Panels & Workshops

INVESTMENT CLIMATE IN PAKISTAN – DO THE RETURNS OFFSET THE PERCEIVED RISKS?

Pakistan with 190 million people is an emerging market with one of the best returns on investments. Yet this is also a country categorized as one of the top ten ‘extreme risk’ countries for investment. Factors contributing to perception include chronic-civil and sectarian conflict, terrorism, corruption, poor regulation and chronic power outages. While we can get drowned by the negative stories and ground realities, there are other factors which offset the negativity such as young population, growing urban middle class, competent human capital, emerging democracy, high growth in consumer products demand, strong agri-base with considerable growth potential, strong protection for foreign investor rights. But do the opportunities and returns justify taking the risks of investing in Pakistan?

There are plenty of articles you can read in newspapers and magazines that will convince you not to touch Pakistan. But is that the complete picture? If you are interested in understanding the complex dynamics of doing business or investing in Pakistan then come and see what our panelists have to say about their experiences and the potential in Pakistan.

Moderator:
Stephen West, Deputy Bureau Chief & Editor Bloomberg News

Panelists:
Sarfaraz Ahmed Rehman, CEO The Dawood Foundation
Junaid Qureshi,  CEO, SSJD Group
Javed Hamid, Sr. MD,  International Executive Service Corps, Former World Bank, Founder, LUMs
Naveed Sherwani, President & CEO at Open-Silicon

GAME CHANGERS TELL ALL: “WORK? PLAY? THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT”

Thought leaders from Zynga, Square, Streetline, Kiwi, Blue Goji make Pinteresting observations on the world of game changing Apps. Join us and get tips on building and marketing a top 25 App, view the world of hybrid online-offline apps, and hear our experts talk of Android vs.  iTunes  vs. the Stores less traveled (Kindle/Nook). Plus get answers to life’s persistent questions: is Social-Mobile the holy grail or should we all Draw Something else?  What will be the Angry Birds of Enterprise Apps? $1 Billion for Instagram: Mobile Bubble or Game Changer?

Moderator:
Umair Khan: CEO, SecretBuilders; Chairman, Folio3; Venture Partner, Entrepreneurs’ Fund

Panelists:
Joe Robinson: Product Lead, Square.
Charles Huang: CEO Blue Goji; co-founder Red Octane (Guitar Hero)
Zia Yusuf: CEO Streetline; former EVP SAP
Robert Martyn: Studio GM, Zynga; Executive Producer of SIMS, SimCity at EA
Omar Siddiqui: CEO Kiwi; former VP Playdom (Disney);

BIG DATA: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

We live in the age of Big Data. A term that has only gained ground in the past few years. Big Data refers to capturing, managing, and processing large amounts of data. In March 2012, International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasted the Big Data market to grow from $3.2 billion in 2010 to $16.9 billion in 2015. The impact of Big Data is more far reaching than just the pioneers Google and Facebook. From sectors such as sports (Major League Baseball), online dating (eHarmony), video rental (Netflix), law enforcement (NYPD), and shipping (UPS), Big Data has a vast range of applications. Did you know that based on an email recipient’s gender and prior donation trend, Obama For America sends up to six variations of a single email? The opportunities for innovation with Big Data are countless.

However, they are not without controversy.

Online privacy concerns have confounded many an entrepreneurs and taken some off-guard. The recent episodes of Path address book uploads, Apple UDID ban, Google privacy policy change, Safari cookie bypass, Facebook timeline launch, and Target predicting teenage girls’ pregnancies before their families do have all put online privacy front and center in the media, with federal regulators and legislators on the Hill taking note of every single move of these companies. While the concerns around social networks and mobile applications eroding our privacy, reputation, and trust are being voiced, it must be balanced with the reality that online information sharing using innovative technologies presents unprecedented opportunities for the community. Both these dimensions are often considered at odds with each other, leading many- especially the entrepreneurs- to question if online privacy issues can put a brake on the innovation engine fueled by big data technologies.

Moderator:
Natalie Fonseca, Co-founder and Executive Producer – Privacy Identity Innovation

Panelists:
Alan Saldich, Vice President of Marketing at Cloudera
Jim Adler, CPO, Intelius, Board Member, FPF
Arif Jan Mohamed, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners
Ashkan Soltani, Independent privacy researcher, WSJ technical consultant on privacy

Co-Host:
Rafae Bhatti, Data Privacy Lead, Accenture Technology Labs.

SUCCESS WITH PRESENTATION AND PERSUASION SKILLS

“If I went back to school I would focus on two areas – communicating and presenting. Mastering these opens so many doors.” ~ -President Gerald Ford

A recent survey discovered that more than 86 percent of executives and entrepreneurs surveyed said being able to present effectively has a significant impact on their income and success. Your success could come down to your ability to quickly sell your ideas, influence your audience and motivate others to sign-up for a worthy mission or cause. Even more important, is your ability to achieve all three during a sales pitch, presentation to your peers or discussion with your boss.

In this 1-hour workshop, we will explore presenting your ideas and mastering the art of persuasion in any situation with personal branding and conflict resolution skills. Whether you are presenting your ideas at an office meeting, interviewing for a new job or pitching your argument for why a new piece of office equipment is needed; being able to speak effectively in public is essential to success.

Attend this 1-hour seminar to learn how to better master presenting in any business situation.

