Panelists
Nishant Batra
Chief Technology and Strategy Officer
Nokia
Nishant Batra holds an MBA from INSEAD; a master’s degree in telecommunications and a master’s degree in computer science from Southern Methodist University; and a bachelor’s degree in computer applications from Devi Ahilya University in India.
At Nokia, Batra is the Chief Strategy and Technology Officer (CSTO) with responsibility for corporate strategy, technology architecture and pioneering research at Nokia Bell Labs; Nokia’s information technology (IT) infrastructure and digitalization initiatives; centralized security domains; and Nokia’s venture capital activities.
He is responsible for developing a coherent business-strategy, technology and architecture vision across the company and implementing it in partnership with the Nokia Business Groups.
Lee Davenport
Director of Community Development
US Ignite
Lee Davenport earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, psychology, and business administration from the University of Texas-Austin and a master’s degree in urban policy and nonprofit management from The New School in New York City.
In his position at US Ignite, Davenport leads a diverse staff who work to increase financial inclusion in communities they serve using the smart city movement to pursue social and economic opportunities. He served on the board of Capital Area Asset Builders, an organization working with low-income youth and adults in the Washington DC Metro Area, for 11 years.
Scott Fadness
Mayor, Fishers, Ind.
Scott Fadness became Fishers’ first Mayor on January 1, 2015. Since then, he has brought to life a smart, vibrant, and entrepreneurial vision for the city. Fishers was named “Best Place to Live in America” by Money Magazine in 2017 and “Community of the Year” by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce in 2016.
Under Scott’s leadership, Fishers has transformed into a lively, successful city that large corporate headquarters, small businesses, families, and people of all ages are proud to call home. His efforts revitalizing Fishers’ downtown have been especially important to attracting and retaining professional talent from across the country.
Scott’s focus on making Fishers inviting to employers large and small has resulted in new economic development records being set each year since he took office. In the last four years, there have been more than 4,900 new jobs created and $500 million in new private investment. From attracting corporate headquarters to fostering the development of homegrown companies started by entrepreneurs at Launch Fishers, the growth of good-paying jobs in Fishers is significant.
Critical to attracting jobs and families to Fishers are the amenities that make a community feel like home. Scott has led efforts to strengthen city services and quality of life amenities. Some highlights include park and trail improvements, the new downtown amphitheater, the creation of Agripark – the nation’s largest urban farm, the attraction of Ikea and Top Golf and the Yard at Fishers District culinary destination and Geist Waterfront Park.
Scott serves in a variety of roles to promote policies important to Fishers’ success and to support causes important to community residents. He serves on the Federal Communications Commission’s Intergovernmental Advisory Committee, Indiana’s Behavioral Health Commission, and member of the Hamilton Southeastern School Foundation Advisory Council.
Prior to becoming Mayor, Scott served as Fishers’ Town Manager and as an adjunct professor at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Affairs from Indiana University.
Scott and his wife, Aunna, have three sons, Lincoln, Hudson, and Jackson. On the weekends, you can often find them enjoying the Fishers Farmers Market and events at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater.
Scott Fadness's Twitter
Mental Health Champions: How Scott Fadness, Mayor of Fishers, Indiana has launched a citywide effort to support mental health
Nick Hamilton
Client Executive, US Public Sector
Cisco
Nick Hamilton earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Loyola University Maryland and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Maryland.
He has worked at Cisco since July 2006 rising through the ranks to his current position as Client Executive in its Public Sector. Cisco’s Public Sector is powering an inclusive digital future for all public services, including education, healthcare, government and smart communities.
Asha Keddy
Corporate Vice President and General Manager for Next Generation Standards
Intel
Asha Keddy earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from University of Mumbai and a master’s degree in computer science from Clemson University.
She is a Fortune 50 Senior Executive and visionary leader with 20+ years of experience in driving the future through technology and products while delivering pioneering strategies and setting industry standards.
Keddy currently serves as Corporate Vice President and General Manager for Intel’s Next Generation & Standards division. In this role, she leads a global team, empowering the creation of a multi-billion 5G market opportunity through incubating transformative opportunities beyond Intel’s current playbook with new business models, services, Go-to-Market strategies and identifying technology inflections. These include 5G, AI, Edge, Security, distributed cloud, software, real-time systems and private/enterprise networks. She is also Intel’s 5G executive sponsor.
James Lienhoop
Mayor, Columbus, Ind.
James D. Lienhoop is the 37th Mayor of the City of Columbus, taking office on January 1, 2016. Although newly elected as Mayor, he served City government since 2006, beginning as an interim member of City Council to replace a council member who was called into active duty overseas. He was elected to his own term as Columbus City Councilman, at-large representative in 2012. Jim has been heavily involved in the Columbus community, having served on the board, usually in an officer capacity, of numerous not-for-profit endeavors.
A life-long resident of Columbus, Jim has been married to his wife, Pam, for over 30 years. Together they have two children, Jon and Libby.
James Mueller
Mayor, South Bend, Ind.
Mayor Mueller is the chief executive of the City of South Bend. The city’s thirty-third mayor, he was sworn into office on January 1, 2020. As mayor, Mueller is responsible for the city workforce of over 1,000 employees and an annual budget over $380 million.
