FiRe 2017: Acquihires, Internal Culture, and Activism: What Happened at Yahoo

Ed Butler interviewing Ken Goldman

By Arunabh Satpathy

Bringing in up-close and personal view of the goings on inside Yahoo, ex-CFO Ken Goldman and current President of Hillspire told the audience about the kaleidoscope of reasons for Yahoo’s misfortunes, while being hosted by Ed Butler, Presenter and Senior Broadcast Journalist, BBC.

Drawing on his 40-year long career as a person in the financial field and as a CFO, he praised ex-CEO Marissa Mayer and how she was respected within the company because of her engineering background, unlike the previous 5 CEO’s. However, Goldman also lamented several issues that led to Yahoo’s current condition, like external activism and internal culture.

“The reality is that the culture was really tough,” he said. “It wasn’t conducive to what was going on in the [Silicon] Valley.”

As an example, he said that employees didn’t have smartphones within the company and said that Yahoo had a “non-internet culture.”

Another issue he mentioned was difficulties in hiring, because people wouldn’t want to join the beleaguered company. He said that the mobile engineering group only had 25 people in it. Goldman said that the company tried to “acquihire” employees, which led to a number of good people coming on the company.

However, the acquisitions came with their own set of difficulties. While saying that most acquisitions were successful, he pointed to Tumblr as a notable failure, calling it “challenging.” He drew attention to the nature of the content on Tumblr, which proved difficult to monetize.

Butler bought up the inevitable topic of the Yahoo hack, to which Goldman replied that while lawsuits are inevitable with large companies, he was “cordoned off” as the issue was mainly a cyber security issue. When quizzed on whether the hack affected morale, he disagreed, saying that the lack of morale came more from the uncertain future of the company regarding its business failures.

On the issue of activism, Goldman was critical of certain types of activists. He said that while some activists are constructive, some focus too much on firing the CEO, cutting costs, and selling the company. He said that the activism also harms companies at a business level, pointing out that public companies have two classes of stock because they don’t want to deal with activists. He also mentioned that said activism is the biggest reason fewer companies are going private or are choosing to stay private.

In reflecting on past mistakes, Goldman said that public and investor relations could have been better handled.

“We let the storyline be told by others,” he said.

 

FiRe 2017: Venture capitalists forecast the seas of change

Venture capitalists forecast the future of investing

by Rainey Cornaby

The session title “The Next Wave of Venture Investing” consisted of a panel of Mark Gorenberg, Managing Director of Zetta Venture PartnersYanev SuissaSineWave Ventures General Partner, and Dafina Toncheva, Partner at US Venture Partners. The panel was hosted by Ray Rothrock, CEO of RedSeal and former Venrock Partners and brought up themes of consumer trust and security.

Panelists discussed the investment trend of increased emphasis on cybersecurity and its importance now and in the near future. Currently, cyber security is a major focus of investment, but 10–15 years ago, there was only a handful of venture capital firms investing in cyber security. Toncheva referenced recent incidents, such as the Equifax hack, and possible governmental hacks perpetrated by North Korea, and their impact on making cyber and information security salient to the public. She emphasized the importance of the issue, stating hacks are “economically devastating, politically devastating, and a matter of national security.”

The issue of hacking and cyber security, extends beyond how it is currently considered, and is continually evolving alongside other technologies. Toncheva described multiple demonstrations relating to the future of security concerns, one involving scientists remotely hacking and controlling a pacemaker, and another in which scientists transmitted a computer virus by inserting genetic code into a cell, and then executing the program as the computer sequenced the DNA.

The conversation then moved to the topic of trust in technology. Gorenberg stated as a society, we are not held back by technological capabilities we are held back by what risks we are willing to take. Adoption and lack of user and institutional trust is the limiting factor, but companies are willing to adopt technological solutions incrementally when they see revenue generation or cost savings. He illustrated this with the example of a company capable of predicting patient kidney failure six months in the future. Hospitals were reluctant to adopt the technology as a diagnostic tool but have implemented it as a triaging aid.

Gorenberg explained institutional trust and adoption occur incrementally. Toncheva elaborated on increased adoption and trust, suggesting younger generations will usher in a sea of change. She stated they will rebel and support the use of new technologies because of their comparatively high comfort and familiarity with them.

