Join GE, Watson Health, Akamai, and More at INFLUX on June 22

Big companies and innovative startups call Boston home. That’s pretty much always been the case. But now we’re about to see a step change. With GE moving into the Seaport, IBM Watson Health moving into Kendall Square, Dell mega-merging with EMC, and other giants setting up R&D operations (or otherwise expanding their presence), Boston’s profile is rising in unprecedented fashion.

What do these moves mean for business and tech innovation in New England and beyond? And how can the region’s newcomers—leading startups included—work together with local business leaders, investors, and educators to shape the future for everyone?

We’re working on getting some answers. Xconomy is organizing a special conference called INFLUX that will bring together leaders from all of these constituent groups, across technology and healthcare. It’s all happening on June 22 at the Museum of Science in Boston, and we are preparing for a jam-packed afternoon of talks, discussions, and networking that will help move this city—and the process of collaborative innovation—forward.

As we map out the full agenda, here are a few speakers to highlight:

Tom Leighton, CEO of Akamai
David Edwards, Harvard professor and Founder of Le Laboratoire
Steve Papa, CEO of Parallel Wireless and Founder of Endeca
Fiona Murray, Co-lead of MIT Innovation Initiative and Sloan School professor
Neal Sandy, CMO of GE Ventures
Paul Tang, Chief Health Transformation Officer of IBM Watson Health
Dave Balter, CEO of Mylestoned and Venture Partner at Boston Seed Capital
David Chang, Co-founder of PersonalVC and EIR at Harvard Business School
Chase Garbarino, CEO of VentureApp
Louis Perna, Co-founder, Accion Systems
Patrick Petitti, CEO and Co-founder of HourlyNerd
Marc Cohen, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of C4 Therapeutics
Ken Anderson, Co-founder and Director of C4 Therapeutics

And we’ll have much more to highlight in the coming weeks. Meantime, tickets are going fast but you can get more information and grab a seat here. We’re looking forward to seeing you all on June 22.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.