Open Forum 2010 - OPEN Silicon Valley

CATCH
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2010
OPEN FORUM
www.OPENSiliconValley.org
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Conference Floor Plan – MAIN (2nd Floor)
EA
BR
ST
KFA
MAIN HALL
SPEAKER
ROOM
REGISTRATION
S
IBIT
EXH
E
NC
TRA
EN
Noyce
room is on
the 1st floor
BIRDS-OF-A-FEATHER
SESSIONS
LUNCH
VOLUNTEER
ROOM
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OPEN FORUM
President’s Message
I am very excited to welcome you to our Seventh Annual OPEN Forum in Silicon Valley. Attracting
thousands of entrepreneurs, executives and professionals, each year OPEN Forum has grown in
size, scope, and influence. We are excited and honored by your attendance today.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Catch the Wave.” It reflects the changing optimistic mood
in Silicon Valley after several difficult years. Capital is flowing again to fund the creativity and
enthusiasm of entrepreneurs and to seed the growth of a new innovative economy.
In this year’s conference we have introduced new tracks. The Gen Y track is intended to engage
the younger members of our community, while Birds-of-a-Feather sessions add to our traditional
content. As in previous years, our attendees include visitors from Pakistan and across the US. I really
appreciate the contribution that they make to our program today.
I extend a special thanks to our volunteers who have worked tirelessly over several months to
envision, organize and implement today’s conference. Their passion and dedication enables all that
OPEN is today. I also thank our sponsors whose support has enabled the rich content that will be
presented today.
OPEN is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship and
business leadership by connecting ideas, talent and capital. Established in 2001, OPEN Silicon
Valley is the largest organization of Pakistani professionals and entrepreneurs in the Bay Area.
Our membership includes entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investment bankers, corporate CXOs
and professionals. We conduct over 20 events per year attracting over 1500 participants. I invite you
to become a member and benefit from OPEN sessions throughout the year.
Once again, welcome and enjoy the day. I look forward to your active engagement and your
continued participation in the future.
Naeem Zafar
President, OPEN Silicon Valley
2009-2011
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OPEN FORUM
Agenda
8:00AM - 9:00AM Registration and Breakfast
Grand Lobby
9:00AM
OPENING REMARKS by Naeem Zafar, President, OPEN Silicon Valley
Hahn Auditorium
9:15AM - 10:00AM
Morning Keynote: “Beyond the Busted Decade”
by Faysal Sohail, Managing Director, CMEA Capital
Hahn Auditorium
pg. 6
10:00AM - 11:00AM
Ending UP in a Down Economy
Hahn Auditorium
pg. 12
Authentic Leadership: Differentiate and Succeed
Boole
pg. 18
The Next Wave of SV’s Innovators: Meet the Social Entrepreneurs
Noyce
pg. 24
11:00AM - 11:30AM
Coffee Break
Grand Lobby
11:30AM - 12:30AM
Future of Personal Transportation
Hahn Auditorium
pg. 13
Workshop: Demystifying Social Media Marketing
Boole
pg. 19
Beyond BRIC: Opportunities in Emerging Markets
Noyce
pg. 26
12:30PM - 1:15PM
Afternoon Keynote: ”Scaling to a Billion” by Rafiq Mohammadi, CEO Interwoven
(Division of Autonomy)”
Hahn Auditorium
pg. 7
1:15PM - 2:30PM
General Lunch
Grand Hall
1:45PM - 2:30PM
Gen Y Keynote: Organize. Influence. Impact, The Art of Organizing, by Dilawar Syed, CEO,
Yonja Media Group
Boole
Parallel Sessions:
Parallel Sessions:
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OPEN FORUM
Parallel Sessions:
2:30PM - 3:30PM
Funding: Angels and Super Angels
Hahn Auditorium
pg. 14
Media in the Mobile World - “Burn the Boats” Noyce
pg. 20
BOF Session: Heart Disease in
South Asian Community
Grand Hall
pg. 30
BOF Session: Privacy in Cloud, Healthcare
and Social Network
Grand Hall
pg. 30
BOF Session: LUMS Alumni Event
Grand Hall
pg. 30
Gen Y Track : Put your Passion to Work
Boole
pg. 28
3:30PM - 4:30PM
Entrepreneurial Idol: Pitch Competition
Hahn Auditorium
pg. 16
Pakistani Education’s Role in Entrepreneurship
Noyce
pg. 22
BOF Session: NED University Alumni Event
Grand Hall
pg. 30
BOF Session: University of Engineering & Technology Lahore Alumni Event
Grand Hall
pg. 30
BOF Session: Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute
Alumni Event
Grand Hall
pg. 30
Gen Y Track: Opening Doors
Boole
pg. 31
4:30PM - 5:00PM
High Tea
Grand Lobby
5:00PM - 5:45PM
Evening Keynote: Prof Iqbal Quadir, MIT: Bottom-up entrepreneurship for democracy
and development: The Story of Grameenphone
Hahn Auditorium
5:45PM - 6:00PM
Closing Remarks: Naeem Zafar, President OPEN SV
Hahn Auditorium
6:00PM - 7:30PM
VIP Reception for speakers, Charter Members & Volunteers (by Invitation Only)
Grand Hall
Parallel Sessions:
pg. 9
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OPEN FORUM
About OPEN
OPEN Silicon Valley
The Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs (OPEN) Silicon Valley was launched in
2001. OPEN is a volunteer-run, not-for profit organization dedicated to the promotion
of entrepreneurship and leadership in the Pakistani-American business community.
Established in Boston in 1998, OPEN has chapters in Boston, Houston, New York,
Chicago, Silicon Valley, and Washington DC.
OPEN is an inclusive organization, focused primarily on the promotion of entrepreneurship
and business leadership. OPEN Silicon Valley community is several thousand-strong,
and includes corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and banking
professionals, social leaders, academics and students.
• OPEN Silicon Valley promotes entrepreneurship through regular mentorship and networking initiatives.
• For 2010, OPEN Silicon Valley has planned over two dozen targeted and hands-
on mentorship workshops, networking mixers, panel discussions and a day-long global business conference - OPEN FORUM 2010.
• Given the valley’s leadership in technology and entrepreneurship, OPEN Silicon
Valley has championed significant global initiatives, including supporting entrepreneurship and the technology sector in Pakistan.