Panelist:
Kristi Royse, CEO KLR Consulting

NEW RULES FOR LEAN STARTUPS

Starting a new venture no longer demands traditional approach of writing business plans and seeking money from VCs. Based on lean startup methodology of customer discovery this workshop will outline how to approach starting a business using all the free resources and with very little capital. Co-taught by serial entrpreneurs Trevor Owens (recently gave his 23rd workshop in Lahore) and Naeem Zafar, CEO of Bitzer Mobile and faculty member at Berkeley-Haas business school this will be an interactive workshop rich with practical advice & tricks on doing customer discovery and market research.

Facilitators:
Naeem Zafar – President and CEO of Bitzer Mobile, Faculty at Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley
Trevor Owens, CEO and Founder, Lean Startup Machine

HOW TO LAND YOUR NEXT DREAM JOB

1. Tips and techniques to successfully move up the corporate ladder in a large corporation
2. New techniques to search for positions that help you get to your next career move
3. Compensation negotiations, what to avoid and how to be succesful
4. Networking inside and outside your organization
5. How to indentigy a good mento to help you achieve your career goals
6. Working hard or working smart? Is there a work-life balance for an ambitious employee?

Speakers:
Athar Siddiqee; Head of Global Compensation at Atmel Corporation
Hasan Rizvi; SVP Oracle
Shahid Khan; Career Coach
Bryon McDougall; Partner at Alchemy Search Partners
Tey Scott; LinkedIn’s Talent Acquisition Manager

GEN Y ENTREPRENEURS

Each iteration of the Silicon Valley cycle begets a new generation of ideas and challenges. How are today’s youngest entrepreneurs thinking about the current environment and where are they focusing their talents? Join us for a discussion with some of the youngest and most promising minds to reveal their perspectives on the latest technology trends, building startups in the economic downturn, and the challenges and opportunities associated with being a young entrepreneur. Other questions we’ll explore include:

What are the next big opportunities and where are they? How has growing up through the last boom affected their attitude on entrepreneurship? How can youth and “inexperience” be turned from a liability into an asset?

Moderator:
Mahmood Panjwani, EIR Artiman Ventures & Chairman Infinisim

Panelists:
Noman Ali, Founder & CEO Peanut Labs
Brian Wong CEO Kiip, Ranked Top 20 under 20
Rahim Fazal, CEO Involver, Ranked Top 30 under 30
David Helgason, Co-founder & CEO Unity Technologies, Ranked Top 40 Under 40

YOUTH PANEL: CAREER THROUGH COMMUNITY BUILDING

A unique panel session with inspiring guests from impressive career backgrounds and top schools come and share their pathways. For youth seeking various mandatory HighSchool volunteer opportunities, this session will leave you with resource lists as well as tips from the experts. The session is 30 minutes with 20 minutes of Q&A and 10 minutes of audience feedback. These sessions are for youth only. The guests include someone who has traveled overseas to volunteer and later on got into a great major to pursue promising career. One is current student at UC Berkeley and has traveled to India in her sophomore year for relief efforts. Listening to these inspiring guests is an experience on its own.

Moderators:
Samreen Imran, Freshman at Pioneer High School
Zain Umerani, Junior at Cupertino High School

Panelists:
Sohail Razzaq, Google, Youth ambassador at the United Nations and the British Parliament
Mahvish Jafri, Deputy Director at the Coro Center for Civic Leadership
Sabah Khan, Assistant Director MBA Admissions at Stanford GSB

Co-Hosts:
Izza Khan, Freshman at Branham High School
Harris Zia, Freshman at Monte Vista High School

YOUTH PANEL: PLANNING YOUR FUTURE 101 (AN INSIDERS GUIDE)

Traveling on an unfamiliar road to college? In search for a perfect route to a profession? Well then take a journey on Planning your Future 101 where your goals and questions will be mapped out. This panel serves as an ice breaker to an unfamiliar and intimidating part of life that everyone should go through. Leave this workshop feeling confident and more exposed to the professional field!

Panelist:
K.C. Anderson, Youth Coach
Sandra Sargent, Info Bank™ Specialist
Sandy Balakrishnan, Programs and Marketing Director at Flex
Ethan Hutt, Info Bank Specialist, College Counselor

YOUTH PANEL: DOES PUBLIC SPEAKING INTIMIDATE YOU?

Does public speaking intimidate you?

Join our 30 min work shop and we will help you to become a fearless public speaker.

Panelists:
Fatima Hasanain, Sophomore at Miramonte High School
Ali Hasanain, Senior at Miramonte High School
Izza Khan, Freshman at Branham High School
Harris Zia, Freshman at Monte Vista High School

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: IS THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE MORE THAN A TREND?

Traditionally major companies treated corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a philanthropic means to fulfill an informal civic relationship between business and community. However, is there more to CSR then simply giving money away? Can a strategic CSR campaign create net financial value?What is the role in this emerging social trend for small businesses? Can CSR help companies become more involved in foreign markets, and better position themselves to participate in the global economy as it further develops and shifts over time? In this session, panelists will answer such questions and further explore the paradigm shift from philanthropy as a driver of CSR to delivering customer value and all of the benefits associated. The proliferation of social media and mobile technology has empowered the customer by allowing him to control more of the business relationship then ever before. In light of this trend, CSR is not just about being a responsible corporate citizen, but it is an essential emerging strategy to a company’s top-line and bottom-line business success.

Moderator:
Shahab Riazi, Enterprise Software Professional at SAP
Panelists:
Imran Sayeed, Sr Vice President, Keane Inc & Sr Lecturer MIT SLOAN School
John Montgomery, Founder Montgomery & Hansen
Aude-Olivia Dufour, Vice President Marketing John Molson Sustainable Group