SAVE THE DATE
November 19-20, 2024
at The Westin Jackson
November 19-20, 2024 at The Westin Jackson
Innovate Mississippi 2024 Accelerate Conference Westin Room Block
November 18-21
The Westin Jackson for $179 USD per night
Last Day to Book: Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Monday NOV. 18
Investor Early Check-In
and Dinner
(By Invitation Only)
TUESDAY NOV. 19
Investor ACA Training
8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location: The Westin Jackson
(By Invitation Only)
CoBuilders Pitch Day
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Join us for a showcase of Mississippi startup companies from the CoBuilders in a special "Pitch Day" presentation at the Mississippi Museum of Art in downtown Jackson.
Speaker and Sponsor Reception
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Speakers and sponsors are invited to mingle and network as we welcome people to the Westin Jackson and look forward to the conference day on Wednesday.
Wednesday NOV. 20
Registration Opens
7:30am
Breakfast General Session
8:00am - 9:15am
Breakout Sessions
9:30am - 11:45am
Luncheon General Session
12:00pm
REGISTRATION OPENS
7:30 a.m.
'Big ideas' and 'block and tackle' SESSIONS
9:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
BREAKFAST KEYNOTE SESSION
8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
LUNCH KEYNOTE
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Kevin Decker
Kevin Decker has been the Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Aero since September, 2020. Bringing 20+ years of leadership experience across a wide range of companies in dozens of cultures and countries, he has a strong track record of building commercial teams, tailoring customer specific value propositions, and managing diverse groups of resources from front line sales associates to in-field application engineers and program managers.
Prior to joining Ocean Aero, Decker was most recently the Chief Commercial Officer of Emulate, Inc., a biotech start-up producing and servicing organs-on-chips technology for use in pharmaceutical drug discovery and personal medicine, with the company’s technology being spun out of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. Before Emulate, Decker was with Rexnord Industries where he served as the leader of the Rexnord Business System’s Corporate commercial team.
Decker served for 16 years at General Electric (GE) in multiple business units and held a range of management positions at GE Corporate, GE Distributed Power and GE Measurement & Controls, where he developed global sales pipelines, cultivated cross-company customer pursuit teams, and championed the principles of Sales Force Effectiveness (SFE) across the portfolio while leading market development and commercial operations teams.
Earlier in his career, Decker spent 7 years in GE’s leadership training program in the finance and audit group, obtained a Six Sigma black belt certification, and received his undergraduate degree in business administration from Boston University.
speakers
We’re assembling an exciting group of speakers for Accelerate: the Conference on Technology Innovation this year. From startup veterans to educators to industry leaders, this group offers a deep look at the challenges facing Mississippi—and how we can turn those challenges into opportunities for innovation and growth.
Kwamena Aidoo
Corridor Ventures
Kwamena is a co-founder and Managing Partner at Corridor Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on unlocking innovation in the US Southeast. Kwamena is launching Corridor Ventures after spending 20 years in the finance industry and 10 of those years in private equity and venture capital. When not working, Kwamena enjoys spending time with family, cooking and attempting to work out.
Bob Buseck
Mississippi Coding Academies
Bob Buseck is the Executive Director of Mississippi Coding Academies (MCA), a non-profit organization that provides comprehensive tech education to underserved communities. He began his role in December 2022 and led MCA’s mission of delivering a six-month, no-cost Full Stack Development program and training in emerging technologies such as AI, XR, drones, robotics, cybersecurity, and IT support. With five locations across Mississippi, MCA aims to equip graduates with the skills to thrive in the tech workforce.
Bob has over 30 years of experience in IT and is a US Army combat veteran of Iraqi Freedom 1 and 3. Before joining MCA, he served as Chief Information Officer for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and led technology enhancements during COVID-19. He helped the state install the first COVID scanners in all public buildings. He was Chairman of the Mississippi Coordinating Council for Remote Sensing and Commissioner for the Mississippi Wireless Communications Commission. Bob has held many IT roles over the years in multiple industries.
Krystal Chatman
Computer Science Teachers Association
A co-founder and Board President of the AI Collaborative, Krystal is committed to developing an equitable AI ecosystem across Mississippi and beyond by leading one of the first educator fellowships for AI. A passionate advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility for all, she is committed to empowering individuals through technology.
Neil Chen
Intrepid Financial Partners
Neil Chen is a Managing Director at Intrepid Financial Partners. Neil is based in New York.
