (President and CEO, JA of Northern New England), JA of Northern New England Board Chair Christine Barry (Chief Services Officer, Endurance International), and Asheesh Advani (CEO, JA Worldwide), our first featured speaker took the stage. H. James Wilson (Managing Director, Accenture Research and author of Human + Machine: Reimagining the Future of Work in the Age of AI) spoke about the jobs that artificial intelligence will create for the next generation.
Tom Malone (founder, MIT Center for Collective Intelligence and author of Superminds) then took the stage, asking attendees to explore how people and computers can be connected so that they act more intelligently than any person, group, or computer has ever done before.
Rosalin Acosta (Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development), Bob Coughlin (President and CEO of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council), and Amy Philbrook (Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Fidelity Investments)—came on stage for a panel moderated by JA of Northern New England board member Bill Driscoll (Senior District President, Technology Staffing Services—Northeast U.S., Robert Half International), who led a discussion on the opportunities and challenges youth face in the rise of technology. Attendees also got a chance to see JA in action, as three JA Company Program teams pitched their products and touted their selling points. Big thanks to Aware Bear, FiltAir, and PrivaSee, who represent the future of innovation and the future of work.
During lunch, a full room heard JA of Northern New England alumni and associate board member Josuel Plasencia share his success story, including how he worked his way to becoming Founder and Managing Partner of Forefront.
Attendees then heard from the final panel, led by moderator Elisabeth Reynolds (Executive Director, MIT Industrial Performance Center) and joined by panelists Chris Devaney (COO, DataRobot), Andreana Stantangelo (Executive Vice President and CFO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA), Maurice Ostro (CEO, Ostro Minerals), and Bhushan Sethi (Partner, Joint Global Leader, People & Organization, PwC), who discussed how businesses remain competitive when innovation is a constant.
Without the JA Executive Forum sponsors (see below), the forum would not have been possible. Each sponsor played a critical role that, when put together, resulted in the success of the forum. Our heartfelt gratitude.
For more photos of the Executive Forum, click here. To learn more about what the local JA chapter is doing. contact Amanda Doyle-Bouvier at adoylebouvier@janewengland.org.
Also, read all about (and peruse photos of) the other Centennial event of the day, the JA Global Gala.