Different voices. Different perspectives.
One conversation about what comes next.
Architects of the Future — Powering the Next Era of Intelligence
Meet the minds shaping what comes next. Human intelligence. AI and robotics. New markets. Capital. Leadership. New geographies.
In Shanghai, we bring together perspectives from Stanford, China and our own SEP community to explore the forces reshaping how we think, build, lead and live.
FROM STANFORD
Back to the Classroom
Two professors. Two fundamental perspectives on the next era.
Kang Shen
What neuroscience can teach us about learning, adaptation and being human in an age of increasingly intelligent machines.
Thomas Lee
AI, energy, silicon and the physical breakthroughs and limits that may define what comes next.
CHINA FROM WHITHIN
Local keynotes
Perspectives from the people building transformation at extraordinary scale.
An extraordinary entrepreneurial journey — and a perspective from inside China’s transformation into a global advanced-manufacturing powerhouse.
An inside view of the technology, manufacturing and industrial ecosystems powering the next generation of global innovation.
China’s AI development is often seen as a top-down, state-led strategy. Drawing on his experience shaping national AI policies, Liu Dian explores China’s development-first approach, where government cultivates an innovation ecosystem driven by local authorities and private enterprises. He examines how this model differs from the US and EU, and what it means for international collaboration with China’s AI industry.
DISCUSSION PANEL
Two Leaders. One Conversation.
Perspectives from two leaders at the intersection of technology, business and a rapidly changing global landscape.
Chips On The Table
Xiaoning Qi
A semiconductor and technology leader with experience at Alibaba, C-SKY and Intel. He holds a Ph.D. from Stanford and is an IEEE Fellow.
Di Yao
A legal and business leader with experience across Google, GoPro and King & Wood Mallesons. A Stanford Law alumnus, he also chairs its China Alumni Association.
Panel Moderator
Katrien Verlinden · SEP 18
Originally from Belgium, Katrien Verlinden is a global leader with 28 years of experience delivering major engineering and construction projects across the energy and advanced technology industries. She previously led Exyte’s Advanced Technology Facilities business and held executive leadership roles at Saipem across the Americas and Algeria. She now serves as Strategic Advisor to Marengo, a startup transforming capital project engineering.
Wang Junhao
A pioneering Chinese entrepreneur and co-founder of Juneyao Group, he helped introduce private chartered aviation in China during the 1990s. He has since contributed to building a diversified business group spanning aviation, consumer goods, education and technology, with a growing focus on AI and digital transformation.
Autonomous transportation
Yu Enyuan
A serial entrepreneur focused on transforming logistics through autonomous technology, from smart delivery systems to large-scale L4 autonomous vehicle deployment.
Yu Tian
An aviation entrepreneur with more than two decades of experience developing electric aircraft and advanced air mobility technologies, with hundreds of aviation-related patents.
Panel Moderator
David Anckaert · SEP 21/22
David Anckaert is an international automotive industry leader with extensive experience in global product strategy, business development and innovation. As Chief of Global Product Strategy and Planning at Goodyear, he brings expertise across R&D, sales, marketing and quality management, offering a strategic perspective on the future of mobility and transportation.
FROM OUR COMMUNITY
The People Shaping What Comes Next.
Ideas, ventures and experiences from SEPeers around the world.
SEP Talks
Short Talks. Big Ideas.
Firsthand perspectives from SEPeers sharing the experiences, lessons and insights shaping the future of business, technology and leadership.
Their perspectives offer something different: not simply predictions about what might happen next, but insights from people actively shaping what comes next.
Human × Machine
What happens when intelligence is no longer exclusively human?
How Long Can Your AI Work Without You?
ABOUT THE TALK
Most of us use AI as an advisor—but the bigger opportunity may be turning it into an operator. Felix explores what needs to change before AI agents can safely work independently for hours or even days, and how their autonomy horizon can expand from minutes to 24 hours and beyond.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Coming soon.