Despite consumer slowed technological adoption and increased security risks, panelists were primarily optimistic about the future of investments and technology trends. Predictions forecasted a coming wave of positive technological changes in healthcare, artificial intelligence, automation, DNA storage, synthetic biology, and the health of the planet. Suissa expressed cynicism about some of the implications of forthcoming technology improvements.

“There will be negative and positive externalities,” Suissa said.

He emphasized many questions are sure to arise regarding responsibility, ownership, and where morality ultimately will fall.

 

FiRe 2017: Noticing What We Never Expected to See: New Frameworks for Visualizations

By Charly Kuecks

“The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us to notice what we never expected to see,” said John W. Tukey is best known as the inventor of the box-and-whisker plot, one of the most widely-used diagrams in statistics. Chris Johnson and Valerio Pascucci of the University of Utah were inspired by this observation of Tukey’s and elaborated on this theme in their panel titled “Visualizing Visualizations: Pictorial Processing in Nature,” moderated by Mark Anderson.

Johnson and Pascucci connected their research into visualization algorithms to the concept of flow, as explored in Anderson’s theory of Flow and Interaction.

For example, a large scale combustion simulation simplified a 10-factor analysis to an easy-to-understand diagram in three dimensions. Using this kind of exploratory data analysis, Johnson claimed scientists “can recognize patterns not captured by data analysis tools.” A new paradigm for visualization led to new scientific discoveries.

Being able to examine the actual features of a real-world process like combustion, comes closer to approximating a scientist’s mental model. At the same time, the team wants to make sure that the visualizations don’t bias their users. The traditional line draw of a Von Kármán vortex going around an island presents information, but in a dull, non-informative manner. Johnson and Pascucci’s animated model doesn’t require a long turnaround time, and is more actionable for oceanographers.

These cutting-edge visualizations can be applied to a wide variety of questions, such as more accurate models of methane molecules, designing a new lithium ion battery with a longer life, and analyzing porous mediums.

Pascucci emphasized the idea of taking Big Data - in this case, terabytes of primary scientific research data — and winnowing out the signal from the surrounding noise. Not only do these visualizations connect scientists to data, these animations are understandable to laypeople.

 

FiRe 2017: The Xi Effect: Not Your Mother’s Global Domination

By Ethan Annis

Left to right: Berit Anderson, Evan Anderson, and Richard Marshall

In a session designed to keep you awake after lunch, Berit Anderson, CEO of Scout.ai, moderated a discussion between Evan Anderson, CEO of INVNT/IPand author of “Theft Nation”, and Richard Marshall, CEO of X-SES and past Director of Global Cyber Security Management Department of Homeland Security, regarding the moves that China is making to become a dominant player in the international cyberspace.

The discussion began with a picture of a map showing the power that China has throughout the world. Marshall talked about the efforts that China is making to modify the environment to gain geopolitical power in the air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace. Marshall mentioned that the biggest push for China is in cyberspace.

Evan Anderson followed up by pointing out that the benefits of technology can also have the opposite effect. He explained the Chinese “Sesame Credit”, a proposed plan in China to connect all individual internet presence to your credit score and “citizen score”. He warned of what could happen if China were allowed to become a world cyber power.

“As China goes out and spreads their influence they are the scariest thing we’ve ever seen politically,” said Evan Anderson.

Berit Anderson questioned further to see what the effects on the internet could potentially be if China accomplished their goals. Marshall answered by offering his opinion that it might be the same we know now in the US, but it would be very different internationally. We may not be able to share democratic views, and other countries with totalitarian tendencies could become more totalitarian.

To conclude the session Marshal reiterated that China badly wants to be an international cyber power.

“We have to do more than just talk about it, we have to be aware of what they are trying to do, and we have to set up certain protection mechanisms,” he said.

 

FiRe 2017: Listen Up, Equifax…

By Ethan Annis

In a tense session on cyber security, Robert Roy, CTO of Micro FocusGovernment Solutions HPE ESP, moderated and answered questions providing information regarding a few different terms and viewpoints in the cybersecurity world.

The session began with a history of cyber security. Roy recounted that back when cyber security was first dreamed up, people thought that security meant obscurity. In order to conceal their information, they thought it was best to hide it. People still view security in the same way. He cited Equifax as an example of this.

“Equifax didn’t protect data like they should have,” said Roy. “That information should have been protected.”

The conversation became heated as a question about personal identifiers brought up some opposing views. It was brought up that there are ways to protect that data, while others felt that data was already lost for good. Finally, the group came together in the agreement that information needs to be encrypted constantly. It was stated that if given enough time and money, any system can be compromised.