Neil is an experienced financial services executive and Energy investor. Neil is part of the founding team of Intrepid, which he helped form in 2015. He is a key architect of Intrepid’s investment management business and has been involved in all of the firm’s investment activities from inception. Neil has originated, executed, and monetized notable Energy investments across upstream, midstream infrastructure, services, and energy transition in the U.S. and internationally. He currently sits on the board and is aboard observer of several private Energy companies. Neil is a member of Intrepid’s investment committee.
Prior to helping form Intrepid’s investment management business, Neil was involved with building Intrepid’s leading investment banking business, advising on $40 billion of Energy mergers & acquisitions. Before that, Neil was an investment banker and executive at Barclays and Lehman Brothers. Most recently, he was a member of Barclays’ executive team and Americas Management Committee and served as the Chief of Staff to the CEO (Americas), where he helped manage the Investment Banking, Corporate Banking, Credit Card and Wealth & Investment Management businesses in the Americas. He was involved with all aspects of the business including corporate development, investments, strategy, operations, client development and strategic partnerships. Prior to his promotion, Neil was an investment banker at Barclays and Lehman Brothers, where he executed numerous M&A and capital markets transactions for public and private companies.
Neil holds a B.A. with honors from Princeton University.
Kevin Decker
Ocean Aero
Kevin Decker has been the Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Aero since September, 2020. Bringing 20+ years of leadership experience across a wide range of companies in dozens of cultures and countries, he has a strong track record of building commercial teams, tailoring customer specific value propositions, and managing diverse groups of resources from front line sales associates to in-field application engineers and program managers.
Prior to joining Ocean Aero, Decker was most recently the Chief Commercial Officer of Emulate, Inc., a biotech start-up producing and servicing organs-on-chips technology for use in pharmaceutical drug discovery and personal medicine, with the company’s technology being spun out of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. Before Emulate, Decker was with Rexnord Industries where he served as the leader of the Rexnord Business System’s Corporate commercial team.
Decker served for 16 years at General Electric (GE) in multiple business units and held a range of management positions at GE Corporate, GE Distributed Power and GE Measurement & Controls, where he developed global sales pipelines, cultivated cross-company customer pursuit teams, and championed the principles of Sales Force Effectiveness (SFE) across the portfolio while leading market development and commercial operations teams.
Earlier in his career, Decker spent 7 years in GE’s leadership training program in the finance and audit group, obtained a Six Sigma black belt certification, and received his undergraduate degree in business administration from Boston University.
Anna deTiege
Louisiana Economic Development
Anna deTiege is the Director of Innovation Capital for Louisiana Economic Development where she leads the strategic vision and execution of initiatives designed to spur venture capital investment and entrepreneurial activities throughout Louisiana.
Joe Graben
University of Southern Mississippi
Joe Graben serves as the Innovation Ecosystem Manager for the Office of Innovation Management at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) under the Office of the Vice President for Research. He has over twenty-five years of experience in supporting tech-based small businesses and innovation based economic development efforts. He is a member of USM’s Gulf Blue Initiative team supporting blue-tech knowledge-based economic development with oversight of the Gulf Blue Navigator program – a late-stage blue-tech accelerator. He is the technical lead on the MS-FAST SBIR support program working with InnovateMS.
Sadie Henderson
Elemental Impact
Sadie leads Elemental’s food, agriculture, and nature-based solutions portfolio. She researches industry trends, formulates priority investment areas, builds a pipeline of high-quality start-ups, and solves problems with portfolio companies to ensure project success.
Lieutenant Governor
Delbert Hosemann
Re-elected in November 2023 with more than 60 percent of the vote, the Honorable Delbert Hosemann is currently serving as Mississippi’s 33rd Lt. Governor. He previously served as Secretary of State.
Lt. Governor Hosemann is committed to serving the public with open and fair government. As President of the 52-member Mississippi Senate, Lt. Governor Hosemann helped implement the largest tax cut and largest teacher pay raise in Mississippi history. Under his leadership, the state has paid off more than $1.2 billion in state debt, invested more than $2 billion in infrastructure, and streamlined economic and workforce development efforts. Lt. Governor Hosemann remains committed to making Mississippi an even better place for our children and grandchildren.