The Missing Foundation for Physical AI: Building the Social Brain for Robots
ABOUT THE TALK
As AI moves beyond screens and into the physical world, intelligence alone may no longer be enough. Sharon explores the rise of socially autonomous robots and why the ability to understand, interact and respond to people could become a defining layer of the next generation of Physical AI.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dr. Sharon Yang is the co-founder and CTO of IntBot, a Silicon Valley robotics startup developing a Social Intelligence Platform for robots. Previously a Senior Principal Engineer at Intel, she led global engineering teams and technology initiatives deployed across Intel platforms and partner ecosystems. She holds 161 patents worldwide, has published 37 peer-reviewed papers, earned her Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program.
Migration of consciousness to digital substrate
ABOUT THE TALK
Coming soon.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Coming soon.
Markets × Behavior
Are we still building for the customer we used to know?
Chinese Investment and Equities Major Market Cycles
ABOUT THE TALK
Drawing on more than 35 years investing in China, Andy looks back at the major cycles that have shaped the country’s investment and equities markets since the early 1990s. He explores what those periods can teach today’s investors—and why understanding China’s past investment environment is essential to thinking about its future.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Andy Mantel is a longtime China investor who spent more than 35 years living and investing across Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei, managing China-focused assets for global and government-linked investors. After selling his China investment business in 2024, he returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and founded Ten Events Ventures, a multi-family office focused on early- to mid-stage sports, lifestyle, and health & wellness ventures globally.
Where AI Meets the Physical World: Responsible AI in Travel
ABOUT THE TALK
Travel may be AI’s largest experiment in the physical world. Liz explores what happens when AI moves beyond software to guide travelers, deploy service robots, shape crisis response and influence destinations—and what other industries can learn from travel about deploying AI responsibly when technology begins to affect real people in real places.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Coming soon.
Capital × Opportunity
Are we still building for the customer we used to know?
Building an AI Factory is an strategic path to accelerate AI Adoption within Large Corporations
ABOUT THE TALK
How do you turn AI from isolated experiments into a true corporate capability? Aitor shares the experience of building an AI Factory inside a large global technology company—from identifying opportunities and deploying AI agents to creating the governance, teams and skills needed to scale. More than a collection of use cases, the model shows how AI can become an engine for broader business transformation.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Coming soon.
Implementing large scale technologies to improve human's lives
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Coming soon.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kairat Akhmetov is CEO of Freedom Telecom, where he leads the expansion of wireless broadband across Kazakhstan. He also co-founded Sergek, an AI and computer-vision company developing technology for road safety, and runs the Akhmetov Family Office with his wife Aliya, investing across AI, energy, transport and real estate. He is a Stanford SEP 2024 alumnus and YPO member.
The new geography of innovation
Are we still looking for the future in yesterday’s places?
Unlocking Central Asia venture capital. Why is it time to invest in the region: talent, growth, strategic positions
ABOUT THE TALK
Central Asia may be emerging as one of the world’s next technology and investment frontiers. Drawing on his work with founders, banks and governments across Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Victor explores why the region’s young population, rapidly evolving regulation, available energy and proximity to China could create a structural opportunity—particularly as AI reshapes infrastructure and capital needs.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Victor Orlovski is the founder and General Partner of R136 Ventures, a $400M venture fund investing in AI, fintech and B2B software. Before becoming an investor, he spent 18 years building and scaling banking technology, including leading a 15,000-person engineering organization and developing digital banking platforms serving tens of millions of users. Today, he focuses on helping founders scale companies and technology globally.
Global Infrastructure x AI
ABOUT THE TALK
As AI reshapes global infrastructure, the challenge is not only what we build, but how we build it. Ojonimi explores a vision for supply chain infrastructure designed to advance technology while remaining in harmony with people and the planet.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ojonimi Bako is co-founder and CEO of Kaya AI, with more than 15 years of experience driving technology innovation and strategy. Previously, he led innovation and partnerships at Shiseido Group and served as Head of Innovation at Walmart Labs in San Francisco. He is also an active angel investor in early-stage AI and eCommerce startups and a limited partner in two venture capital firms.
