INNOVATION Mindset

delivered for
The Luminarian Fellowship

September 11 - 13, 2025

The Luminarian Fellowship

The Luminarian Fellowship will empower leaders to anticipate change, seize new opportunities, and build resilient organizations through times of disruption. Through world class education, experiential learning, and access to global ecosystems, the Fellowship equips its participants to drive breakthrough innovation and navigate the future of business with confidence.

 

ready to illuminate the future?

The Luminarian Fellowship is a catalyst for change. Join us to elevate your leadership, unlock new growth opportunities for your business, and help build a global network of transformational leaders shaping the future.

3

Days

9

Sessions

10

Speakers

What the Fellowship Offers:

This isn’t just a learning journey — it’s a strategic advantage.

  • Immersive Global Learning: Fellows will engage with some of the world’s foremost experts in technology, innovation, and strategy through immersive sessions at leading innovation hubs, including Silicon Valley, Berlin, Dubai, and Singapore.
  • Cutting-Edge Education & Research: In partnership with Silicon Valley’s top university, the Fellowship provides access to breakthrough research, emerging technologies, and frameworks designed to propel commercially viable innovation.
  • Strategic Peer Collaboration:​ Build lifelong relationships and forge a global network of high-impact leaders who share a commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship, and positive change.
  • Exclusive Access to Thought Leaders:​ Engage directly with renowned entrepreneurs, academics, and industry pioneers through curated fireside chats, private forums, and high-level discussions.
  • Practical Application & Real-World Projects: Participants will tackle real-world business challenges, working together to design and implement solutions that address critical issues facing their organizations

Schedule

Thursday, September 11

+

8:00 - 8:30 AM

Breakfast

Four Seasons Hotel

8:30 - 8:50 AM

Bus Transportation to Computer History Museum

8:50 - 9:30 AM

Welcome & Tour

Computer History Museum

Delivered by CHM Staff at Computer History Museum

9:30 - 10:15 AM

Mindfulness Session

Computer History Museum

Delivered by Dr Aimon Kopera

MINDAI™ redefines psycho-spiritual and transpersonal wellness by harnessing the transformative powers of breath and mind. Participants harness the creative potential of their subconscious mind, facilitating transformative insights to support Imagineering.

10:15 - 10:30 AM

BREAK

10:30 - 10:45 AM

Program Welcome & Registration

Computer History Museum

Delivered by Paul Marca, Zamir Shuhko and Kamran Elahian

10:45 - 11:45 AM

VC Mindset

Computer History Museum

Delivered by: Dr Pedram Mokrian

In this compelling keynote, Pedram Mokrian-CEO, and Co-founding Partner of Innovera-unpacks the venture-driven mindset that underpins transformative innovation and scalable impact. Drawing on eight core principles that have shaped the most successful commercialization models of the past 70 years, Pedram illustrates how Innovera's approach empowers leaders to navigate uncertainty, embrace failure as fuel for growth, and drive strategic value creation. Grounded in real-world case studies and supported by Innovera's Agentic AI-platform, this session equips participants with actionable frameworks to foster entrepreneurial thinking, unlock internal innovation, and translate ecosystem-level success into their own organizations.

11:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Bus Transportation to Stanford

12:15 - 1:00 PM

Lunch

Oksenberg Room

1:00 - 1:15 PM

Welcome & Orientation

Oksenberg Room

Delivered by: CGOE & Paul Marca

1:15 - 1:30 PM

Walk to Galvez Parking Lot

1:30 - 3:00 PM

Over the Wall Pit-Stop Team Building Activity

Galvez Parking Lot

Delivered by: Andy Papathanassiou

Over The Wall thinking brings an athletic mindset to any group or organization. It’s not about the high 5’s or locker room speeches. Motivation comes from within by relying on a proven system to tackle projects and assignments - A powerful and long lasting lesson that participants get to explore for themselves.

3:00 - 3:15 PM

BREAK

3:15 - 3:30 PM

Walk to Sunken Diamond

3:30 - 4:30 PM

Building Championship Teams: A Fireside Chat with Stanford Head Coach David Esquer

Sunken Diamond

Delivered by: David Esquer

What does it take to consistently build teams that win-and grow? Join Stanford Baseball Head Coach David Esquer as he shares insights from his experience on the baseball diamond, where he is constantly building teams with talent that churns every year. Learn how culture, leadership, and resilience come together to create teams that excel under pressure.

4:45 - 5:20 PM

Bus to Portola Valley

5:45 - 6:30 PM

Inside the AI Mansion: An Evening of Innovation and Influence

17 Redberry Rdg, Portola Valley, CA 94028

Delivered by: Dr. David Yang

Step beyond the gates and into one of Silicon Valley’s most extraordinary private residences - the AI Mansion - a fully immersive, AI-powered environment unlike anything ​ you’ve experienced. With its own dedicated server, a network of intelligent sensors, and systems that interact with guests in real time, the AI Mansion is a living showcase of what’s possible when architecture and artificial intelligence converge. Hear from Dr Yang as he describes his view on “What is an AI Employee.”

