SVForum Presents the 18th Annual Visionary Awards Honoring Silicon Valley Innovators Tony Fadell, David Kelley, Katie Linendoll and Anne Wojcicki

Founders of 23andMe, Nest and IDEO, and an Emmy-Award Winning TV Personality Receive Top Honor from Silicon Valley Community

SAN JOSE, Calif.--()--SVForum, the longest standing and largest non-profit in Silicon Valley providing insight into Bay Area technology, today announced the honorees for their 18th Annual SVForum Visionary Awards. The Visionary Awards celebrate legendary Silicon Valley leaders in technology, education, venture capital and entrepreneurship.

For over 30 years, SVForum has opened its doors for businesses and individuals globally to enter the Silicon Valley community through programs that help build strong networks, create key relationships and provide insightful education. The Visionary Awards commence yearly, bringing together notable leaders in Silicon Valley to celebrate the spirit of innovation that has made the region synonymous with creativity and advancement in technology worldwide. SVForum has partnered with Citi Ventures, Accenture, Business Wire, Cisco, and Deloitte for this year’s Visionary Awards.

The event is by invitation only, and will be held the evening of June 18 honoring:

  • Tony Fadell, Founder and CEO, Nest
  • David Kelley, Founder and Chairman, IDEO; Founder, Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design
  • Katie Linendoll, TV Personality, Speaker & TODAY Show Technology Contributor
  • Anne Wojcicki, CEO and Co-Founder of 23andMe

Honorees are in fantastic company. Previous Visionary Award Winners include technology pioneers Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Carly Fiorina, Tim Draper, Marc Andreessen, Marc Benioff, Vint Cerf, Esther Dyson and Steve Wozniak, to name a few.

“This is an amazing group of truly visionary people,” said Kevin Surace, Board Member at SVForum. “From knowing your own DNA, to re-inventing product design, music players and thermostats, and being a leader in technology reporting, each person is extraordinary -- and has earned the highest honor the technology innovation economy provides.”

About the Honorees:

Fadell has a long history of innovation in Silicon Valley. He is the Founder and CEO of home automation company Nest, acquired by Google for $3.2 billion in 2014. Nest develops sensor-driven, Wi-Fi-enabled, self-learning, programmable thermostats and smoke detectors. Prior, he was the Senior Vice President for Apple’s iPod division reporting to Steve Jobs, and built the Mobile Computing Group at Philips Electronics. He has authored more than 300 patents.

Kelley is the Founder and Chairman of the global design firm IDEO, as well as the Founder of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (informally called the d.school). His long history of success includes working for Boeing and NCR, teaching at Stanford University, and founding early ­stage venture ­capital firm Onset. He has received numerous awards for his work, and co­authored The New York Times best­selling book "Creative Confidence.” His primary interest is championing human­-centered design methodology, the culture of innovation, design ­thinking and creative confidence in both business and education.

"Silicon Valley provides the education, creativity and innovation that bring great minds together to solve important global issues,” said Kelley. “I am proud to be recognized by SVForum as a pioneer in this community, and to join other leaders who embody the same spirit and passion that help make Silicon Valley the center of technology worldwide."

Linendoll is an Emmy Award winning TV personality, writer, tech expert and global tech consultant. She is one of the most in-demand tech personalities in the country, known for her first-look technology stories and gadget roundups. A writer and contributor for the TODAY Show, Linendoll also regularly contributes to NBCNews.com and recently completed filming two series for Popular Science. She is the former host of All Access Weekly on Spike TV and A&E’s We Mean Business. Linendoll has also written for ESPN the Magazine, ESPN.com, Marie Claire, Shape Magazine, CNNcom and CBS.com.

"It has been truly rewarding to share with my audiences the amazing innovations and thought leaders that stem from Silicon Valley,” said Linendoll.I'm deeply honored that SVForum has recognized my accomplishments, and I'm honored to be in the company of such phenomenal leaders."

Wojcicki co-­founded 23andMe in 2006 after a decade spent in healthcare investing, focused primarily on biotechnology companies. Her hope was to empower consumers with access to their own genetic information and create a way to generate more personalized information so that commercial and academic researchers could better understand and develop new drugs and diagnostics. Under Wojcicki’s leadership, 23andMe has built one of the world’s largest databases of individual genetic information and made significant advances in bringing personalized medicine directly to the public.

About SVForum

For over 30 years, SVForum has fostered innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership in Silicon Valley. We function as a center of knowledge and connections, covering everything from the latest tech trends to the startup and investment ecosystem. We have a long history of creating successful events, programs and conferences that educate, train, inspire, and connect technologists, entrepreneurs, corporations, investors, innovation and startup hubs, and students—in Silicon Valley, throughout the U.S., and globally. We organize about 150 different activities per year, have over 20,000 subscribers/users, and work with over 40 countries worldwide.

Contacts

MeekerQuinn for SVForum
Heather Meeker Haas, 415-310-9551
heather@meekerquinn.com

Contacts

MeekerQuinn for SVForum
Heather Meeker Haas, 415-310-9551
heather@meekerquinn.com