“The best way to keep a secret is to not have it,” said Roy.

A question was asked about the meaning of the term “full stack security”. Robert gave a great explanation of how there are different levels of security called application, presentation, session, transport, network, data link, and physical. Each of these layers have specific protections. If one layer is compromised, the hacker needs to get through the other levels in order to get to your information.

The final question of the session was: What can I do myself in order to better my security? The answer was to be your own data steward. It was explained that there are many services that exist to help us keep passwords strong, keep data secret, keep email files encrypted, and we ought to use all of them. Roy mentioned we also need to be wary of what we put onto the web and be careful of who we give our information to.

 

INVNT/IP Welcomes U.S. Government Examination of China Trade Policy

SEATTLE,WA–(Marketwired – August 15, 2017) – Yesterday, President Donald Trump tasked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer with the determination of the level of need for an open investigation into the intellectual property practices of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In an event hosted at the White House yesterday afternoon, President Trump asserted the importance of defending innovation and maintaining an equitable trade relationship with the PRC.

INVNT/IP, a membership-based consortium of companies and governments worldwide, welcomes the decision to re-examine the US-China trade relationship.

“For years, the PRC has practiced a comprehensive policy of intellectual property theft and associated protectionism,” noted Evan Anderson, CEO of INVNT/IP. “Over the past decade, INVNT/IP has tracked government programs funded by, supported by, or otherwise affiliated with PRC leadership that steal crown-jewel intellectual property from innovators worldwide, restrict domestic Chinese market share to global firms, violate WTO regulations, and use the placement of propaganda and financial leverage in the innovating world to subdue the potential response. This move to re-examine the US trade relationship with the PRC is both critical and long overdue; inventing firms and nations should look forward to the decision to open an investigation as a clear next step in enhancing US economic security.”

The United States maintains the capability to address issues of predatory trade relationships through structures such as Special 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which “provides the United States Trade Representative with the authority to identify foreign countries that deny adequate and effective protection of IPR or fair and equitable market access to US persons that rely on IP protection.”

The USTR may, after investigation, declare a foreign country to be a “Priority Foreign Country,” enabling the United States to take action regarding damaging trade practices perpetrated by the selected nation-state.

INVNT/IP is a global consortium of executives, innovators, and policymakers working in concert to reduce the occurrence of nation-sponsored theft of “crown jewel” IP: the intellectual property that makes your company, government and economy function. For four years we have been working together, often behind the scenes, to protect the secrets that drive every part of the roughly $75T in global GDP today.

The INVNT/IP Global Consortium™, an SNS initiative, is a network of private firms and individuals that seeks to reduce nation-sponsored intellectual property theft worldwide.

Website: www.invntip.com, www.stratnews.com, www.futureinreview.com

 

SNS FiRe Conference Names Aptage a 2017 FiReStarter Company

SEATTLE, WA–(Marketwired – June 14, 2017) – Strategic News Service (SNS) has selected Aptage as a 2017 FiReStarter company to be featured at the 15th annual Future in Review (FiRe) Conference. FiRe 2017 will take place October 10-13 at the Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley in Park City, Utah.

Described by The Economist as “the best technology conference in the world,” FiRe features global speakers and participants in technology and the global economy, including Elon Musk, Craig Venter, Michael Dell, Vint Cerf, Leroy Hood, Elena Polyakova, Mark Hurd, Paul Jacobs, Cory Doctorow, Kamran Elahian, Ken Goldman, Dharmendra Modha, and many others. FiReStarters are selected based on the strength of their potential to bring positive change to the world, and are showcased at the FiRe conference in panels throughout the event and with ongoing relationships introduced and supported by SNS.

Today’s business climate requires innovation and making good decisions in the face of uncertainty. Aptage provides state of-the-art, AI-enhanced decision support tools that help companies better understand the odds of succeeding at endeavors with uncertainty (www.aptage.com).

“It is exciting to see how our next-generation decision support tools are helping our customers succeed,” said John Heintz, Aptage CEO. “Aptage tools provide clear visibility and enable conversations to focus on well-reasoned analysis of the available data, reducing drama and regret. The right decisions lead to better outcomes. This is especially true when traditional data analysis tools fail to address the uncertainty involved in high-value, innovative efforts.”

