The West Valley Business Technology Summit focusing on the current state of business technology and related issues is coming to Avondale.

Arizona State University’s chief information officer Lev Gonick will open the summit, and Global Tech Futurist Scott Hamilton, who is CEO of ENP Institute and NextWORKS, is the event’s keynote speaker.

The summit goes from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8 at the Estrella Mountain Community College Conference Center, 3000 N. Dysart Road.

Gonick is an educator, technologist and smart city architect, and is the co-founder of DigitalC, the award-winning non-profit organization enabling and celebrating innovation, collaboration and productivity through next-generation broadband networks, big data solutions, and Internet of Things (IoT) for public benefit. Some of his specialties include smart city solutions, smart city architecture, IoT, and fiber to the home.

Hamilton is a leader and advisor in the field of future thinking, strategy and innovation for Global 500 through mid-market companies. He speaks globally on scenario development, future casting, global trends, and “next practices development.”

The title of Hamilton’s presentation is “Seeing Thru Walls-Building Your “Next,” and will challenge attendees to reevaluate their thinking about the future from being “linear” and instead, turbulent and multi-dimensional.  This will offer attendees some pathways forward to lead their team by leveraging technology, adaptability and resource sharing.

The summit will also feature a lineup of moderators and panelists.

Panel 1 – Infrastructure and Supply Chain

Moderator: Lev Gonick, Panelists: Mark Paratore, vice president of business development for GPEC; and Michelle Brugman, senior account manager with Lumen.

Panel 2 – What’s on the Horizon

Moderator: Alan Claypool, Technology Leaders Group CEO. Panelists: Ron Babich, West Valley Innovation Alliance chair; Heather Montie, head of cybersecurity training, education and innovations for Offensive Security; and Mark Moeremans, the Arizona Commerce Authority’s senior vice president of entrepreneurship and venture development.

Panel 3 – Creating the Future

Moderator: Jeanine Jerkovic, economic development director with the city of Surprise. Panelists: Joan Koerber-Walker, AZBio president and CEO; Jordan Rose, Rose Law Group pc founder and president; and Robert Vera, founding director of Canyon Ventures Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at GCU.s

Click here to register for the West Valley Business Technology Summit, or email Remi Guthman at rguthman@westmarc.org.

The event is open to the public.