Salim Ismail: Difference between revisions

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'''Salim Ismail''' (born May 17, 1965 in Hyderabad, India) is aan [[Indo-Canadian]] [[Serial entrepreneur|serial entrepreneur, angel investor]], author, sought-after speaker, and technology [[strategist]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Salim Ismail|url=http://exponential.singularityu.org/finance/june-2014-presenters/salim-ismail|publisher=Singularity University|accessdate=26 September 2014}}</ref> He is best known as the Founding Executive Director of [[Singularity University]]<ref name="wsjblog">{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/accelerators/2014/09/22/salim-ismail-success-in-the-age-of-the-billion-dollar-startup/|title=Salim Ismail: Success in the Age of the Billion-Dollar Startup|last=|first=|date=2014|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> and lead author of "[http://exponentialorgs.com/ ''Exponential Organizations'']".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.exponentialorgs.com/ |title=Home |website=exponentialorgs.com}}</ref> In March 2017, he was named to the board of the [[X Prize Foundation|XPRIZE Foundation]].

He is a serial entrepreneur having co-founded a number of tech companies (Confabb,<ref name="techcrunch">{{cite news|last1=Arrington|first1=Michael|title=Salim Ismail To Head Yahoo Brickhouse|url=httphttps://techcrunch.com/2007/03/14/salim-ismail-to-head-yahoo-brickhouse/|accessdate=26 September 2014|publisher=[[Techcrunch]]|date=Mar 14, 2007}}</ref> [[PubSub Concepts]]<ref>Mossberg, Walter S. "[http://allthingsd.com/20060202/pubsub-rollyo-refine-search/ Pubsub, Rollyo Offer Web Search Services The Big Engines Don't]." ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', 2 Feb 2006, B1.</ref> and Ångströ, acquired by Google in 2010<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cain Miller|first1=Claire|title=Google acquires social networking startup Angstro|url=httphttps://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/29/us-angstro-google-idUSTRE67S29R20100829|accessdate=26 September 2014|publisher=[[Reuters]]|date=Aug 29, 2010}}</ref><ref name="business">{{cite news|last1=Yarow|first1=Jay|title=Google Acquires More Social Networking Talent, Buys Angstro|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/google-rohit-khare-2010-8?IR=T|accessdate=26 September 2014|publisher=[[Business Insider]]|date=Aug 27, 2010}}</ref>) and led Brickhouse, [[Yahoo!]]'s internal incubator for new products.<ref name="techcrunch" />

He is the lead author of the international bestseller “''[http://exponentialorgs.com/ Exponential Organizations]''”,[[wikipedia:Salim_Ismail#cite_note-2|<sup>[2]<ref name="wsjblog" /sup>]] and the founder of [http://exo.works/ ExO Works] and OpenExO, where he serves as the company Chairman.

Ismail was born in [[Hyderabad|Hyderabad, India]], spent early childhood in [[Mumbai]], and at 10, moved to [[Toronto|Toronto, Canada]]., HeOntario, received an Honours degree in Theoretical Physics from the [[University of Waterloo]] in 1989<ref>{{cite web|title=Event Speaker Profile - Salim Ismail|url=http://www.itcork.ie/index.cfm?page=viewspeakerprofile&speakerId=88&eventId=68&printview=1|accessdate=26 September 2014}}</ref>Canada. He traveled extensively as part of the school's co-op program, working with companies such as [[IBM United Kingdom|IBM UK]], Control Data and [[Northern Telecom]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

After graduating from university, Ismail worked as a software architect for CSC Europe and later as a business consultant at ITIM Associates in London. In 1999, he became the COO of [[New York Business Forums]] in New York City. {{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

=== '''Startup Ventures''' ===

In 2001, Ismail founded the [http://www.nygrants.com/ New York Grant Company] [NYGC] in direct response to 9/11, where he served as its Chairman/CEO until 2005.<ref>{{Cite news|url=httphttps://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/jobs/a-guide-through-the-government-maze.html|title=A Guide Through the Government Maze|last=Fried|first=Joseph P.|date=2005|work=New York Times|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> In its first year, NYGC attracted over 400 clients and delivered over $12 million of federal grants to the local economy.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

In 2002, Ismail co-founded [[PubSub (website)|PubSub Concepts]], which laid some of the foundation for the real-time web. The company had an ugly ending that was discussed at various PR crisis management conferences.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wyman.us/main/2006/06/the_rumors_of_o.html|title=The Rumors of our death are only slightly exaggerated.|last=Wyman|first=Bob|date=|website=http://wwwAs I may think..wyman.us|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref>

In 2006, he co-founded Confabb.com with four others to create a centralized place to get information about conferences.[[wikipedia<ref>{{Cite web|url=http:Salim_Ismail#cite_note-techcrunch-3//www.exponentialorgs.com/|<sup>[3]title=Exponential Organizations}}</supref>]] The company received $200k in angel funding from early investors including [[Dave Winer]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://venturebeat.com/2007/02/21/roundup-openid-rupture-startupping-confabb-trulia-and-more/|title=Roundup: OpenID, Rupture, Startupping, Confabb, Trulia and more|last=Marshall|first=Matt|date=2007|work=VentureBeat|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2006/11/13/confabb-find-track-and-review-conferences/|title=Confabb: Find, Track and Review Conferences|last=Hickey|first=Matt|date=2006|work=TechCrunch|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref>

=== '''Yahoo''' ===

In early 2007, Yahoo appointed Ismail as Vice President and Head of Brickhouse, Yahoo's internal incubator.<ref name="techcrunch" /> The objective of Brickhouse was to form teams to work on disruptive ideas.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://gawker.com/323002/silicon-valley-tool-tries-to-cozy-up-to-valleywag|title=Silicon Valley Tool tries to cozy up to Valleywag|last=McCarthy|first=Megan|work=Gawker|access-date=2018-01-31|language=en-US}}</ref> During his tenure with [[Yahoo!]], Ismail worked on several products and launched new products for them including WildFire, Yahoo Pipes and Fire Eagle as well as created a relationship between [[Yahoo!]] and [[NASA]] to explore various collaborative projects.