Raised in Warren County, Mississippi, Lt. Governor Hosemann comes to the position with substantial experience in the private sector as a businessman and tax lawyer. He received his undergraduate degree in Business from the University of Notre Dame, a law degree from the University of Mississippi, and a Master of Laws in Taxation from New York University. He and his wife, Lynn Hosemann, have three children and eight grandchildren.
Barry Knight
Indigo
Barry Knight has had a successful and multi-faceted lifelong career serving the agricultural industries. He has held CEO and senior executive management roles where he successfully tripled sales and quadrupled EBITDA, leading to major acquisitions. Most recently, he served as head of commercial strategy at Indigo. His strategic vision and commercial acumen have consistently resulted in significant achievements, such as surpassing $1B in sales of seeds, chemicals, and biotech products. Barry began his career in plant genetics. He serves on the advisory boards for R&D at Mississippi State University’s School of Agriculture. Barry has a lifelong passionate commitment to farming communities, sustainable and regenerative farming, human health, and planetary health.
Jim Lowery
mTrade
Jim is the Managing Director of Market Strategy and Research at mTrade. He has been on the Executive Team of the company since its founding in 2016, and he focuses on understanding the competitive landscape of the mortgage technology market to identify growth options for the company.
Dr. Alisa Mosley
Jackson State University
Dr. Alisa L. Mosley is a distinguished academic leader with over two decades of experience in higher education administration at R2 institutions. Currently serving as Professor of Business Administration and Senior Director for AI Initiatives at Jackson State University, Dr. Mosley has a proven track record of balancing research initiatives with strong teaching programs.
Her career highlights include serving as Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Jackson State University from 2020 to 2024, where she led a successful reaccreditation process and significantly increased research funding. Prior to this, she held leadership positions at Tennessee State University, including Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Dr. Mosley earned her Doctor of Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and both her MBA and BBA from Florida A&M University. Her expertise spans strategic academic leadership, research program development, curriculum innovation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion advocacy.
A prolific researcher and speaker, Dr. Mosley has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and secured substantial grant funding for various initiatives. Her recent focus has been on integrating AI across academic disciplines and fostering industry partnerships to enhance student success and employability.
Dr. Mosley’s commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and inclusive leadership has made her a respected figure in higher education, particularly within Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and public land-grant institutions.
Dr. Brittany Myburgh
Jackson State University
Dr. Brittany Myburgh is an Assistant Professor of Art History at Jackson State University, originally from Aotearoa/New Zealand. She is known for her innovative research at the intersection of art and technology, focusing on subjects such as electric light, new media, and generative artificial intelligence (AI). Dr. Myburgh is also a co-founder of the Mississippi AI Collaborative, an initiative dedicated to reducing digital inequities in AI education across the state, particularly among underrepresented communities.
Her academic journey is characterized by a deep commitment to exploring how technological advancements can influence and intersect with artistic practices. As an educator, Dr. Myburgh is passionate about fostering a learning environment that encourages critical thinking and embraces diverse perspectives. She aims to inspire her students to explore a wide array of art and visual culture while equipping them with the methodological tools necessary for in-depth analysis. In addition to her teaching and research, Dr. Myburgh is actively involved in several projects, including the Black Digital Humanities Lab and the Journal of Art & Theatre. Her work not only advances the academic discourse in her field but also contributes to broader conversations about equity, technology, and cultural expression.
Dr. Nashlie Sephus
Amazon AI
Dr. Nashlie Sephus is the Principal AI/ML Evangelist for Amazon AI focusing on fairness and identifying biases at AWS AI. She formerly was CTO of AI startup Partpic based in Atlanta which was acquired by the Amazon Visual Search team. After then joining Amazon as an Applied Science Manager, she led many product launches including visual search for replacement parts on the Amazon Shopping app in June 2018. Also in 2018, Dr. Sephus became the founder and CEO of The Bean Path non-profit organization based in Jackson, MS assisting individuals and startups with technical expertise and guidance. In September of 2020, she became the owner and developer of the Jackson Tech District—21-acres of mixed-use commercial real-estate in downtown Jackson—to bring tech training and workforce/economic development to the area.
our sponsors
Presenting Sponsor
Innovation LEaderS
Whova App Sponsors
Pitch Competition Prize Sponsor
Coffee & Contacts
Technology ChampionS
Executive PartnerS
EntrepreneurS
COBUILDERS SPONSORS
PRESENTING SPONSOR
STATEWIDE SPONSOR
PRIZE SPONSORS
COBUILDERS SNACK & COFFEE SPONSOR
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