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OPEN Silicon Valley
Charter Members
Aamir Sheikh
Amir Khan
Amir Sheikh
Ammar Hanafi
Amra Tareen
Arif Janjua
Asad Jamal
Ashar Aziz
Asim Abdullah
Aurangzeb Khan
Ayaz Haque
Bari Abdul
Dilawar Syed
Faruq Ahmad
Fawad Zakariya
Faysal A. Sohail
Hasan Rizvi
Idris Kothari
Jaffer Hussain
Javed Ellahie
Kamal Ahmed
Mahboob Akhter
Mahmood Panjwani
Mahmood Virani
Muhammad Irfan
Nadir Ali
Naeem Zafar
Naveed Sherwani
Nayeem Qureshi
Nazim Kareemi
2010
OPEN FORUM
Omar Ahmad
Rafat Pirzada
Raghib Hussain
Raheel Zia
Rehan Jalil
Safi Qureshey
Safwan Shah
Sajid Sohail
Shoieb Yunus
Sohaib Abbasi
Umair Khan
Waheed Qureshi
Waqas Khan
Zain Jeewanjee
Zia Yusuf
Planning Team Volunteers
Abdulrahman Rafiq
Moazzam Chaudry
Pooja Batra
Azhar Zeeshan
Mobashar Yazdani
Rafae Bhatti
Babar Yasin
Moez Naseer
Shahab Riazi
Bari Abdul
Mohsin Imam
Sonya Sohail
Faisal Hanif
Muffi Ghadiali
Umair Muzaffar
Iftikhar Mirza
Nadir Rahman
Zainab Jeewanjee
Jumana Ghadiali
Naeem Zafar
Riyadh Abdullah
Laiq Chughtai
Nayeem Qureshi
Melanie Ananthraman
Naziya Sayyed
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OPEN FORUM
Morning Keynote
Title: Beyond the Busted Decade
Session time: 9:15am - 10:00am
Description:
From the bull market to the bear market, we’ve lived through and relished in the highs and we’ve
lived and continue to fight through the lows full of uncertainty, greed and volatility. What will follow the
busted decade? Where will the next set of opportunities come from and will we be prepared to take
advantage of them?
Speaker: Faysal Sohail, Managing Director, CMEA Capital
Faysal is an entrepreneur turned venture
capitalist. Faysal does not shy from big
challenges. Where many venture capitalists
avoid risky, breakthrough technologies,
he expends considerable energy helping
companies develop new applications to
solve tough problems addressing large
markets. Today he sits on the Board of A123
Systems, AirTight Networks, Applied Wave
Research, Danotek Motion Technologies,
Inc., Evolution Robotics, Multigig, Inc.,
NEA-IndoUS Ventures, Pyxis Technology,
Inc., Symwave, Inc. Nor is Faysal a pure
academic. Before joining CMEA in 2002, he
helped build three companies, which became
successful either via IPO or through a merger
or acquisition, including Cadabra Design
Automation, which was eventually acquired
by Numerical Technologies (NMTC). His
world revolves around helping entrepreneurs,
and he understands the stress and demands
involved in building something of value.
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When he’s not building companies, Faysal
pursues a second passion – education. He’s
committed to improving computer literacy
and increasing high school graduation
rates among young people in Silicon Valley
and emerging regions like Asia and Africa.
Faysal is also the Chairman of Silicon Valley
Education Foundation. His commitment to
education is instructional in his work with
technology entrepreneurs. Like young people
in the emerging world, entrepreneurs are
fundamentally at a disadvantage. The deck is
stacked against them. They need someone
to open doors, to present opportunities
previously out of reach, and to be their
mentor. Successful entrepreneurs learn
to make the most of limited resources and
never take anything for granted. That excites
Faysal.
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OPEN FORUM
Afternoon Keynote
Title: Scaling to a Billion: Lessons for Entrepreneurs
Session time: 12:30pm - 1:15pm
Description:
What does it take to steer a company with a few million in revenue, to a successful exit? Are these
the same skills, experiences and management philosophies needed to lead a billion dollar company?
In this seminal keynote, Rafiq Mohammadi charts his journey from a small start-up to a billion dollar
company. His pragmatic insights, and the contrasting skills required at the different stages of growth
provide inspiration to entrepreneurs and professionals. Rafiq’s experiences both during the great
technology market decline in 2001 and the tough economic environment over the last two years will
inspire professions to think big and grow their careers meaningfully.
Speaker: Rafiq Mohammadi, CEO Interwoven (a division of Autonomy)
Rafiq Mohammadi is leading the Autonomy
Interwoven team, as it transforms Marketing
with next-generation solutions that enable
businesses to understand and act on all forms
of customer information. We call this new
unique Autonomy approach, Meaning Based
Marketing. Rafiq has more than 15 years of
experience in the content management space
and he is highly respected in the industry.
Rafiq served as Group CTO of Autonomy,
after the completion of Autonomy’s acquisition
of Interwoven. He co-founded iManage, Inc.
in 1995.
Rafiq also played the role of CTO at
iManage, where he was a key member of
the team that successfully built the company
from a start-up to a profitable and growing
publicly traded software company that went
IPO within four years. After the Interwoven’s
acquisition of iManage in 2004, Rafiq was
CTO of Interwoven for four years, where he
helped the company to establish its dominant
market leadership in both Web Content
Management and Document Management.
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OPEN FORUM
Gen Y Keynote
Title: The Art of Organizing: Organize. Influence. Impact.
Session time: 1:45pm - 2:30pm
Description:
Dilawar Syed’s professional accomplishments in Fortune 100 companies complement his experience
in community organization and public service – OPEN Silicon Valley and the Obama Campaign to
name a few. In a town hall format, Dilawar will engage young participants on the art and value of
organizing and influencing for broader impact. Dilawar’s blend of insight on corporate leadership,
professional networking and public organization would make for a compelling discussion. Join us for a
conversation on how to strive for and achieve impact on issues that matter to our generation.
Speaker: Dilawar Syed, CEO, Yonja Media Group
Dilawar is President & Chief Executive
Officer of Yonja Media Group, an internet
media company. Founded in 2003, Silicon
Valley and Istanbul-based Yonja Media
Group operates Yonja.com, Turkey’s first
and largest local social network. Yonja
Media is rapidly expanding its portfolio of
social applications, as well as building a
regional advertising and payment network
business. Prior to joining Yonja Media Group,
Dilawar was at Yahoo! where he was head
of strategy and global business operations
for the Platform Division; at SAP where
Dilawar launched the company’s Customer
Relationship Management solution; and at
Siebel Systems where Dilawar grew Siebel’s
platform product line to a multi-million dollar
business globally.
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He is Immediate Past President of the
Organization of Pakistani American
Entrepreneurs (OPEN) in Silicon Valley.
Dilawar served as a member of the National
Finance Committee for Obama for America in
2008. Gov. Howard Dean appointed Dilawar
as National Co-Chair of the Democratic
National Committee’s South Asian American
Leadership Council. Dilawar is active in
a broad range of entrepreneurship and
civic efforts including OPEN SV and the
Democratic National Committee amongst
others.
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Evening Keynote
Title: Bottom-up Entrepreneurship for Democracy and Development
Session time: 5:00pm - 5:45pm
2010
OPEN FORUM
Description:
Professor Quadir will tell the story of Grameenphone and illustrate how entrepreneurship can
strengthen democracy and promote development.
