Yao Huang is a community builder, bringing entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders together to help innovation thrive. She founded The Hatchery, a New York technology ecosystem fostering innovation in artificial intelligence and machine learning. She also created Wonder Women, a network to foster relationships among women of various professions to encourage each other’s success.

Laura is the founder of StoryCode, which is a strategic communications agency and content studio in London. She started out as a Staff News Reporter at The Times and Daily Mail. She covered breaking news, investigations, and personal interest stories, reporting on the U.S., Egypt, Greece, and Iraq. She then worked as Head of Group Media Relations at a FTSE 100 technology business, and Director of Media Strategy in the London office of a Silicon Valley PR agency.

Jerome Grant is a celebrated chef who has received multiple James Beard nominations. He is currently Executive Chef of Dacha Restaurant Group in Washington, D.C., overseeing two Beer Gardens and the restaurant Jackie, located next to the Washington Nationals Baseball Stadium.

Eric Holtzclaw is a visionary, “idea guy,” and serial entrepreneur, with nearly 30 years of experience. His start-ups include one of the first profitable internet enterprises and a company that appeared on the Inc. 5000 fastest growing list three years in a row.

Sid and Ann Mashburn have been reinventing what good looks like – at the cross-section of fashion design, retail and hospitality – for decades. Following successful careers in New York at leading fashion houses such as J. Crew, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger for Sid and Vogue and Glamour magazines for Ann, the power couple decided to settle down in Atlanta and have kids. Five girls later, they opened a store that effortlessly mixed beautiful clothing, accessories and other “cool, special, useful things” for men and women inside a fun, inviting, carefully curated space, staffed with the nicest, coolest sales people - and tailors - in town. Since then they’ve gone on to launch five more stores across the U.S. and an online shop featuring both classic and unique clothing and treasures. They remain the king and queen of effortlessly cool, incredibly kind and full of wisdom for work and life.

Ricardo Lopez has been a leader of strategic growth in the hospitality and travel business for more than 25 years. He has helped both InterContinental Hotels Group and Taca Airlines grow and expand their commercial operations through marketing, sales and strategic planning, while also delivering excellence in customer service and corporate partnerships. He is now the Chief Growth Officer for Reunitus, an integrated company specializing in Lost & Found solutions.

In this episode of the Spark Ideas podcast, I’m speaking with Shawn DuBravac - who, arguably, has one of the best jobs - or at least job titles - in the world! He is a Global Futurist, which means he’s an economist, trend tracker, and best-selling author who studies and speaks on trends in technology and business and their impact on other industries, culture and society.

Shawn is president of Avrio Institute, where he helps leaders prepare for uncertain futures. He was previously chief economist for the Consumer Technology Association, which represents more than 2,000 consumer tech companies and produces the massive Consumer Electronics Show.

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Christian Pinkston is the founder and president of Pinkston, a strategy and communications consultancy in Washington, D.C. For the last 30 years, he’s counseled clients ranging from startups to nonprofits to Fortune 10 organizations through periods of growth, crisis, reorganization and transition, helping them launch companies, strengthen brand awareness, build thought-leadership platforms and publish and promote books.