CONNECTIONS™ sessions offer a mix of market research, analysis, and industry insight. This approach is unique among conferences and necessary to capture the complexity and see the opportunities in these interconnected markets. Contact Parks Associates with questions.
Tuesday, May 23 - Welcome to CONNECTIONS™
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Welcome to CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference & Showcase
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3:15 PM
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Welcome: Accelerating the Connected Lifestyle - Regency Ballroom
SPEAKERS
Tricia Parks, Founder, President, and CEO, Parks Associates
Brad Russell, Research Analyst, Parks Associates
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3:30 PM
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Opening Session: The Future for the Connected Consumer - Regency Ballroom
Where do we go from here? The “Internet of Things” has entered the public consciousness, even if consumers can’t easily define it. With that comes awareness of potential vulnerabilities and expectations of interoperability and personalized benefits. In this session, industry visionaries discuss the changes impacting broadband households today and how IoT innovations will shape the identity of the connected consumer.
SPEAKERS
Mike Buckingham, Director Business Development, August Home
Dan DiClerico, Smart Home Advisor, HomeAdvisor
William Greene, Product Manager, Energy Services, Nest Labs
Scott Harkins, VP IoT Partner Programs Honeywell Connected Home & Buildings, Honeywell
Martin Heckmann, Director, Emerging Business, Chamberlain Group, Inc.
Moderator: Tom Kerber, Director, IoT Strategy, Parks Associates
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4:30 PM
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Keynote - Humanizing Connected Home Experiences: Using Machine Learning and Voice Control - Regency Ballroom
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Sridhar Solur
Senior Vice President, Product & Development for Xfinity Home, Internet of Things, and Data Services
Comcast
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Connected home innovation doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Sri Solur shares how innovations in machine intelligence (including AI and machine learning), voice controls, and IoT have formed the springboard to propel the next great leap in connected home innovation.
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5:00 PM
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OTT Video Services: Entertainment for a New Generation - Regency Ballroom
Going over the top has reshaped traditional distribution channels. This special session examines the global impact of OTT services, including market shifts, changes in consumer habits, and strategies to create direct relationships with today’s connected consumer. Speakers also discuss the impact of OTT on millennials and Gen Z and how these habits will change as this generation ages.
SPEAKERS
Fredrik Andersson, Co-founder & SVP Strategy and Business Development, Accedo
Darren Lepke, Marketing Director, Verizon Digital Media Services
Ace St. Germain, Senior Director of Programming, Content & Brand, VRV, Ellation
Moderator: Glenn Hower, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates
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5:45 PM
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Welcome Reception and Networking - Grand Peninsula D
Sponsored by Connected Health Summit
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Wednesday, May 24 - Expanding Business Strategies for the IoT
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7:30 AM
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Registration Open
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7:30 AM
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Networking Breakfast - Grand Peninsula D
Sponsored by leakSMART™
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8:15 AM
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Welcome: Refining Smart Home Experiences in the IoT - Regency Ballroom
SPEAKERS
Tom Kerber, Director, IoT Strategy, Parks Associates
Brad Russell, Research Analyst, Parks Associates
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8:30 AM
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IoT Monetization Models: Building a Mass-market Smart Home - Regency Ballroom
The key questions facing companies in the IoT focus on what consumers want, what they will pay for, and how to achieve widespread adoption. This session tackles each challenge with analysis of real-world solutions that provide real consumer value and generate revenue.
SPEAKERS
Jay Darfler, SVP Emerging Markets, ADT
Aleem Lakhani, EVP, AmTrust
Sean Miller, President, PointCentral
Duane Paulson, SVP-Strategic Development, Nortek Security & Control
D'Arcy Rossiter, Head of Insight, Centrica Connected Home, Hive
Moderator: Tom Kerber, Director, IoT Strategy, Parks Associates
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9:30 AM
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Keynote - Finally Delivering on the Promise of the Smart Home - Regency Ballroom
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Matt Eyring
Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer
Vivint Smart Home
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Matt Eyring discusses how recent advances in technology, user interfaces, and channel distribution will dramatically accelerate mass-market smart home adoption in the coming year.
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10:00 AM
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Networking Break - Grand Peninsula D
Sponsored by Nortek Security & Control
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Split Sessions: Converging Product and Service Ecosystems
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10:30 AM
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Connected CE Strategies: Building Product Ecosystems - Grand Peninsula EF
Cloud functionality enables a device to act more like a service than a single product. This session examines the evolution of business strategies for the connected home and the necessary shift from a focus on a single product to a focus on a cloud-based product ecosystem that delivers multiple benefits to product makers and consumers.