Speaker: Professor Iqbal Z. Quadir, Founder and Director,
The Legatum Center, MIT
Professor Iqbal Z. Quadir is the founder
and director of the Legatum Center for
Development and Entrepreneurship at
MIT and Professor of the Practice of
Development and Entrepreneurship
at MIT. In the 1990s, Quadir founded
Grameenphone, which provides effective
telephone access throughout Bangladesh.
Quadir is an accomplished entrepreneur
who writes about the critical roles of
entrepreneurship and innovations in
improving the economic and political
conditions in low-income countries. Quadir
is often credited as having been the earliest
observer of the potential for mobile phones
to transform low-income countries. For four
years, Quadir taught at the John F. Kennedy
School of Government at Harvard University,
focusing on the impact of technologies in
the politics and economics of developing
countries. His childhood exposure to the
conditions in rural Bangladesh combined
with his later venture capital experience in
New York led Quadir to recognize that the
ensuing digital revolution could facilitate
the introduction of telephony to 100 million
people living in rural Bangladesh. In 1994,
he formally launched this effort by convincing
angel investors to establish a New York
based company, Gonofone Development
Corp (meaning “phones for the masses”)
to help him organize what subsequently
became known as Grameenphone.
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OPEN FORUM
2010
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OPEN FORUM
Ending Up
in a Down Economy
10:00am - 11:00am
These entrepreneurs will share their experiences on what it meant to have a successful exit or create
a successful business in the downturn. Linking it to the theme “Catch the Wave” they will share what’s
next for them and how they plan to cash in on the opportunities the end of recession has to bring.
Moderator: Zia Yusuf, Entrepreneur
Zia Yusuf is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at
Sutter Hill Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners and is
Founder & CEO of Fallen Leaf Advisors – a software and
technology strategy & advisory firm. He is also a Consulting
Associate Professor at Stanford University.
Prior to his current role Zia was an Executive Vice
President at SAP AG and a member of the firm’s Senior
Executive Team (SET). Prior to joining SAP, Zia was in the
Investment Banking Division at Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Zia holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Panelist:
Osman Rashid, CEO
and Co-founder, Kno, Inc
Osman is the Co-founder and CEO
of Kno, Inc. As CEO of Chegg, he
grew the company 100x since it
launched the textbook rental model
in 2007. Osman was named the
2009 Entrepreneur of the Year for
the coveted Northern California
region by Ernst & Young. Osman’s
first entrepreneurial start-up was
eBot, Inc., an email management
company which he started eighteen
months out of college, and which
was sold in less than year.
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Safwan Shah
Safwan Shah is an industry expert in
payments, transaction processing, risk
management and self-service delivery.
His current focus is in the area of social
media and strategic advisory services.
From 1999 to 2009, Safwan Shah was
the President of Infonox, a company he
founded and then made into a leader
in delivering multiple, end-to-end,
payment services to casinos, banks,
retail and money transfer businesses.
In 2008, Infonox, a successful, market
leading, company was acquired by
TSYS (NYSE:TSS). As early as 1997,
in the pure Internet, social media
space, Safwan Shah co-founded
Chowk. Safwan has a MSEE and a
PhD in Aerospace Engineering from
University of Colorado at Boulder. In
2009, Safwan completed the Stanford
Executive Program.
Rehan Jalil, President,
Wichorus
Rehan was the founder and CEO
of Wichorus that has recently a
successful exit. Prior to WiChorus
he was the chief architect for Aperto
Networks and played diverse
leadership roles in technology
and sales. At Sun Microsystems,
he helped develop one of the
industry’s earliest advanced multicore multithreaded processor for
throughput computing and graphics
applications.
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Future of Personal
Transportation (Cleantech)
2010
OPEN FORUM
11:30am - 12:30pm
The auto industry has received continuous media attention for the past few years. Most of it revolves
around the bankruptcies of 2008, the move to electric vehicles, and the growth (and overgrowth) of
the biofuel industry. Start-ups and established companies alike have showcased new technologies
ranging from a variety of electrified vehicles (PHEV, EV, HEV), improved internal combustion engines
(diesel and gasoline) and flexible fuel cars (ethanol etc). This panel will debate the role of different
technologies. Will one approach win or will there be a combination of options? What is the timeframe
for mass adoption of various technologies? What will be the impact on our driving and purchasing
habits, if any? What infrastructure changes will be needed? What will the impact be on carbon
emissions?
Moderator: Faysal Sohail, Managing Director, CEMA Capital
Faysal is an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. Today
he sits on the Board of A123 Systems, AirTight Networks,
Applied Wave Research, Danotek Motion Technologies,
Inc., Evolution Robotics, Multigig, Inc., NEA-IndoUS
Ventures, Pyxis Technology, Inc., Symwave, Inc. Before
joining CMEA in 2002, he helped build three companies,
which became successful either via IPO or through a
merger or acquisition.
Panelist:
Richard Lowenthal, Founder and CEO,
Coulomb Technologies
Richard Lowenthal is the CEO of Coulomb Technologies,
which he co-founded in 2007. From 1998 until 2007 he
was instrumental in starting several companies, including
Lightera, Pipal Systems and Procket Networks. From 1996
to 1997, Mr. Lowenthal was vice president and general
manager of Cisco’s WAN Access Products Division. Mr.
Lowenthal is also a former Mayor of Cupertino, California.
He has a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from UC
Berkeley.
Maurice Gunderson, Senior Partner, CMEA
Maurice Gunderson, is a Senior Partner at CMEA Capital
since 2006 and focuses on investments in new and
innovative energy sources and technologies. Maurice is
a specialist in thermodynamics and energy technologies.
Maurice has been instrumental in the development of
cryogenic equipment, engines and energy conversion
systems, turbo-machinery, and control systems for process
plants and pipelines. Previously, Maurice co-founded Nth
Power, a venture capital firm specializing in investments
emerging from the global restructuring of the energy
industry. He currently serves on the boards of Amerigon,
Inc. Superprotonic, Inc., CFX Battery, Inc., and NuScale
Power, Inc., and is an expert team member at ScionSprays, Ltd. in the UK.
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OPEN FORUM
Funding: Of Angels and
Super Angels - Taking the
Fundraising Roads Less
Traveled than Sand Hill
2:30pm - 3:30pm
In recent years SuperAngels and small-cap VCs have emerged as viable, or even preferable,
alternatives to traditional venture firms for early stage funding. And they have some big successes
to tweet about - Zynga, Digg, Meebo, Weebly, and yes, Twitter.
