Innovation, Disruption, Technology, and SO MUCH MORE: Siemens Spotlight On Innovation

WOW, Last month I was lucky enough to attend Siemens Spotlight on Innovation 2019, which is the company’s flagship technology and innovation conference in the U.S., demonstrating how the company’s innovations help businesses and cities around the world unlock their potential and how technology can elevate what’s humanly possible.

 (Touring the city of Orlando)

We tend to throw the term “mind blown” around a lot but seriously the few days I spent touring Orlando and seeing how Siemens technology is impacting the city and the WORLD first hand was in every way shape and form…MIND BLOWING!

One of my favorite themes that were evident throughout the Spotlight on Innovation tour and event was “DISRUPTION.” Not the bad kind of disruption, but instead the disruptive innovative thinking and mindset that is welcomed and needed today to create positive change for a better tomorrow and more sustainable future.

There were many takeaways from my experience but here are some of my top highlights:

– We got to visit Siemens Gamesa, state-of-the-art wind service training center in Orlando – one of four such facilities for Siemens globally. We learned that wind turbines can power over 400-500 homes each and weigh over 500,000 lb.! The turbines are also 442 ft tall! We also got to try on the safety harness that technicians wear when servicing the wind turbines and WOAH was it heavy. Props to them!

(Me and the one and only Ben Parr wearing the safety harness and checking out the inside of the turbine.)

-Siemens announced a partnership with Chronicle (an Alphabet company) to protect the US energy infrastructure from cyber attacks. Siemens is very dedicated to making our cities safer and more sustainable, which makes me SO happy and excited to see all the action being taken to do so today.

– We got to experience VR skydiving and a whole new sports genre – body flight; no plane, no parachute, no jumping required. iFLY is indoor skydiving and gives you the power of flight in this insanely awesome wind tunnel powered by Siemens technology. I totally recommend trying it out if you have a location by you, they are all over the Country.

 (HackRod CEO Mouse McCoy, former motorcycle racer & stuntman  = one of the coolest dudes ever!)

– We were introduced to a new company, Hackrod, Inc., which uses VR gaming mechanics to let users design hardware, even super cool motorcycles. I kid you not, you can click a button and the parts are printed. They made this entire motorcycle above in two weeks! Hackrod draws from the artistry and individuality of 20th century ‘Hotrodding’ and the rebellious, tech-savvy innovation of ‘hacker’ culture to empower the everyman to create the vehicle of his dreams or needs.

But I have to say my absolute favorite part of the Siemens Innovates experience was getting to sit down and interview three powerhouse females who are all breaking barriers for women in business and STEM, creating massive change, and fueling innovation on such a large scale.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Barbara Humpton, Ashley Kimbel, and Judy Martinez Faye.

*Check out the audio clips below to listen to each interview, you’ll be happy you did!*

Barbara Humpton is CEO of Siemens USA, where she guides the company’s strategy and engagement in serving the company’s largest market in the world, with more than 50,000 employees and over $23 billion in revenues and $5 billion in annual exports.

Ashley Kimbel is a high school senior (who just graduated) who used Siemens software available in her high school to help design and build a prosthetic foot for her teacher’s brother, a veteran who voluntarily amputated his foot stemming from injuries sustained abroad. She is inspiring beyond belief and made me so excited to think about the future of medicine and all that is possible. The sky is the limit and Millennials and Genz-ers are pioneering the change!

Judy Martinez Faye, Chief City Executive, Midwest Region, Siemens USA:  Judy is Based in Chicago and leads a team of designers, engineers and product experts to consult on, develop, and implement smart city infrastructure projects in cities. Her projects are cross-sector, spanning energy, transportation, buildings, water/wastewater and the Internet of Things (IoT). They range from helping cities and utilities plan for electric vehicles; to reimaging the passenger experience in airports; to using data and predictive analytics to help wastewater plant managers optimize energy consumption; to connecting enterprise systems in buildings to improve tenant experiences and drive value. I loved my conversation with Judy!

When you peel back the layers of what innovation truly means, you begin to see the endless opportunities that technology is bringing to our present day and future. The combination of technology & innovation is empowering us to change the world one industry at a time. If you’re hungry for more, check out this amazing #Millennialtalk Recap post, this Twitter Chat occurred while I was in Orlando for the Siemens “Spotlight on Innovation” event.

From City innovation to workforce evolution to the digital future, we covered it all ✓

*Check it out: https://chelseakrost.com/millennialtalk-siemensinnovation/

<This post is sponsored by Siemens, however all opinions, thoughts, and experiences shared are my own.>