We’re just a few days away from the annual GeekWire Summit technology conference, taking place this Thursday and Friday in downtown Seattle. The Summit offers a great chance to hear from top leaders in business and technology — including high-ranking executives from Nike, Zillow, Xbox, Uber, Redfin, DocuSign — and see live journalism take place on stage.
It’s also full of opportunities to make valuable connections, with fun parties built into the agenda on two nights and plenty of networking during the main show. This is an event where business deals happen, and key alliances are made. One of our favorite stories from a past GeekWire Summit is when the CEOs of Parallels and GoDaddy met for the first time, and ended up inking a partnership several months later.
Our goal with this year’s Summit is to make sure that you leave informed, inspired and entertained.
A limited number of tickets are still available, so if you’ve not signed up make sure to grab your tickets here or below.
But there’s even more to the GeekWire Summit than we’ve been telling you about in recent weeks, so continue reading for additional details on what to expect at this one-of-a-kind event.
Engineering Front Lines: In this panel, moderated by University of Washington computer science professor Ed Lazowska, technical leaders will share insights on hiring, innovating and building world-class products in an ultra-competitive industry. Panelists are Redfin CTO Bridget Frey, Socrata CTO Deep Dhillon and Tim Prouty, head of Seattle software engineering at Uber.
Treasure Trunk: We’ve got a fun surprise in store, exclusive to GeekWire Summit attendees. That’s all we’re saying for now. You’ll have to show up in person to experience this special GeekWire project, and get a chance to unlock its treasure for yourself!
Sub Pop founder Bruce Pavitt to DJ: That’s right folks. The guy who helped put Seattle’s music scene on the map will be spinning tunes during breaks and intermissions during both days of the Summit, pulling from his vast catalogue of music tracks. He’ll also be on hand to talk to attendees about the changing dynamics of the music scene, as well as his new startup company, 8Stem, which was recently featured on GeekWire. Make a request to Bruce by Tweeting to #GWSummitRequest.
Science Fiction and the Future: Who better to ask about the future than science fiction writers? Two of them will be joined by a former astronaut on this panel about the future of science, technology and humanity, moderated by GeekWire columnist Frank Catalano, himself a science-fiction veteran. Panelists include Hugo-award winning sci-fi writer Nancy Kress; computer scientist, futurist, and award-winning author Ramez Naam and former NASA astronaut and Sentinel Mission CEO Ed Lu.
Kids Panel: Actually, who better to ask about the future than a bunch of smart kids? Four of the brightest young minds we know will be joining us on stage for a discussion about their expectations for technology, and a future that only they will experience. And, yes, we’ll also be bringing back a new installment of our geeky kids videos, which will debut at the Summit.
Parties and Receptions: In addition to networking and refreshments during breaks at the event, your ticket gets you lunch and light breakfast on each day, plus access to two great parties and receptions in the evening:
- Welcome Party at Chef’s headquarters in Pioneer Square, open to all Summit attendees on Wednesday evening, Sept. 30. KEXP DJ Darek Mazzone will spin the tunes, and Chef CEO Barry Crist will face off against GeekWire co-founder John Cook in an epic ping pong match at 6:45 p.m., with the “loser” donating $1,000 to the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship fund.
- Opening Night Party at Sullivan’s Steakhouse on Thursday evening, Oct. 1. We’re transforming Sullivan’s into a retro gaming arcade, complete with your favorite pinball and arcade games, plus drinks and appetizers.
Special Note: We are now offering a limited number of tickets just to the Opening Night Party at Sullivan’s for people who are unable to attend the GeekWire Summit during the day. See the event page or the ticket module below to purchase.
All of this is in addition to everything we’ve already told you about, including a panel of Amazon veterans moderated by New York Times reporter David Streitfeld; on-stage interviews with Nike COO Eric Sprunk; the Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer; Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff; investor and activist Nick Hanauer, former NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver, top Concur executives Steve Singh and Elena Donio; and many more.
500 Startups’ Dave McClure and Highway1’s Brady Forrest will be sharing their startup insights. Plus, you’ll hear NYT reporter John Markoff and Microsoft Research chief Peter Lee in a conversation about the future of robotics and artificial intelligence. Also back by popular demand: “Inventions We Love” — on-stage demos of fun and cutting-edge hardware innovations.
We’ve been working hard on the Summit all year, and we’re excited to host this event in our backyard with the help of our presenting sponsor Bank of America. We hope you can join us.
Check out the full agenda here, grab your tickets below, and see you this week at the GeekWire Summit later this week!