Advisory Board:

Thomas J. Frey, Executive Director, The DaVinci Institute

Thomas Frey is the Executive Director, Founder, and Senior Futurist at the DaVinci Institute. His talks on futurist topics have captivated people ranging from top levels of government to executives in Fortune 100 companies. Considered by his peers to be the "most creative futurist on the planet", Tom continually pushes the envelope of understanding, creative fascinating images of the world to come. Because of his work inspiring and assisting new inventors the Boulder Daily Camera has referred to him as the "Father of Invention". He is also is one of the nations leading experts on the process of launching new businesses and new technologies. Before launching the Institute, Tom spent 15 years at IBM as an engineer and designer where he received more awards than any other IBM engineer. Tom is the author of the book "Inventions of Impact" and has written numerous articles on a wide range of futurist topics. He has also been a contributing writer for The Futurist Magazine and is the publisher of the Impact Lab, an online emerging technology magazine.

 

Shai Beilis, Managing Partner, Formula Ventures

Shai Beilis serves as Chairman and CEO of Formula Ventures, Ltd., the General Partner of the Formula Ventures funds. Shai is a well known figure in the Israeli Information Technology (IT) market and has extensive experience in investments in IT companies. Shai is a director of Formula Systems (1985) Ltd. (NASDAQ:FORTY) and of other public subsidiaries of Formula Systems. He has served as board member at over 50 companies including publicly listed companies RadView Software, Wiztec Solutions, Crystal System Solutions, Cimatron, Formula Systems, Nikuv Computers, Applicom Software Industries, Optisystems, Sadot Research and Development and Geo Interactive (now Emblaze). Before founding Formula Ventures, from 1995 to 1998, Shai was CEO of Argotec Ltd. Argotec, a wholly owned company of Formula Systems, Israel's largest IT group, was established to capitalize on investment opportunities in the Israeli IT sector. Prior to Argotec Shai was CEO of Clal Computers and Technology (CCT), Shai's major investments while at CCT were Malam and Geo Interactive. CCT invested $400,000 in GEO Interactive (Now Emblaze) in return for a 51% stake. Emblaze is now listed on the London Stock Exchange at a valuation exceeding $300 million.

 

Kevin Mitnick, Cofounder, Defensive Thinking

Famed ex-hacker Kevin Mitnick is one of the foremost experts in data security today. He consults corporations worldwide and is the cofounder of Defensive Thinking, a Los Angeles-based consulting firm. He has testified before the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs on the need for legislation to ensure the security of the government's information systems. His articles have appeared in major news magazines and trade journals, and he has appeared on Court TV, Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, CNN's Burden of Proof and Headline News. He has also been a keynote speaker at numerous industry events and has hosted a weekly radio show on KFI AM 640 Los Angeles.

 

Greg Berry, Founder, Think Tank West

After a 15 year career in entrepreneurial publishing, Greg Berry started Think Tank West to support forward-looking companies in their pursuit of evolutionary products, technologies and ideas. Currently acting as the Editor for the Future of Money Summit, Berry has been working with other DaVinci Institute advisors to create a world-class event for the thought-leaders in digital currency and global economic evolution. Using the Internet as an internal publishing tool since the mid 80’s, in 1995, Berry moved his business from print publishing to the web once the graphical browsers assured mass adoption of Internet technology. Berry has made his mark as a communication technology futurist, identifying and applying evolving tools. He built early communities for AOL greenhouse-funded companies, including interZINE productions, iSKI and AOL’s Digital City. His work has spanned many industries, including outdoor recreation, skiing, hospitality and business travel. His practice is based on a belief that the power of decentralized information flow will profoundly change all human organizational structures. Research uncovered while working on the Future of Money Summit led him down the path of integrating community-level monetary systems into his community development work, and he is currently working on a complementary currency project based in Denver. In addition to the Future of Money Summit, Think Tank West’s recent and current client roster is highlighted by evolutionary thinking for The Alliance for the New Humanity, Ricochet Networks and The Rebelion Media Project, as well as several early-stage efforts.

 

Mikki Nasch, Vice President, Novator

A 15 year veteran of the software industry, Mikki Nasch is Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Novator, an e-commerce solutions leader in Toronto, Canada. Prior to Novator, Mikki was Vice President of Sales at CompanyDNA. Mikki has held leadership positions in the incubating of startups and development of products, sales strategies, business models and corporate vision. Prior to CompanyDNA, Mikki was Vice President, Business Development at Brightspark Group a leading incubator and venture capital firm. Mikki was a founding member of BackWeb Technologies (NASDAQ: BWEB), and managed European business development projects at AT&T Business Network, Europe Online and Reuters. Mikki began her career as a network engineer for the US and European governments.