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Linda Bernardi

Digital Disruption Strategist; Former IBM Chief Innovation Officer and Watson Co-Lead; Entrepreneur

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Biography

Linda Bernardi lives and breathes technology disruption and innovation. She is currently Co-Founder and CEO of XdMind Inc., a revolutionary company using AI to dynamically adapt music to video gaming. Today, technology is evolving like never before, and Linda is involved in cutting edge technologies across all sectors, such as Finance, Retail, Healthcare, High Tech, Logistics, Automotive, Consumer Goods, and all others. Her focus is to enable all enterprises to imagine, disrupt, innovate at record pace, and make the impossible become possible. She works with startups all around the globe, as well as large companies, to enable and inspire enterprises to build a culture of mindful innovation. She loves to practice the beautiful Art of Imagination – the first step towards innovation. Linda’s true passion is to work with you! Linda believes that the best ideas are the ‘crazy’ ideas, stemming from a keen sense of unbounded imagination, and she works to unleash people’s imaginations. Over the last few years, she has focused a lot of her work around the topic of how to disrupt and innovate in today’s (possibly permanent) virtual/disconnected world and the art of Leveraging the Digital Workforce to enhance innovation in companies. Unless we mindfully and creatively adopt new ways of thinking about innovation, we will not succeed in this new world. This is at the center of her 3rd book to be published in 2023. Linda’s background is equally focused on her history as a highly successful serial entrepreneur, as well as a serial high-level executive. She is a very active technology disruptor and a passionate innovator. She helps clients imagine, develop a vision, build products, reshape, and re-imagine their future. As a well-known author in technology disruption and innovation, she reaches thousands of people each year, helping re-shape companies. Today she is embarking on her most ambitious startup - connecting the world of video gaming and music, dynamically via AI and machine learning. Like many other ideas, she is told this is ‘crazy’ and impossible, and she welcomes the challenge! Linda’s academic and professional background is in data and AI, focused on understanding large scale data to build the best (and always evolving) customer experiences and products. She was founder and CEO of the very first IoT company in the world, where she helped people imagine/realize a world where everything would be connected to the internet and how this would change the world. She was told it was impossible! Her other startups have disrupted numerous areas of technology. In her role as Chief Innovation Officer at IBM, she was involved with introducing Watson to the world and enabling IBM’s Fortune 100 companies to disrupt and innovate at a rapid rate. She was SVP and head of products at Element AI in Montreal, building AI products for enterprises. In her role as Head of Strategy at Consensys, Linda was involved in blockchain and cryptocurrency (Ethereum) adoption, especially by the financial sector. She also built the largest clinical trial software product used by all pharmaceutical companies today, and large-scale satellite detection and pattern recognition systems, used by Aerospace and Defense today. Linda purposefully works across all sectors, never limiting the possibilities of disruption and innovation, and always practicing the art of imagination. To further promote the concepts of disruption and innovation, she authored her first book, ProVoke, (2011), talking about the necessity of cultures of innovation. Her second book, The Inversion Factor (2017), received Best Business Theory Award at MIT, 2018, and high praise from the WSJ. The Inversion Factor discusses how technologies such as AI, IoT, blockchain, along with an open mindset, can allow us to build experiences, not just products. ‘Customer Experience’ is now at the core of all companies’ innovation agendas. Linda’s graduate degree is in Applied Mathematics from UCLA. She is an avid learner, a relentless innovator, and excited to be part of your disruption and innovation journey. She cannot wait to meet you!

Speech Topics

  • Disrupt OR Die: Why Disruption and Innovation is a Must, Not an Option!

    · Disruption is the key ingredient for innovation. Without disruption there is no innovation. Innovation is no longer an option. Across the board, all industries, are faced with immediate and meaningful innovation requirements, in order to exceed the expectations of their clients, to be ahead of competition and in order to thrive. In this keynote, Linda will explore the essential ingredients of disruption, blockers and success factors, key technologies to consider and how to meaningfully invert one’s business: to build products and service not only meet client needs (across industries) but to enhance their experiences. Linda will explore what key obstacles, tactics for impactful disruption and how to lead in the INVERSION game. She will be referencing my two books, first one ProVoke (regarding Disruption) and second book The Inversion Factor (regarding Inversion) and decades of experience and current ongoing projects, directly dealing with disruption.