“It is impossible to overstate how many decision processes are influenced by error-causing bias,” said Mark Anderson, CEO of Strategic News Service and Chair of FiRe 2017. “Aptage’s new solution set provides an objective and enlightened alternative to this common problem. We are delighted to have Aptage with us as a FiReStarter company for 2017.”

fire-logoFuture in Review is a gathering of world-class thought leaders, convened each year with the goal of providing the most accurate look forward in technology. FiRe is a world leader in exploring how technology drives the world economy and in using technology to solve major social challenges. These goals have been consistently achieved through FiRe’s collaboration across technology-driven industries and through active support from the global FiRe community.

To register for FiRe 2017, go to www.futureinreview.com.

 

SNS FiRe Conference Selects TruTag Technologies as a 2017 FiReStarter Company

FiRe convenes global thought leaders to address the world’s greatest challenges

SEATTLE, WA–(Marketwired – June 13, 2017) – Strategic News Service™ (SNS) has selected TruTag Technologies as a 2017 FiReStarter company to be featured at the 15th annual Future in Review (FiRe) Conference. FiRe 2017 will take place October 10-13 at the Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley in Park City, Utah.

Described by The Economist as “the best technology conference in the world,” FiRe features global speakers and participants in technology and the global economy, including Elon Musk, Craig Venter, Michael Dell, Vint Cerf, Leroy Hood, Elena Polyakova, Mark Hurd, Paul Jacobs, Cory Doctorow, Kamran Elahian, Ken Goldman, Dharmendra Modha, and many others. FiReStarters are selected based on the strength of their potential to bring positive change to the world, and are showcased at the FiRe conference in panels throughout the event and with ongoing relationships introduced and supported by SNS.

TruTag Technologies Inc. is a leader in ingestible optical memory and hyperspectral imaging with a vision to improve the safety of food, medicine, and society at large. TruTag has commercialized the world’s most advanced ingestible optical memory (iOM) device combined with advanced mobile hyperspectral imaging platform to provide a plethora of business solutions critical to the digitization of things analog. Applications include product identity for food and medicine; secure labels and documents for businesses and governments; precision drug delivery systems for biotherapeutics; and advanced precision imaging for point-of-care medical diagnostics and machine vision.

“It is an honor to be selected as a FiReStarter company by Strategic News Service (SNS),” said Dr. Hank C.K. Wuh, Chairman of TruTag Technologies. “I look forward to discussing with other global thought leaders the role of innovation for the future of our society, and sharing how TruTag’s game-changing platform will help digitize the analog world and impact the safety of food, medicine, and society at large.”

“In a world that is increasingly beset by IP theft and global counterfeiting in virtually every market, the value of knowing the true provenance of things is becoming paramount. We are delighted to have TruTag as a 2017 FiReStarter company and look forward to helping them promote and grow the company. All of us will benefit,” said Mark Anderson, CEO of Strategic News Service and Chairman of FiRe 2017.

TruTag Technologies has been recognized by the SPIE Prism Awards, the Edison Awards, Fast Company, and R&D 100, and was named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum as one of the most influential technology companies in the world. Learn more at www.TruTags.com.

fire-logoFuture in Review is a gathering of world-class thought leaders, convened each year with the goal of providing the most accurate look forward in technology. FiRe is a world leader in exploring how technology drives the world economy and in using technology to solve major social challenges. These goals have been consistently achieved through FiRe’s collaboration across technology-driven industries and through active support from the global FiRe community.

To register for FiRe 2017, go to www.futureinreview.com.

 

SNS FiRe Conference Names Haydale Technologies Inc. a 2017 FiReStarter Company

Strategic News Servicetm (SNS) has selected Haydale Technologies Inc. (HTI) as a 2017 FiReStarter company to be featured at the 15th annual Future in Review (FiRe) Conference. FiRe 2017 will take place October 10-13 at the Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley in Park City, Utah.

Described by The Economist as “the best technology conference in the world,” FiRe features global speakers and participants in technology and the global economy, including Elon Musk, Craig Venter, Michael Dell, Vint Cerf, Leroy Hood, Elena Polyakova, Mark Hurd, Paul Jacobs, Cory Doctorow, Kamran Elahian, Ken Goldman, Dharmendra Modha, and many others. FiReStarters are selected based on the strength of their potential to bring positive change to the world, and are showcased at the FiRe conference in panels throughout the event and with ongoing relationships introduced and supported by SNS.