6:30 - 7:15 PM

From Fear to Innovation: A Fireside Chat with John Hagel

17 Redberry Rdg, Portola Valley, CA 94028

Join visionary strategist John Hagel for a 45-minute conversation exploring how leaders can move beyond fear to ignite breakthrough innovation. Drawing on his latest book, The Journey Beyond Fear, Hagel will show how crafting opportunity-based narratives, cultivating the "Passion of the explorer," and building platform-driven networks enable teams to transform mounting pressure into collective creativity, scalable learning, and lasting impact.

7:15 - 9:00 PM

Networking Buffet Dinner

17 Redberry Rdg, Portola Valley, CA 94028

 

Friday, September 12

+

8:30 - 9:00 AM

Breakfast

Huang Foyer

8:45 - 9:00 AM

Group Photo

Bamboo Steps in the Huang Foyer

9:00 - 9:30 AM

Welcome / Daily Review / Introductions

HEC 010

Delivered by: Mike Lepech & Paul Marca

9:30 - 10:50 AM

Embracing Innovation Mindset

HEC 010

Delivered by: Mike Lepech

10:50 - 11:00 AM

BREAK

11:00 - 12:20 PM

Starting and Scaling Up an AI Enterprise

HEC 010

Delivered by: Rick Rasmussen

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

12:20 - 1:20 PM

Lunch

Huang Foyer

1:20 - 2:40 PM

Forming Your Organizational Strategy in the Age of AI

HEC 010

Delivered by: Yossi Feinberg

As AI and Gen-AI gain traction, it is becoming clear that many organizations are not ready to leverage these new technologies. As with any significant new and emerging technology, leaders face multiple high-level challenges. These include identifying new opportunities and threats unlocked by emerging technology and formulating a vision for their organization that shapes its strategy in uncertain and fast changing times.

With the rapid progress of AI in capabilities and applications, the widely assumed high failure rate of organizations trying to implement a digital transformation, does not bode well when it comes to leveraging or addressing AI opportunities and challenges.

In this session we will discuss a framework that can help organize the possible ways in which your organization interacts with AI and Gen-AI. We begin with discussing the distinct types of AI -driven innovations and their organizational challenges. Next, we discuss the emerging research on the potential economic impact of Gen-AI and explore how Gen-AI driven trends might impact your business and organization.

2:40 - 3:00 PM

BREAK

3:00 - 4:20 PM

Friction Project + Workshop

HEC 010

Delivered by: Bob Sutton

During this interactive session, Bob Sutton will discuss highlights from “The Friction Project,” his book with Huggy Rao. Their main insight is that skilled leaders are friction fixers, trustees of others’ time who are bent on making the right things easier and the wrong things harder for others, and adept at helping them to move fast and slow down (or come to screeching stop) at the right times. Bob will review causes and remedies for common friction traps, with particular focus on “addition sickness,” the human and organizational penchant for solving problems by adding more and more people, software, meetings, procedures, and rules—rather than subtracting unnecessary burdens or not adding them in the first place. ​ He will review a host of subtraction tools that may be useful to Salesforce leaders, including the “subtraction game,” which participants will play during the session. ​ Much of our conversation will be devoted to varied little things that leaders can do to make life better for their colleagues, customers, and others who work with the company. ​

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the nuances of what it means to be a “trustee of others’ time.
  • Learn how to overcome “addition sickness” and to teach others why and how to embrace and live the “subtraction mindset.”
  • Build a portfolio of subtraction tools, in particular, how to run, and teach others, how to play “the subtraction game.”

Suggested Pre-Work:

4:20 - 5:00 PM

Closing & Review of the Day

HEC 010

Delivered by: Mike Lepech & Paul Marca

5:15 - 6:00 PM

Taiko Drummer Performance

Terman Fountain

Performance by: Stanford Taiko Drummers

6:15 - 8:00 PM

Reception and Fireside Chat: Driving Innovation that Delivers: A Fireside Chat with Jeff Wong

Shriram Tea Room

How do you lead innovation that doesn't just sound good-but actually scales, sustains and delivers? In this 45-minute conversation, Jeff Wong, formal Global Chief Innovation Officer at EY, shares hard-won lessons from transforming innovation into a global growth engine. Expect actionable insights on building buy-in, navigating legacy systems, creating early wins and aligning emerging tech investments with real business outcomes.

Saturday, September 13

+

8:30 - 9:00 AM

Breakfast

Huang Foyer

9:00 - 9:15 AM

Welcome / Daily Review / Introductions

HEC 010

Delivered by: CGOE & Paul Marca

9:15 - 10:00 AM

Demystifying AI Agents and Workforce Strategy: What Leaders Need to Know

HEC 010

Delivered by: Kelley Steven-Waiss

AI is reshaping how organizations operate, and digital-first leaders are in a key position to guide the transformation. This session will break down the complex world of AI Agents and give c-suite leaders practical advice on their role in deploying these tools across the company. Join Kelley Steven-Waiss, ServiceNow's Chief Transformation Officer as she shares insights on how AI can enhance efficiency, spark innovation, and improve employee experiences-all while keeping sensitive employee data safe. Whether you're just starting to think about AI or already exploring its possibilities, you'll learn practical tips and strategies to make AI adoption a strategic success while keeping people at the center of it all.