Moderator: Umair Khan, Founder & CEO, SecretBuilders.com
Umair is founder and CEO of SecretBuilders.com, one of
the fastest growing virtual worlds for children and young
adults. Umair Khan is also a Venture Partner with The
Entrepreneurs’ Fund (TEFIII), an early stage, softwarefocused venture fund. Previously, Umair co-founded
Clickmarks Inc., a Silicon Valley based enterprise software
company. As CEO of Clickmarks Umair grew the company
through $27 million in venture funding to its acquisition
by Semotus Inc. Umair is also founder and chairman of
Verisium, a Silicon Valley based software testing tools
company, and of Folio3, a services company providing
offshore operations incubation to startups and other small
companies
Panelist:
Jeff Clavier, Founder, SoftTech VC
Jean-Francois “Jeff” Clavier is the Founder and Managing
Partner of SoftTech VC, one of the most active seed
stage investors in Web 2.0 startups. Since 2004, Jeff has
invested in more than 70 consumer Internet companies
in areas like social media, communities, search, gaming
or consumer infrastructure, almost exclusively in Silicon
Valley. With over 20 years of operational, entrepreneurial
and venture capital experience, Jeff was recognized
as one of the 13 “Web 2.0” King Makers, and in 2008,
Business Week named him one of “The 25 Most Influential
People on the web”.
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Ann Miura-Ko, Partner, FLOODGATE
Ann Miura-Ko is a partner at FLOODGATE where
her investment interests include the innovations in
e-commerce, security, and big data. Ann is finishing up a
Ph.D. at Stanford University, where her research focused
on mathematical modeling of computer security. She
also teaches High Tech Entrepreneurship with Steve
Blank in Stanford’s and is a frequent lecturer in courses
such as Technology Venture Formation, High-tech
Entrepreneurship, and the Mayfield Fellows Program.
Prior to joining FLOODGATE, Ann worked at Charles River
Ventures and McKinsey and Company.
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Notes:
2010
OPEN FORUM
Panelist:
Salman Ullah, Co-founder, Merus Capital
Salman co-founded Merus Capital in November
2007. Previously he was Vice President of Corporate
Development at Google, responsible for all of Google’s
acquisitions and investments. Prior to Google, he spent
over seven years at Microsoft as the general manager
of corporate strategy. Earlier in his career, he was an
Engagement Manager at McKinsey. He was also a
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in physics at the University
of Virginia and the University of Chicago. He holds an
undergraduate degree in physics from the University of
Oxford, and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Stanford
University.
Michael Tanne, Founder and CEO, Wink
Michael Tanne has been involved with building search
engines for a long time, starting at Verity where he directed
product management. He started Wink in 2005. Prior to
Wink, Michael was CEO of X-Degrees, and was a founder
of AdForce (IPO 1999) which was ultimately sold to CMGI.
Michael serves on the Board of Cloudmark, a leading
provider of anti-spam solutions. He is a Founder and
Board Member of Full Circle Fund, a Bay Area non-profit
that engages emerging business leaders in philanthropy
through grants and hands-on assistance to promising
organizations.
Elon Boms, Founder and Managing Director,
Launch Capital LLC
Elon Boms venture capital experience includes structuring
biotech, consumer products and software development
deals; he also has significant finance, consulting and
marketing experience. Most recently, Boms was a
managing consultant at Fidelity Investments. Prior to
Fidelity, Boms worked in Corporate Finance for Citigroup.
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OPEN FORUM
Entrepreneurial Idol:
Pitch Competition
3:30pm - 4:30pm
Moderator: Naeem Zafar, Founder, Concordia Ventures, & UC Berkeley
Naeem Zafar is a member of the faculty of Haas Business
School at the University of California Berkeley, where he
teaches Entrepreneurship and Innovation as part of the
MBA program. He founded Concordia Ventures,
a company focused on educating and advising
entrepreneurs on all aspects of starting and running a
business (www.NaeemZafar.com). Prior to joining UC
Berkeley in 2006 he was the president and CEO at Pyxis
Technology, Silicon Design Systems and Veridicom, a Bell
Labs spin-off that invented the silicon fingerprint sensors.
Naeem has held senior marketing and engineering
positions at Quickturn which had an IPO in 1993. Naeem
has degrees in electrical engineering from Brown University
and the University of Minnesota. He is the current president
of OPEN SV and a charter member of TIE. Naeem has
authored five books on entrepreneurship.
Judges:
Salman Ullah, Co-founder,
Merus Capital
Salman co-founded Merus Capital
in November 2007. Previously he
was Vice President of Corporate
Development at Google, responsible
for all of Google’s acquisitions and
investments. Prior to Google, he
spent over seven years at Microsoft
as the general manager of corporate
strategy. Earlier in his career, he
was an Engagement Manager at
McKinsey. He was also a PostDoctoral Research Fellow in physics
at the University of Virginia and the
University of Chicago. He holds an
undergraduate degree in physics
from the University of Oxford, and
a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from
Stanford University.
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Mark Gorenberg, Managing
Director, Hummer Winblad
Venture Partners
Mark joined Hummer Winblad
Venture Partners in 1990. He has
served as a board member for
AdForce, HomeGrocer, NetDynamics,
Omniture, Infopia, Lathan, kwiry,
Tizor and Scopus Technologies.
Currently, he serves as a Director
of Aria Systems, Cenzic, Crowd
Factory, ontheFRONTIER, Replay
Solutions, and Sonatype. Mark is also
a member of the Board of Trustees
for MIT corp. and The H. John Heinz
III Center for Science, Economics
and The Environment.Prior to joining
Hummer Winblad Maek was at Sun
Microsystems. He received a BSEE
from the MIT, an MSEE from the
University of Minnesota, and an MS
in Engineering Management from
Stanford University.
Riaz Karamali, Partner &
Head of the Outsourcing Team
Riaz has extensive experience in
assisting clients with the legal and
strategic aspects of all phases of
outsourcing transactions. Riaz also
has extensive experience in corporate
law, venture finance and mergers and
acquisitions. Riaz has worked with
hundreds of start-up and emerging
companies, guiding them from their
pre-founding stages through their
angel and venture capital financing
rounds, significant commercial
contracts and strategic alliances to
their ultimate exit transactions. Riaz
has significant experience with crossborder transactions involving numerous
countries. He has a J.D. from Columbia
Law School, 1988, and a B.A., from Rice
University, 1985.
2010
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OPEN FORUM
Authentic Leadership;
Differentiate and Succeed
10:00am - 11:00am
What does it take to initiate lasting change in your environment? This panel will explore the skills
required to be an authentic leader by differentiating yourself and being the catalyst for change. Learn
to leverage your leadership style by understanding and honoring who YOU are and finding the leader
within YOURSELF. The panelist will share from their own experience the best practices for more
effectively leading others and producing results that create successful businesses and fulfilling lives.
Moderator: Saadia Ahmed, Financial Advisor, Waddell and Reed
Saadia Ahmed runs her financial planning practice in
affiliation with Waddell and Reed. A seasoned professional
in the financial services industry she has an MBA in
Finance, is a Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor, a
Registered Representative and an Investment Advisor
Representative. Prior experience includes Bank of
America as a financial relationship manager, and with
Citibank Pakistan where she setup and managed the
credit card operations. She is the Chair for OPEN Women
Forum, dedicated to the promotion of entrepreneurship
and leadership in the South Asian-American business
community.