=== '''Ångströ''' ===

Ismail was one of the executives that left [[Yahoo!]] in the wake of the failed [[Microsoft]] bid in 2008<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/02/12/yahoo-brickhouse-left-headless/|title=Brickhouse Head Leaves Yahoo|last=Arrington|first=Michael|date=2008|work=TechCrunch}}</ref> in 2008<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://gawker.com/355747/yahoo-fires-salim-ismail-far-too-late|title=Yahoo fires Salim Ismail, far too late|last=Thomas|first=Owen|work=Gawker|access-date=2018-01-31|archivelanguage=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://gawker.com/355824/salim-ismail-please-leave-the-tech-industry-now-and-do-not-come-back|archivetitle=Salim Ismail, please leave the tech industry now and do not come back|last=Thomas|first=Owen|work=Gawker|access-date=|dead2018-url01-31|language=en-US}}</ref> and with his friend, [[Rohit Khare]] he cofounded Ångströ, a company that used social networks to find news about their clients, colleagues and friends.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Can Miller|first1=Claire|title=Google Acquires Angstro, a Social Networking Start-Up|url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/google-acquires-angstro-a-social-networking-start-up/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0|accessdate=26 September 2014|publisherwork=[[New York Times]]|date=August 27, 2010}}</ref> The service notified users in real time and attracted the attention of [[Google]], which ended up acquiring it in 2010.<ref name="business" />

=== '''Singularity University''' ===

In September, 2008, [[NASA]] invited Ismail to the founding conference of [[Singularity University]], held at NASA’sNASA's [[Ames Research Center]]. In October of that year, Ismail was appointed as its founding Executive Director.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Singularity University’sUniversity's goal is to “educate, inspire and empower a new generation of leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges.” [[Singularity University]] – whose founders hail from [[Google]] and the [[X Prize Foundation|XPRIZE Foundation]] – has empoweredbrought together people from more than 85 countries to apply disruptive technologies – biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and neuroscience – to more than 100 startups.{{Citation andneeded|date=January countless patents and ideas.2018}} For two years, Ismail worked with [[Peter Diamandis]] and [[Ray Kurzweil]], along with key partners [[NASA]], [[Google]], [[Cisco Systems|Cisco]], [[Autodesk]] and [[Genentech]] to build out the university, assembling its core team and faculty, establishing the curriculum and leading the first  programs.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McDonald|first1=Kim Chandler|title=Innovation: How Innovators Think, Act and Change Our World|date=3 October 2013|publisher=Kogan Page Publishers|isbn=0749469676978-0749469672|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UaP3AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA227&lpg=PA227&dqq=singularity+university+salim+ismail+founding+director&sourcepg=bl&ots=4nQ2PNX9w6&sig=ivrD6DHhkoLhNaJQtP_EPPUMI9I&hl=en&sa=X&ei=yc4kVJLaCYy78gWjmoGABw&ved=0CFIQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=singularity%20university%20salim%20ismail%20founding%20director&f=falsePA227|accessdate=26 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Rowan|first1=David|title=On the exponential curve: inside Singularity University|url=httphttps://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/05/singularity-university/on-the-exponential-curve|accessdate=26 September 2014|publisher=[[Wired (website)|Wired]]|date=May 6, 2013}}</ref> In late 2010, Ismail took on the role of [[Singularity University]]'s Global Ambassador.

=== '''ExO Works''' ===

Ismail founded [http://exo.works/ ExO Works] in 2016 to helplead transforminnovation globalpractices businessand by catapultingintroduce organizations intoto the"exponential worldthinking." The ExO Movement now includes a platform and consulting teams, educational programs, books and tools to ofbuild exponential thinkingorganizations.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

==Public= SpeakingOpenExO ===

|url= httphttps://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2012/10/31/when-a-festival-has-nothing-to-do-with-music/

|accessdate= 26 September 2014|publisherwork= Forbes|date= October 12, 2013

In 2011, Ismail started writing ''[[Exponential Organizations]]'' with co-authors Mike Malone and Yuri van Geest. The book was released by [http://diversionbooks.com/ebooks/exponential-organizations-why-new-organizations-are-ten-times-better-faster-cheaper-yours-and Diversion Books], a division of Diversion Publishing Corp., on October 14, 2014 and quickly reached No. 1 on [[Amazon]]’s “[https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Books-Business-Management-Leadership/zgbs/books/2675's Best“Best-Sellers in Business Management],” and was named Frost & Sullivan’sSullivan's “Growth, Innovation and Leadership Book of the Year.” It has been translated into more than 15 languages.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

== Awards and Honors honors==

From 2012 to 2014, Ismail was a judge for [[The Economist magazine|The Economist Magazine]]'s Annual Innovation Awards.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

In March 2017, he was elected to the board of [[Xprize|XPRIZE]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

After 9/11, Ismail founded [http://www.nygrants.com/ New York Grant Company] [NYGC], an organization formed to help deliver grants to affected businesses in Lower Manhattan. NYGC helped deliver over 25% ($12 million) of all grants given out in the area.[[wikipedia:Salim_Ismail#cite_note-10|^[10]]]

In 2016, he created the [https://www.fastrackinstitute.org Fastrack Institute], a non profit organization that accelerates technology into society by finding holistic approaches to solving problems, with a focus on large urban centres. It is also a conceptual framework for the design of future governance approaches and regulatory frameworks for industries, cities and regions seeking solutions to critical problems.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

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