Haydale Technologies Inc. (HTI) is a high-tech materials company specializing in silicon carbide fibers and microfibers, functionalized graphene, and their applications. HTI is the US division of Haydale Graphene Industries (HGI), itself a former FiReStarter. HGI acquired Advanced Composites Materials’ silicon carbide business in 2016 and is using its hi-tech facility and skilled and technically advanced team as a springboard for the expansion of HGI’s business into the US market.

Trevor Rudderham, CEO of HTI, commented: “We are honored to have been invited to be a FiReStarter. As regular participants at FiRe, we are keenly aware of the exceptionally high standard set by previous FiReStarters for innovation and transformation — a standard we will seek enthusiastically to maintain. Our portfolio of advanced applications has increasing relevance as enhanced material properties are sought to enable other innovations, especially those being pursued by our fellow FiReStarters.”

“Haydale Technologies is the perfect representation of the innovation and business acumen that has made Haydale Graphene a world-changer,” said Mark Anderson, FiRe Chair and CEO of the Strategic News Service. “As industry turns increasingly to advanced materials for everything from chips to lightweighting, we think HTI will play a pivotal role. We are delighted to have HTI as our second Haydale FiReStarter and look forward to working with them to help make the world stronger, lighter, faster, and smarter than it is today.”

fire-logoFuture in Review is a gathering of world-class thought leaders, convened each year with the goal of providing the most accurate look forward in technology. FiRe is a world leader in exploring how technology drives the world economy and in using technology to solve major social challenges. These goals have been consistently achieved through FiRe’s collaboration across technology-driven industries and through active support from the global FiRe community.

To register for FiRe 2017, go to www.futureinreview.com.

 

SNS FiRe Conference Names LINK3D a 2017 FiReStarter Company

Strategic News Service (SNS) has selected LINK3D as a 2017 FiReStarter company to be featured at the 15th annual Future in Review (FiRe) conference. FiRe 2017 will take place October 10-13 at the Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley in Park City, Utah.

Described by The Economist as “the best technology conference in the world,” FiRe features global speakers and participants in technology and the global economy, including Elon Musk, Craig Venter, Michael Dell, Vint Cerf, Leroy Hood, Elena Polyakova, Mark Hurd, Paul Jacobs, Cory Doctorow, Kamran Elahian, Ken Goldman, Dharmendra Modha, and many others. FiReStarters are selected based on the strength of their potential to bring positive change to the world and are showcased at the FiRe conference in panels throughout the event and with ongoing relationships introduced and supported by SNS.

LINK3D is the secure global platform that connects engineers to Industrial Additive Manufacturing services. Our technology is a cloud-based platform that leverages data and AI to enable fast, efficient, data-driven additive manufacturing. LINK3D’s industry-specific RFQ system provides engineers with an automated tool that identifies and connects the user with qualified and vetted Additive Manufacturing Service Bureaus. At LINK3D we believe that additive manufacturing should be accessible to anyone, anywhere, at any time. We serve a diverse group of industries including: Aerospace, Automotive, Defense, Electronics, Medical & Industrial Applications. LINK3D provides a secure and seamless approach to make the ‘Industrial Revolution 4.0’ accessible to engineers and additive manufacturing service providers around the globe.

LINK3D is based in New York City with partners in The America’s, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

“It is an honor to be selected as a 2017 FiReStarter company. We’re humbled to be in such a prestigious alumni class,” says LINK3D Co-Founder, Shane Fox. “At LINK3D, we truly believe that additive manufacturing should be accessible to anybody anywhere, at any time. Our goal is to help global organizations become more sustainable, reduce waste, and efficiently manage inventory by facilitating fast, efficient, data-driven manufacturing solutions,” explains Vishal Singh, Co-Founder.

“LINK3D is enabling the revolution in global manufacturing first promised by 3D printing and now under way. We are delighted to have LINK3D as a FiReStarter company, and are proud to be partnering with a firm so well-placed to change the world for the better,” said Mark Anderson, FiRe Chair and CEO of the Strategic News Service.

fire-logoFuture in Review is a gathering of world-class thought leaders, convened each year with the goal of providing the most accurate look forward in technology. FiRe is a world leader in exploring how technology drives the world economy and in using technology to solve major social challenges. These goals have been consistently achieved through FiRe’s collaboration across technology-driven industries and through active support from the global FiRe community.

To register for FiRe 2017, go to www.futureinreview.com.