Innovating at the Edge: Leadership, Legacy, and Technology for a Disrupted Future
Panel Discussion with four panelists
Join us for a dynamic panel discussion featuring four visionary leaders who are shaping the future through innovation, entrepreneurship, and cross-sector collaboration. Mark Turrell brings cutting-edge insights on AI, collective intelligence, and global systems; Jim Hurd offers decades of experience bridging deep tech and policy; Ulrich Schmid-Maybach blends legacy with forward-thinking impact investing and mentorship; and Robert Levin brings a sharp lens on how generative AI and machine learning are revolutionizing finance, enterprise, and global markets. Together, they’ll explore how leadership, innovation, and values converge to build a future that is not only technologically advanced but deeply human.
We will discuss:
- How emerging technologies like AI, gene therapy, and space infrastructure are reshaping industries—and what it takes to lead responsibly in this transformation.
- The role of mentorship, legacy, and values in building enduring innovation ecosystems and cross-generational impact.
- Strategies for aligning capital, policy, and talent to accelerate breakthrough ideas in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Thursday, August 21, 2025
5:30pm - 7:30pm PT
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
4 Embarcadero Ctr
San Francisco, CA 94111
Tickets:
HCSF Members: $25
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Speaker Bios:
Mark Turrell
Mark is a strategist, author, educator, and tech entrepreneur. His work combines collective intelligence with AI, networks, complex systems, behavioral science, and neuroscience. Mark is the founder of the unDavos community and the unDavos Summit. The World Economic Forum nominated him as a Technology Pioneer and a Young Global Leader. He is also the co-founder of Fresh Solutions AI, a Swiss company that builds AI-powered apps for leadership and innovation. Mark is also a Professor of Global Strategy at Hult International Business School and the author of “Scaling: Small Smart Moves”. Mark resides in Berlin, Germany. He has a degree in Global Policy and Leadership from Harvard Kennedy School.
Jim Hurd
Jim has built powerful strategic alliances for deep tech startups over the last 23 years with top corporations, investors, and government innovation initiatives. Jim also heads the Hurd Family Office, which makes angel investments several times a year. He speaks at leading family office conferences. Jim has been a strategic advisor and angel investor since 2020 to Alef Aeronautics, a leading personal flying car/EVTOL company based in Silicon Valley. Tim Draper is the lead investor. He is also an advisor and angel investor to AGT (American Gene Technologies), based in Rockville, MD, that has a gene therapy cure for HIV as its first product. He also works with leading space infrastructure startups. He has participated in a series of receptions on innovation and finance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, for the last five years. Jim was a member of the 2010 Energy Faculty at Singularity University. He works with Senators, Congressmen, and their staffers to develop technology and innovation initiatives. He was born and grew up in Washington, DC.
Ulrich Schmid-Maybach
Uli, great-grandson of Wilhelm Maybach and grandson of Karl Maybach, represents the fourth generation of a legacy built on creativity, innovation, and quality. He founded the Maybach Foundation in 2005, inspired by the humble origins of Wilhelm Maybach, designer of the first Mercedes. Inspired by Wilhelm Maybach’s own mentorship under Gottlieb Daimler and Gustav Werner, the Foundation is dedicated to nurturing exceptional talent across various disciplines. The Foundation promotes mentorship as a vehicle for social and economic good and is developing a Maybach Archive and heritage showroom in Friedrichshafen, Germany - preserving the Maybach legacy. Paulo Coelho, Quincy Jones, and Julian Schnabel have supported the Foundation’s mission of mentorship. Ulrich Schmid-Maybach led the successful IPO of Maybach Motorworks (Tognum) in 2007, subsequently diversifying into real estate and technology investments with strong connections to global founders and Silicon Valley innovators. As Co-Founder of Maybach Icons of Luxury, he has expanded the brand’s presence globally, with a growing number of boutiques and resellers worldwide. With a master’s degree in international business focused on U.S.-German relations, he is a featured speaker at family office and private wealth conferences, sharing insights on building and sustaining a multigenerational family brand.
Robert Levin
Robert is the CEO of Emerging Star Digital, LLC, an angel fund in Wyoming, and also the founder of Transclick, Inc., a Technology Pioneer member of the World Economic Forum with over 14 million downloads of its multilingual AI clients in 192 countries. Robert has expertise in applying innovation in machine learning (ML) and AI to finance and other enterprise verticals, as well as enterprise Gen AI. He is an inventor, best-selling author, public speaker, and holds one issued US patent. He is also a strategist in global macro, emerging markets, and technology investments. Robert is a Tech Laureate of the Tech Museum of Innovation and has won the Gold Edison Award for Innovation in mobile apps. He is a member of the AlwaysOn Mobile 100 (top 100 mobile companies) and the AlwaysOn Global 250.
Event Organizer
Anupam Agarwal, MPH ‘05
anupam_agarwal@post.harvard.edu