SPEAKERS
Greg Calvert, Director, Business Development, Roku
Jim Denney, VP Product Management and Strategy, TiVo
Grant Erickson, President, Thread Group
Jingwei Zhou, Director Business Development, Media Solutions, Ericsson
Moderator: Glenn Hower, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates
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Energy Management Solutions: Moving the Market Forward - Grand Peninsula ABC
Energy is an important aspect of the smart home but one that garners less enthusiasm among consumers than safety and security use cases. Crossover between energy and IoT could create substantial savings for consumers and utilities and new revenue streams for other providers. In this session, industry experts discuss strategies to get consumers excited about energy management as well as ways to leverage from the billions of smart home devices to be found broadband households.
SPEAKERS
Amena Ali, Chief Revenue Officer, Whisker Labs
Seth Frader-Thompson, Co-founder and President, EnergyHub, Inc.
Olaf Lohr, Director of Business Development, sonnen, Inc.
Stuart Lombard, Founder & CEO, ecobee
Moderator: Tom Kerber, Director, IoT Strategy, Parks Associates
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Split Sessions: Transforming the Experience for Consumers
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11:15 AM
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Supporting End-to-End Consumer Experience, sponsored by Asurion - Grand Peninsula ABC
To thrive in the IoT, brands must evolve their support strategies to ensure that customers have superior experiences throughout their entire journey, across devices and platforms. New “smart support” starts integrating data on “Day Zero,” when the customer buys an IoT product or service, to develop a personalized experience that tracks sales channels and warranty information, accounts for other connected devices on the network, and creates trigger points for proactive support and recovery, all while ensuring user security and privacy. This session tackles the challenges in building these strategies, including partnerships, current data on consumer privacy demands, and new sources of revenue beyond monthly subscription plans.
SPEAKERS
Scott P. Ford, CEO, Pepper IoT
Greg Kruczek, Director of New Ventures, Asurion
Rusty Lhamon, Sr. Director of Solutions for IoT, T-Mobile
Elizabeth Mathes, Director of Smart Home, The Home Depot
Moderator: Patrice Samuels, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates
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Auto Industry Transformation - Lessons and Opportunities for IoT Players - Grand Peninsula EF
More than 380 million connected cars will be on the road by 2021. This session examines the lessons learned from the first phase of the connected car rollout, including data and privacy challenges, consumer perceptions, and their expectations for a connected car experience, including the impact of electric vehicles. Speakers also discuss strategies to tie the connected lifestyle together across connected car, home, energy, and entertainment ecosystems.
SPEAKERS
Kal Gyimesi, Automotive Marketing Leader, IBM Watson IoT
Kurt Hoppe, Global Head of Innovation - Connected Car, GM
Hakan Kostepen, Executive Director – Product Strategy & Innovation, Panasonic
Darrin Richard Shewchuk, Vice President, Connected Car Communications, HARMAN
Moderator: Jennifer Kent, Director, Research Quality & Product Development, Parks Associates
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12:15 PM
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Networking Lunch - Atrium
Sponsored by HelloTech
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1:15 PM
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Integrating Connected Health and Wearables into the Smart Home - Regency Ballroom
Connected health and wellness features have established a prominent role on multiple IoT platforms, including the smartphone, the smart watch, and wearables. In this session, connected health executives and industry leaders examine the opportunity for connected health as part of the smart home and how to bridge different industries seeking efficiencies while retaining their unique value propositions.
SPEAKERS
Christopher Baskin, CEO, American Two-Way ( ATW )
Jean Anne Booth, CEO, UnaliWear
Jeroen Brouwer, Marketing, Sales and Business Development Director, Philips
Avner Halperin, CEO, EarlySense
Lainie Muller, Director, Wellness, Alarm.com
Moderator: Harry Wang, Senior Research Director, Parks Associates
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2:15 PM
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Keynote - What About the Customer? Bridging the Divide in Smart Home Services - Regency Ballroom
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Kristine Faulkner
Senior Vice President / General Manager, COX Homelife
Cox Communications
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No doubt we are in exciting times as the BIG wave of smart home technologies advances and brings great change to how we live. But how do we filter through the hype and understand where customers truly are in the smart home and IoT journey? Consumers entering the market today are mostly first-time buyers, and we need to meet people where they are today. Kristine shares how we as an industry need to think about bridging the divide between hype and future mass consumerization of smart home services.
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2:45 PM
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Networking Break - Grand Peninsula D
Sponsored by HomeAdvisor
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Split Sessions: New Strategies and Business Models Emerge
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3:15 PM
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Insurance Strategies for Consumer IoT Markets - Grand Peninsula ABC
Insurance has emerged as a new player in the IoT. Insurers can use smart home data to better understand the risk profile and provide new benefits to their customers. By leveraging smart home products, home and auto insurers can manage risk, reduce claims, increase customer engagement and save money, while health insurers can gather data to improve care quality and health outcomes. The session examines the new business models as insurance companies enter the IoT space as partners and purveyors of smart home solutions. Executives discuss the inevitable disruption of the smart home on the consumer experience and on business models in the industry.