Panelist:
Imran Sayeed, Senior Vice President, Keane
Imran Sayeed leads all commercial sector industry
practices for Keane, a global BPO and IT Services
company with ~14,000 professionals worldwide. Sayeed
came to Keane through its acquisition of netNumina, a
boutique technology strategy and consulting form that
he founded and grew from a 15 person startup to one
of Computerwold’s Top 100 emerging companies. He is
currently the chairman of OPEN global. Sayeed attended
Brown University where he majored in Engineering, and
Harvard University for post graduate work. Imran is also a
Senior Lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
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Athena Katsaros, Leadership Trainer,
Executive and Team Coach
Athena Katsaros is a partner in IdeaTribe. She is a
leadership trainer and an executive and team coach.
She works with executives on being exceptional leaders,
visionaries, and catalysts for change in their organizations.
Her experience includes 20 years as a marketing strategist
for Fortune 500 companies including Cisco Systems,
Xerox, Hewlett Packard, and BankAmerica. As a member
of the Executive Committee for the Business Council for
Peace, Athena co-develops and delivers training and
mentoring programs for businesswomen in Afghanistan
and Rwanda. She has also provided leadership
development training for Jordanian business women.
Athena holds a Bachelors degree in International Politics
from UCLA and a Masters in International Business from
the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
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Panelist:
2010
OPEN FORUM
Noosheen Hashemi, Philanthropist
Noosheen Hashemi is a philanthropist with a passion
for entrepreneurship and economic development. Since
2003, she has led her family’s charitable giving as
President of The H.A.N.D. Foundation. The foundation’s
programs include online educational resources to promote
entrepreneurship and free markets in Persian-speaking
countries and online resources for studying Iran‘s
economy. Ms. Hashemi is the founder and Chairman of
the PARSA Community Foundation the leading Persian
philanthropic institution. Between 1985 and 1995, she
worked at Oracle. From 1996 to 1997, Ms. Hashemi was
VP of Sales and Marketing at Quote.com. She holds a
B.S. in economics from San Jose State University and
an M.S. from the Stanford University Graduate School of
Business, where she was a Sloan Fellow.
Workshop
Demystifying Social Media Marketing
11:30am - 12:30pm
Emerging social ecosystems -- social media spaces, user generated content spaces and virtual
worlds -- are being used across businesses to drive business objectives for the company. A
new generation of tools, disciplines and best practices are being developed to reach customers,
prospects, and strategic partners in entirely new ways. This workshop will shed light on how
businesses both small and large are utilizing new engagement models that are high impact and low
cost to drive the objectives of their business. You’ll hear case studies, best practices, and the tools
and tips to make your social media strategy and implementation successful.
Sumaya Kazi, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, YoProCo.com
Sumaya Kazi is an award-winning
entrepreneur and consultant advising top
global brands and startups on new media
strategy and implementation. Her clients
include mobile advertising networks, social
media platforms, lawyers, media companies
and Fortune 500 technology companies.
She is the CEO & Editor-in-Chief of
YoProCo.com where her team is focused on
building the CNN for young professionals
worldwide. Sumaya has been recognized
by BusinessWeek as one of America’s “Best
Young Entrepreneurs,” CNN as a “Young
Person Who Rocks,” and by Silicon Valley
Business Journal as a “Woman of Influence”.
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OPEN FORUM
Media in the Mobile World –
“Burn the Boats”
2:30pm - 3:30pm
Are you getting your media fix mostly from the internet now? Will the old media powerhouses
disappear or resurge? What are the opportunities and challenges for new media players in this
increasingly mobile world? How do they make money? Hear from investors, content producers,
aggregators and actors as they shape the media business in this decisive decade.
Moderator: Omar Khan, Founder, Carbonated.tv
Founder of carbonated.tv, a media aggregation and
production company focusing on content delivery on mobile
and tablet devices. Omar is a board member of Rivepoint, a
startup featuring mobile coupons. He is also the co-founder
of Netpace Inc. a software consulting company focusing
on enterprise application development. An avid follower of
international news & politics, He is the anchor/director of a
current affairs program called ‘The Truth Serum’. Previously
he was the host and executive producer of ‘Jaiza’, a
popular weekly talk show highlighting the ‘PakistaniAmerican Perspective’ that aired on a global Pakistani
satellite channel for 4 years.
Panelist:
Mir Ibrahim Rahman, CEO, GEO TV
Mir Ibrahim Rahman (MIR), has been at the helm of affairs of
Pakistan’s fastest growing and most popular media brand for
over 8 years. A former Goldman Sachs investment banker,
specializing in media and telecom, Mir has overseen the
launch and growth of GEO from a 5 member operation out of
a hotel to a 2,500+ strong South-Asian content producer and
broadcaster with 10 channels globally. Mir graduated Suma
Cum Laude from Babson College in 2000 and co founded
GEO when he was just 25. His alma mater has dubbed MIR
the “Robin hood of Information” for Pakistan, helping bring
ground-breaking consciousness to social political discourse.
Mir is currently working on a MPA at Harvard - where he is
also serving on the admissions committee and on the Board
for Harvard’s South Asia Initiative.
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Amy Plemons, TV Producer
Amy Plemons is an Emmy nominated television producer
with 15 years of experience as a broadcast journalist and
content provider. She worked at an international cable
network (TechTV) and a top ten newsroom (CBS 11
Dallas). She now produces technology and environmental
lifestyle programming for both the web and international
syndication. As larger audiences turn from traditional
to digital media, Amy has seen firsthand both the
opportunities and challenges content producers face in this
new information age.
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2010
OPEN FORUM
Notes:
www.OPEN-Silicon.com
is a Proud Sponsor of
OPEN FORUM
2010
Panelist:
Awais Khan, Partner, Ackrell Capital
Mr. Awais Khan is a partner at Ackrell Capital. He
is focused on media and clean technology and has
engaged in numerous cross-border transactions. Prior
to Ackrell Capital, Awais was a Director of the Venture
Capital Practice at KPMG where he was engaged in
various strategic and commercial analyses of industries
for institutional client’s pursuit of potential acquisition
candidates. Awais is also the contributing editor for
AlwaysOn and is the chair of the editorial panel to evaluate
and select a yearly list of top 100 emerging companies.
Imran Maskatia
Imran Maskatia works for Microsoft’s Media Platforms
Business. He focuses on the next generation of
interconnected media experiences across TVs, PCs,
Mobile Devices, and Game Consoles. Over the past 12
years, he has designed and developed interactive media
experiences for Microsoft’s service provider customers,
including Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and others around
the world. He received a BS and an MS from Stanford
University.
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2010
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OPEN FORUM
Pakistani Education’s Role
in Entrepreneurship
3:30pm - 4:30pm
Despite all the “bad news” entrepreneurs in Pakistan are thriving. What role are universities playing
and what are some of the funding sources? How do entrepreneurs view this situation and what is the
business landscape in Pakistan? The panelists include the rector of the leading business school in
Pakistan, the person who has doled out over $30M USD in funding for research and entrepreneurship
friendly projects in Pakistan and an entrepreneur who has two leading internet properties in Pakistan.
