Kevin is the father of the Virtual Assistant and a Silicon Valley innovator, serial entrepreneur, CEO, and futurist. He was INC Magazines’ Entrepreneur of the Year, a CNBC top Innovator of the Decade, World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer, Chair of Silicon Valley Forum, Planet Forward Innovator of the Year nominee, featured for 5 years on TechTV’s Silicon Spin, and inducted into RIT’s Innovation Hall of Fame. He has 94 worldwide patents and led pioneering work on the first cellular data smartphone (AirCommunicator), the first human-like AI virtual assistant (Portico), soundproof drywall, high R-value windows, AI-driven building management, Generative AI for QA automation, supply-chain auctions, and the window/energy retrofits of the Empire State Building and NY Stock Exchange. His upcoming book, titled The Joy Success Cycle, changes the way people act and think every day, leading to more fulfilment and life success.

As CEO of AFIRE, Gunnar Branson brings nearly three decades of experience across commercial real estate, professional services, education, and association leadership.

Prior to joining AFIRE in 2018, he served as CEO of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM), and before that, he led strategy and marketing for Fortune 500 and other innovative mid-market companies.

As a recognized thought leader, Gunnar is a regular speaker, panelist, and spokesperson for the global real estate and investing community, focused on institutional investing, urbanism, sustainability, and future trends.

Brandon Acker is CEO of Titan Abrasive Systems. Bio: I acquired Titan Abrasive from my uncle in 2013, after working with him for years learning the industry. I had two main goals in the early days. One was to keep costs low for customers by selling direct to them versus through a huge distributor network. I had seen the challenges – including the long lead times and meeting quotas versus providing the best system.

Second, I wanted to solve some of the legacy industry challenges, such as blast cabinet legs that crumbled at the mere bump of a fork-lift and energy inefficient equipment. I wanted Titan blast equipment to meet the rigorous demands of companies blasting on a daily or even 24/7 basis – while providing unmatched performance benefits.

The Titan team has achieved all this and more. Today, the Titan name is synonymous with rugged, high performance blast equipment that’s custom engineered to solve tough application challenges.

What’s in our future? Like you, we’re navigating supply chain challenges and rising costs. We’re redesigning our media reclaim system, and want to take another look at our dust collector. We’ve begun our move into more complex application challenges in the nuclear, aerospace, and energy industries. And, we want to expand our team.

But one thing will never change: You deal with us. No reps, no middlemen, no waiting weeks for an RFQ. You get intelligent engineering, product advice, and friendly customer service that can’t be beat. That’s the Titan difference.