SPEAKERS
David Henry, CMO & Sales, Roost
Scott Hublou, VP of Global Connected Solutions, Salus Inc
Sandra Maples, Director of IoT Product Management, Verisk Insurance Solutions
Kevin Meagher, SVP Business Development, ROC-Connect
Jason White, Head of Marketing, Growth and Product Innovation, Hippo Insurance
Moderator: Brad Russell, Research Analyst, Parks Associates
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The Impact of New Entertainment Experiences - Grand Peninsula EF
Emerging trends such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, micro-content, and voice technologies are changing the business and user experience for entertainment. This session examines the hot trends in connected entertainment and analyzes how the landscape and business of entertainment will change for service providers, technology vendors, product makers, content creators, and app developers.
SPEAKERS
Scott Frost, Technical Evangelist, Adobe
Elisabetta Romano, VP & Head of Media Solutions, Ericsson
Matt Smith, Vice President, Principal Media Evangelist, Brightcove
Jonathan Stern, SVP Strategic Development, Fusion Media
Moderator: Glenn Hower, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates
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4:15 PM
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Special Session - Perspectives from Europe: The Connected Consumer & IoT - Regency Ballroom
IoT is a global phenomenon, and each region brings unique challenges. This session features executives discussing successful strategies to engage European consumers in new connected solutions.
SPEAKERS
Jon Carter, UK Head of Business Development - Connected Home, Deutsche Telekom
D'Arcy Rossiter, Head of Insight, Centrica Connected Home, Hive
Marc Westermann, Managing Director - Connected Solutions, Somfy
Moderator: Tom Kerber, Director, IoT Strategy, Parks Associates
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5:00 PM
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Keynote - The Smart Home: A Domestic Revolution - Regency Ballroom
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Miles Kingston
General Manager, Smart Home Group
Intel Corporation
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We are on the cusp of another domestic revolution. Similar to the coming of electricity, the advancements in smart home technology present enormous opportunity to ease running the home, enrich quality of life, and provide peace of mind. As we develop and market smart home technology, we need to keep the user experience front of mind. Based on intensive research, Intel has developed solutions for people’s changing relationships with their surroundings, devices, and homes. Miles Kingston, GM of the Intel Smart Home Group, shares a vision for the smart home and how, as an industry, we can get there.
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5:30 PM
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Networking Reception - Grand Peninsula D
Sponsored by Intel
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Thursday, May 25 - Creating the IoT Experience: Consumer Value and Ease of Use
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7:30 AM
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Networking Breakfast - Grand Peninsula D
Sponsored by MivaTek
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8:30 AM
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Opening Comments: Creating Value for IoT Consumers - Regency Ballroom
SPEAKERS
Brad Russell, Research Analyst, Parks Associates
Harry Wang, Senior Research Director, Parks Associates
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8:45 AM
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Wi-Fi, Connectivity, and High-Speed Data in the Connected Home - Regency Ballroom
Every device in the connected home now contributes valuable data to the IoT experience. This session looks at opportunities to expand entertainment, broadband, and smart home offerings by leveraging each node in the home’s network. Speakers from a variety of IoT industries discuss strategies to build value for the growing number of connections in the home, including service profiles of U.S. broadband households and the role for each device type.
SPEAKERS
Rob Conant, CEO, Cirrent
Justin Doucette, Sr Dir, Product Management, Linksys & Wemo, Belkin International
Sanjay Noronha, Product Manager for Wireless and Networking, Google
Phil Pyo, Sr. Director Product Marketing, NETGEAR
Bruce Wright, Business Development Director, Americas Business Unit, AirTies Wireless Networks
Moderator: Harry Wang, Senior Research Director, Parks Associates
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9:45 AM
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Keynote - Creating a New Foundation to Enhance IoT Experiences in the Home - Regency Ballroom
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Rahul Patel
Senior Vice President and General Manager of Connectivity
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
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The connected home is at the intersection of the mobile revolution and the Internet of Things. A dizzying array of newly connected things are joining the scores of entertainment and computing products that have become the fixtures of modern life. To support this complex amalgamation of devices, technologies, and services in the home, its foundation – the network – is in the midst of major disruption.
Rahul Patel explains how the transition to distributed or mesh Wi-Fi is fulfilling the promises of a network that just works – bringing drop-dead simplicity and strong connectivity to every corner of the home. But that foundation of connectivity is just the beginning. This keynote also highlights the additional capabilities that are converging in the home network to make the IoT vision a reality for consumers. From centralized management and security, to voice services and machine learning, the home network will play a pivotal role in solving the most significant IoT challenges. And most importantly, a more advanced network will help meet consumer’s unrelenting expectations for simple and high-quality connected experiences at home.
