Internet of Things: Opportunities and Challenges in 2020 - Toronto

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a big opportunity for big enterprises, but also for startups!

How can startups leverage the transformational power of IoT and analytics?

How can startups and big enterprises work together to succeed?

How do Venture Capitals see the IoT hype?

All of these subjects will be discussed during the panel and we expect to have also plenty of time for questions from the audience. Our panelists, professionals in IoT and IE IMBA alumni, will discuss the opportunities that companies have thanks to IoT, but also the challenges of deploying and succeeding with smart connected solutions.

ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUESTS: Professor Dimitrios Spiliopoulos & Udit Bhatnagar

Professor Dimitrios Spiliopoulos:  He is an IoT Evangelist, Strategist and Trainer living in London, UK. He is Adjunct Professor at IE Business School teaching a course on the Internet of Things in the International MBA program. Dimitrios is also an alumni of the IE IMBA. He has offered his IoT services to Telefonica and Vodafone as contractor/IoT consultant and other SMEs. Prior to his MBA, Dimitrios worked in manufacturing, mining and construction industries in Europe, Middle East and India. He is a frequent speaker at IoT Conferences and writer on IoT.  Dimitrios is passionate about the impact of IoT and emerging technologies in traditional organisations, cities, employees and industries, as well as the impact of them in the job market. Dimitrios helps companies start their IoT journey by offering training, workshops and consulting around the business subjects of IoT.

Udit Bhatnagar:  Venture Capitalist at McRock Capital, Udit is focused on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Udit has a highly diverse background in technology, finance and venture capital. Prior to joining McRock, Udit coordinated angel investor syndicates in India to help various technology companies secure funding.  Over the years, Udit has developed a global perspective and an understanding of technology driven impact in diverse sectors while working in Spain, Denmark, Japan and India. He started his career with Infosys, a leading technology services company in India and spent many years in the banking and insurance sectors. He has also worked at Danske Bank, a leading bank in the Nordic region and was part of the founding team in a US-based product startup. Most recently he headed up the due diligence team at Keiretsu Forum in India. Udit managed deal screening, financial analysis, market and competitive analysis and investor relations while building investment syndicates.  Udit received an MBA degree from IE Business School in Madrid, Spain. During the MBA program, he was selected to attend an exchange semester at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management in Canada. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial engineering from Visvewaraya Technological University in Belgaum, India. 

Tracey DeLeeuw

Tracey is an investor, mentor, and tech entrepreneur. She has spent decades helping businesses leverage technology to increase profits, gain a competitive advantage, decrease costs or simply conquer the power tools of the web. She had one of Canada's earliest eCommerce companies in 1993, has designed a smart building platform in Toronto, has supported the implementation of the 'intelligent post office', and has created the first crowd-sourcing skills platform in Canada. Tracey has spoken about tech and entrepreneurship topics in the past, and is passionate smart cities, smart tech, IoT, e-commerce, ML, and all things digital.   

Fernando Blasco      As VP at AG Globe Services, Fernando helps tier 1 and tier 2 corporations and start ups in Canada, US, the UK, Singapore, Australia, and Latam to increase revenue, hire the right talent, and embrace new technologies. He is focused in the Disruptive Technologies - AI, Blockchain, IoT, VR, AR - as well as TravelTech, O&G, Cleantech, EPC/Rail/Transit/Smart Cities, Travel-Hospitality and IT/Fintech/Cloud and Cybersecurity.