Vikram Mansharamani is a global trend-watcher who shows people how to anticipate the future, manage risk, and spot opportunities. He is an academic, advisor, and author as well as a frequently sought-after speaker. Vikram adopts a uniquely global approach to his work, having worked on every continent other than Antarctica (it’s on his to-do list).

Brian Kaufman is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and currently leads asset management for Blackstone’s U.S. hospitality portfolio. Before joining Blackstone in 2019, Mr. Kaufman was the Managing Partner of The Kaufman Companies, a privately held hospitality asset management, development and investment group in the U.S. and Europe. He previously worked at Highgate Capital Investment as a Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development, and at Goldman Sachs & Co in the Real Estate Principal Investment Area and Investment Banking Division. Mr.

Dr. Andy Cooper is senior vice president of Research, Development and Engineering for Global Institutional and Specialty groups with Ecolab, serving a wide range of customers from restaurants, hotels and long-term care facilities to schools, commercial buildings, and grocery markets.  Dr. Cooper joined Ecolab in 1998 as a scientist and has been responsible for diverse innovation and customer support teams across Ecolab’s corporate technology, industrial, healthcare, life sciences and institutional groups.  He holds Ph.D.