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10:15 AM
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Networking Break - Grand Peninsula D
Sponsored by Tyco
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Split Sessions: Delivering a New Consumer Experience
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10:45 AM
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Cloud Platforms, Data and IoT: New Capabilities to Deliver Services - Grand Peninsula EF
The flow of data through the cloud is the basis for new capabilities and user experiences for all IoT platforms. This session examines the flow of data, from pushing product updates to uploading user information in order to improve and expand the individual experience. Speakers discuss the impact of the cloud on product design and how companies can leverage data to build stronger connections with their end users.
SPEAKERS
Ryan Lester, Director, IoT Strategy, LogMeIn
Nicholas Mashburn, Chief Product Officer, Tank Utility
Rod McLane, Sr. Director Marketing, Ayla Networks
Ryan McManus, SVP, Head of Corporate Development and Partnerships, EVRYTHNG
Jennifer Sewell, Head of Product Marketing, mnubo - IoT Analytics
Moderator: Brad Russell, Research Analyst, Parks Associates
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Voice Control: Improving the User Experience - Grand Peninsula ABC
U.S. consumers bought an estimated 6 million voice-controlled smart speakers with personal assistants in 2016. Products from Amazon, Google, and Apple have moved voice control into the consumer consciousness as the way to interact with new connected devices. The session explores the potential for voice as the primary user interface for the smart home and innovations that will improve the experience.
SPEAKERS
Benjamin Brown, Senior Product Manager, Google Home Lead for Apps & Connectivity, Google
Ed Doran, Ph.D., Principle Program Management, Microsoft
Rich Kennewick, President, Voicebox Technologies
Dan Quigley, Sr. Manager, Single Threaded Owner Alexa Whole Home, Amazon
Adam Thibault, Sr. Director, Business Strategy and Development, Nuance Communications, Inc.
Moderator: Dina Abdelrazik, Research Analyst, Parks Associates
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Split Sessions: Consumer Expectations
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11:45 AM
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Protecting Consumers: Privacy and Device Security - Grand Peninsula EF
Privacy and security are top concerns for consumers in 2017. Hacking and high-profile data breaches threaten to undermine consumer confidence and slow market growth. This session examines the impact of privacy/data concerns on consumer purchase and usage habits, strategies to secure the smart home, and how to communicate confidence in the IoT to the consumer.
SPEAKERS
Yossi Atias, General Manager, IoT Security, BullGuard
Dan Berte, Director, IoT, Bitdefender
Leon Kuperman, CTO, CUJO IoT Security
Sami Nassar, VP of Cybersecurity, NXP Semiconductors
John Joonho Park, Executive Director, Open Connectivity Foundation
Moderator: Brad Russell, Research Analyst, Parks Associates
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Smart Home Platforms: Revolutionizing the Consumer Experience, sponsored by Greenwave Systems - Grand Peninsula ABC
Parks Associates forecasts that U.S. broadband households will buy almost 55 million smart home devices in 2020. In each case, the consumer adopts with a particular benefit in mind. This session examines strategies to align user experiences with expectations while unlocking additional value through connected IoT platforms.
SPEAKERS
Dave Evans, CTO and Co-Founder, Stringify
Luke Freiler, CEO, Centercode
Greg Kahn, President & CEO, Internet of Things Consortium
Dr. Chris Mitchell, CEO and Founder, Audio Analytic
Vaughn Rhodes, VP of Product Management, Greenwave Systems
Moderator: Tom Kerber, Director, IoT Strategy, Parks Associates
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12:45 PM
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Networking Lunch - Atrium
Sponsored by Xively
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1:45 PM
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IoT and the Smart Home - Investments, Start-ups, and Growth - Grand Peninsula ABC
Over 100 million U.S. households did not have a smart home device at the end of 2016. Reaching these households requires continued investments to create unique and personalized consumer experiences. In this session, investors and VCs active in the IoT discuss the start-ups, new technologies, and cutting-edge innovations that will tip the scales toward mass-market adoption.
SPEAKERS
Greg Mischou, Sr. Partner, Woodside Capital Partners
Ashish Nair, Analyst, Citi High Yield
Kelemen Papp, Executive Director, Mooreland Partners
Rod Turner, CEO and Founder, Manhattan Street Capital
Michael Yang, Managing Director, Comcast Ventures
Moderator: Tom Kerber, Director, IoT Strategy, Parks Associates
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2:45 PM
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Q&A - Parks Associates Team - Grand Peninsula ABC
Parks Associates analyst teams highlights the top takeaways from CONNECTIONS™ and predicts key growth factors of the connected home over the coming twelve months, predicting what is most likely to lead the next wave of innovation.
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3:15 PM
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Closing Remarks - Grand Peninsula ABC
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