New Digital Economy: Challenges & Opportunities

Prof Irene Ng Professor of Marketing and Service Systems at University of Warwick, UK

Irene joined ISS as Adjunct Professor, contributing to the three thrusts of Research, Teaching and Practice for The Service Innovation Cluster of the institute. Irene is the Professor of Marketing and Service Systems at the Warwick Manufacturing Group of the University of Warwick, UK. She is one of the six UK government appointed Service Fellows at the Advanced Institute of Management (AIM), Cambridge, while serving as Fellow at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. Irene was an entrepreneur and business practitioner for more than 10 years, most notably as the CEO of SA Tours group of companies and Empress Cruise Lines. She has been a consultant and advisor to organisations such as BAE Systems, The UK National Health Service, Rolls Royce and Selex Galileo.

Mr Stuart Smith Deputy Chief, Service Innovation Practice, Institute of Systems Science

Stuart is an expert in service transformation and innovation. His experience spans major private and public-sector clients around the world. During the dot.com boom, Stuart was headhunted to join a major global telecoms firm where he and a team developed and delivered some of the most ambitious service innovation projects of the time primarily using internet based technologies. Since returning to the consulting world, Stuart has acted as CEO of Wood Holmes creating a niche innovation company that works around the world on complex service innovation, digital innovation and sustainability consulting. He has also expanded the practice internationally with interests in mainland Europe, India and Singapore. Clients include CISCO, Akzo Nobel, BBC, Marks & Spencers, ACAS, O2, Bouygues, Deloittes, HSBC, SABIC, British Telecom, and UK Design Council.

Peter Harwood ACAS, Chief Conciliator, HM Government, UK

Peter joined the UK industrial arbitration and conciliation service, Acas 26 years ago and has helped to resolve problems and promote good industrial working practices in organisations of all shapes and sizes across many sectors. He was Acas Director for the East of England and also Head of the Knowledge Management section in Acas HQ. As Chief Conciliator and Head of Profession for Acas he tackles the high-profile, large-scale disputes in the workplace and oversees the development of the Acas collective conciliation team. He has worked extensively on emerging issues in the modern work place such as the impact of technologies like social media and teleworking systems. He is an Honorary Visiting Professor to the Business School at Cardiff University.

Epirot Ludvik Nekaj The Founder & CEO of Crowdsourcing Week

Epirot is the founder and CEO of Crowdsourcing Week. In 2008, he created Ludvik + Partners - one of New York's hottest boutique virtual ad agencies built on a 100% crowdsourcing model. Epirot is one of the pioneers in the crowdsourcing ad space, an industry expert and thought leader in entertainment advertising - including public relations, event production, experiential marketing, consumer advertising and digital marketing. Epirot earned a BS in Advertising & Marketing from the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and has been a serial entrepreneur since graduation. His varied and global experiences throughout his career have taken him across the US and Asia, where he honed his skills in advertising and media with high-profile clients and power brands.