After attending St. Joseph’s High School, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Delaware for his PhD, Mueller worked in public policy before returning home in 2015 to join the Buttigieg administration as Mayor Pete’s Chief of Staff, Mueller promoted pragmatic public policies and affordable energy solutions at the George Washington University’s Solar Institute in Washington, DC. He also served in the office of US Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), for nearly four years, first as a John A. Knauss Legislative Fellow and then as a policy adviser on energy and natural resources.
Mueller’s tenure as Chief of Staff included the establishment of the first Diversity and Inclusion Office in Indiana, as well as the creation of the Departments of Innovation & Technology and the Venues Parks and Arts Department. Mueller went on to become the Executive Director of Community Investment where he was responsible for attracting businesses to South Bend and investing in the neighborhoods. Early in his tenure as Executive Director of Community Investment, Mueller established the Engagement & Economic Empowerment Division to empower residents with access to economic opportunities and meaningful civic participation.
Kelby Price
Corporate Development & Business Strategy
XQ Message
Kelby Price, CPIR, earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce finance and marketing from Dalhousie University and a certificate as a Certified Professional in Investor Relations (CPIR) from Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.
In 2017, Price was recognized as one of Canada’s top 10 women in technology by the Consulate General of Canada for her expertise in data and monetization in the startup industry with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry.
In XQ’s Corporate Development & Business Strategy area, she works with subject matter experts to assess strategic growth opportunities and conducts analyses of key marketing, customer, product and technology trends.
Scott Remillard
US Air Traffic Management (ATM) Business Development
Saab
Scott Remillard earned bachelor’s and master’s degree in electrical engineering from Union College and an MBA from Le Moyne College.
He joined Saab in 1999 and has worked with the top 40 US airports and top 7 US airlines to deploy complex cloud-based decision support tools, digital ramp towers and Total Airport Management Solutions.
Previously Remillard was involved in a variety of development and leadership areas in FAA modernization programs as well as homeland defense initiatives.
John Roese
Global Chief Technology Officer of Products and Operations
Dell Technologies
John Roese is Global Chief Technology Officer at Dell Technologies. In this role, John is responsible for establishing the company’s future-looking technology strategy and fostering innovation to make sure Dell Technologies is at the forefront of the industry with ground-breaking technologies that anticipate customers’ needs across the portfolio.
John joined Dell EMC in the fall of 2012 and was instrumental in shaping Dell EMC’s technology strategy as the company embarked on new growth and leadership across three of the most transformative trends in the history of IT – Cloud, Big Data and Trusted IT.
Prior to joining Dell EMC, John was the CTO, GM, and leader of several technology companies including Nortel, Broadcom, Futurewei, Enterasys, and Cabletron systems. In addition to his roles as CTO, John has been a Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Information Officer in publicly traded companies.
John is a published author and holds more than 20 pending and granted patents in areas such as policy-based networking, location-based services, and security. John has been active in numerous boards, including ATIS, OLPC, Blade Networks, Pingtel, Bering Media, and the Cloud Foundry Foundation.
Keren Ronen
Director of Industry Ecosystem Partnerships
Ericsson
Keren Ronen earned degrees from Tel Aviv University and Kyoto University before joining Ericsson Japan in 2016. She served as Program Director in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan where she ensured quality of operations and offerings for the IoT platform aaS and BSS solutions.
In 2019 Ronen moved to the US where she served as Customer Solution Manager – Verizon before rising to her new position in 2021 as North American Industry Ecosystem Partnerships Director where she analyzes current and predicted business digital needs for Ericsson.
John E. Smee
Senior Vice President of Engineering
Qualcomm
John E. Smee is Senior Vice President of Engineering at Qualcomm Technologies Inc. He joined Qualcomm in 2000, holds over 75 U.S. patents, and has been involved in the system design for a variety of projects focused on the innovation of wireless communications systems such as CDMA EVDO, IEEE 802.11, 4G LTE, and 5G.
His work involves taking advanced system designs and signal processing techniques from theory through design, standardization, implementation, and productization. He is currently a 5G project engineering lead in Qualcomm’s wireless research and development group.
He received his PhD in electrical engineering from Princeton University, and also holds an M.A. from Princeton and an M.Sc. and B.Sc. from Queen’s University.
Jan Söderström
Vice President of Advanced Technology
Ericsson
Jan Söderström is Vice President and Head of Technology Office Silicon Valley at Ericsson reporting to Ericsson Group CTO. In this capacity he drives the Ericsson technology leadership work in 5G, Cloud and IoT in a collaboration with ecosystem partners in Silicon Valley. A central part in this work is the co-creation work in D-15 Labs, enabling partners and customers to develop and test new use cases on a real 5G network platform.
He earned a PhD in applied physics from Chalmers University of Technology, augmented with a one-year research scholarship at California Institute of Technology. He spent his early industrial career working with optoelectronic devices and optical networking at Ericsson Microelectronics, first as development manager and later as product line head. He then had a decade long engagement at Ericsson Research heading the research in IP and Cloud. During this time, he spent three years in Silicon Valley building up the Ericsson Research lab in San Jose. He started the Ericsson engagement in SDN and OpenFlow in cooperation with the Stanford Clean Slate Program and his team also pioneered the Ericsson work on OpenStack and cloud orchestration.