Two SEPers in the Family - Building in China for 20+ Years
ABOUT THE TALK
What does it take to build across borders for more than two decades? Rachel shares how a Chinese–South African partnership built five businesses in China, using trust, complementary strengths, local knowledge and global networks to identify opportunities and adapt as China and the world around it changed. It is a story of entrepreneurship, timing, resilience and long-term value creation.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rachel Wu is Co-Founder and Managing Director of ANDAMAN PARTNERS, with more than 20 years of experience building and leading businesses across China, Asia, Australia, South Africa and the Middle East. Her expertise spans international strategy, procurement, supply chain and business operations, including previous global and regional leadership roles at Axis Group International, a DP World company.
leadership × life
As everything around us changes, what shouldn’t?
Unlocking Central Asia venture capital. Why is it time to invest in the region: talent, growth, strategic positions
ABOUT THE TALK
High performance and wellbeing don’t have to compete. Merja explores how brain fitness—through recovery, attention, agency and the way we respond to stress—can create better conditions for thinking and performing. For leaders, the question becomes not simply how much people can handle, but what conditions we build for them to do their best work sustainably.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Merja Ranta-aho is an organisational psychologist, executive advisor and Head of Organisational Performance at Mental Race Oy. With more than two decades of experience in people, culture and organisational development, she previously served as Executive Vice President of HR at Elisa. A Stanford Executive Program 2019 alumna and doctoral researcher at Aalto University, her work connects organisational psychology, leadership and human performance.
How to successfully transition from C-Level into a Board Role
ABOUT THE TALK
Moving from leading an organization to serving on a board requires a different kind of preparation. Markus explores how executives can strategically structure that transition, position their experience and prepare themselves to be selected for attractive board opportunities.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Coming soon.
Fondazione Telethon and its model: How to nurture the dream of a society where no one is left behind.
ABOUT THE TALK
What happens when a charity takes on a role traditionally reserved for pharmaceutical companies? Ilaria shares the Fondazione Telethon model and its work bringing therapies for ultra-rare conditions toward regulatory approval, exploring how a nonprofit approach can help address diseases that might otherwise be left behind—and advance the vision of a society where no one is forgotten.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Coming soon.
Be part of the room where the future is being discussed, challenged, and created.
Pitch Ventures
Meet the SEPeers building what comes next.
From AI and infrastructure to mobility and new consumer experiences, SEP founders take the stage to present the startups they are building, the problems they are solving and the opportunities ahead.
LIME
LIME helps game studios give AI persistent memory of characters and assets within their existing production pipelines—laying the foundation for AI that can understand entire game worlds.
Flametree.ai
Flametree.ai enables businesses to build and operate production-ready conversational AI agents for customer operations using natural-language instructions instead of traditional programming.
All G
All G is using biotechnology to recreate human breast milk proteins, developing a new approach to infant nutrition designed to bring formula closer to the nutritional profile of human breast milk.
Water Roads
Water Roads operates zero-emission electric hydrofoil ferries, transforming urban waterways into fast, energy-efficient transit corridors at a fraction of the cost of traditional road or rail infrastructure.
Party Station
Info coming soon.
Investment Venture
Info coming soon.
Morning routines
Lead from within
Cora blends the ancient wisdom of yoga with modern science to help leaders build resilience, focus and clarity under pressure. Through movement, breath, functional anatomy, neuroscience and philosophy, her Yoga for Leaders approach offers practical tools to support wellbeing and lead with greater purpose.
Daoist Qigong for health preservation
Cecilia combines ancient Chinese breathing, gentle movement, and mental focus to balance energy (Qi) and support organ function.
Take a look to the Speakers Lineup for
SEP Alumni Global Reunion 2025
STANFORD FACULTY PROFESSORS
LOCAL LUMINARIES