Moderator: Idris Kothari, founder and VP of Engineering, Vertical Systems Inc
Idris Kothari co-founded a number of successful Silicon
Valley start-ups in Network security, PC Chip-sets and
Hospitality Services. He held various senior management
positions as CTO, VP Engineering and product
development. He also served on the Board of Directors
of these start ups. He was co-founder of VIA Technology
serving PC market in 1987. He co-founded VPNet, where
development of initial VPN HW accelerator systems
helped define the Virtual Private Network space. His
current startup, Vertical Systems Inc, is providing software
technologies for travelers through 1000 systems installed
around the globe. He developed self healing PCs – remote
monitoring / updates and micro-charging infrastructure over
the internet.
Panelist:
Dr. Ahmad Jan Durrani, Vice Chancellor
and Professor of Engineering at LUMS
Dr. Ahmad Jan Durrani is Vice Chancellor and Professor
of Engineering at Lahore University of Management
Sciences (LUMS), Lahore, Pakistan. With research,
teaching, and academic administration career spanning
over 25 years Dr. Durrani has served in various capacities
at Rice University in Houston. He was chair of the
civil engineering department at Rice University for six
years and served as associate dean of engineering for
three years. He is a Fellow of the American Society of
Civil Engineers and the Founding Director of the Rice
Global Forum on engineering and construction. He has
extensively researched and published in the areas of
earthquake resistant design of built infrastructure and
seismic hazard mitigation.
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M. Raghib Hussain,
Co-founder, Cavium Networks
Raghib is one of the founders of Cavium Networks, where
he is currently serving as Chief Technology Officer and
Corporate Vice President of Software Engineering at. Prior
to Cavium Networks, Raghib has held senior technical
roles at Cisco and Cadence Design Systems. Prior to that,
Raghib served at VPNet, an enterprise security company,
of which he was a key contributor to the design of the first
commercial IPSec based VPN gateway. Raghib has 11
issued and multiple pending patents. Raghib also Chairs
EEMBC Networking Benchmark Group, he is on the board
of trustees of PACC and ING.
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2010
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Notes:
Panelist:
Dr. Jahanzeb Sherwani,
Founder and CEO of iTeleport LLC
Dr Jahanzeb Sherwani is the Founder and CEO of
iTeleport LLC, an iPhone startup whose flagship app
iTeleport has been among the top 100 grossing apps in
both the iPhone and iPad App Stores. iTeleport (formerly
Jaadu VNC) lets users control their computers from
anywhere in the world -- and provides a rich display of
the remote desktop, along with full mouse and keyboard
control. Dr. Sherwani is also Adjunct Faculty at Carnegie
Mellon University, where he works on voice applications for
low-literate users in the developing world, which was also
the focus of his PhD dissertation.
Monis Rahman, Chairman and CEO,
Naseeb Networks
Mr. Monis Rahman is Chairman and CEO of Naseeb
Networks, a leading provider of recruitment, social
networking, classifieds and related services in Pakistan.
Under his leadership, Naseeb Networks launched ROZEE.
PK, Pakistan’s most powerful recruiting platform, which
is used today by over 27,000 employers, 1.4 Million
registered professionals and 85 universities. He leveraged
the company’s initial success to raise a historic round of
venture capital investment from two leading Silicon Valley
funds – ePlanet Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
He has also served on the Central Executive Committee of
the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA). He
is the recipient of International Data Group CIO Pakistan
Pioneer in Innovation 2008 Award.
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OPEN FORUM
The Next Wave of Innovators:
Meet the Social Entrepreneurs
10:00am - 11:00am
In addition to being home to some of the most massive capitalist success stories (think Google,
Yahoo, eBay etc) Silicon Valley has also become the center for a new generation of innovative
thinkers, a generation for whom global social impact is the primary driver (and the promise of IPOs a
distant second). Come hear the stories of some of the rising batch of entrepreneurs who have passed
on traditional thinking to push the boundaries of doing good, Silicon Valley style. This is your chance
to hear their accounts first hand of how they’re going to change the world and what drives them to do
what they do.
Moderator: Saad Khan, Partner, CMEA Capital
Saad joined CMEA Capital in 2007 as a Partner and leads
the firm’s software and Internet investments as well as
CMEA’s seed initiatives. Saad led CMEA’s investments
and serves on the board of portfolio companies Pixazza,
Blekko, Jobvite, and Evolution Robotics. From prior
affiliations, Saad also serves on the advisory board for
Lending Club, and is a founding member of the FilmAngels.
Prior to joining CMEA, Saad was a Venture Partner and
led the advisory services group at Garage Technology
Ventures. Saad received a B.S. degree from Stanford
University. He’s been a guest writer for Forbes and blogs at
saadwired.com or on Twitter @saadventures.
Panelist:
Salman Khan, Founder, Khan Academy
Salman Khan is the founder and faculty of the Khan
Academy — a collection of 1400+ videos and software that
is the most used k-12 and college educational resource
on the Internet. It has recently been profiled on CNN,
NPR, and the PBS NewsHour and Salman envisions
it becoming the world’s free virtual school. Before the
Khan Academy, Salman was an analyst and portfolio
manager at several Bay Area hedge funds. He has also
worked product management and technology at Oracle
Corporation and Xerox PARC. Salman holds an MBA from
Harvard Business School. He also has an M.Eng., a B.S.
in computer science, and a B.S. in mathematics from MIT.
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Leila Chirayath Janah, CEO, Samasource
Leila Chirayath Janah first developed the idea behind
Samasource while working as a management consultant at
Katzenbach Partners (now Booz & Co.). She co-founded
Incentives for Global Health and helped produce a plan for
incentivizing the development of new drugs for neglected
diseases. Leila authored background papers for the World
Bank’s Development Research Group and Ashoka on
equity and social rights.
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Panelist:
Misbah Naqvi, Business Development
Manager, Acumen Fund
Misbah is Business Development Manager at Acumen
Fund, a global non-profit social venture fund which
invests patient capital in enterprises that bring affordable
goods and services – healthcare, housing, water, energy,
agriculture – to the poor in Pakistan, India and East Africa.
Acumen Fund raises philanthropic funds from individuals
and institutions and directs it as patient capital towards
investments which are high risk, with expectations for
outsized social impact and near-market financial returns,
over a long time horizon. Misbah joined Acumen Fund
in Pakistan in 2006 before joining the New York team in
2008. Prior to joining Acumen Fund, Misbah spent over 8
years in a variety of positions at Citigroup Pakistan.
Premal Shah, President, Kiva
As President, Premal leads Kiva’s efforts to scale its
partnerships and member base. Prior to Kiva, Premal was
a Principal Product Manager at PayPal, an eBay company.