  • How Technological Disruption Will Reshape Healthcare

    · The healthcare industry is traditionally resistant to technological change and disruptions. However, AI, blockchain, and the resulting technological shifts are turning healthcare on its head. From intelligent robotics, personalized medicine, and compliance monitoring to immersion technology, predictive monitoring, and IoT-enabled services, Linda Bernardi discusses inversion technologies like blockchain and AI and their impact on traditional models of research, patient data, clinical trials, and drug approval. While hospitals aim for higher revenues, patients require more transparency. Patient portals are one response, but are portals enough? Linda says the hospital landscape of the near future must align with today’s consumer-driven “Know Me” economy.  · As Chief Innovation Officer at IBM and Watson Co-Lead, Linda is ideally qualified in how to leverage disruptive innovation. Her enthusiasm will inspire your audience to feel comfortable with disruption, empowering them to futureproof their business as disruptive technologies continue to reshape the healthcare industry.

  • Futureproof YOUR business: Leveraging AI, IoT, and Big Data in the Financial Sector

    · The financial industry is experiencing game-changing disruption from AI and IoT, as well as Big Data and predictive analytics. Linda Bernardi illustrates how traditional financial models are being pushed aside in today’s consumer-driven “Know Me” economy by technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrency. She discusses how digital disruption is literally overhauling the mobile consumer’s banking expectations. A serial high-tech entrepreneur and best-selling serial author on these topics, Linda brings financial audiences a powerful message of futureproofing that applies to financial institutions, asset management associations, reinsurance, and the mortgage industry.  · As Chief Innovation Officer at IBM and Watson Co-Lead, Linda is ideally qualified in how to leverage disruptive innovation. Her enthusiasm will inspire your audience to feel comfortable with disruption, empowering them to futureproof their business as disruptive technologies continue to shape the financial industry.

  • Invent Your Future: Futureproof YOUR Business by Embracing Disruptive Technologies

    · Linda Bernardi takes a deep-dive into the emergence of today’s consumer-driven “Know-Me” economy and the trends surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI), The Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and crypto technologies. She raises her audience’s comfort level with digital disruption and sparks optimism in the idea of futureproofing your business. Her focus is to engage you in a positive way with these transformational technologies. As author of the Amazon best-seller, The Inversion Factor: How to Thrive in the IoT Economy, Linda shares with audiences how to abandon the ‘product-first’ model and capitalize on a ‘customer-need’ model, as Netflix and many others have done.  · Linda’s talks are a tour de force for audiences ranging from healthcare, retail, and insurance to financial, defense, and manufacturing. Linda’s enthusiasm will inspire your audience with optimism, empowering your organization to futureproof your business in an increasingly disruptive, hyper-connected world.

Videos

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How can I check Linda Bernardi's availability or request a quote?
    You can inquire about Linda Bernardi's availability or get a customized quote by contacting Key Speakers directly. Our team will help you determine fit, logistics, and budget options for your upcoming event.
  • What is Linda Bernardi's speaking fee?
    The typical range for Linda Bernardi's speaking fee is $37,000–$63,000. The low end of the fee range represents their standard virtual fee. The high end of the fee range represents their standard fee for a US-based in-person speaking engagement. Appearances which require an extended schedule of activities or international travel will possibly exceed this fee range. Speaker fees update frequently. To receive a personalized quote for Linda Bernardi to speak at your event, please consult with a Key Speakers advisor for up to date information and assistance.
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    Other factors that influence a keynote speaker's fee include their reputation, expertise, demand, experience, duration of the presentation, travel requirements for the event location, and any additional services, activities or customization options they offer.
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    Travel expenses are typically not included in the listed speaker's fee and are quoted separately. If the speaker needs to travel internationally, fees will be higher. These expenses may include airfare, accommodation, ground transportation at home and in the event city, and meals. We can provide more detailed information about travel expenses and arrangements once you've selected a speaker.
  • How do I book Linda Bernardi for my event?
    The speaker booking process typically involves the following steps: contact Key Speakers to confirm Linda Bernardi's availability, fees, and any unique requirements (we can also help negotiate fees and terms); submit a firm offer to extend the invite to your speaker, with the details used to create an agreement once the speaker accepts; coordinate and finalize the terms of the booking, including contract terms and conditions; and confirm the booking by signing the contract and making the necessary payments.
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    A deposit is required upon signing the contract, with the remaining balance due 2–4 weeks before the event. If the event is taking place within 30 days, the full balance is due upon signing.
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  • Why book Linda Bernardi through Key Speakers?
    We provide a comprehensive service that takes the guesswork out of hiring a speaker — from speaker selection to logistics to post-event feedback. We know you have lots of responsibilities on top of finding and coordinating event speakers, so having a committed and proactive partner on your side that is an expert with the talent booking process is crucial. Every time you book a speaker with Key, your dedicated events manager will support you throughout the entire planning process. We help you negotiate contractual details such as speaker fees and travel terms so that you end up with the most favorable deal. With our highly communicative booking and proposal model, you'll never be left in the dark with the status of your speaker. To put it simply, Key Speakers is your one-stop resource for finding, booking and managing speakers for your event.

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Scott Galloway

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