10:00 - 10:40 AM

Self Healing Supply Chains Using AI

HEC 010

Delivered by: Kamal Ahluwalia

As global supply chains grown more complex and disruption-prone, traditional risk management approaches-based on alerts and manual triage-are reaching a breaking point. This session explores the emerging concept of self-healing supply chains powered by agentic AI: systems that go beyond sensing risks to autonomously analyzing impact, recommending actions, and initiating response workflows. Attendees with gain insight into how autonomous AI agents are reshaping the future of supply chain risk and compliance-by reducing time-to-action, improving compliance agility, and enabling supply chains that can adapt, respond, and recover in real time. Join us to understand what it takes to lead your organization into the future of autonomous supply chain operations-and why the shift from visibility to action is the new benchmark for resilience.

10:40 - 11:00 AM

BREAK

11:00 - 12:20 PM

Improvisational Leadership: Embracing and Managing Failure

HEC 010

Delivered by Dan Klein

This workshop uniquely intertwines the concepts of improvisation with essential leadership skills, striking a delicate balance between levity and gravity. It teaches executives to quickly adapt to new challenges and thrive in uncertainty, infusing a sense of playfulness and engagement in their approach. This dynamic method enhances adaptability and flexibility, fostering a work environment where creativity is coupled with practicality. Participants will learn how an effective improvisational leader can create an atmosphere where ideas not only flourish but are executed with a blend of seriousness and lightheartedness. The workshop emphasizes the importance of agility, imagination, and a redefined approach to challenges, cultivating leaders who are capable of navigating complex scenarios with both humor and earnestness, essential for achieving impactful results.

12:20 - 1:20 PM

Lunch

Huang Foyer

1:20 - 1:30 PM

Walk to Robotics Lab

353 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305 ​ ​ ​ ​

1:30 - 2:10 PM

The Future of Robotics

Robotics Lab

Delivered by: Grace Gao

Robotics is undergoing a major transformation in scope and dimension with increasing impact on the economy, production, and culture of our global society. Launched in November of 2024, the Stanford Robotics Center (SRC) brings the quality and span of Stanford’s robotics research within one roof - a cross-disciplinary and collaborative powerhouse for meeting the challenges of this accelerating robotics revolution.

This engaging guided tour will provide an overview of cutting-edge robotics with hands-on demonstrations that will provide a glimpse of what lies ahead in the future of robotics

More about the SRC at https://src.stanford.edu/

2:10 - 3:15 PM

Tour of Robotics Lab

Robotics Lab

Delivered by: Zenichi Yasukawa

3:15 - 3:30 PM

BREAK & Walk back to HEC 010

3:30 - 4:15 PM

Next Generation Leadership

HEC 010

Delivered by: Kamran Elahian

In this energizing closing session, we'll explore the mindset, capabilities, and courage required to lead in a world of accelerating change. From activating purpose to navigating complexity, this session challenges today's leaders to reimagine what's possible and step boldly into what's next.

4:15 - 4:35 PM

Mindfulness Part 2

HEC 010

Delivered by: Dr. Aimon Kopera

Participants refresh their access to achieving a state of expansive mindfulness and can deepen their cohesive wellbeing experience

4:35 - 5:05 PM

Certificate Awarding, Pin Awarding and Program Conclusion

HEC 010

Delivered by: Mike Lepech & Paul Marca

5:15 - 6:15 PM

Bus to Pier 40 Yacht Tour of SF Bay

San Francisco

6:15 - 10:00 PM

Farewell Dinner

San Francisco

The Luminarian Sunset Gala - Closing Night on the Bay

Step aboard the Pinot Noir, one of the Bay Area’s most elegant luxury yachts, for an unforgettable finale to the Luminarian Summit. This invitation-only celebration is reserved for Luminarian Fellows and distinguished Thought Leaders who have shaped and inspired our shared journey. As twilight falls, you’ll cruise past the glittering San Francisco skyline, glide beneath the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, and watch the sun dip into the horizon - a golden backdrop for meaningful conversation and lasting connections.

The Evening Experience

  • Golden Hour Cruise - Sail through breathtaking Bay vistas with front-row views of the Golden Gate Bridge and city lights.
  • Elegant Dining - Indulge in gourmet, sit-down dinner paired with curated wines and premium cocktails.
  • Open Bar Indulgence - Champagne, craft, cocktails, and select vintages poured throughout the evening.
  • Dancing Under the Stars - Celebrate with a live DJ as the yacht becomes your private floating lounger.

 

10:00 - 11:00 PM

Bus to Four Seasons Hotel (Palo Alto)

Location

Location

Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center, 010 ​ Basement Level

Stanford University Campus

475 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305

Arrival Information

Drop off at the Via Ortega Parking Garage at 498 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305

Signage and Directions

Keep an eye out for “CGOE Event” signs that will guide you to the Huang Engineering Center, Room 010 upon your arrival on campus