During his 6 year career at PayPal, Premal drove a number
of key initiatives including a year long project defining
eBay’s role in economically empowering the global working
poor. A number of corporate initiatives have come out of this
effort, including PayPal’s support of Kiva. Prior to PayPal,
Premal was a strategy consultant at Mercer Management
Consulting in New York. Premal has had a long standing
interest in microfinance. In 1997, he was awarded a grant
from Stanford University to research microfinance in
Gujarat, India. More recently Premal co-founded the Silicon
Valley Microfinance Network and spent 2 months in India
working to refine / validate Kiva’s model. In 2006, Premal
was a featured speaker at the Clinton Global Initiative and
Global Microcredit Summit. Premal graduated with a B.A. in
Economics from Stanford University.
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2010
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OPEN FORUM
Beyond BRIC: Opportunities
for Entrepreneurship in
Emerging Markets
11:30am - 12:30pm
While much of the world’s attention has focused on large and rising economic powers such as
China, Russia, India and Brazil, a host of middle-income countries are quietly emerging as lands of
opportunity for global entrepreneurs and investors alike. In nations such as Turkey, South Korea and
South Africa, vast potential exists for the growing local markets as well as development of products
and services for the global market. This panel will provide a global perspective on entrepreneurship
with a focus on opportunities in this class of stable, middle-income economies. The panel will also
explore Pakistan’s prospects and the opportunities the country offers to local entrepreneurs as well as
members of its diaspora.
Moderator: Dilawar Syed, CEO, Yonja Media Group
Dilawar Syed is CEO, Yonja Media Group, an emerging
markets internet media company. Earlier, Dilawar was
head of Yahoo!’s Platform Business Group. Formerly, at
Siebel Systems and SAP, Dilawar started his career as a
management consultant at Ernst & Young and Deloitte.
He is active in advocacy efforts, and drove fund-raising for
the Obama campaign as a National Finance Committee
member.
Panelist:
Babur Ozden, Advisor to Start-Up’s;
Former CEO emerging market companies
An internationally acclaimed mobile applications provider
(acquired by Avanzit MCE: AVZ); President of DataCert,
world’s # 1 provider of legal online billing (acquired by
CCH Wolters Kluwer Wolters WLSNC: NA); CEO of
LenSec, # 1 provider of web-based video surveillance
platform to Public School Districts in the USA; and CEO
of Superonline, the most recognized Internet brand in
Turkey (acquired by Turkcell NYSE:TKC). His experience
spans mobile, web, Internet, consumer, enterprise, USA,
Europe, and Asia. Babur holds an undergraduate degree
in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin
and MBA from Rice University, and currently advises
BroadVision (NASDAQ:BVSN), Transpera and Hakia.
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Voytek K. Siewierski, Investment Partner,
Mitsui Ventures
Voytek K. Siewierski is responsible for MCVP
communications, smart grid and energy investment.
Before MCVP Voytek was a Senior Executive Director
at NTT DoCoMo in Tokyo and in London. He oversaw
DoCoMo’s IPO in Tokyo and was the first person to bring
Java to cell phones. Voytek is active in VC/PE activities
in US, Central Europe and Asia. He is a graduate of the
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. In addition to his
native Polish Voytek speaks Russian and Japanese.
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2010
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Notes:
Panelist:
Stephen Ciesinski, VP, Corporate Strategic
Programs, SRI International
Stephen Ciesinski has overall responsibility for SRI’s
commercial R&D business development, international
offices, innovation programs, corporate energy and
automotive sector initiatives. As a corporate officer, board
member, advisor and investor, he has participated in
or managed numerous strategic events, including new
business formation, major product launches, private
financings, IPOs, M&A transactions, and leveraged buyouts. Ciesinski held executive management positions with
Applied Materials; Octel Communications; Resumix, Inc.;
and Laszlo Systems. He started his career at Procter &
Gamble, was a consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton, and
also served as a venture partner with Earlybird Ventures.
Faraz Hoodbhoy, Entrepreneur,
Founder and CEO PixSense
Faraz is a 3rd generation, dyed-in-the-wool entrepreneur
with unparalleled experience in the Pakistan-Silicon Valley
corridor. With 15 years of global business experience
gathered in over 40 countries, Faraz is the founder of
PixSense, a successful mobile social media business with
deployments in Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, Vietnam,
and the Philippines. Faraz has raised over $15M in
venture capital as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. His
career includes working at Microsoft, Capgemini/Ernst and
Young, the United Way, Data Communications & Control,
Clickmarks, NextBrick, Unisys, and of course, PixSense.
Faraz co-authored one of the first books on XML, “Applied
XML - A Toolkit for Programmers” (John Wiley & Sons).
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OPEN FORUM
Put your Passion to Work
2:30pm - 3:30pm
Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life: a dialogue of popular figures who achieved
success by pursing what they’re passionate about. The face of America’s workforce is changing;
we’re engineers, doctors, lawyers, scientists who are also community organizers, avid bloggers,
incredible musicians, athletes and beyond. Students are also increasingly looking for jobs that are
meaningful to them rather than just tangibly rewarding.
Learn how to create that time, and space; a total liberty to discover and pursue one’s passion. Be
inspired by a Journalist, Author and Athlete’s leadership in charting their own course of action to
find work they believe in. Be inspired by their drive, and learn from their story. Hear their trials and
triumphs, and discover your own route to finding success by pursuing what’s meaningful to you
Moderator: Zainab Jeewanjee, Sales Director, Go One Global Corp
Zainab Jeewanjee is Sales Director at the Insurance
aggregator Go One Global Corp and heads operations
at Insure1234.com. She is also a blogger for the Foreign
Policy Association of America where she writes regularly
on U.S. - Pakistan relations. Zainab graduated from Santa
Clara University with a degree in Political Science and
completed a thesis entitled U.S. Foreign Policy to Pakistan:
3 Instances of Bilateral Cooperation from Partition Through
the Cold War. She will continue her studies in politics with a
Masters in International Relations from the Korbel School,
Denver University beginning Fall 2010.
Panelist:
Ethan Casey, Author
Of two travel books about Pakistan: Alive and Well in
Pakistan (2004, called “magnificent” by Ahmed Rashid
and “intelligent and compelling” by Mohsin Hamid) and
Overtaken By Events: A Pakistan Road Trip (2010). From
his base in Seattle, he has made writing, publishing and
promoting his books (and, by extension, a more nuanced
and human portrayal of Pakistan than we see in most US
media) into his main career. In the 1990s he was an Asiabased correspondent for leading newspapers including
The Globe and Mail and the Boston Globe.
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Rajesh Setty, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Author
Rajesh Setty is an entrepreneur, author and speaker and
is involved in multiple startups in US and India as a board
member, advisor or operating executive. Rajesh has
written and published nine books with his first book being
published at the age of thirteen. Rajesh has been blogging
since 2003 and has published more than 1400 articles
on entrepreneurship, leadership and simply living a life
beyond code. You can read more about him at http://www.
rajeshsetty.com/about and you can see his blog at
http://www.lifebeyondcode.com
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2010
OPEN FORUM
Notes:
Silicon Valley Alumni of
NED University
of Engineering & Technology
are Proud to Sponsor
OPEN FORUM
2010
Panelist:
Cindy McCreery, Hollywood Writer
An accomplished Hollywood Screenwriter Cindy McCreery
is a graduate of the Walt Disney/ABC Feature Writing
Fellowship program. She has worked with Disney, New
Line Cinema, Nickelodeon Films, National Geographic
Films, and Warner Brothers. Her on-screen writing credits
include FREE WILLY: ESCAPE FROM PIRATES COVE,
BABY BOOM for MGM, RISING STAR and others.
Omar Ahmad, CEO, SynCH Energy
Omar Ahmad is a seasoned entrepreneur. He is cofounder and CEO of SynCH Energy Corporation,
a renewable energy startup. Prior to founding SynCH
Energy, Mr. Ahmad founded TrustedID and Logictier, and
served in key leadership positions for companies including
Grand Central Communications, Napster, Netscape,
@Home Network, and Discovery Channel Online.
Mr. Ahmad is the current Vice-Mayor of the City of San
Carlos. Prior to his election to the City Council in 2007,
Mr. Ahmad served on the San Carlos Economic
Development Advisory Commission. He is also an avid
photographer, pilot and mountaineer with successful
summits of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Elbrus.
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2010
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OPEN FORUM
Birds of a Feather Sessions
OPEN introduces Birds-of-a-Feather sessions at Open Forum 2010 –
These are sessions proposed by YOU
Birds-of-a-Feather (BOFAF) is a new event at OPEN Forum this year that consists of sessions proposed by
attendees. It allows individuals with shared interests, goals, technologies, environments, and backgrounds to
meet in a casual atmosphere to exchange ideas and share information on a wide variety of topics.
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Heart Disease in South Asian Community –
Ashish Mathur (Co-founder and Executive Director of the South Asian Heart Center)
Executive Director of the South Asian Heart Center
at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, leading the
advocacy, education, research, and collaboration, to
reduce the high and disparate incidence of heart disease
in the South Asian community. Prior to leading this effort,
Ashish has over 25 years of industry experience in the
software industry including Selectica, Pure Atria, Network
Equipment Technologies, and ROLM Corporation. Ashish
holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian
Institute of Technology, Mumbai and an M.S. in Computer
Science from the University of Southern California.
Privacy in Cloud, Healthcare, and Social Network. What’s the buzz all about? –
Rafae Bhatti (Instructor, Santa Clara University and Author of published book on the topic)
Dr. Bhatti works at an enterprise software firm in the bay
area where he is engaged in research and development.
He has previously worked at a prestigious industrial
research lab where he pioneered solutions for healthcare
security and privacy. He has published extensively in
world renowned conferences and journals on topics
of information security and privacy, and has recently
published a book. He is also an Adjunct Professor at
Santa Clara University. Dr. Bhatti earned his doctorate
in Computer Engineering from Purdue University, and
bachelors degree from GIK Institute, Pakistan.
LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences) Event –
Organized by Seemeen Mirza & Jaffer Hussain (This session is open to all)
Featured Talk: Challenges Faced by Higher Education in Pakistan - Dr. Ahmad Jan Durrani, Vice Chancellor LUMS
3:30pm – 4:30pm
NED University Alumni Event. How can my NED University alumni network help me achieve
my entrepreneurial or career aspirations? – Organized by Safwan Shah
University of Engineering & Technology Lahore Alumni Event – Organized by Moazzam Chaudry
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute Alumni Event – Organized by Rafae Bhatti
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2010
OPEN FORUM
Opening Doors
3:30pm - 4:30pm
In a challenging job market, put yourself ahead of the game through OPEN’s Young Professionals
workshop where representatives from top Bay Area companies, Career Builders and HR personnel
offer direct insights on how to land the job you want. Bring your resume to have it critiqued, do mock
interviews, and chat with recruiters from Bay Area companies to get experience in how to make
yourself stand out to employers.
Moderator: Azhar Zeeshan, Founder, Zaaviya
Azhar has over 9 years of experience as a software
engineer in web development, embedded middleware
and multi-platform network management systems. He is
a budding entrepreneur and has founded Zaaviya (www.
zaaviya.com), a web and mobile solutions company.
Prior to Zaaviya, he worked at Cisco Systems, Luminous
Networks and Net Access Communication Systems. He
received a BS, Computer Sciences and Engineering from
GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences & Technology.
Workshop by:
Farzana Ali, President & Principal Consultant
With over 18 years experience as an Organizational
Training and Development professional, Farzana’s forte
is human capital, performance management, strategic
planning, and the development of business systems and
processes. Prior to launching CONSULTANTS for Systems,
Talent and Organizational Development LLC, Farzana has
completed projects within the manufacturing and service
industries including hospitality, customer call centers,
human resources consulting, and newspaper printing plants,
with employees ranging from 120 to more than 14,000.
Dilip G. Saraf, Executive Career, and Life Coach
Dilip G. Saraf is an executive, career, and life coach at
Career Transitions Unlimited. As the LinkedIn’s #1 coach
he has worked with over 4,500 clients globally since he
became a career coach, his fifth career. He has authored
five books on career transition, career management, and
succeeding in the corporate world. Dilip is extensively
published on various forums, practices in the Silicon Valley,
and works with clients globally. Visit www.dilipsaraf.com
Ellen Shulman, Associate, Lee Hecht
Harrison & Career Coach, Careers In Touch
Ellen is an Associate at Lee Hecht Harrison and career
coach in private practice at Careers In Touch. She counsels
individuals who are career changers or in career transition.
Her area of focus is in strategic job search planning,
personal branding and tactics utilizing web 2.0 strategies.
Prior to becoming a career consultant Ellen worked at
Strategic Mindshare, specializing in consumer products
and services, a Fashion Buyer and an Adjunct Assistant
Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC.
Kate Fiandaca, Recruiter, GreeneSearch
Kate Fiandaca is a technical recruiter with GreeneSearch.
She works with candidates that are seeking the challenge
and excitement of a startup, and that are passionate about
technology. GreeneSearch’s client companies are startups
backed by top VC firms including Sequoia, Benchmark,
Greylock, and Accel. With over 25 active clients, some current
and past customers of GreeneSearch include Facebook, Mint,
social gaming startups and advertising/marketing startups.
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Meryl Mikal Design provides creative services to businesses
of all shapes and sizes, including Fortune 500 Corporations,
Non-profit Organizations, and Start-up Businesses. Invisalign
to Stanford University to Smartrise Engineering, our method for
a successful campaign applies equally: creative ideas plus a
focused message yields greater awareness and greater return.
To find out more, visit:
merylmikaldesign.com
If you think we’re the
right fit, contact us:
[email protected]
415.830.6728
Industries we have served include: automobile, education,
event and promotion, fashion, food and beverage, legal,
medical and health, politics, publishing, real estate and
construction, sports, technology, and telecommunications.
We'll get you started toward fulfilling your goals.
MARKETING • BRANDING • ADVERTISING • EVENTS
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